Patterson Mill brought a young and gutsy team to the state Class 1A semifinals. Unfortunately for the Huskies, they ran into the team they are trying to become.
Queen Anne’s used an aggressive offense and great passing to defeat the Huskies, 3-0, and end Patterson Mill’s season.
Queen Anne’s will take on Liberty, a 5-1 winner over Patuxent, in the Class 1A state championship. That game will beplayed Saturday at 11 a.m., at Washington College in Chestertown.
Patterson Mill carried only two seniors on their team, while Queen Anne’s featured a team dominated by seniors and juniors. As so often happens in championship tournaments, that experience began to show, in this case midway through the first half.
“We are a young team, and we made our shareof mistakes,” Patterson Mill coach Shannon Swinscoe said. “I thought we had the ball for a lot of the game, but we weren’t very efficient with it. We didn’t take as many shots as we needed to.”
Patterson Mill had some early chances, but couldn’t put consistent pressure on Queen Anne’s. The Lions, who suffered only one defeat and one tie in the regular season, gradually began to take control.
After several close shaves, the Lions finally got on the board midway through the first half. Queen Anne’s midfielder Gabrielle Corder dribbled to the top of the circle and fired a low, hard shot. The try was tipped by the Lions' Sara Walford just to the right of Patterson Mill goalie Grace Baltimore, and it found the bottom of the cage, giving Queen Anne’s a 1-0 lead with 14:43 left in the first half.
The Lions widened their lead just before halftime. After dribbling in from the left of the cage, Kaitlin Karns lifted a shot that went just over Baltimore’s leg to give Queen Anne’s a 2-0 lead with four minutes left in the first half.
The second half was a little more balanced, and the Huskies saw a few opportunities come their way. With 24:31 left, Patterson Mill almost scored on a Julia Frankis corner, but Queen Anne’s goalie Emily Lanehart was equal to the task and made her only save of the night. Another shot by Frankis with 17:27 was blocked by a defender as it was headed for the open cage.
Perhaps the Huskies' best chance to score came with 3:28 remaining. After a pass near the top of the circle, a shot by Julianne Gabor trickled just wide of the cage.
The Lions closed out the scoring with 56 seconds left, when McKenna Blick scored on a rebound off of Baltimore’s blocker.
Frankis admitted it was hard not to advance, but says the Huskies will make the most of this opportunity.
“It was a great experience with a great group of girls,” said Frankis, a freshman. “I thought we played well, but there’s lots of room for improvement. They were a great team, andthey knew where to be. That will be us next year.”
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Class 1A State Semifinals
(at Broadneck)
Queen Anne’s 3, PattersonMill 0
Goals: QA – Walford, Karns, Blick. Assists:QA – Corder. Saves: PM – Baltimore, 6; QA – Lanehart 1. Halftime: QA, 2-0.