WINTERS MILL RALLIES PAST TOWSON IN DOUBLE OVERTIME

by Aaron Gray
agray@digitalsports.com

(See video clips and post-game interviews below)

The Winters Mill High School girls lacrosse team simply would not go gentle into that good night.

The Falcons tied the game four different times in the second half and once in overtime before sophomore attacker Mackenzie Cyr netted the game-winner with 1 minute, 56 seconds left in the sudden-death second extra period to lift Winters Mill to a thrilling 14-13 victory over Towson in the Class 3A-2A state championship at the University of Maryland Baltimore County on Wednesday.

It's the first state title for the Falcons (17-2), which introduced varsity lacrosse at the school only five years ago.

"They're young but they're tough," said Winters Mill coach Courtney Vaughn, who led Liberty to four state championship appearances before taking the helm for the Falcons in 2003.

"I really didn't expect to be here so this is just icing on the cake. Really, I think we're a year away but these girls really showed me something tonight."

Four of the Falcons' five leading scorers during the regular season were either sophomores or freshmen and laid the foundation for the program with back-to-back one-goal victories in the state tournament. Winters Mill hung on for another nail-biting 11-10 win over Centennial in the semifinals.

Senior midfielder Jen Peters capped a nearly two-minute possession with a goal to give the Falcons their first lead of the game -- a 13-12 edge -- with 12 seconds left in the first overtime. Sophomore midfielder Amalie Trentzsch was credited with the assist.

But Towson wasn't going to lay down that easily. Sophomore midfielder Lizzie Cutting and junior midfielder Caitlin Powers moved up from defense for the desperation push and senior midfielder Sarah Clemmens won the ensuing draw. Powers found Cutting inside the eight-meter box and Cutting scored after bobbling the ball to knot the score again with only two seconds left.

"The draws are very important because it sets up the attack," said Clemmens, who took a majority of the draw controls for the Generals (12-5) and led the team with four goals and an assist.

Towson won the overall draw control battle, 19-12.

In the sudden-death overtime -- the third three-minute period is sudden-death while the first two three-minute periods are not -- Cyr scooped the opening draw for Winters Mill. Her entry pass was intercepted by Towson senior defender Lauren Taguding but a charging call against the Generals gave the ball back to Winters Mill. A Peters shot hit the right post, which set up the winning drive for the Falcons.

Cyr got the ball up top, drove through the middle of the arc and fired a shot past Towson goalkeeper Grace Bojanowski for the finally tally.

"I just kind of knew I could take my defender so I made a move on her," said Cyr, who also added three assists. "At first, I didn't realize that won the game, and then everyone started jumping on me. I was like, 'Oh, my gosh -- we won!' "

During the game, Towson built several two-goal leads and there were 10 tied scores.

Junior attacker Kara Glazer had three goals and an assist for the Generals while sophomore midfielder Caroline Krohn had a hat trick and added an assist. Bojanowski finished with eight saves.

"I think that's been the mentality of our team the whole season, that we never stopped trying," Towson senior defender Cathy Bachur said. "We're a fighting team, and it showed right there."

As the Falcons recklessly looked for the equalizer late in the first overtime period, three shots went high. Winters Mill re-gained possession each time and Trentzsch scored on a low, bouncing shot off a pass from Cyr with 54 seconds left to tie the game, 12-12. Krohn had split the defense for her goal, which gave Towson the early lead in extra time.

Bojanowski blocked back-to-back free-position shots from sophomore midfielder Katie Leech (four goals) in the final two minutes of regulation before Trentzsch scored off a rebound to tie the game and force overtime.

"Whenever they got the ball, there was always a chance of them scoring but our defense played really well," Bojanowski said.

Goalkeeper Katherine Russo also had an exceptional game in front of the cage. The Falcons' senior turned away 12 shots.

The last two-goal cushion Towson built was when Glazer scored with 8:05 left, which opened a 10-8 advantage. Freshman attacker Erin McMunn (three goals) and Leech countered for Winters Mill and tied the game again with 3:41 remaining.

"We're the kind of team that if we're down one of two goals, we're still coming back," Vaughn said. "I knew that it was going to come down to one goal, either way. We took care of the ball and you can't say enough about these girls."

Towson (12-5)          5    6    1    1    0    -    13
Winters Mill (17-2)    5    6    1    1    1    -    14
GOALS: T - Clemmens 4, Krohn 3, Glazer 3, Farrell, Cutting, Feeney; WM - Trentzsch 4, Leech 4, McMunn 3, peters 2, Cyr. ASSISTS: T - Glazer, Powers, Krohn, Farrell; WM - Cyr 3, Peters 2, Trentzsch. SHOTS: T - 32; WM - 29. SAVES: T - Bojanowski 8; WM - Russo 16. GROUND BALLS: T - n/a; WM - 18. DARW CONTROLS: T - 19; WM - 12.