Isa Torres’ five goals lead No. 11 Glenelg girls lacrosse to 11-8 win over No. 4 Broadneck

Glenelg girls lacrosse knows its recipe for success: win draws, control ground balls and minimize turnovers. Facing last season’s Class 4A state champion Broadneck on Tuesday, those three areas proved pivotal.

With the game tied at 6 early in the second half, a Broadneck pass went awry. Glenelg senior defender Catherine Taylor cleanly scooped up the ground ball, igniting the Gladiators’ transition game. She found a sprinting Isa Torres, who rifled a shot into the back of the net for her third of five goals on the evening.

That goal gave No. 11 Glenelg a lead it never relinquished in an 11-8 victory over the No. 4 Bruins. The Gladiators (3-0) cemented another out-of-county win on a schedule loaded with challenging foes, including Severna Park, Notre Dame Prep and McDonogh.

“It’s huge for their confidence,” Glenelg coach Alex Pagnotta said. “With the culture that we have in place and the culture that’s been instilled and handed down year after year, they know the tradition and expectation. It’s going to be new names taking the field, but the expectation is they fill those shoes and carry on the tradition and that’s what they’re doing. They’re finding their way one game at a time.”

Broadneck (2-1) tied the game less than a minute into the second half as Sienna Miller found herself alone on a breakaway. That momentum was short-lived as the Gladiators again excelled in the middle of the field, winning contested ground balls and pushing the pace. Torres’ goal was quickly followed by one from Sarah Johnson to give Glenelg control.

“Our transition was sloppy, we weren’t great on ground balls and we had to go through many rotations to try to win a draw,” Broadneck coach Katy Kelley said. “If I had to say what the difference was, those would be the three things that were the difference.”

Lilly Kelley scored her second of the game to bring Broadneck back within one, but the Bruins weren’t able to draw even. They had an opportunity to tie the game, but Emily Altshuler stuffed Olivia Orso’s free position opportunity. That was one of several critical saves by the junior late in the second half. On their ensuing possession, Lauren LaPointe pushed the Gladiators’ lead back to two, taking a hard right-handed shot after creating separation from her defender.

“I think it really is a symbol for our team how we’re able to get that next play and the next mindset,” LaPointe said. “We’re really moving forward in the game and we’re all looking at the future, while learning from our mistakes in the past. I think using the goalie to the defense to the midfield to the attack really shows how we have such depth on our team.”

After LaPointe’s goal, Torres continued to control the middle of the field. She extended the Gladiators’ lead to three with 7:21 remaining. Orso brought Broadneck back within two with 3:30 left, but it didn’t get closer. With Broadneck frantically double-teaming Kamryn Henson to try to regain possession, she found a cutting Torres for her fifth goal of the evening, effectively sealing the Gladiators’ victory.

“We work on it in practice,” Torres said. “That one felt pretty good. This is a big win for us. I’m glad it got to be me, but there were so many other plays before it that set me up for that.”

Broadneck struck first as sophomore Cayman Holmes knocked in a deflected pass, but Glenelg was quick to even the game with Grace Brukiewa dodging from behind the net for a goal. Lily Trout gave the Bruins the lead back, but the Gladiators’ offense wasn’t held down for long.

Torres scored her first two goals of the game, the first on a feed from Sarah Johnson and the second on a free position opportunity. Johnson also added a goal of her own for a 4-2 lead. However, Broadneck sophomore goalie Megan Shields made several point-blank saves to keep it a two-goal game and spark the Bruins’ momentum.

Broadneck scored three straight goals in a four-minute span. Lilly Kelley started the spurt with a quick cut in front of the net on a feed from Mary Moore. Lexi Dupcak followed that with a free position goal, while Holmes put the finishing touches on the run with a feed from Trout, giving the Bruins a 5-4 lead with 3:13 remaining in the first half.

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But, Glenelg quickly found its footing once again. LaPointe evened the score with a left-handed wraparound shot and Henson put the Gladiators back on top, 6-5, which remained the score at the break. Shields made eight of her 12 saves in the first half.