When Garrison Forest eliminated Roland Park from the Association of Independent Schools A Division tournament on Thursday, it not only marked the end of the Reds' five-year reign as champions.
It also marked the beginning of the end for anybody else who stood in the Grizzlies' way.
Yesterday in the AIS championship game against Bryn Mawr, the confident Grizzlies scored two first-half goals, then held off the // Mawrtians down the stretch to preserve a 2-0 victory at St. Paul's School for Girls.
The win gave Garrison Forest (11-0-3) its first title since 1988 and completed an unbeaten season.
"I'm a little relieved," said coach Micul Ann Morse, whose team outshot the Mawrtians 10-3. "[This season] has just been amazing for all of us."
The game was somewhat different from the teams' matchup in early October, when Garrison Forest won, 1-0, but was outplayed and outshot 7-3.
Players said that the Grizzlies have matured as a team since then. Just as big a factor -- if not bigger -- was their newfound
confidence after beating Roland Park.
"It really got us psyched, and we were really ready for this game," said forward Courtney Austin, who led the Grizzlies offense with a goal and an assist yesterday.
"When we played them, it was early in the season, and we've improved a lot since then. We knew we could win this."
Despite Garrison Forest's edge in shots and penalty corners (14-9), the game was fairly even, with each team taking its turn as aggressor.
"I thought it was a good game, but they scored and we didn't take advantage of our scoring opportunities," said Bryn Mawr coach Jeanette Budzik, whose team finished 10-3-1. "I was proud of the way we played."
The Grizzlies took the lead 8:14 into the game when Austin tooa free hit from teammate Tina Schroeter and scored from eight yards in front to make it 1-0.
Austin played an integral role in her team's second goal. With 14 seconds to play before halftime, she got the ball after a penalty corner and passed to Lauren Klein, who scored to make it 2-0.
The goal seemed to demoralize the Bryn Mawr players.
"After the second goal, you realize it's going to be a hard battle," said Budzik, "but I was proud that we didn't let down."
Bryn Mawr played well in the second half, getting eight penalty corners.
The championship is the Grizzlies' fourth since 1984. For Morse, returning 11 players from last year's 6-4-3 team made all the difference.
"We believe strongly that the process of building a team is where you focus all your energy," said Morse. "Today, the results took care of themselves."
* Seton Keough 1, Glenelg Country School 0: Seton Keough got an opportunistic goal from Beth Sokol with 6:20 left in the first half to upset top-seeded Glenelg Country School for the B Division title.
That goal was Seton Keough's last shot of the game. The third-seeded Gators overcame disadvantages of 12-2 in shots and 14-3 in penalty corners to win their first AIS title.
Goalkeeper Celia Ashton had 11 saves, four in the last six minutes.