A group of British girls will travel to Hampstead this summer to take part in what local officials hope will be a unique day of lacrosse.
In an event being organized by North Carroll boys lacrosse coach John Piper, the British team, which plans to visit Baltimore and New York to sightsee and play scrimmages, will face a team comprised largely of unheralded county players picked by their coaches July 19 at North Carroll.
Officials also are trying to set up another game that would pit a group of Carroll County all-stars against those from either Howard or Baltimore County. The day also will include a girls lacrosse clinic, held by the U.S. women's team.
Piper became involved in the project through his ties with US Lacrosse.
"I just saw it as an opportunity to maybe do something here in Carroll County - show off the county and show off our kids a little bit," Piper said.
Piper is looking for corporate sponsors to help cover some of the expenses, including T-shirts or jerseys for the players.
"Right now, two games is what I'm hoping for," Piper said. "If I get a lot of support and help, I might actually try to get some rec councils involved to make it an even bigger day of lacrosse."
Patriots earn top seed
Senior Hannah Wike scored a game-high 20 points Tuesday as host Carroll Christian rolled past Capitol Christian, 60-18, to clinch the Maryland Association of Christian Schools regular-season girls basketball title.
The victory earned the Patriots (11-6) the top seed and a first-round bye in next week's MACS tournament. They will open play at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at home against Granite Baptist.
In the meantime, however, the team must deal with a nine-day layoff.
"I'm kind of concerned about that," coach Matthew Reisberg said. "We've been playing extremely well the last two or three weeks. The goal is to start playing well and then peak at the tournament. Now, we're playing well, but we've got nine days off before our next game."
With a win Thursday, the Patriots could end up playing Harford Christian, which handed them their lone conference loss, in Saturday's title game.
Wike, Sarah Shaffer and Courtney Edwards each average between eight and nine points for the team, which already has earned a bid to the Maryland Christian Schools tournament, an invitational that includes powers like Chapelgate and Annapolis Area Christian. The Patriots will be seeded seventh in that tournament, which begins Feb. 27 with a game at Arlington Baptist.
Signings
Westminster senior Bekah Krolus signed a national letter of intent Monday to play field hockey this fall at UMBC. Krolus, a forward, chose the Retrievers over Division III Mary Washington.
"I really liked the team, and it's a chance for me to play Division I hockey," Krolus said. "That's really important to me."
UMBC finished 6-10 last season, but lost just three seniors to graduation.
Also, Francis Scott Key tight end Chris Bassler signed to play for West Virginia, and North Carroll soccer standout Heather Tomko signed to play for Penn State.