When C. Milton Wright goalie Katelyn Miller got hot late in Wednesday's Class 3A-2A North regional girls lacrosse final, Hereford senior Caitlin Katchmar knew she would have to be tricky to beat the junior keeper.
With about a minute left, Katchmar raced across in front of the crease, switched hands and shot to the far side for the game-winning goal as the Bulls upset No. 11 C. Milton Wright, 9-8, to win their second straight regional final over the host Mustangs.
Katchmar, one of only four Bulls seniors, completed a three-goal finishing run after Caroline May's goal midway through the half and Rachel Karwacki's tying goal with 3:33 to go.
"I saw that the goalie started moving toward her right," Katchmar said, "and that's kind of my key shot when I fade to the left and I shoot back across with my left hand. I just knew she thought I was going to shoot on her right side, so I took a chance."
Miller had six of her nine saves after halftime and her efforts helped the Mustangs (12-5) take an 8-6 lead with a 4-1 run to open the second half. Haley Alexander scored two of her three goals in the run while Julia O'Mara and Moriah Snyder also scored.
After Snyder's goal with 16:49 left, however, the Mustangs would not score again. They hit the post twice, but Bulls junior goalie Cassidy Nozemack, who finished with five saves, made two clutch stops in the final 12 minutes.
"I think we had nothing to lose and that's how we played," Hereford coach Anne Ensor said. "When you don't have that white-knuckle grip on your stick, it's much more enjoyable."
The Bulls (14-4) also took advantage of five Mustangs turnovers late in the half. Most were unforced and Hereford converted two in its three-goal finish.
"That was the entire game," C. Milton Wright coach Brent Ritz said of the turnovers. "Obviously they put some pressure on us but I felt like a lot of it was … throwing the ball to nobody, throwing the ball to their team, rushing, panicked. We did not play well today. Our whole demeanor didn't show that we wanted to win this game. We were very scared to lose this game."
The Bulls, who won the last of their three state championships in 2003, advance to meet the East region winner, Stephen Decatur (16-0), in the state semifinals Friday or Saturday at Annapolis High School.
Last year, the Bulls went into the state semifinals undefeated but fell to eventual state champ Marriotts Ridge, 19-3. This time, the Bulls seniors — Katchmar, May, Maria Collachi (two goals) and defensive leader Lucy Reider, who missed Wednesday's game with the flu — hope to change that.
"Our key is redemption," said May, who led the Bulls with three goals and an assist.
"We are not going to end on a note like we ended last time. We have very few experienced varsity players coming back on this team. Many people are new to varsity and we've been telling them, 'You don't want your seniors to lose like they did last year," May said with a laugh. "We were just like lost puppies last year, so we're trying to pull together this year and finish out as a team."
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