Girls lacrosse: Marriotts Ridge hands Mt. Hebron first county loss

For all the dodges, slides, groundball pickups and body checks, the most important thing in girls lacrosse is the draw.

Control the draw and you can control the game, and that's what Marriotts Ridge did in defeating Mt. Hebron, 12-6, on Tuesday.

The victory leaves Marriotts Ridge as the only undefeated team in Howard County league competition, and puts the Mustangs in the frontrunner position to win the county title. Mt. Hebron, which now has one county loss,

"Draw control is critical, especially with our team," said Marriotts Ridge's Maggie Brooks, who scored four goals for the Mustangs. "They were the most important goals I've scored all year," she said.

"Maggie is a great player but she usually doesn't have this kind of game," said teammate Zoe Stukenberg. "We needed her to step up and she stepped up."

Mt. Hebron, which led, 4-2, at the half, had few scoring opportunities in the second half.

"We struggled in the second half and we couldn't get the draw," said Mt. Hebron coach Trish Derwart-Sullivan.

Marriotts Ridge dominated the second-half draw, 11-2.

With Stukenberg (four goals) sparking the play the Mustangs opened the second half with a 5-0 scoring burst.

Nicole Grote had four assists to feed the Mustangs' attack in the game

"In the first half we weren't doing what we do best. We were tense, we were clogged on offense, we were letting (Mt. Hebron) spread us out on defense and our shots weren't falling. Nothing was going right," Stukenberg said. "In the second half, we told ourselves to go out and play 7s, like in practice."

"I told them to get out there and take risks, you have nothing to lose," said Marriotts Ridge coach Natalie Gaieski.

As the Mustangs kept scoring, their confidence soared.

"The way that we played in the second half showed that we deserved to win, but Hebron gave us a fight - one of the best of the season," Brooks said.

"We definitely gave it our all," said Mt. Hebron defender Jessica Czulewicz, "I'm proud of us, we played well."

But constantly playing defense is tiring especially with the need to double team to try to get the ball back.

"We did not let up," Stukenberg said. "Hebron is our rival, we respect them, so we're going to play our hardest until the end because we know that they are."

Mt. Hebron and Marriotts Ridge, both located off Rt. 99, are huge rivals in lacrosse, and that fueled some of Mt. Hebron's frustration in losing the game.

"We didn't step up like we needed to. We kind of hit a ceiling," Derwart-Sullivan said. "We didn't play like Hebron can play and that's what leaves the kids with the greatest frustration because they are walking off the field knowing that they are better players" than they showed.

The two teams could meet again in the regional playoffs.

Goals: MR - Brooks 4, Stukenberg 4, Hensh 2, Grote, Davey. MH - Brookhart 3, Schwartz 2, Kelehan.

Assists: MR - Grote 4, Davey, Hensh. MH - Giles 3.

Saves: MH - R. Ortell 3. MH - Fisher 12.

Halftime: Mt. Hebron, 4-2.

Glenelg 17, Long Reach 4

Goals: G - Vandewall 3, Guthrie 3, Russo 2, Asher 2, Blonchek 2, Milani, Perry, Lutts, Gochar, Powers. LR - Miller 3, Sanders.

Assists: G - Russo 3, Guthrie 2, Parker, Asher, Blonchek. LR - Sanders.

Saves: G - Quinn 4, Taylor 2. LR - Bates 6.

Halftime: Glenelg, 12-0.

Atholton 20, Oakland Mills 9

Goals: A - Hart 5, Shaw 3, Day 3, Matthews 3, Brewer, Berman, B. Weinberg, Patillo, A. Weinberg, Powell. OM - N. Twardowicz 6, J. Twardowicz 2, Slaughter.

Saves: A - not available. OM - Daniel 7, Worrell 5.

Reservoir 15, Hammond 8

Goals: Re – Monroe 5, Westermeyer 5, Janush 2, Armstrong, Tiller, Raymond. Ha – Morgan 3, McCartney 2, Kennedy, Robey, Sparling.

Assists: Re – Monroe 2, Janush 2, DeLong, Westermeyer.

Saves: Re – Warrick 8. Ha – not available.

Centennial 17, Wilde Lake 3

Howard 15, South Carroll 10