Severna Park Girls Lax Off To Hot Start

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If one were to build a lacrosse team from scratch, the wish list might read something like this: an experienced defense, midfield speed, multiple offensive threats, depth, strong goalie play.

Watching the Severna Park girls lacrosse team? Check, check, check, check, check.

It remains to be seen how fully the Falcons can breathe life into their on-paper assets, but Severna Park took a positive first step in realizing its 2019 potential with a 9-8 victory over Interscholastic Athletics Association of Maryland A Conference opponent St. Mary’s in Annapolis on March 25.

Hunter Chadwick led all scorers with four goals, while Alex Miller and Maddy Brady scored two goals each and Julia Putzi added a score. Delaney Ott anchored a mostly stout defensive performance for the Falcons with 10 saves.

Bryce Pfundstein led St. Mary’s with three goals. Gracie Driggs scored two goals, and Maggie Aumiller, Grayson McKenzie and Rosie Davis added scores. Jo Torres made 8 saves.

Severna Park thwarted a late Saints rally to win this year’s edition of a mini-rivalry that has yielded productive gameplay for both programs over the years.

“St. Mary’s is always a huge game for us,” said Severna Park coach Kaitlyn Hines, whose Falcons lost last year’s matchup, 11-10. “Any of our private school teams that we play, it’s usually some good competition.”

Severna Park moved to 3-0 with an 8-4 win over Severn on March 30. Miller and Hailey Betch had two goals each, while Theresa Bragg, Gen Mullervy, Rachel Spilker and Brady all scored in the victory over the Admirals, who got scores from Eva Gormley, Katie Galloway, Bella Lynch and Samantha Vangieson.

Purchase high-resolution prints and downloads of photos in this gallery. Photos by Colin Murphy

Against the Saints, the Falcons got out to an early lead on the strength of Miller’s draw control and first-half scores by Miller, Brady and Chadwick.

Severna Park stretched the lead to 9-5 in the second half and held the St. Mary’s offense scoreless for over 10 minutes.

Defensively, the back-line unit of seniors Hailey Blachly and Kate Bray, junior Sophie Grazoli and sophomore Kaila Stasuli and had the Saints’ offense well-contained, and St. Mary’s struggled to open up driving and passing lanes toward the goal. Bray led the team with five caused turnovers.

“All of our slides were there,” said Bray. “We are really fast, so we were able to get those doubles and stop their drives.”

When relied upon, Ott stepped up, seeing the ball cleanly and coming up with save after save to end St. Mary’s possessions and turn the ball back over to her offense.

“I was saying at the very beginning, it was a battle of the goalies,” said Hines. “Both these goalies are crazy talented, and Delaney really stepped it up for us, just making phenomenal saves,” said Hines.

Ott said her team played well to put her in a good position to make saves: “I think our defense is really fast, so that’s one of our strengths, and we played pretty well this game just sitting down, keeping them out and keeping them scoreless for a while,” she said.

The Falcons’ effort was further bolstered by its deep and experienced midfield unit. Spilker, Cam Chew, freshman Bragg and the Falcon midfielders hounded the Saints on the defensive end, were fast to every ground ball and transitioned quickly to offense.

“Midfield, we definitely have a lot of speed,” said Hines. “I also think our depth is a strength. I have 12 players on the field and then a whole bench that could really go on and step up at any moment and play just as strong. That’s a good thing and bad thing for me because I’ve got to figure out how to get all this talent on the field.”

The defense had held St. Mary’s to just five goals with under eight minutes to play, but the Saints chipped away to pull within a goal with under two minutes. The Falcons, though, controlled the final draw and killed off two minutes of clock to secure the win, with Chadwick circling the field and eluding the Saints’ checks.

There is a lot of lacrosse to play in the next two and a half months. Broadneck and reigning 4A state champion South River will have their say in the 4A East.

Bray and Ott were reluctant to trumpet lofty goals for the season, instead saying the Falcons are focused on the here and now.

“It is one game at a time,” said Bray. “We are just going to work on our defense and our offense and getting stronger.”

Purchase high-resolution prints and downloads of photos in this gallery. Photos by Colin Murphy

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