After a back-and-forth battle Mt. Hebron edged Centennial earlier in its regular season matchup, and on Wednesday in the opening round of the 3A/2A playoffs, it played out nearly the same exact way.
"Centennial hasn't always been a top tier team or whatever but they always come out and give us a great game. I knew that from the first game we played, because last year we had a good outing against them as well. They have a lot of talented players and we knew that coming in regardless of their ranking," said Mt. Hebron senior attacker, Jordan Stevens after the 9-6 win. "They had a really good strategy last time of holding the ball and really capitalizing on their offensive sets, so we came out with a more pressure defense and we tried to control it a little bit more on the offense. We had little issues with our shots and some turnovers, but we cleaned that up by the second half. But they were a very, very strong team. Up and down, transition, offense and defense, so I'm really proud of how our team came out against it."
Like in the first meeting on April 28, the Eagles came out and dominated possession straight off the draw and then held for lengthy offensive possessions, patiently waiting for their opportunities to the cage. It was a similar start Wednesday, with Centennial getting out in front, 1-0 with a goal by Devin McIntyre about three minutes in.
"The games between Centennial and Mt. Hebron are always tight. We knew with our record this year people were going to sleep on us," said Eagles coach Ellen Johnson. "Both games we played against Hebron we've played better than what we've played all season. I just wish it turned around."
Sorana Larson gave the Vikings the lead with back-to-back goals in the following three minutes. Stevens assisted on the first, tying the game at one with 21 minutes remaining and then Larson finished the second herself, pushing Mt. Hebron ahead, 2-1 with 19:17 left in the first half.
The two teams went back and forth for the remainder of the period. Senior Sam Courtemanche started off a prolific day with her first goal at the 9:02 mark, knotting the score at two after finishing her free position. Erin Demek answered less than two minutes later, as she buried her free position and put the Vikings back up by one.
Megan Oliver tied it again at three, finishing a pass from Peyton Conley with 6:36, but Larson added another one minute later, finishing off a beautiful feed from Stevens coming from behind the cage.
However, Courtemanche answered with more than a minute remaining. She buried a left-handed shot top right corner and tied the game up at 4. Mt. Hebron nearly added another just before the break, but Izzie Chausse (nine saves) came up huge in net, stuffing a point-blank shot from Ellie Miller to end the first half.
"Izzie is an animal. She came out blocking shots left and right. Out of her crease she was playing with so much confidence," Johnson said. "This is probably her third or fourth game ever playing goal. She's maybe had five practices under her belt and she was looking like a college athlete out there. She was killing it."
The Vikings stormed out with more energy in the second half and tallied a goal less than 30 seconds after winning the opening draw. Stevens again was on the assist, this time Meg Pallozzi was on the receiving end, putting Mt. Hebron up, 5-4.
"In the second half we really came together," Stevens said. "We made a lot of little mistakes and that's been our issue the past couple games, ground balls, draw controls and shot placement we've struggled with a lot in the beginning of the game and we've really tried to focus on. We have a good understanding of our offense and defense, just the little things that we need to do to pull together. When we came in at halftime we really talked about we really need to up our energy, come out fearless and that's really what the difference was in the second half, we really rallied together."
The Vikings held onto the advantage for more than 17 minutes before the Eagles countered. Centennial had two prime chances to tack on a few more, as Mt. Hebron was hit with two yellow cards at around the 17-minute mark and 12-minute mark, but the Eagles could not capitalize.
"We weren't able to capitalize on their yellow cards and then when we would get calls on our defensive end, they capitalized and that's what it came down to," Johnson said. "That's definitely something that we are trying to work on but just didn't come through tonight."
Courtemanche gave Centennial its first goal of the second-half with seven minutes remaining, burying her free position and knotting the score at 5. But Mt. Hebron countered with a 3-0 run that ultimately decided the outcome.
"I think we were just a little bit more confident with the ball at the end of the game," said Vikings coach Lindsay Menton. "Not only were we coming up with the ball, but we were in that triple threat position, wanting the ball, taking it down field and being a threat. I always said those comebacks are about playing together and having that team mentality of, 'what's the best for the team right now,' communicating how we're feeling offensively and controlling the pace of the game on defense."
Stevens had tallied three assists already in the outing, but took it upon her self to facilitate Mt. Hebron's cushion. She started the surge with 6:02 left, aggressively attacking the cage and splitting her defenders to take the 6-5 lead. After the Vikings won the ensuing draw, they got it back down to Stevens, who again stayed aggressive and took advantage of her defender en route to her second goal of the game, upping the lead, 8-5 with less than five minutes left.
"In the beginning my shots weren't – I was having a lot of issues with them," Stevens said. "I was hitting Sorana a lot. She was hot with her shots. At halftime when it was 4-4, I was like, 'this is not how I'm going to go out my senior year. This can't be my last game, so I'm just going to step up and turn the energy up.' And I had another assist to Sorana, she had a great game as well and all of our players, we moved a lot better in the second half. That's when I decided to kind of turn it up and start taking on more one-v-ones, because I've been a little more nervous with my dodges, but we all just stepped up the energy. I fed off the energy from everyone else."
Larson tacked on one more to build the Vikings largest lead of the game at 8-6 with three minutes remaining. Johnson immediately called a timeout after Mt. Hebron's third consecutive score.
"We were having déjà vu for a second when it was 8-5," Johnson said, as Centennial fell behind by the same mark in its first outing this season against the Vikings. "I was like, 'we've done this before, let's try and get a different result.' We are proud of ourselves but we really wanted the win today."
Conley added one more goal for the Eagles, but ultimately the deficit was too large with the time remaining.
"I never lost faith," Menton said. "We certainly need to keep it interesting sometimes, but I have my girls back and I know at the end of the day they're going to dig deep and do what they need to do to get the job done."
Larson led all scorers with four goals, followed by Stevens (two goals), Benson (one goal), Demek (one goal) and Pallozzi (one goal). Stevens also totaled three assists in the outing, while Jen Schaaf registered seven saves in net.
"I think she had a great game," Menton said of Stevens. "I think that not only in her contributions of putting the ball in the back of the net, but I think she really stepped up as a leader. Again, we've been talking about communicating how the middies are feeling, setting things up and letting one another know the looks that we want and how we want things set up. I think she really stepped into that role nicely today. We (also) had Laura Radov in on defense in the second half and she played great. She was confident carrying the ball out, going strong and all around just a great team effort I think."
Courtemanche was the catalyst for the Eagles, finishing with three goals, while Conley, McIntyre and Oliver followed with one goal each. Conley also added an assist on the day. Centennial ends its season with a 6-9 overall mark and lose Courtemanche, McIntyre, Oliver, Conley, Chausse and Allie Durkee to graduation.
"We have six seniors, Devin McIntyre, Sam Courtemanche, Izzie – who was an all over the place player for us on attack, on defense, in goal. Peyton and Megan on attack and we also had Allie (Durkee) who started as an attacker, but then really shifted her to a midfield where we needed her and she really stepped up. We're definitely going to miss the seniors but we have a strong junior class," Johnson added. "Laurie Bracey, Maddi Griffin, Ryleigh (Ahearn), Gabby Fairley – they're all coming up and are ready to play. I know they are hungry for next season, especially after losing this game. So we're losing some really good players, but we got some strong ones coming up too."
For the Vikings, their path to states continues with a rematch against Glenelg Friday. Mt. Hebron got the best of the Gladiators the first time around, coming from behind and earning the 10-11 overtime win. However, two-seeded Glenelg will host the third-seeded Vikings this time around.
"Personally I'm really excited because last game I didn't really get to do much… I was face-guarded," Stevens said. "Our team is really pumped up we're going to come out in the second half with the same energy, come in fearless and I mean, it's just a huge game. We can prepare as much as we want but it's about how we come out as a team. It's not about them, it's all about how we come out. It's going to be a great game. I'm really excited for it."
"Again, you talk about that schedule being difficult, but that's exciting for us," Menton added. "You play lacrosse to face good competition and I think Glenelg is a great team and it will only make us better to step up and play them."
Mt. Hebron 9, Centennial 6 (Wednesday, May 11) (3A/2A South, section I: first round)
Goals: MH – Larson 4, Stevens 2, Benson 1, Demek 1, Pallozzi 1; C – Courtemanche 3, Conley 1, McIntyre 1, Oliver 1.
Assists: MH – Stevens 3; C – Conley 1.
Saves: MH – Schaaf 7; C – Chausse 9.
Halftim: 4-4.
River Hill knocks out Hammond in first round playoff matchup
The addition of the new tier system this season affected playoff seeding across the board, as four-seeded Hammond hosted five-seeded River Hill, despite the Hawks getting the best of the Golden Bears, 20-5, early this year.
It was nearly the same outcome Wednesday, with the Hawks handily defeating the Golden Bears, 19-5 to advance on to the second round against two-seeded Atholton Friday in section II of the 3A/2A South region.
"I mean I think we got a little gypped on the draw, but it is what it is and you just got to take it and roll with it," said River Hill coach Kelly Rabil. "We have a big game Friday to look forward to and hopefully a good rematch."
The Hawks got out to an early 13-0 advantage during the heavy rain induced matchup and kept building on the large cushion to start the second half as well.
"Luckily it didn't affect it because we were up, but if there was a circumstance where we needed to call in a play desperately or change up something it was definitely difficult to communicate with the girls because it was loud," Rabil added. "So yeah, (the rain) affects it a lot, your pocket and your play on top of it coaching for sure."
Lexi Thelemann, Gabby Hamburger and Katie Caddigan rattled off three straight goals to push River Hill's lead, 16-0 with 18 minutes left in regulation. Hammond found its first goal with about 15 minutes left, as senior Zoe Pekins put away her first of two goals in the outing.
Megan Mantsch added another for the Golden Bears one minute later, but Julia Smith put an end to the slight 2-0 run, finishing her first of the game with 11 minutes remaining, pushing the Hawks lead, 17-2.
Freshman Jane Ridgell buried two goals in the final eight minutes to cut into the lead, but River Hill remained in control and closed out with the convincing 14-point win.
"The girls learned the importance of learning how to play every day, because we had a chance to beat Meade and we had a chance to beat Glen Burnie and we didn't," said Golden Bears coach Bill Smith. "That moved us from the number-two seed to the number four seed and because of the way it is bracketed that's the number-five seed. (River Hill is) not a number-five seed. But we just have more girls that have played and more athleticism that we had in the past."
Hamburger led the Hawks with six goals and four assists, while Caddigan (four goals, one assist), Devon Filippone (three goals) and Paige Caprara (two goals, two assists) followed offensively. In net, Annie Maloney registered nine saves, while Maddi Craney picked up one stop in relief duty.
Hammond was led by Pekins and Ridgell, as both registered two goals in the outing. Pekins – who also starred on the Golden Bears girls soccer team – ends a prolific varsity career by helping the Golden Bears achieve one of their most successful seasons in nearly 10 years. Pekins will go on and play soccer and lacrosse at UMBC next year.
"She's not one that we can replace," Smith said. "She's made such a big difference. We had Sarah Hemler my first year and she went on and played at UMBC. She was a great influence on the program and now Zoe, it's ironic they're both going to UMBC. She's fantastic on and off the field. I love her and I'm going to miss her."
River Hill 19, Hammond 5 (Wednesday, May 11) (3A/2A South, section II: first round)
Goals: RH – Hamburger 6, Caddigan 4, Filippone 3, Caprara 2, Thelemann 2, Smith 1, Seybold 1; Ha – Ridgell 2, Pekins 2, Mantsh 1.
Assists: RH – Hamburger 4, Caprara 2, Caddigan 1.
Saves: RH – Maloney 9, Craney 1.
Halftime: 13-0.
Other scores:
Winters Mill 15, Reservoir 7 (Wednesday, May 11) (3A/2A South, section I: first round)
The Gators saw their season come to an end Wednesday, as they fell behind to the Falcons early and couldn't climb back for the win.
"We played hard, but didn't start playing as a cohesive team until we had gotten behind by too large to overcome," said first-year Reservoir coach P.J Harrison.
The Gators were led by junior Haley Tiller, who tallied three goals and two assists on the day. Sophomore Elena Martino (two goals), junior Alex Sadzewicz (one goal, one assist), senior Megan Lieb (one goal) and junior Michelle Armstrong (one assist), followed offensively. Junior Elizabeth Hyde totaled six saves in net.
Harrison credited Tiller and Lieb after the game, saying it was their "strongest game of the season tonight." Reservoir will lose Lieb and fellow senior Maria Janush to graduation, but return a strong junior class next season.
The Gators end their 2016 campaign with a 7-6 overall record.
Goals: Re – Tiller 3, Martino 2, Sadzewicz 1, Lieb 1.
Assists: Re – Tiller 2, Sadzewicz 1, Armstrong 1.
Saves: Re – Hyde 6.
Halftime: 7-2 Winters Mill.
Glenelg 20, Oakland Mills 0 (Wednesday, May 11) (3A/2A South, section I: first round)
The two-seeded Gladiators handily defeated the seven-seeded Scorpions Wednesday, 20-0, in the first round of the 3A/2A South section I playoffs.
Oakland Mills ended its season with a 1-12 overall record.
Glenelg will host Mt. Hebron Friday in a battle of two-v-three seed. The Vikings got the best of the visiting Gladiators the first time around, defeating them in overtime, 11-10. The winner of that game will take on the winner of one-seeded Marriotts Ridge and five-seeded Winters Mill, May 16.
Goals: G – Renehan 3, Pagnotta 3, Griffith 2, Stone 2, Malette 2, G. Esmond 2, Scheinburg 1, C. Esmond 1, Giampalmo 1, Callahan 1, Salandra 1, LePage 1.
Assists: G – LeTellier 3, Pagnotta 2, Griffith 2, Salandra 2, O'Brien 1, Giampalmo 1, G. Esmond 1, Stone 1.
Halftime: 17-0 Glenelg.
Wilde Lake 17, Long Reach 1 (Wednesday, May 11) (3A/2A South, section II: first round)
The two-seeded Wildecats knocked off the seven-seeded Lightning Wednesday, advancing to the second round of the 3A/2A section II South region against three-seeded Chesapeake-AA.
Long Reach ended its season with a 1-13 overall record.
Wilde Lake was led by Julia Bohse five goals, while Tess Kostelec followed with three goals and four assists in the outing. Jenna Oler made 10 saves in net.
Goals: WL – Bohse 5, Kostelec 3, Aubin 2, Moore 2, Blair 2, Glaros 1, Nazarova 1, Christopher 1.
Assists: WL – Kostelec 4, Moore 2, Glaros 1, Aubin 1.
Saves: WL – Oler 10.
Halftime: 11-0 Wilde Lake.