Night or day, neutral site or at the other team's place, it just doesn't matter: When it comes to the Anne Arundel field hockey championship game, it's always all Severna Park.
Yesterday afternoon at South River, the No. 7-ranked Falcons were sturdy on defense early and efficient on offense late, coming away with a convincing 4-1 statement win over the No. 10 Seahawks.
The Falcons (11-1-2) are a perfect 8-for-8 since the county championship game came into being in 1995, and they have been declared county champs 24 out of the 25 years field hockey has been played in Anne Arundel.
Sophomore Kellie West and junior Lauren Maranto were the latest to lead the way. West scored twice, and Maranto dominated in the back, also adding a pivotal second-half goal.
It was the same-old, same-old with a lot of new. The Falcons start four sophomores this season, having graduated 11 seniors this spring.
"It's awesome because we lost so many starters, and to know we can step up to that level feels good," said Maranto, who also assisted on one of West's goals. "[South River] is our top competitor, so we were fired up to come out and play them. They were tough, but we just capitalized on our chances."
The game, originally set for 7:15 p.m. Thursday at North County, was pushed to yesterday because of the daylight provisions the county put in place because of the Washington-area sniper.
The teams came in with identical 10-0 county marks, but the Seahawks (11-2) got to be host because they had more overall wins. All it meant was a happy bus ride home for the Falcons.
The difference was in penalty corners; the Falcons had half the chances but were three times as efficient, scoring twice on their six chances while a third goal was set up by a penalty corner.
The pivotal goal came from Maranto, a clean hit from inside the circle midway through the second half and just one minute after the Seahawks pulled within 2-1 on a goal from Tina Earley.
"Lauren does it all the time. You can't see the ball from when it comes off her stick to hitting the back of the cage," said Severna Park coach Lil Shelton.
The Seahawks had their chances, particularly in the first half when they clearly outplayed the Falcons, but couldn't get the all-important first goal.
"It's the same problem we've been having all season, we're getting into the circle but we can't finish," said South River coach Laura Hoffner. "It was a big letdown. I'm a positive person but I don't have anything positive to say. I'm very upset and embarrassed because I expected my team to play better."