Broadneck relying on trust for deep postseason run
Broadneck girls lacrosse sent shockwaves across the county when it not only beat the defending state champion, Severna Park, in its first game on May 7 but did so handily.
But that? That was just the first step of perfection.
The most well-rounded girls lacrosse team in Anne Arundel County blazed through the regular season and headed into the playoffs with an 8-0 record. The Bruins earned the top seed in Class 4A East Region II and began their run toward a state championship Wednesday with an 18-3 rout of visiting South River.
Sometimes, teams bear one or two players that move like Achilles on the battlefield — unstoppable forces that pile up huge stats and the rest of the team flocks around.
Broadneck is not that team. An opposing player has to keep her head on a swivel at all times when playing the Bruins as there are numerous players capable of scoring.
Broadneck amassed 136 goals and averaged 17 goals per game in the eight-game regular season. Nine Bruins average at least one goal per game and nine have doubledigit point totals. Senior midfielder Alexis Abe leads the way with an even cache of 20 goals and 24 assists for 44 points and has been on a tear recently with 23 points in her last three outings.
Though Broadneck has just seven seniors — many of whom are defenders — coach Katy Kelley said her senior scorers like Abe and Tobin Chambers (15 points) are showing the younger players what Broadneck culture is all about. That’s why the younger players are right up there in scoring — junior Julia Sokolowksi has 25 points and sophomores Lilly Kelley (21), Mary Moore (21) and Lexi Dupcak (20) are also having breakthrough seasons.
Kelley calls Abe a “bright spot” because of the senior’s love for playing with the younger girls. Kelley appreciates that desire not only as the coach but as the mother of one of those younger players, Lilly.
“We’ve made each other multi-dimensional because we trust every attack to be able to do what they can do,” Abe said. “We just push each other to trust the open pass, trust the path, trust the drive — let each other do whatever we want to do and trust it’s going to work out.”
Synergy came early. During preseason practices, the Bruins could feel they were communicating well with one another.
“They have a respect for their counterparts, so they’re not going out there trying to be like, ‘I have to take this game back’ or ‘I want to be the stats leader.’ They have so much fun just being creative,” coach Katy Kelley said. “I can’t tell you how it came about, but I think I just have an awesome mix of kids who aren’t selfish, have a good lacrosse IQ and just enjoy being competitors. And it seems to work.”
The defense has been equally as stellar as starting goalkeeper Chloe Rand has led a unit that has allowed just five goals per game and 40 total, second-best in the league behind Severna Park. She watches it all unfold and understands why.
The junior missed her sophomore season due to the pandemic and worried she’d be coming into her first full varsity season blind. But her teammates supported her immediately and made her feel brave. The goalie has 44 saves in the regular season, with a game-high of 13 in Broadneck’s 12-5 win over Arundel on May 14.
“The defense trusts each other,” senior defender Makenna Quigley said. “We communicate with each other and rely on the next person to be there for the slide, or whatever they need.”
It doesn’t surprise Rand that the defense has matched the offense’s attitude. She sees from the other end of the field how the unselfishness has spread like wildfire.
“One of our main things is assists,” Rand said, “because we know whoever we pass it to, they’re going to score.”
Any coach will say it all starts in the draw circle. Many high school teams will send out the same specialist or two to get the job done.
Broadneck again goes against the norm. The Bruins have seven players taking draws and Kelley doesn’t think the program has ever had a list that long. The numbers don’t lie; the Bruins have outdrawn their opponents 113-49 in seven of those eight games.
“To have the change-up is so valuable. It’s a huge piece of our puzzle,” Kelley said. “... If you change it and mess someone up on it, you have a chance to win it,” Kelley said, “so keeping it unpredictable is a good thing.”