Dramatic OT Win Highlights Park Girls Lax Run

Absent their star player and down three goals in the third quarter against rival Broadneck, Severna Park’s girls lacrosse team needed to look deep for an answer.

They got help from two expected sources and an unlikely third.

Maria Bragg scored four straight goals for the Falcons, the defense smothered Broadneck in the middle third of the field, and Isabella Van Gieson cashed in a rebound with four seconds left in the first overtime period to rescue the game and beat Broadneck 11-10 on April 12.

Broadneck controlled the ball for most of the overtime period but couldn’t find the winning goal. Severna Park took possession with seconds left, and Erin Hussey was unfairly impeded on her way to the goal. The free shot was saved, but Van Gieson was on hand to bury the rebound, then quickly found herself snowed under by a maelstrom of overjoyed teammates.

“I’m just so happy I was there,” Van Gieson said. “I was nervous I was going to not catch it, but I did, and I placed the shot. It took maybe five seconds until everyone tackled me and my goggles came off that I realized we had won.”

Severna Park played long stretches of the game without star senior Alyssa Gore-Chung, who left in the opening minutes with a leg injury and didn’t return until the fourth quarter. She looked limited in returning but scored a go-ahead goal early in the fourth.

Devoid of their best player, the supporting cast stepped up.

“Our whole attack unit is good at redefending and we work really well together. So having someone else push a defender my way, that helps me get the ball back so we can attack again,” said Bragg, who scored a highlight-reel solo goal in which she stole the ball in transition and lobbed the goaltender from nearly 30 yards. “We were really struggling because their drives and cuts were really good in the beginning. At halftime we had to step up, stay marked and stay more together as a unit, and we did.”

The victory was a highlight in Severna Park’s 5-1 run over the last three weeks to end April. The Falcons also beat South River 13-5 and Southern 17-4 in their other county games, and topped Marriotts Ridge 15-8 and Mount de Sales 13-10. The only loss came to Archbishop Spalding, where they fell 14-11.

Now they head into the county playoffs knowing that their biggest goal, repeating as state champions, is in sight. And if they do it, it’s going to be on the strength of a battle-tested unit, on top of offensive firepower.

“Our defense is very adjustable, so I think we all just see what’s going on and make the adjustments in the moment,” Hussey said. “We know that anyone can step up at any moment. We are all fully capable of scoring and being on the redefend. We kept our heads up and we have faith in each other.”