For a while there Sunday, it looked as though No. 1 McDonogh's national-record girls lacrosse win streak was coming to an end — unless, of course, you were an Eagles player.
Down by four goals with less than 14 minutes left against No. 5 Roland Park in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference final, the Eagles scored five straight to get back in the game and won it when Kelsey Cummings found Andie Aldave open on the crease with 5.9 seconds left. The Reds' Cameron McGee tied it with 23 seconds left before Aldave put it away, 15-14.
The victory gave McDonogh (21-0) its seventh straight A Conference championship and 133rd straight win.
"It was just incredible," said midfielder Elizabeth George, one of 11 Eagles seniors. "You couldn't ask for anything more. You know it wasn't given to us — a really tough game. We've been tested so well the past four years and we've really proven ourselves [by] finishing it out and today was one of the toughest, and we couldn't be happier."
The Eagles came from behind to win their final two games. They trailed by two goals in the second half against No. 7 John Carroll before winning Friday's semifinal, 12-11.
"That definitely helped us," George said. "We knew we couldn't lose focus. The IAAM is such a competitive conference and there are teams like John Carroll and Roland Park that will give us their all and they're amazing teams that we have to play our absolutely best to win the game and I think we did that today."
The Reds (12-6) have lost three title games to McDonogh by a total of five goals in the past five years, but they went into Sunday's game at Gerstell Academy in Finksburg with a strong game plan and plenty of determination.
They led, 3-2, before the Eagles rallied with four straight goals, thanks in part to three turnovers by the Reds. After goals from Savannah Buchanan, Julia Hoffman and Brindi Griffin, George fed Olivia Jenner to make it 6-3 with 11:39 left in the half.
Roland Park answered that with five straight, taking a 8-6 lead on Marsie Salvatori's free-position goal 3:48 before halftime. Anna Hauser had two goals in the run while Francesca Whitehurst and Jenna Janes had one each.
The Reds had 12 free-position shots and hit their first nine, including three from Francesca Whitehurst. They were 6-for-6 in the first half. After the break, Olivia Jenner scored on a free position to pull McDonogh within 9-8. The Reds answered with three straight goals.
Chelsea Kovinsky started the rally with a spin move in front of the crease after a nice pass from Janes. Whitehurst and Katie Clements then hit back-to-back free-position goals for a 12-8 Roland Park lead with 14:39 remaining.
Then McDonogh started winning the draws. The Reds won nine of 17 in the first half, but the Eagles controlled 11 of 14 in the second half, including eight of the last nine.
In a 5-0 Eagles run, Cummings scored three times in between a couple of Julia Hoffman goals for a 13-12 lead, the first Eagles advantage since the 7:48 mark in the first half.
"They kind of went on their little streak and they had all the momentum," said Cummings, a senior midfielder, "and when there was about 15 minutes left, we kind of realized we needed to get the draw, we needed to change the momentum."
Regan Koffel, Reds co-coach with her sister Kristin Nicolini, said those late draws made the difference.
"Any time you get the draw, you get possession," Koffel said, "and when we starting losing the draw is when they were able to go down and capitalize on opportunities. And their defense was stepping up. They started to play with a backer, so we were meeting a defense that we hadn't seen, so we had to adjust to it and it took a little while."
The Reds adjusted enough to tie the game twice in the final 6:36, first on Janes' free-position goal and then after Brindi Griffin scored for the Eagles, McGee hit her tying goal.
Before McGee's goal, the Eagles tried to stall after Blair Kessler won the draw in a scrum, but McDonogh turned it over with 3:27 to go. Over the next three minutes, McDonogh's defense held off several Reds' attempts and goalie Gabbe Cadoux made two of her five save against Reds free-position shots.
After McGee's goal, Jenner then won her 10th draw, setting up the game winner.
"We ran it down and somehow I ended up on the side, and [Aldave] was jumping up in the air," Cummings said. "I was like, 'We've got five seconds left,' so I chucked it in and she scored, it was amazing. I'm currently shaking. It was my senior year I didn't want to lose."
All but one of the Eagles' seven A Conference titles have been by three goals or less. Three have come by single goals, including over Maryvale in 2012 and Roland Park in 2011. The only lopsided score during their run was a 17-8 win against Notre Dame Prep in 2010.
Still they may have been pushed this season more than any other, especially in the A Conference where they won six games by four goals or less and finished the season with the two of come-from-behind wins.
McDonogh coach Chris Robinson praised his players for handling the Reds' stellar effort and the emotions that surround the Eagles' streaks.
"The kids came through the pressure, Robinson said. "That's what it is. We've been pressured so much and everybody wants to beat us. It's really us against the world and the kids keep coming through and coming through and coming through. It's pretty amazing."
Eleven Eagles — George, Jenner, Cummings, Sophie Alecce, Annie Rice, Sydni Thacker, Caroline Lewis, Annie Cohen, Emma Lehmann, Hanna Gizzi and Jenna Ansell — will graduate without a loss during their varsity careers. The Eagles have not lost a game since 2009 and they haven't lost to a local team since John Carroll beat them in the 2008 A Conference final.
This spring, they have nine wins over teams ranked in The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 and three over out-of-town teams ranked in the Top 10 of the Nike/US Lacrosse High School Girls' Top 25.
Eagles junior midfielder Savannah Buchanan also added to an impressive individual streak, playing on her seventh straight A Conference championship team, including two in soccer and two in basketball.
B Conference
Glenelg Country School goalie Kelly Layton made 14 saves as the Dragons built an eight-goal lead and held off Mercy to win the B Conference championship, 12-7, at Gerstell Academy.
The Dragons (16-3), runners up last season, took a 10-2 lead on Alyssa Arnold's goal with 20:54 left and maintained at least a five-goal lead in winning their first title since 2005.
Julia Sheehan scored four goals and Arnold had two goals and two assists for the top-seeded Dragons (16-3), who beat the Magic (12-5) for the third time this season. They avenged their only conference loss of the season against Park in the semifinals.
Caroline Cummings scored two goals for the Magic which won its last title in 2011.
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