By Mike Buchanan

 

Walking past the tennis courts on the way to the adjoining playing fields at Garrison Forest, there is a blue and white sign that catches the eye and sets the tone – PAW POWER.

 

“Paw Power” was in control yesterday at the Owings Mills campus, as both the Garrison field hockey and soccer teams took to the field simultaneously. Both teams came away with semi-final playoff wins, earning berths in the IAAM championship games.

 

Field hockey finished a few minutes before soccer. The Grizzlies hosted the Admirals, and for the third time this season, #1-seed Garrison Forest (11-2-1) defeated #5-seed Severn (6-7-1), all three contests being decided by one goal.

 

Thursday’s was a 1-0 win, as sophomore Catie Merrick broke a 0-0 tie with her second-half goal, the lone score in an otherwise tough defensive battle.

 

The Garrison defense was so effective that goalie Emily Cain did not record a single save. It’s hard to record saves when no shots are allowed on goal.

 

Garrison Coach Traci Davis credited her team’s overall defense, saying “It was a tough game from start to finish, a bit more physical than we are used to, but this is the playoffs. We had more chances on the offensive end, but feel fortunate to have gotten the one goal. One fast break here or there can turn a game around.”

 

After Merrick’s goal, “It was still anybody’s game with five minutes to go,” added Davis, “but our defense did a great job.  Christine Knauss was great in the middle, and flanked by twins Bayley and Megan Mullan, as was sweeper Ana Heinrich. Liza Blue was steady as always, Sara Krolus filled in, I couldn’t be more proud of the job they did.”

 

Blue, a sophomore midfielder, echoed the sentiments of her coach, saying “We played hard, they played hard, it was very physical. We should have gotten a couple more goals, but the defense made one count. The whole defense, including middies, played an excellent game, especially Ana Heinrich.”

 

The host Grizzlies controlled the tempo and had the advantage in offensive possession, firing 13 shots on goal. Severn goalie Caroline Crow stopped 12 of them, but the 13th was the difference in the game.

 

During the post-game interview with DigitalSports, a roar erupted from the Garrison players, as they learned via cell phone that Archbishop Spalding had defeated #2-seed Bryn Mawr in the other A-Conference semi-final. Those two will meet in Sunday’s A-Conference championship game, 2:30 at Friends.

 

Above what would be considered normal or average turnover, Garrison lost a huge core of its starting line-up to graduation last year, just as Severn did. Both lost eight starters. But with Davis and staff doing a deft job of filling the vacancies, and the young group of newcomers and returnees improving as the season went on, Garrison finds itself back in the title game.

 

Said Davis, “With as much as we lost, it really is amazing that we’re come this far. I’ve said all along that the parity in the league is unbelievable this year. ”

 

Garrison Forest won the regular season title last year, only to fall to Bryn Mawr in the finals. The Grizzlies have exceeded expectations thus far, already winning the battle for first-place again. They find themselves in the title game again.

 

Another shot to win it all.  Is there enough Paw Power left for Sunday?

 

Garrison Forest 1, Severn 0
Goals: GF-Merrick. Saves: S-Crow, 12; GF-Cain, 0.
Half: 0-0

 

Meanwhile, on the other side, as cheers erupted for the field hockey win, soccer was still in progress. In another five minutes, the sounds of Paw Power were heard again, as the Garrison soccer team held on to defeat St. Timothy’s, 2-1, in a C-Conference semi-final.

 

The hosts were the #1-seed from the Red Division, while St. Timothy’s was the #2-seed from the Gold.

 

These two teams met once during the season, with the identical outcome, as Garrison won 2-1 in double over-time. Yesterday’s match was similar, but more physical, Ironically, that was the sentiment on the field hockey side; such is the nature of playoff competition, where the stakes are higher and players and teams become more aggressive.

 

St. Tim’s (8-2-2) scored first, as senior Sammy Lichtenberg found the net off an assist from sophomore Delaney Lackey, and STS carried that 1-0 lead into the half.

 

Garrison Forest (9-1-1) tied the game seconds into the second half as junior Whitney Williams scored to make it a 1-1 contest.

 

Then, with exactly 13:05 remaining on the clock, sophomore Stephanie Mueller arched a long shot toward goal from about 25 yards out. St. Tim goalie Sheila Anthony mistimed her leap by a fraction of a second, and as she was coming down, the shot grazed off her fingertips and into the goal.  It truly is a game of inches at times.  It was Mueller's 27th goal of the season.

 

Anthony certainly did her part in keeping St. Timothy’s in the game, as the official home book had her credited with 23 saves. Her counterpart, Alison Simms, had 12 saves.

 

The Grizzly defense would make the 2-1 lead stand up, holding STS off the board the remainder of the game. Just as Davis did on the field hockey side, Coach Casey Schoeberlein praised her defense. “The whole defense played great, from goalie to defense to midfield. Emily Bishop did a great job marking their top scorer (freshman Lindsey Puopolo, 24 goals).”

 

One of those key defenders was senior stopper Kendyl Bressant. “We were focused on clearing it out, every defender getting it up to the next player.  We were communicating and talking on defense and that was a key.  We worked hard for it and earned it,” said Bressant.

 

Schoeberlein had high praise for the opposition, saying “Both teams played hard wire to wire, it was great competition, just as throughout the league. The whole conference has really taken off. We barely beat them last time in a nail-biter that went double overtime, and today could have been the same. We were fortunate to get that second goal. For this being the playoffs, goalie to goalie, player to player, it was one of the best games I’ve seen this season.”

 

Garrison Forest will meet defending champ Annapolis Area Christian, which defeated Key, on Saturday for the 2:30 title match, at Glenelg Country.

 

Garrison has already had an incredible first season, finishing with the league’s best record and a #1-seed. St. Timothy’s made similar strides, after having gone winless in the first two years of its program.  Coach Glenn Quinn guided the team to an 8-2-2 record, and came within inches of possibly going to the championship match.

 

Players and coaches on both teams have much to be proud of in the 2007 season.

 

Garrison’s season continues, one game at a time, paw by paw.

 

Garrison Forest 2, St. Timothy’s 1
Goals: ST-Lichtenberg; GF-Williams, Mueller. Assists: ST-Lackey. Saves: ST-Anthony 23; GF-Simms 12.
Half: ST, 1-0.