No. 1 McDonogh defeated host No. 4 Mount Hebron, 15-4, on Saturday, extending its winning streak to 139 games.
"I thought [Mount Hebron] played really, really hard even when they were down seven or eight goals. They were fighting for every single ground ball. What I liked was that our kids matched that intensity," McDonogh coach Chris Robinson said. "When they picked up the intensity, we picked it up even more and I really liked that for our kids. I also thought some of our young kids played really well today."
The Eagles quickly opened a two-goal advantage after Savannah Buchanan and Blair Kessler scored within the first two minutes. The Vikings played defense for most of the match with McDonogh dominating possession.
However, after the Eagles won the ensuing draw, Mount Hebron stood its ground defensively and forced a turnover that led to its first goal. Megan Pallozzi finished the free position from the center hash, cutting the Vikings' deficit to 3-1. Lexi Arens added another less than one minute later, as she buried her free position and got Mount Hebron within one. But it was the closest the Vikings got. McDonogh finished the half on a 6-0 run and led 9-2 at the half.
"I don't think that score reflected the level of play in this game. Both teams were fighting hard on both ends," Mount Hebron coach Lindsay Menton said. "I think it just came down to a game of possession, and at times we were just beating ourselves. ... Losing builds character and that's an awesome team, No. 1 in the nation for a reason. So I think the good thing about today is that we learned a lot as a team. We can take that moving forward."
The Vikings slowed the Eagles in the second half but couldn't capitalize on opportunities on the offensive end. After registering just four shots on net in the first half, Mount Hebron had 10 in the second.
"We definitely thought we had a lot more depth and could force the tempo against them," Robinson said.
Catie May and Julia Dorsey pushed McDonogh's cushion to nine before Erin Demek scored the Vikings' third goal. Arens followed it up nearly 10 minutes later, adding her second goal of the game and cutting the score to 11-4 with 9:10 remaining. But the Eagles finished the last nine minutes with a 4-0 run.
Dorsey led all scorers with three goals, while Blair Pearre, Anna Robinson and Andie Aldave each had two goals apiece for McDonogh.
But the biggest difference-maker was Maddie Jenner on the draw, as she was able to win it to herself on multiple occasions, helping to give the Eagles possession for the majority of the contest. Jenner finished with six draw control wins, Aldave had two and Buchanan, Pearre and Caroline Muller scored one each.
"Maddie is incredible at it, but the kids on the circle too, Andie Aldave, Savannah Buchanan, really did a good job off that, too," Robinson said. "It's not just Maddie, but Maddie is special. She is a special player."
For the Vikings, Arens led the way with two goals, while Jen Schaaf played big in net. The junior finished with eight saves – six of which came in the second half.
"We just got her some more shots at halftime. I do think today we did have some of our best team defense that we've seen in a while, even in the first half when they scored a lot. I think we were communicating well through those slides," Menton said. "And I agree, I think Jen really turned it on in the second half, and in this game it made a big difference."
McDonogh's next test is at home against Mount de Sales on Monday, while the Vikings dive into the bulk of their schedule this week, starting with Severna Park.
"I think it's kind of like our schedule this year. Why shy away from it, from that high level of competition? Because that's what we aspire to be and it helps us get better," Menton said. "I told the girls to make sure to hold their heads high because you know what, we have another big game again Wednesday with Severna Park.
"You can't win them all, so we're just going to take what we can from this game and keep moving forward."