Girls lacrosse
Scott’s draw control, goal lift Lions
Bobcats rally to tie game in regulation, then senior seals victory on pass from Kinsey
Diana Carey didn’t have any doubt. She wanted Emileigh Scott on the opening draw of overtime Monday.
The Lions’ second-year girls lacrosse coach had switched up the circle throughout the back-and-forth game against visiting Class 4A foe Bel Air, but when it came down to a crucial possession in the golden-goal extra time, she knew she needed her senior captain.
“She is competitive,” Carey said. “And the girls I had on the circle were the right girls.”
Scott stepped up to the line and won the ball in the air to gain possession for her team. Howard settled in offensively and gave the ball to fellow senior captain Jenny Kinsey, who then found Scott cutting through the 8-meter. Scott corralled the pass and buried her shot into the bottom-left corner of the netting to give the Lions (6-2) the 16-15 overtime victory over the No. 13 Bobcats (6-2).
“I thought I saw the opening, so I cut and Jenny was unselfish and I just finished,” Scott said. “When the ball went through the back of the net ... I was just happy that I followed through for my team and I made that goal.”
Howard needed its senior captains, Scott, Kinsey and goalie Sam Sagi, in Monday’s game against the Bobcats, who nearly walked away with a come-from-behind win.
The Lions led by five goals with just more than 13 minutes left in regulation, but Bel Air never wavered and was able to chip away at the deficit.
“There is never any panic with our group,” Bobcats coach Kristen Barry said. “We believe in each other and we know all we have to do is just to go back to the basics. It’s one goal at a time and you just keep fighting for every loose ball. One save, one goal at a time and they’ve learned that with time in a game goals can be scored in seconds. There is no need to panic, no need to get out of your game plan, just stay the course.”
Howard won the draw-control battle through the first 15 minutes of the second half, but Bel Air adjusted and picked up some key ground balls off the circle from junior Elizabeth Hillman, who Barry said had a “gutsy” performance after suffering a severe ankle injury a few games earlier. Her hustle on the circle led to quick scores for the Bobcats, as they scored three goals in three minutes. They finally tied the game at 14 with 3:49 remaining after Lauren Asher assisted Anna Farley on the goal.
“[Hillman] battled for us, but our whole team did,” Barry said. “Anna Farley was a leader, captain. Julia Henry stepped up and played a little midfield for us today — everyone, really. Everyone is ready to sacrifice and step up and do what is needed to be done for the team.”
Scott won the ensuing draw to get her team back down on the offensive end. The Lions were patient and stayed spread, forcing Bel Air to come out and pressure. After shedding some time off the clock, freshman Jenna Peed took an opportunity, dodged a defender and scored her third goal of the game to put the Lions back up, 15-14, with 2:23 left.
Scott again won possession off the draw and Howard was ready to run time down, but an unforced overthrow out of bounds gave the Bobcats the ball back, and the turnover quickly led to a goal by Anna McQuay to tie the score at 15 with a minute to play.
Howard and Bel Air traded possessions in the middle of the field on the following draw. Ultimately, Hillman won the ground ball for the Bobcats to give her team one last opportunity to win it in regulation. But the Lions defense stayed tough and allowed the clock to wind down. Hillman, with the final seconds ticking away, put a shot on net, but Sagi came up with a huge stop to preserve the 15-all tie and force overtime, which resulted in Scott coming up with the vital draw and game-winning goal.
“We had a chance on the last play before overtime, but didn’t work out and it came back to that first draw, and they did a great job,” Barry said. “Howard is a phenomenal team, and we just have a lot of respect for them.”
The game had five lead changes, with the score tied on eight occasions.
The Bobcats were balanced offensively, with nine goal scorers in the game. Henry (three goals, two assists) and Asher (three goals, one assist) led the way. Molly Loughlin finished with 10 saves.
Kinsey led the Lions offensively with four goals and two assists, followed by Jamie Tsao (two goals, three assists) and Peed (three goals, two assists). Sagi made 14 saves.
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