Seniors Joan Condron, Katie Wardle and Cassidy Delaney scored early to set the tone and give Marriotts Ridge a 3-0 lead over Atholton Tuesday afternoon. By game's end, 10 different Mustangs netted their shots as the Mustangs won, 16-2, to improve to 9-1 in county play.
Nine seniors on the Marriotts Ridge team were recognized before their final regular season home game.
"The seniors stepped up big," said Marriotts Ridge coach Amanda Brady.
Wardle led her team with three goals and an assist.
"I've never really started this season so starting today felt great," she said. And so did putting the ball in the back of the net.
"We didn't want to come out flat," senior defender Katie Berdy said.
"Our defense held up and played fantastic," Wardle said. "It all started with the defense."
Pressure from the Marriotts Ridge defense did not let Atholton settle into its game. The Raiders scored a season-low two goals. While some turnovers were caused by the Mustangs, others were self-inflicted. Atholton coughed up the ball 16 times in the first half alone.
"We capitalized on Atholton's dropped passes and mistakes, and we were coming up with the 50/50 balls, which we stress in practice," Brady said. "Today we were really focused."
While it is not that unusual to have sisters on the same lacrosse team, this contest had sisters playing against each other. Maddie Courtney is a Marriotts Ridge senior, while her sister Sarah is an Atholton freshman.
Marriotts Ridge 16, Atholton 2
Goals: MR — Katie Wardle 3, Sarah Blalock 2, Lily Kennedy 2, Annalise Lower 2, Caroline Blalock 2, Joan Condron, Cassidy Delaney, Adrianna Mannerelli, Hayleigh Simpson, Emma Stukenberg. A — Rachel Foster, Meaghan Quinn.
Assists: MR — Lily Kennedy 2, Sarah Blalock, Katie Wardle, Caroline Blalock, Emma Stukenberg. A — none.
Saves: MR — Caroline Moore 10. A — Yasi Brewer 10.
Halftime: Marriotts Ridge, 8-0.
Other scores:
Mt. Hebron 5, Glenelg 4
Mt. Hebron clinched at least a share of the county title by edging Glenelg, 5-4, in an unusually low scoring game.
With one game left on the county schedule, Mt. Hebron is undefeated, Marriotts Ridge has one loss and Glenelg has two. This is the programs 23rd county title.
The Vikings and Gladiators have played close games in the recent years, and this one was another thriller.
Glenelg had an eight-meter free position with 1.5 seconds remaining. The Gladiators called a timeout to set up a play that had Courtney Renehan passing the ball to teammate Alayna Pagnotta. Pagnotta's potential game-tying shot hit the pipe.
"It was a game of possessions," said Mt. Hebron coach Trish Derwart. "There were extended possessions and a lot of settled play on both ends of the field."
Jen Giles had two of the Vikings' goals. Sami Smit scored twice for the Gladiators.
The game marked the return of Glenelg goalkeeper Megan Taylor after she tore her ACL in the fall. She was cleared to play Monday and finished the game with eight saves in her season debut.
Gladiators coach Ginger Kincaid said that her team had chances to score in the first half but "nothing was falling."
The two teams could easily meet again in the sectional playoffs, which start next week.
"It will be interesting to see how the seeding shakes out," Derwart said.
Goals: MH — Jen Giles 2, Lexi Arens, Ally Unkenholz, Sorana Larson. G — Sami Smit 2, Anna Callahan, Alayna Pagnotta.
Assists: MH — Jen Giles, Jordan Stevens. G — Sami Smit.
Saves: MH — Jen Schaaf 8. G — Megan Taylor 8.
Halftime: Mt. Hebron, 4-1.
Chapelgate 13, Annapolis Area Christian School 9
Goals: CCA — Jenna Winand 3, Rachel del Carmen 3, Julia del Carmen 3, Katherine Cameron, Abby Heffler, Emma Rufolo, Lexi Taylor. AACS — A. Wadsworth 4, R. Keibuecki 2, B. Wadsworth, M. Anderson, E. Michel.
Assists: CCA — Abby Heffler, Julia del Carmen, Emma Rufolo, Katie Rolewicz.
Saves: CCA — Jasa Curry 11. AACS — E. Fargher 3, K. Kotula 5.
Halftime: Chapelgate, 6-5.
Wilde Lake 22, Oakland Mills 4
Goals: WL — Tess Kostelec 7, Julia Bohse 2, Kike Lawoyin 2, Sarah Moore 2, Anna Haase 2, Vanessa Akoto 2, Woudese Befikadu, Kelsey Diven, Taylor Tobias, Taylor Baird, Nicole Sciabarra. OM — not available.
Assists: WL — Nicole Sciabarra 3, Tess Kostelec 2, Julia Bohse, Anna Haase. OM — not available.
Saves: WL — Jenna Oler 7. OM — not available.
Howard 15, Reservoir 7
Goals: Ho — not available. Re — Michelle Armstrong 3, Haley Tiller 2, Alex Sadzewicz 2.
Assists: Ho — not available. Re — Anna Janush 3, Haley Tiller, Elena Martino.
Saves: Ho — not available. Re — Elizabeth Hyde 8.
Halftime: Howard, 8-5.
Centennial 23, Hammond 5
River Hill 21, Long Reach 7
Monday's games:
Glenelg Country School 17, Mercy 8
Goals: GCS — Hannah Glaros 4, Julia Sheehan 4, Lizzy Rice 4, Alyssa Arnold 2, Carly Costello 2, Megan Hooper. M — M. Grashman 3, H. Workmister 2, K. Howard, C. McDoughn, R. Rumbly.
Assists: GCS — Alyssa Arnold 2, Julia Sheehan 2. K — K. Yeagle.
Saves: GCS — Kelly Layton 10. K — T. Taylor 7.
Halftime: tied: 5-5.
Chapelgate 20, Concordia Prep 8
Goals: CCA — Lindsey Heffler 4, Julia del Carmen 3, Abby Heffler 3, Emma Rufolo 3, Jenna Winand 2, Rachel del Carmen 2, Katherine Cameron, Katie Rolewicz, Heidi Griesbach. CP — K. Woolsey 5, A. Clay, K. Richter, J. Gregory.
Assists: CCA — Julia del Carmen 2, Emma Rufolo 2, Casey Garlic
Saves: CCA — Jasa Curry 5. CP — A. Bott 10.
Standings (as of April 28):
Mt. Hebron, 10-0 county, 12-1 overall
Marriotts Ridge, 9-1, 11-1
Glenelg, 8-2, 11-2
Howard, 7-3, 10-3
Centennial, 7-3, 7-3
Reservoir, 5-5, 7-6
Atholton, 5-5, 5-5
River Hill, 3-7, 4-8
Wilde Lake, 3-7, 3-9
Hammond, 1-8, 2-9
Long Reach, 1-8, 1-8
Oakland Mills, 0-10, 0-11
Glenelg Country, 10-1 (IAAM B), 10-3
Chapelgate, 7-6 (IAAM C), 8-6