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John Carroll women’s lax defeats McDonogh 11-6
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Members of The John Carroll School, Bel Air, lacrosse team celebrate their 11-6 win over McDonogh School in the IAAM A Conference championship at St. Paul’s School for Girls May 10. (CR Staff/Owen Sweeney III)
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By Tim Lohrfink and Sue Thompson
The Catholic Review
Reaching perfection in anything is a daunting task, especially in the realm of sports.
But for The John Carroll School, Bel Air, “the sky’s the limit,” at least that was the mantra on the back of the Lady Patriots’ shirts for the 2008 IAAM A Conference lacrosse championships on May 10 at St. Paul’s School for Girls, Levering Field.
Indeed the sky was the limit for the John Carroll lacrosse team as they completed the perfect season, 18-0, with an 11-6 win over McDonogh School for the IAAM A Conference title.
The win gave the Patriots back-to-back title honors.
“We tried not to focus on an undefeated season or the rankings,” said Head Coach Krystin Porcella. “It was hard towards the end, once the playoffs started and pressure started to build, but we straightened everything out. Each year is different.”
The A Conference game was the final of three title games on Saturday, with John Carroll senior leadership serving as the force behind this well-oiled machine.
With senior Grace Gaeng and junior Brittany Dashiell each scoring three goals for John Carroll, the team never relinquished the lead, pulling 15 of 16 draws their way to keep control of a competitive game.
In getting to the championships this weekend, John Carroll, led by senior Casey Ancarrow, defeated St. Paul’s School for Girls 12-11 on May 6 in the quarters and Notre Dame Preparatory School, Towson, 13-12 in overtime on May 8 in the semifinal match-up.
At the end of a remarkable season, the John Carroll seniors will be missed as nine will graduate and head to college to play women’s lacrosse – a true accomplishment for Porcella and her players.
Senior Ally Carey, who will head to Vanderbilt University in the fall, commented on the team’s top honors.
“McDonogh is such a tough team, and it feels great to get a big win over such a competitive team,” she said. “We came out here and were ready to go. There were times when we were rough on each other, but we pulled it out.”
Slipping by the Gators and the Blazers in the ladder moving forward was a huge concern for John Carroll, wondering if they peaked too soon.
“We didn’t know what was wrong,” said Carey. “The playoffs are just so competitive, and in this conference you have to bring your best game every game and today we happened to do that.”
After being down 6-3 at halftime, McDonogh fought back to cut the John Carroll lead to one, at 6-5. From there, however, John Carroll went on auto-pilot and reeled off five of the next six goals scored.
Give credit to a tight defensive effort that was anchored by John Carroll goalie Lauren McGehee with 10 saves, several at point-blank range.
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Senior leadership keeps Spalding focused in softball
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By Sue Thompson
The Catholic Review
Head Coach Paul O’Brien won’t take any credit for the success of his Archbishop Spalding High School, Severn, softball team.
After completing a whirlwind season, with a 17-1 overall record and 14-0 in the IAAM A Conference, O’Brien gave credit where credit was due – to his senior leadership.
Seniors Meghan Van Meter, second baseman, Dulaney Bell, shortstop, and Casey O’Neill, first baseman, were at the forefront of the team’s success and drive toward conference perfection.
“Their leadership has just propelled this team to where it is right now,” said O’Brien, in his second season with the team, just before the start of the championship game with the Institute of Notre Dame, Baltimore, on May 11 at Harford Community College. “They kept us focused. They kept us intense, and they kept us moving in the right direction.”
Archbishop Spalding came away with a 6-0 win over IND, as junior hurler Elaine Nescio held IND to just one hit, while delivering 11 strikeouts on the day.
For IND, who came on strong at the end of the season, it was their second game of the day. They had faced Mount de Sales Academy just four hours earlier in a semifinal 5-2 win over the Catonsville school.
To recap, Archbishop Spalding scored in the bottom of the first inning on a double by Van Meter, who was plated by junior Jennifer Rindone on an RBI single.
Archbishop Spalding scored three runs in the third and two more in the fifth inning, to cap off the perfect conference season with six runs on eight hits and one IND error.
Nescio was brilliant from the mound, baffling IND and staying ahead in the count.
“I see Elaine as one of the elite pitchers in the area,” said O’Brien. “She’s dominating, fiercely competitive and has an incredible love for the game.”
In IAAM B Conference action, Notre Dame Preparatory School, Towson, placed runner-up to the McDonogh School in a 5-3 loss. NDP came in as a third seed in the post-season tournament with a 10-4 record and defeated St. Mary’s High School, Annapolis, 5-2 in the quarterfinal game. In semifinal action, NDP upended Maryvale Preparatory School, Brooklandville, the three-time defending champions, 7-3.
And in the IAAM C Conference championships, Towson Catholic High School defended their title honors by defeating St. Paul’s School for Girls 1-0 on a bottom of the sixth-inning triple, ripped to left center field by junior Rebecca Alban, who then scored on a throwing error. Towson Catholic’s top pitcher, sophomore Jessica Butler, was again dominating in her effort, keeping the Gators off balance. Butler threw a one-hitter and struck out 15 to lead Towson Catholic to another title. Offensively, Butler nailed two doubles on the day.
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