Glenelg Country starts fast, stings Notre Dame Prep

After graduating four All-Metro players from last year’s Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference runner-up, it might have been natural for the Glenelg Country girls lacrosse team to approach this season with slightly muted expectations.

As the Dragons showed Notre Dame Prep on Tuesday, however, their expectations continue to be quite lofty — and for good reason.

Host No. 7 Glenelg Country, which entered this season ranked No. 7 nationally in the ILWomen Top 25, came out ready to quiet any doubters, scoring the game’s first six goals and riding a seven-goal performance by senior Regan Byrne to a 15-5 win over No. 9 Notre Dame Prep.

“We obviously graduated great players, but those players taught these [younger] players how to come to practice, what to do at practice, and how to set the tone,” Dragons coach Paige Walton said. “Now, they’re playing with confidence.”

Glenelg Country (2-0 overall, 2-0 A Conference) used an efficient offense, which also included key contributions from midfielder Maggie Flanagan (3 goals, assist), attack Lilly Fortin (2 goals, assist) and attack Jess Doreen (3 assists) to build an 8-1 lead by early in the second half.

Byrne was the key, consistently finishing at the offensive end. The senior, who had practiced just three times after recovering from a non-sports-related surgery that kept her out during much of the preseason, said her team is starting to jell, even as she works herself back into playing shape.

“I was cleared last Wednesday, so I’m just trying to do everything I can to build up my strength,” said Byrne, who along with sister Blair Byrne will play for Clemson next season. “I think we’re trying to learn how to jell with each other, and we’re just taking it one game at a time. … By us jumping out and scoring a bunch of goals, I think it just showed that we’re really confident as a team.”

Once staked with a lead, Glenelg Country’s defense kept that advantage.

Despite losing draw controls by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, the Dragons consistently made stops at the defensive end, with seniors Ashley Dyer, Cate O’Ferrall and Julia Dustin time and again forcing turnovers, and junior goalie Natalie Eastwood (South Florida) coming up with several point-blank saves.

“Our defense came up with some huge knockdowns, interceptions and ground balls,” Walton said. “If we’re not getting it off the draw, our defense can make the stop and bring it up to our attack, and our attack can finish.”

The game was a letdown for Notre Dame Prep (3-1, 2-1), which opened the season with three straight wins, including consecutive one-goal victories over Bryn Mawr and Good Counsel.

NDP coach Mac Ford credited the Dragons’ defense.

“They were playing pressure … making it tough to pass the ball. They were coming out, and our girls just didn’t handle it well,” Ford said. “We dominated draws, but it’s really unfortunate that the girls just didn’t show up offensively. They weren’t doing anything new that we didn’t expect. They just played better than we did.”

Other girls lacrosse scores

Southern 14, North County 5: Any doubts Southern might’ve had about what graduation loses would mean for its offense melted down by halftime and sunk into the earth by the final whistle.

Coach Cortney Yeatman beamed as her Bulldogs, a mix of returning juniors and seniors and first-year varsity hopefuls, walked away with a blowout over North County, 14-5, on Anne Arundel County’s spring season opening day.

“We looked amazing,” Yeatman said. “We looked like we’d been playing together for a long time.”

Graduation turnover can spell doom for a small school like Southern. The Bulldogs typically always carry a handful of talented players, but brewing team chemistry year to year with the smallest pool in the county to pick from is tough.

But offseason and preseason work paid off — that, and a crop of talented players who competed together for years on the recreational side. Junior Emmie Mudd proved just how ready she was to step into the sun scoring six goals, three in each half.

But, she didn’t have to shoulder anything alone. Most of the Bulldog goals had seniors Lia Huggins’ or Jordan Wheeler’s stamp on them. The latter pulled many of Southern’s 14 draw controls and helping secure 50-50 ground balls.

Add three assists from Grace Nash, who’d never played a varsity game until Tuesday, as well as eight saves by Abby Wallis, who’d taken over the starting goalkeeping role in her first varsity game.

“You could really tell that the girls put in so much work before this game,” Mudd said.

— Katherine Fominykh

Eastern Tech 14, Aberdeen 4

Dulaney 14, Harford Tech 3

Patterson Mill 20, North East 1

North Harford 24, Rising Sun 2

Towson 15, Bel Air 7

John Carroll 12, Severn 6

Century 16, Catonsville 4

Liberty 20, Catoctin 0

Manchester Valley 23, Franklin 3

South Carroll 16, Linganore 11 Westminster 20, C. Milton Wright 13 Chesapeake-AA 16, Oakland Mills 5

Mt. Hebron 12, South River 6

Long Reach 16, Northeast 8

Centennial 9, Atholton 3

Howard 11, River Hill 10

Glenelg 13, Severna Park 10

Fellowship of Christian Athletes 12, Indian Creek 7

Arundel 16, Annapolis 7

AACS 16, Beth Tfiloh 10

Garrison Forest 11, Mercy 9

Boys lacrosse

John Carroll 8, Fallston 7, OT: Don Reynolds called it a character win. He was proud to watch his John Carroll team thrust into adverse situations, one after another, and gracefully handle each.

“Everything that we try to do with our guys is about the next play,” he said. “These are young men and we’re playing a kids’ game. We try not to make it bigger than what it is . ... The biggest thing you’re trying to teach kids is to be able to go through a moment like that and go to the next moment. Not just sit there and sulk.”

The way John Carroll responded in those moments helped the Patriots improve to 2-0 after closing an 8-7 overtime win against Fallston — a game that repeatedly looked like theirs to lose.

Patriots attacker Collin Thomson put home the decisive goal with 44.5 seconds left in overtime. He deservedly highstepped his way toward the sideline in celebration after watching his fair share of shots ping off the iron or go wayward most of the night.

Thomson tallied a hat trick, good for a team best. Midfielder Logan Boltz added two more. Senior Connor Coolahan mustered 14 saves in net.

— Sam Cohn

Loyola Blakefield 11, Western Reserve (Ohio) 10, 3OT

St. Paul’s 13, Hill Academy (Pa.) 4 McDonogh 11, Haverford (Pa.) 5 Annapolis Area Christian 12, Key School 5 Howard 6, River Hill 3

Broadneck 15, Marriotts Ridge 3 Southern 11, North County 6

South River 13, Mt. Hebron 6

Chesapeake 16, Oakland Mills 2 Smithsburg 15, Francis Scott Key 2 Arundel 10, Annapolis 3

Havre de Grace 14, Park School 3 Westminster 6, C. Milton Wright 5

Baseball

Hereford 3, Towson 0 Lansdowne 13, Loch Raven 1 Carver A&T 13, Chesapeake-BC 1 Sparrows Point 10, Franklin 7 Eastern Tech 8, Catonsville 6 Pikesville 3, Dundalk 1 Randallstown 12, Kenwood 2 Perry Hall 5, Dulaney 0

North Harford 24, Edgewood 7 Patterson Mill 8, Aberdeen 2 Reservoir 2, Marriotts Ridge 1 Centennial 6, Wilde Lake 2

River Hill 8, Mt. Hebron 2

Long Reach 7, Howard 4

St. Paul’s 14, St. Mary’s 7

Arundel 11, South River 1

Glen Burnie 7, Poly 5

Key 4, Concordia 1

North County 25, Westminster 3 Century 12, Bel Air 3

Softball

Fallston 6, Elkton 0

North Harford 16, Edgewood 3 Joppatowne 15, Poly 14

John Carroll 4, Harford Tech 3 C. Milton Wright 3, Bel Air 1 Eastern Tech 10, Franklin 0

Perry Hall 13, Dundalk 2

Towson 12, Hereford 1 Catonsville 12, Sparrows Point 11 Westminster 11, North County 9 Thomas Johnson 8, Liberty 1 Wilde Lake 20, Centennial 4 Long Reach 4, Howard 1 Reservoir 7, Marriotts Ridge 1 River Hill 8, Mt. Hebron 5 Atholton 20, Hammond 2