Mavericks take home all the trophies
Perfection suits St. John’s girls team just fine in the 2014-15 season
When talent and hard work come together, the possibilities are endless.
Look no further than the St. John’s girls lacrosse team, which recently concluded one of the finest seasons in the program’s illustrious history. The Mavericks captured the Texas Girls High School Lacrosse League State Tournament on their own Scotty Caven Field. St. John’s whipped The Woodlands 12-2 in the semifinals and held off Coppell 12-8 in the championship game to finish 21-0, the Mavericks’ first undefeated season since 1998.
A few weeks earlier, St. John’s won the city championship with an 18-8 victory over The Woodlands and added the Southwest Preparatory Conference crown with a 7-5 overtime win over Episcopal School of Dallas in Fort Worth. That gave the Mavericks a clean sweep of the three biggest trophies.
St. John’s head coach Angie Kensinger said there’s a simple formula to the Mavericks’ success, which now includes 11 TGHSLL state titles and 10 SPC championships.
“There’s no question we have some really talented lacrosse players and our depth helped us,” Kensinger said. “But what made this year’s team so special was its work ethic. They put in countless hours on the practice field. They worked very hard to be great.”
In fact, Kensinger ranks this year’s squad among the finest ever.
“We’ve won a lot of titles over the years, but there haven’t been many undefeated seasons,” Kensinger said. “These girls refused to lose.”
St. John’s was tested on several occasions, first sweeping four matches against high-level competition during a spring break tour in Northern California.
“The fact we were able to win all of those games in California gave us a lot of confidence,” Kensinger said.
The toughest match of the season came in the SPC finals, with St. John’s holding off ESD in overtime. “We were ahead 4-1 and let them back into it,” said senior Nell Copeland, who signed with Northwestern University. “We struggled and played probably our worst game of the season. On top of that, we were a little negative. That was unusual for us because our players and coaches always tried to stay positive.”
But championship-caliber teams discover a way to win and St. John’s did exactly that.
“The fact we were able to win when we weren’t at our best was a wake-up call,” noted senior Kendall Bernard, a Washington
and Lee University signee. “We refocused for state and were ready to go. We weren’t going to let that happen to us again.”
The Mavericks dominated The Woodlands to advance to state finals against Coppell, setting up a showdown between unbeaten teams.
The Cowgirls struck first and the game remained close for the first 10 minutes. Holding on to a 4-3 lead, St. John’s scored five straight goals to go ahead 9-5 at the half-time break.
After increasing its advantage to 10-5, Coppell reeled off three goals to pull within three. However, the Mavericks used patient ball control, netting two more goals while allowing only one score.
Junior Lindsey McKone was named most valuable player of the state championship game. McKone posted two goals, two assists, three draw controls and one interception, all coming at crucial moments in the contest.
“Lindsey had a phenomenal game,” Kensinger said. “She’s such a competitor and really helped spark that five-goal run in the first half.”
Seven different players scored goals in the state finals, while five of the goals were assisted.
“This team was so unselfish,” said Nell Copeland. “We had a lot of super stars but we played like a team. If a girl had a shot, she took it. If not, she passed it and was just as happy if a teammate scored. There was no jealousy whatsoever.”
Junior Alice Chambers had a hat trick to lead the offense. Junior Kara Wollmers delivered two goals and an assist, senior Elizabeth Cregan scored a pair of goals and the Copeland sisters, Nell and sophomore Kate, each had a goal and an assist. Senior Jessica Nyquist also managed one goal.
The defensive unit of Nyquist, juniors Kelsey Bing and Gracie Firestone, sophomore Carson Copeland and junior goalkeeper Winnie Brandfield-Harvey held its own against an explosive Coppell attack, while Bernard and junior Mary Pat Patrizi played tirelessly on both ends of the field.
In all, St. John’s had five all-SPC selections – Brandfield-Harvey, Nell Copeland, McKone, Nyquist and Wollmers.
Making the TGHSLL all-state team were Bernard, Brandfield-Harvey, Nell Copeland, McKone and Wollmers.
“It was an unforgettable season,” Kensinger said. “These were wonderful kids. They were so coachable. They made it so easy.”
“Our goal was to win city, conference and state and we did what we set to out to do,” Bernard said. “You never expect to go undefeated, but we won because we got along so well. It was so much fun.”
“Our goal was to win city, conference and state and we did what we set to out to do. You never expect to go undefeated, but we won because we got along so well. It was so much fun.” Kendall Bernard, St. John’s senior