Although Howard made a valiant comeback effort, the Lions lost to Class 4A/3A defending state champion Severna Park, 16-14, in Saturday's state semifinals.
Howard was the county's last girls lacrosse team still in the playoffs.
Jenny Kinsey's 8-meter free position shot put Howard on the scoreboard first, then Severna Park took control of the game primarily by capitalizing on Howard turnovers. The Falcons also benefitted from a good effort by keeper Ellie Harmeyer in keeping Howard off balance.
"It was like we had to shake off the cobwebs in the first half," said Howard coach Alleesha Davidson.
Severna Park led, 8-4, at the half and upped its advantage to 10-4 before Howard gathered itself and got back in the game.
Howard's players started connecting on their passes and cutting down their turnovers. They also began to use their speed to their advantage by going right to goal. Soon, the Lions trailed, 13-10, and then, 15-14. That's as close as the team would get, however.
"When we get into a rhythm, we are difficult to stop," said Davidson. "The first half, I felt we were not in sync. We've done that all year long — playing one half — and all year long I've said I feel sorry for the other team if we ever put two halves of lacrosse together."
Howard's comeback, which was bolstered by goals by Kinsey, Grace Regal, Ella Orzechowski, Catherine Sims and Jess Vetter caught Severna Park a little off guard.
"My girls played with a lot of heart, and they really, really played as a team," Davidson said. "They gave everything they had and you couldn't ask for anything more as a coach."
"The game was a lot closer than we expected," said Severna Park's Laura Miller. "We have such a hard county, I think we come into playoffs expecting to get right to states."
The Falcons will be making their 15th trip to the state finals, where they have a 12-3 record.
Howard has reached the state semifinals twice in the last four years, which has been a turning point for Howard's lacrosse program. The Lions' 14-4 record is the best in school history, and it has been a team effort.
"Every person has their own individual role which leads our team to do the best it can," said Savje, a four-year varsity player. "Team chemistry is what as made us so successful."
The Lions will graduate seven players — Savje, Sims, Rosie O'Connor, Ellie Graef, Lauren Ferraro, Allyson Sloan and Elysse Kimmel — but the team will return a solid foundation to build upon.
"I hope that we've put our name out (there), and people know who we are now because we have put so much time in this season and in the off-season," said Sims, also a four-year varsity player.
Severna Park 16, Howard 14
Goals: SP — Eva Klaus 5, Laura Milleker 4, Lauren DuVall 2, Brooke Stein 2, Sarah Elms, Claire Domshick, Angelica Jensen. Ho — Jenny Kinsey 3, Ella Orzechowski 3, Kelsey Savje 2, Grace Regal 2, Jess Vetter 2, Katie Schluederberg, Catherine Sims.
Assists: SP — Laura Milleker 2, Angelica Jensen, Annie Echeverria. Ho — Grace Regal, Katie Martin.
Saves: SP — Ellie Harmeyer 9. Ho — Sam Sagi 11.
Halftime: Severna Park, 8-4.