[Baltimore Sun] No. 4 Spalding girls lacrosse uses seven-goal rally to upend No. 5 Severna Park, 14-11
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Severna Park girls lacrosse had a seemingly unshakable advantage through most of the third quarter. But Archbishop Spalding had Gabby Greene.
The Florida-committed midfielder had spotlights pinned on her from the moment she stepped onto Love Field, and every time her team needed a goal, she was back on center stage. When the Falcons built a four-goal lead more than halfway into the third quarter, and seemed to be pressing the brink of running away with it, Greene took over.
With a hat trick already in the bank, Greene haunted the Severna Park cage to deal four-straight to flip the lead into Spalding’s hands. And even when victory seemed assured, Greene lashed in one more for good measure, cementing the 14-11 final.
The win for Spalding (9-3) tarnished the Falcons’ unbeaten record (8-1) and — as far as Spalding coach Tara Shea is concerned — solidify the Cavaliers’ top standing in the county.
And, for the record, it might as well establish Greene’s standing, too.
“I think this is one of the best players that’s ever competed at this school,” Shea said, “if not one of the best players in Anne Arundel County for sure.”
Teammates rushed Greene each and every time she scored, and the senior couldn’t help but smile. But still, she didn’t view herself as the conductor of Spalding’s comeback. In her mind, the true equation was reversed.
“We feed off each other’s energy, just play after play, realizing we can’t focus on what happened in the past,” Greene said, “just going into next possession, next roll, next turnover.”
Severna Park’s offense had an assertive quality to it through the first half that morphed a capable Spalding defense into something that seemed passive, waiting at the end of the Falcon sticks like a pup waiting for table-scraps. Cards sent players to sidelines with increasingly frequency.
Playing a public school, the Cavaliers couldn’t utilize a shot clock to their advantage. Falcons midfielder Maria Bragg thrived early, scoring three goals in a seven-minute stretch.
“We needed to start to play our game,” Shea said, “faster, and stronger and sooner.”
Archbishop Spalding’s Gabby Greene shoots the ball and scores a goal on a penalty shot during the second half. (Terrance Williams/Freelance)
But as the second half marched on, Severna Park’s gritty defense drew the officials’ whistle. Cards mounted on Falcons, sending Spalding to 8-meter shots over and over again. Five goals came off free positions. Two of the Falcons’ best watchdogs, Francesca Dunoyer and Erin Hussey, were stuck on the sidelines while their lead disappeared.
“What’s your defense when you’re playing two men down?” Falcons coach Annie Houghton said. “If we were the other side, I would expect to score.”
The Cavaliers monopolized the ball on the offensive end for about six minutes, generating the first four of a seven-goal stretch from draw circle to net without much interference. And those draw specialists, like Ellie Roberts, is why Greene refuses to lay the laurels on herself.
“I think it came down to realizing we need to turn up and have more energy, because in that first half, it wasn’t going our way, and we just kept getting down,” Greene said. “Girls on the circle helped our spirits back up.”
Some unbeaten teams need the kind of energy jolts a hard defeat can give. But that’s not how Houghton views it.
“A loss is a loss. Nobody likes to lose, but we were happy with the way they played,” she said. “All we can do is celebrate the things we did well. We were unselfish, worked hard for ground balls, worked hard in the ride, got some interceptions. It’s gonna get us to grow. It’s gonna get us ready for playoffs.”
Severna Park — 5 2 3 1 — 11
Spalding — 2 2 6 4 — 14
Goals: SP: Bragg 5, Van Gieson 2, Kreis 1, Hussey 1, Jeffers 1, Dunoyer 1; AS: Greene 8, Ostrowski 2, Mullen 2, Wrenn 2
Archbishop Spalding’s Lucy Davis brings the ball upfield during the second half. (Terrance Williams/Freelance)
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