It often doesn’t matter if one team is at the top of the standings and another team is at the bottom, when any of the combination of Severn, St. Mary’s or Archbishop Spalding meet in girls lacrosse, a tight contest is expected.

Wednesday was no different when the Saints hosted the Cavaliers, as Alexandra Schepers’ goal with seven minutes left broke a tie and the No. 7 Cavaliers were able to keep the ball out of the No. 9 Saints’ sticks late and held on for a 7-6 win.

“It’s a big rivalry and we were really ready for the game and really excited,” Spalding’s Kristin O’Neill said. “We knew they were going to come out hard. So we wanted to come out strong, and we knew we were going to have to battle hard. So it’s a really big win and really exciting.”

After St. Mary’s Whitney Albert started the scoring, O’Neill responded with the next two goals to give the Cavaliers a 2-1 lead. O’Neill finished with three goals.

The Saints responded and regained the lead on Albert’s second goal. Albert finished with four goals despite blanket coverage.

“Every single time she got the ball they would call shooter and she still was able to capitalize almost every single time,” St. Mary’s coach Mindy Jones said. “I think that just goes to show no matter what defense is thrown at her she’s a big-time player and she came up big for us.”

Trailing 4-3 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, the Cavaliers got consecutive goals from Olivia Piccirilli, O’Neill and Lindsay Beardmore to take a 6-4 lead into halftime.

After eight minutes of staunch defending on both sides to start the second half, Albert scored off a free position to cut it to 6-5 and Julianna Sanchez scored point-blank a minute later to tie the game at 6. Maggie Aumiller had the other Saints’ goal.

Schepers gave the Cavaliers the lead for good by curling around the left side and firing it into the top corner.

For her, it was not her goal that proved most crucial, but the efforts by Jenna Garden and Haley Urgo to retain possession and keep the ball away from the Saints in the final five minutes despite being shorthanded.

“We played really well as a team,” Schepers said. “They are a tough team, It was a nice win for us. I think the whole team played together really well, but it was really the people at the end that held the ball the best that won us the game.”

For Archbishop Spalding coach Tara Shea, it was a nice momentum boost to beat a big rival on the road.

“Like I say every year, you could be at the top of the conference or the bottom of the conference, but when you are playing Severn or St. Mary’s versus Spalding, the rivalry, the local kids playing together, it’s anyone’s game,” Shea said. “This game could have gone either way. St. Mary’s has had a great year, so again we knew to expect a tough game.”

rmorse@capgaznews.com

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