Ashley Kimener, of the South, is swarmed by the North defense during the Under Armour All-American girls lacrosse game at Towson University on Saturday. The North won, 13-12.
Erin Brennan, of the North, finished with four goals (including the game-winner) and an assist. The University of Pennsylvania signee was named the game's MVP.
by Aaron Grayagray@digitalsports.com(See video interviews below)Erin Brennan is used to being a focal point for opposing defenses because she's usually the most dangerous player on the field.
But at the Under Armour All-American girls lacrosse game, the amount of talent on display was very abundant. She just got the chance to show off her talent late in the game and it paid off for her team.
"Everyone out there was so good," said Brennan, a Garden City (NJ) graduate, who will attend the University of Pennsylvania next year. "The defense really wasn't going after us if we had the ball because every attacker could score. It was just so great to be out there on the team and have confidence in every single player."
Brennan assisted Shannon Smith's game-tying goal and then she notched the go-ahead goal with 1 minute, 15 seconds left to lift the North squad to a 13-12 victory over the South in front of 3,236 people at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium on Saturday.
On the boys' side, the North also pulled out a thrilling
13-12 win over the South.
The late-game heroics was nothing new for Brennan, who finished her high school career with 261 goals and 159 assists.
"I’ve been playing with some of these girls for many years," said Brennan, who was named the game's MVP. "Shannon hit the tying goal. I'm really used to her and we work so well together. It was a nice way to go out playing with friends."
The North, which had players from five different states, opened a five-goal lead at halftime and held a 11-7 advantage with 15:23 left. But the South stormed back scoring four straight goals to tie the game with 8:15 remaining.
Karri Ellen Johnson (
Broadneck, MD/Maryland) won a draw and fed Casey Ancarrow (
John Carroll, MD/James Madison), who tied the game. Ancarrow's high school teammate, Ally Carrey (Vanderbilt), the All-DigitalSports Girls' Lacrosse
Player of the Year for the Baltimore-Metro area, gave the South their first lead of the second half when she scored on a free-position with 4:50 left.
The lead lasted about two minutes before Brennan found Smith (West Babylon, NY/Northwestern) on a quick counter to knot the score again.
"We pulled away a little bit in the first half and they sort of came back on us in the second," said Smith, who finished with four goals. "But we came together as a team and finished it out in the end."
Off a penalty restart, Brennan received a pass and created space for herself. She dodged a defender and scored while running to her left for the game-winner.
Smith's future college teammate at Northwestern, goalkeeper Brianne LoManto (Rocky Pointe, NY), made a pin-point save in the waning seconds to preserve the one-goal lead for the North. LoManto finished with six saves, all in the second half.
"It was a great game and we had 44 great athletes out on the field," said North coach Bob Elmer, who has groomed 33 Division I players over the last nine years at West Genessee (NY).
"It was nice to have an entire team be as athletic as they were. Everyone is going to big Division I programs. I had a lot of fun this weekend."
Jessica Russo (St. Anthony's, NY/Northwestern) scored two first-half goals and helped the North build its lead before the break. Erin Massimi (Westwood, MA/Dartmouth) tallied a goal and an assist while Erin Lovett (Kellenberg Memorial, NY/Georgetown) added two assists for the North.
The South comeback in the second half was paced by Courtney Kirk, a
Roland Park Country (MD) graduate, who is headed to Vanderbilt. Kirk finished with a team-high three goals, two assists and did a majority of the scoring after halftime.
"The level of talent on that field today was amazing," said South coach Krystin Porcella, who led
John Carroll to consecutive
IAAM A Conference titles.
"Some of the things they were doing out there just left you in awe. What a show. What a great display of girls lacrosse. When you have 22 players of this caliber, the sky is the limit."
Johnson, who was a big reason the South held a 16-9 draw control advantage, finished with two goals and an assist. Ancarrow added two goals while Carey and Julie Gardner (
Severna Park, MD/Virginia) each notched a goal and an assist. Josie Owen (
Severn, MD/Virginia) had a goal and two assists for the South.
Goalkeeper Alisa Konishi (J.K. Mullen, CO/James Madison) blocked six shots in the first half for the South while Dana Cahill (
Mercy, MD/Penn State) tallied four saves.
North 8 5 - 13
South 3 9 - 12
GOALS: N - Brennan 4, Smith 4, Russo 2, Massimi , Thomas, Frank; S - Kirk 3, Johnson 2, Ancarrow 2, Owen, Carey, Gardner, Kimener, Hamilton. ASSISTS: N - Lovett 2, Brennan, Massimi, Plumb; S - Kirk 2, Owen 2, Carey, Gardner, Johnson. SAVES: N - LoManto 6, Fucillo 3; S - Konishi 6, Cahill 4. SHOTS: N - 28; S - 24. GROUND BALLS: N - 17; S - 12. FACEOFFS: N - 9; S - 16.