Manchester Valley goalie Kate Brewster made her first save just seconds into the Class 2A-1A state girls lacrosse final Tuesday, setting the stage for everything to come.
Brewster made all four of her saves in the first 12 minutes to help spark a nine-goal opening run that powered the No. 2 Mavericks to their second straight state championship, 16-5, over Queen Anne's at Stevenson University in Owings Mills.
The Mavericks (19-0) have held 14 opponents to five or fewer goals and the defensive unit, led by Morgan Hoff, Sami Chenoweth, Rosalia Cappadora and Laurel George, stifled a Queen Anne's attack that had not been held below nine goals all season and averaged 14.5.
"I definitely think the first save really sets the mojo for our team," Brewster, a sophomore, said, "and it really got our momentum going after that save. I just think that our defense did really well with the save and … clearing it out and I really think it set the tone for the rest of the game."
After that save, the Mavericks, who have won 37 of their last 38 games, reeled off four straight goals before the Lions (15-4) had another possession. Maryland-bound junior midfielder Lizzie Colson scored two of her five goals during the run while Allie Little and Stephanie Colson scored one each.
That was just the start as the Mavericks pushed their lead to 9-0 on three straight Little goals late in the half. The Lions turned the ball over six times in that run and they finished with 20 turnovers — nine of them unforced.
The Mavericks held Queen Anne's leading scorer Kallie German, who had 65 goals and 44 assists, to just three assists. The 5-foot-10 senior had six goals and five assists in the first half of the 17-4 semifinal win over Loch Raven Friday, but the Mavericks held her without a goal by switching from face guarding her to playing her straight up man-to-man.
"I think this year they had a lot more chemistry," said German, whose Lions fell to Manchester Valley, 9-8, in last year's state semifinal. "They wanted it a lot. I think they had a little confidence from getting to win it last year. … This is our first year, as a senior, getting to play in a stadium like this and an atmosphere like this. This isn't new to them and it was kind of new to us."
The Lions cut the lead to 9-2 late in the first half when German fed Taylor Blick and Hanna Scott fed Madison Ascione, but Little hit Taylor Carhart for a buzzer beater to keep Queen Anne's from going into the break with the momentum. Beanie Colson, Lizzie Colson and Carhart scored the first three goals of the second half for a 13-2 lead with 12:24 to go.
Manchester Valley's speed was too much for the Lions to handle, especially through the midfield, where the Mavericks were 13-for-13 on clears while the Lions managed to successfully clear just seven of 18 attempts.
"Their speed is exceptional," Lions coach Penelope Santos Bates said. "Lizzie Colson, an exceptional player, just basically ran through our defense and shot and scored and they did that multiple times. We had to call a timeout (early in the Mavericks' initial run) and try to get people settled again. We'd been practicing the crash. We knew what they were going to do and we just could not do it today. She was too fast and too good."
The Mavericks' speed and quickness around the goal helped set up a balanced offense as Carhart contributed three goals and Rayna Deltuva had a goal and an assist. Stephanie Colson, Beanie Colson and Kira Mitchell each had a goal. Lizzie Colson finished with seven points, including two assists and Little had six points, including two assists.
The seven seniors on coach Shelly Brezicki's roster completed the first undefeated season in program history, avenging their only loss from last season, to No. 3 Roland Park, 23-11.
"We came into the season and we had a lot of goals," Hoff said. "They were very similar to our goals last year except we knew we wanted to be undefeated this year and being able to accomplish that goal is a great feeling."
Brezicki praised her team's effort throughout the season, especially a defense often overlooked in the shadow of an attack that averaged 16.7 goals.
"Every game they come out and they are the game changers for us," Brezicki said. "We can't score if we don't have the ball and our defense does that for us. They get us the ball and make sure we execute the game plan the way we want to and they put us ahead. I think that's a good feeling for my midfield and attackers."
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