DULANEY BRINGS CHAMPIONSHIP BACK

by Derek Toney

Dulaney High girls’ lacrosse team’s mission Tuesday afternoon was as simple as the words on the back of their t-shirts: “Bring It Back”. The Lions left out of Comet Field at Catonsville with a championship and redemption.

Dulaney claimed the Baltimore County championship with an 11-8 decision over Hereford. After missing last year’s finals, the Lions (11-3 overall) captured their third title in four seasons.

Senior midfielder Cailin Colegrove and junior attack Olivia Hanley each scored three goals for Dulaney, and senior Ana Heneberry added two goals and an assist. Ellen Halle led Hereford (5-9) with three goals, and senior midfielder Meg Becker contributed a pair of scores.

Tied at three at halftime, the Lions scored the first three goals of the second half and eight of 10 to complete a season sweep of the Bulls. After an uneven performance in the opening 25 minutes, Dulaney coach Kristi Korrow challenged her troops.

“I told them basically when they step across the line the next time, they need to come out a different team,” said Korrow.  “It was up to them to pull it out, and they took it into their hands and really stepped up.”

“We really didn’t start off our best,” said Lions senior midfielder Emma Larkin. “After that first timeout, we really weren’t clicking as a team. We started passing and catching, and working together.”

The Lions dominated the draws in the second half, thanks in part to Heneberry, who scored two of the Lions’ three opening second half goals. Heneberry said the Lions needed to establish the tone early in the second half.

“We felt the game was slipping away,” said Heneberry. “I was going to try to make a difference and calm things down.”

Thirty-one seconds into the second half, Heneberry got the Lions the lead for good when her low shot eluded the stick of Bulls’ goalie Clara Rienhoff in the right corner of the goal. Tricia Webster extended it with a score off an assist from Kara Burke.

The Lions made it 6-3 as Heneberry produced an unassisted tally with 15:01 remaining. Halle’s first goal brought Hereford to within 7-5, but Dulaney reasserted itself as Colegrove scored back-to-back goals.

Brooke Martin and Olivia Hanley followed with scores, putting the Lions in full command at 11-5 with about four minutes remaining in regulation. Dulaney, which defeated Towson Saturday to clinch a return trip to the finals, edged Hereford during the regular season, 12-11, on a goal from Blair King with 2:34 left.

“The first time they really underestimated us, but they were more prepared for us this time,” said Bulls' senior midfielder Meg Becker. “In the second half, we started kind of panicking and they [Dulaney] closing in but in the last couple of minutes we pulled it through.”

The Bulls jumped out to a 2-0 advantage, but Dulaney surged back with three straight scores, the last from Hanley with 2:55 left in the first half. With 19 seconds left, Marta Randall took the ball down the field and hit Becker, who scored with just five seconds remaining.

The focus for Hereford and Dulaney is the state postseason which begins Friday. The Bulls, seeded sixth in the Class 3A/2A North Region tournament, will host Bel Air Friday. The Lions will host Patterson in the Class 4A/3A South playoffs next week. Dulaney lost to Severna Park in last spring’s state finals.

“We have a lot of players who haven’t experienced this,” said Heneberry. “We’re really looking forward to it.”