McDONOGH READIES FOR PLAY-OFF RUN

   

By Mike Buchanan
mbuchanan@digitalsports.com
 

McDonogh posted a strong first half and survived a scare in the second half in an 11-7 win over Roland Park Country on Friday, in Owings Mills.

First, the good news; then, the bad news.

The good news: McDonogh was flawless in a dominating first half, running up a 7-0 lead with suffocating defense and speedy transition offense.

The bad news: McDonogh suffered a lengthy lapse of focus in the second half, allowing the visiting Reds to go on a four-goal run and creep to within three goals.

Make no mistake, Roland Park earned what it got in that second half spurt. But from the opposite side, and especially from the coaching angle, McDonogh Coach Chris Robinson was not pleased with what he considered a mental let-down by his team after building a big lead.

“We were up 9-1. Credit Roland Park, they never gave up. They put on a nice run, got more draws and loose balls than in the first half, and made it interesting. When you get up that big in the score, it’s sometimes easy to ease up, relax,” said Robinson. “As a learning experience, I hope our girls took away today that if we get a lead in the play-offs, a team is not going to roll over and die; we have to pick up and keep up the intensity.” 

McDonogh (11-1, 14-2) finished the regular season in second place in the IAAM A Conference. John Carroll matched McDonogh’s undefeated run of last year, going 12-0 after its 13-9 win over St. Mary’s yesterday. The Patriots will be the top seed in the play-offs.

Roland Park ended the regular season an even 6-6, still jockeying with some other teams for seeding in the middle tier.

It was all McDonogh in the opening half, as the Eagles put on a clinic at both ends of the field. Defensively, they completely shut down the Reds, holding them to zero on the scoreboard. Offensively, they posted seven goals, from free position to one-on-one to transition scores.

Freshman Brooks Lawler scored two goals in the span of one minute, the second coming on a free position attempt, it make it a 3-0 game at 16:45. After a scoreless five minute span, Katie Matz (JR, A) scored at 10:10 to build the lead to 4-0. Two more goals upped the lead, and then the Eagles got one more in transition with 32 seconds left. McDonogh led 7-0, and halftime couldn’t have come at a better time, as the Reds needed to re-group.

Roland Park finally got on the board a little over three minutes into the second half on a free position score by senior Courtney Kirk. Robinson’s squad answered with a pair of goals to make it a 9-1 game at 10:25. For all intents and purposes, the game was over – or so it seemed.

Somehow, the Reds dug down, and put into play whatever advice Coach Erin Millon had given at half. They went on a 5-0 run over the next six minutes. They got back-to-back scores Mattie Meredith and Laura Simanski, and then another goal at 11:07. Simanski added her second and Kirk did as well, coming again off of a free position attempt, and all of a sudden it was a 9-6 game at the 6:40 mark.

RPCS actually got another good opportunity a minute later that would have made it a two-goal game, but goalie Megan Fiorito came up with a big save. The Eagles finally stopped the bleeding with a goal at 6:15 and followed that up with another, and the lead was back up to 11-6. The Reds scored the final goal with just under a minute to account for the final 9-7 score.

Molly Fernandez, Kira Paterakis and Kitty Cullen scored two goals apiece in a balanced attack to pace the Eagles. Five others scored one each. Matz added two assists. Fiorito finished with eight saves.

“I thought Carly Napora did a great job on defense,” said Robinson. “We had her face-guarding Courtney Kirk most of the game because she handles the ball a lot for them.” Although Simanski is the leading goal-scorer for Roland Park, it is Kirk that makes the offense run, and Napora limited her to just two goals and no assists.

Simanski and Kirk each scored a pair, and four other players had one goal each. Goalie Jane Randall had seven saves.

Millon counseled her team after the game. "Great comeback, but we learned that we can't put ourselves in that position in the first place.  Despite being down, we got through some bumps and remained strong. It should make us much more prepared for the play-offs," she said.

McDonogh hopes to use its momentum for a lengthy run in the play-offs. “We learned last year that we can’t take anything for granted. We were undefeated going into the play-offs and Severn came in here and played a fantastic game,” said Robinson. “If we’re going to win a championship, we can’t have let-downs like we had today.”

McDonogh 11, Roland Park Country 7
Goals:  RP – Simanski 2, Kirk 2, Meredith, Gray, Bacon; McD –Fernandez 2, Paterakis 2, Cullen 2, Lawler, Matz, Hamill, Franklin, Rhea. Assists: RP – Simanski, Seats, Hamilton; McD – Matz 2, Weingart. Saves:  RP – Randall 7; McD – Fiorito 8.
Half: McD, 7-0.