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Severna Park’s field hockey tussle with Broadneck was as tense as has become customary.
Both teams tried to grind the game to a halt, and with the score tied 1-1 in overtime, neither side wanted to give the other an opening.
Addy Hill found one, though, catching the Broadneck defense unaware of her movement, and she ghosted into a dangerous position.
Emerson Clarke let a shot fly. Hill’s stick clipped the ball mid-journey, sending it looping just over the defenders. The ball thunked the back wood of the cage.
The next thing Hill saw was a dizzying spiral of navy and gold, as her teammates mobbed her just outside of the Broadneck goal. Though they hadn’t officially clinched it, everyone knew that was the goal that put Severna Park back in the county championship.
Perhaps more importantly, it gave the Falcons the upper hand in their 4A East 1 region race with Crofton, ensuring they would have home field throughout the regional playoffs.
Severna Park got there by ripping off seven straight wins over Annapolis, Crofton, Chesapeake, Broadneck, Southern, Glen Burnie and Arundel. That demonstrated that the monstrous opening schedule — River Hill, Kent Island, Manchester Valley, South River and Notre Dame Prep — paid off in all the ways coach Shannon Garden had hoped.
Though it didn’t pay dividends in the rematch against South River in the county championship, where the Seahawks won 4-1, the Falcons are still right where they hoped to be as the calendar turns to November.
Though they might have to play road warriors in the state rounds, should they advance that far, the Falcons have assured themselves at least two more home games as long as they keep winning.
They open the region tournament by hosting Meade, and should they win, the region final will be played at Severna Park against either Crofton or Severn Run.
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