A GREAT TEAM: "My Athletic Director just said to me, ‘Great teams find a way to win. They just find a way to dig deep down inside and win.’ That’s what they did," said Severna Park coach Carin Peterson. "They could have been down and out. They were down by two goals with minutes to go in the game. They didn’t panic. They did what they needed to do. They got possession of the ball, took it down and scored.”
Julie Gardner came up big for the Falcons when her team needed it most, setting up Hayley Rausch on the game-tying score.
By Evan Roe
eroe@digitalsports.com
Severna Park coach Carin Petersen called it luck; Severna Park midfielder Julie Gardner called it determination; Broadneck coach Karen Tengwall called it a “mental mistake.”
In actuality, the pivotal play that saved the Severna Park girls lacrosse team in the 4A-3A East Region final seemed to be a combination of all three elements. Whatever the formula, the Falcons will take it any day if it helps them escape another game like Wednesday night’s 11-10 overtime squeaker over Broadneck.
With possession and a one-goal lead as the final half-minute ticked away, Broadneck (13-4) needed only to hold the ball to hand No. 1 Severna Park (18-0) a loss for the first time in three meetings this year.
Then it happened.
Under duress from a Falcon double-team, a Broadneck player forced a high pass which fell to the ground. Severna Park’s University-of-Virginia-bound Gardner (two goals, assist) was all over the loose ball, and charged downfield until drawing a foul in front of the goalie.
On the ensuing free position, she passed to Hayley Rausch (four goals) at the edge of the crease to net the tying goal with 10.8 seconds of life remaining. Rausch went on to score twice in overtime; Broadneck couldn’t match her in the extra periods, scoring just once.
“All of us thought it was the end and Julie got that [groundball],” said Rausch. “Then we were all running. We were giving it all to get to goal and Julie got the foul. It just happened.”
Severna Park couldn’t have been more fortunate to have Gardner wind up in the vicinity of the overthrown ball—the senior midfielder has become one of the most outstanding players in the state.
“Of course, the player who picks it up is Julie Gardner, of all people,” Broadneck coach Karen Tengwall said half-jokingly. “…Both teams made mistakes throughout the whole game. It just so happened that this was a mental mistake at the end that gave them an opportunity to score another goal.”
But even before the groundball, Gardner was undaunted. Even after watching Broadneck rally to turn a two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead with 5:17 to play in regulation. Even though her team hadn’t trailed so late in a game all year, last season’s Capital-Gazette player of the year was still looking to make a play. She did.
“We knew they were stalling, but I was trying to scream to the defense, ‘Don’t give up! Just pressure the ball!’ They’re bound to make mistakes if we pressure them because we play a very good pressure [defense],” said Gardner. “But it was a different situation for us being down by two with only (four) minutes to go.”
An understatement to say the least. The Falcons have been more than dominant the last two years, compiling a 38-0 record since dropping the 2006 state final to Dulaney. Last night’s game was the closest they’ve come to losing in that span.
“We haven’t been in that situation yet, but I think we did a great job,” Gardner continued. “Ninety-percent of the game is in your head, and we did a great job of pulling it out…. I think it shows that we can pull through in the tough games. Even though we have been beating most teams by a lot of goals, we can win in clutch games.”
Broadneck certainly made the Severna Park offense earn it, holding the Falcons to just 11 goals, a season low. They had averaged 19.1 goals per game entering the contest, but a superb performance from Bruin goalie Kasey Howard lowered that average. Her 15 saves on the game came largely off a flurry of point-blank shots in one-on-one situations.
“I really feel that (Severna Park) had twice, if not three times the amount of eight-meter shots as we did—four out of their first five goals were from eight meters,” said Tengwall. “That’s tough. That’s like a one-on-one with the goalie. Kasey did a great job.”
After Sam Farrell (three goals) scored to shorten the Broadneck lead to 9-8 with 4:23 remaining, Howard notched a pair of one-on-one saves against Severna Park players shooting out of the free position in the dwindling minutes to maintain the lead.
Severna Park’s own goalie, Jenna Wadsworth, also played well and tallied six saves but saw fewer save-opportunities as the Falcon defense allowed 21 Broadneck shots, compared to the 30 shots Howard faced. The defenders in front of Wadsworth were troublesome for the Bruins, swarming the ball and forcing a slew of turnovers to help offset Broadneck’s 14-9 draw advantage.
“Our defense really came up strong. But we struggled big-time on draw control,” said Severna Park coach Carin Peterson. “That’s just a mindset. Broadneck was phenomenal on the draws. For them to get 14 of the draws and us to get nine and come back the way we did just says something for our defense. They were strong.”
The Bruins took all five draws in the two three-minute periods of overtime that ultimately decided the game, but Severna Park scored both goals after just two sustained possessions. They held the ball only once more—a 22-second stalling period that killed the clock after Farrell swiped the ball from Broadneck’s Allison Thornton.
Neither team led by more than two goals at any point in the contest. Broadneck’s University-of-Maryland-bound Karri Ellen Johnson paced the Bruin offense with four goals and three assists.
She connected with sophomore Courtney Tomchik (two goals, assist) to spark the team’s four-goal rally with 12:20 to play in regulation. Shannon Hanratty (goal, assist) scored less than a minute later to tie the game at 7-7, which Johnson followed with a pair of goals of her own to stake a 9-7 lead. Every score in the spurt came after the Bruins won the restart in the center circle.
“That was really important for us and that’s the way we should have competed against them the whole time,” said Tengwall, whose team will graduate ten seniors. “…I’m really proud of the girls, very proud of their effort. We asked them to give it their all and they did.”
Peterson was worried her players weren’t giving the Bruins enough credit entering the contest after drubbing the rivals, 18-9, in the regular season and again beating them, 14-8, in the county championship.
“We (coaches) knew it would be tough, but I don’t think [the players] believed us. It doesn’t matter what the score was the first game and it doesn’t matter what the score was the second game,” Peterson said. “You’ve got to play and you’ve got to play with heart and with smarts. Broadneck had both, and we struggled with a few. You can’t struggle with a good team like Broadneck; you have to put your game plan together.
“We got lucky. But again, luck is part of the game and I’ll take it any day.”
Severna Park 11, Broadneck 10 (OT)
Broadneck (13-4) 4 5 1 – 10
Severna Park (18-0) 5 4 2 – 11
Half: SP, 5-4. End of Regulation: 9-9.
Goals: BN—Johnson 4, George 2, Thompson, Hanratty, Tomchik. SP—Gardner 2, Gassaway, Farrell 3, Rausch 4, Pittinger. Assists: BN—Johnson 3, Hanratty, Tomchik. SP—Gardner. Saves: BN—Howard 15. SP—Wadsworth 6. Shots: BN—21. SP—30. Draws: BN—14. SP—9.