Jackson nets five goals as Maryvale holds off Spalding, 15-14
With Archbishop Spalding bearing down on them Friday afternoon, Maryvale just needed to remember what they’d been practicing: Stay calm, burn some clock.
The Lions mainly controlled possession for 4 ½ minutes to stave off a Cavaliers rally to win 15-14 and rebound from a Wednesday loss.
“Coach Kim [Dubansky] pulled us into the huddle and said basically: ‘hold the ball.’ We had all the time in the world. We just kept it going,” said junior attack Annabelle Jackson, who netted a team-high five goals for Maryvale.
Penalties directly led to three Maryvale goals, but the fourth was all Jackson.
The attacker curled around the back of the net and struck, her first of many.
“Annabelle wants the ball. She’s able to just stick the ball in the back of the net,” Dubansky said. “Having leaders that have that confidence and can inspire some of our other players to keep that going is huge.”
Myriad Spalding chances withered on the banks of Maryvale’s defense over the next few minutes. The Lions made their visitors feel it with goals by senior attack Payton Rowley (four goals) and another from Jackson.
St. Mary’s 9, John Carroll 7: Camryn Pfundstein had a hat trick and Gracie Driggs scored twice to lead the visiting Saints (1-0, 1-0 Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference) over the Patriots (0-2,0-2).
St. Mary’s dominated draw controls. “I think it just goes to show that draw controls are so crucial, it was the momentum change that we needed,” Saints coach Mindy Jones said. “Obviously, it gives you a 50-50 chance to have possession and we were able to come up with that. We just weren’t able to hold onto the ball. But really being able to go out and win those draws helped be a game-changer for us and Gracie Driggs was amazing on the draw today.”
The Saints, seeing their first action of the season, held an 18-1 advantage in draws, but the Patriots (0-2) put up a battle and led for nearly 15 minutes in the first half.
McDonogh 13, Gerstell 5: McDonogh (2-0), through hard charges through the middle of the Falcons defense and timely passes to open players residing just outside the crease, outscored Gerstell, 6-1, to close the first half and take control. Kori Edmondson sparked that turnaround with three of her game-high six goals.
“Gerstell played well,” McDonogh coach Taylor Cummings said. “They’re a gritty
Maryvale’s Annabelle Jackson (8) celebrates her goal in the second half. The Lions defeated Spalding in girls high school lacrosse on Friday. team, an aggressive team, and they really made us work.
“They were pressuring us high, so our midfielders and attackers were able to take advantage of that high pressure up top.”
more than 30 points per contest, a few numbers that didn’t sit well with the returning defensive players this year.
Their motivation is simple be better than they were last year. It hasn’t been a stark turnaround numbers-wise, but the Cavaliers seem to be making strides. And big plays on defense, which powered them to a victory at Francis Scott Key on Friday.
South Carroll (2-1) doubled its win total from the 2019 season and relied on a handful of defenders to come up big in crucial moments. Junior defensive end Jackson Moore and senior linebacker Nick Malone spent time in FSK’s backfield throughout the game, one week after their team suffered a 35-0 loss against Westminster.
“That was my plan,” said Moore, who tallied four sacks and a forced fumble, about disrupting FSK’s offensive flow. He and Malone combined on a sack that ended an Eagles’ drive near midfield with less than 2 minutes to play. Francis Scott Key (0-2) trailed 14-8 before its offense stalled, and the Cavs capitalized with quarterback Ryan Barnard’s second rushing touchdown of the night with 64 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Senior Sean Hakanson pitched in on defense with an interception (his third of the season) and a fumble recovery, fellow senior Nick Bass had a fumble recovery, and junior lineman Sean Patrick added a sack.