The Mount Hebron girls lacrosse team spent much of its recent spring break practicing and preparing. The Vikings wanted to be ready for their tough games ahead, especially Thursday's matchup with rival Marriotts Ridge.
That hard work paid off. Jen Giles scored all four of her goals in the first half as visiting No. 4 Mount Hebron jumped in front early and held off a late rally from the No. 7 Mustangs in a 9-7 victory in Howard County play.
The Vikings (5-0, 3-0) took command early. They scored five of the game's first six goals, dominated play in the first half and never trailed. They stretched their lead to five goals twice in the second half, enough to withstand a surge from Marriotts Ridge (4-1, 2-1) in the closing minutes.
"We just completely prepared ourselves mentally for this game," Mount Hebron attacker Jordan Stevens said. "It was exciting. This is the game I look forward to all year."
Stevens had two goals and an assist, with both scores coming in the first half. The Mustangs couldn't find many scoring chances in those first 25 minutes, hurt by an inability to gain possession and move the ball from defense to offense fast enough.
Mount Hebron's defense was another challenge. The Vikings, led by Meghan Doherty, Nia Crump and Megan Pallozzi, clamped down on Marriotts Ridge, especially inside the 8-meter arc. The Mustangs rarely connected on passes close to goal in the first half, and when they did get off shots, goalie Jen Schaaf (six saves) often stepped up.
"In the first half, we were playing a really clean game," Mount Hebron coach Trish Derwart said. "They played very solid defense, especially in the first half."
Stevens opened the game's scoring after a quick move from the back of the cage 3:40 into the game. Giles made it 2-0 just under nine minutes in.
Stevens stretched the lead to 3-0, beating Marriotts Ridge goalie Caroline Moore (eight saves) high on a free-position shot with 11:42 remaining in the first half. Caroline Blalock answered for the Mustangs 56 seconds later to make it 3-1.
After that, Giles scored two straight goals. Her diving shot with 8:31 left gave the Vikings a 4-1 edge, and she followed with a free-position shot 94 seconds later that stretched the margin to four goals.
Lexi Souder scored the first of her three goals for Marriotts Ridge before Giles struck again on a free-position shot with 1:24 left for the 6-2 halftime lead.
"We wanted to come out strong and show them this isn't going to be an easy game they can win," Giles said. "We just try and play with ease and play with confidence."
The Mustangs shook that confidence some when their offense finally came to life in the second half. Marriotts Ridge coach Amanda Brady said her team's offense has started slowly a few times already this season, and she thought it went well into the second half before clicking.
Mount Hebron scored two of the first three goals after halftime for an 8-3 lead with just over 13 minutes left. The Mustangs then began to rally, starting with Souder's third goal of the game with 11:59 remaining.
Sarah Blalock sliced the lead to 8-5 before Cammy Case answered for Mount Hebron with just under five minutes to go. Annalise Lower and Emma Stukenberg then scored Mustangs goals 47 seconds apart, making it 9-7 with 3:03 left.
But Mount Hebron kept the ball for most of the final minutes, except for one late turnover, and the rally ended.
"It took us almost 40 minutes to get going on offense," Brady said. "I just feel like we didn't have the opportunities" on offense.
Fifteen Vikings turnovers in the second half surely helped, but Mount Hebron's Giles and Derwart said it was important that the team ultimately did not crack.
"We were still able to pull out a win," Derwart said. "We were able to hold on. This rivalry is something we love and embrace."