With just 29.6 seconds left to go and Manchester Valley and Century girls lacrosse locked in a tie game, everyone in the stadium knew the ball would be in the stick of Emma Penczek.

However, as soon as the whistle blew for the restart, the star junior gave the ball up to Natalie Burmeister — but not for long.

Burmeister quickly fed it back to a cutting Penczek, and the reigning Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year came through for the Mavericks yet again. The give-and-go play turned into the game-winning goal as the No. 3 Mavericks walked away with the 6-5 victory Tuesday night, extending their winning streak to 27 games and handing No. 9 Century its first loss of the season.

“We didn’t think we’d have a chance at the backdoor cut there,” said Penczek, who finished with three goals and an assist. “Shoutout to my teammates for executing because we actually had several options open.”

Penczek’s goal completed the comeback as the Mavericks (8-0) erased a two-goal deficit with a 3-0 run during the game’s final seven minutes.

“I told them to just play confidently, help each other out and communicate,” Manchester Valley coach Shelly Brezicki said. “Recognize what they’re taking away, but also recognize what that leaves open and utilize that.”

Despite both teams averaging more than 13 goals per game this season, the Mavericks and Knights were locked in a defensive battle after a first half that ended in a 1-1 tie. Despite the scoring frustrations on both sides, Brezicki and Knights coach Becky Groves could hang their hats on the defensive effort as two of the most explosive offenses in Maryland were held in check thanks in large part to tremendous play by their goalies.

“Once we all settled down and got going, it gave me confidence,” Mavericks goalie Josie Colender said. “We all had each other’s backs.”

Brezicki was extremely impressed with the mental toughness of her freshman in the game’s tightest moments. Colender finished with eight saves.

“We talk about having the memory of a goldfish,” Brezicki said. “You may give up a goal, but we forget about it and move on to the next play. She did a tremendous job at that tonight.”

As the scoring picked up in the second half with quick goals from Manchester Valley’s Addison Myers and Century’s Natalie Opatovsky, the back-and-forth battle fans expected finally came to fruition.

“A halftime score of 1-1 doesn’t happen very often,” Penczek said. “But we knew going in this was going to be a tough battle against a good team, so we needed to respond.”

As the game wore on, it became clear whoever did the little, gritty things would have the extra edge needed for the victory.

Century’s Delaney Sandbank found Opatovsky for a goal that broke a 3-3 tie. Sandbank then rebounded her own missed free position shot to give Century (6-1) another possession, one that ended with a second goal by Opatovsky.

With time running out, the Mavericks got gritty themselves, enough to draw back even. Brezicki sent Penczek, Meyer and anyone else she could at the ball to force a turnover. As the Knights worked to handle the pressure, Penczek intercepted a pass, starting the fast break as the Mavericks took the momentum back in what seemed like mere seconds.

“Being versatile and being able to be a player that can make a play all over the field is great,” Penczek said. “Making those little plays like picking up a ground ball just helps me build confidence going into the next moment or next play.”

Penczek’s final goal, followed by a final interception of a Century pass, was enough to seal the deal as the Mavericks came from behind for the narrow victory.

Other girls lacrosse scores:

Towson 15, Sparrows Point 3

Reservoir 20, Hammond 0

Howard 19, Atholton 5

North Harford 20, Havre de Grace 9

Harford Tech 13, Patterson Mill 12

Bel Air 12, C. Milton Wright 10

South Carroll 18, Winters Mill 11

Westminster 20, Francis Scott Key 7

Liberty 19, Boonsboro 8

Annapolis 16, Glen Burnie 2

Crofton 18, North County 8

Fellowship of Christian Athletes 16, Tome 3

Baseball

Glenelg 1, River Hill 0: Glenelg and River Hill knew runs would be hard to come by in Tuesday afternoon’s matchup, with each team expected to send their respective ace — Glenelg’s Nicholas Bilotto, a University of Delaware commit, and River Hill’s Henry Zatkowski, a Duke University commit — to the mound.

The pitchers’ duel lived up to the billing as Bilotto and Zatkowski dominated the first four innings, keeping it scoreless.

However, Glenelg broke through in the fifth, playing small ball to produce what became the game’s only run in the Gladiators’ 1-0 win.

In Michael Tolle’s first at-bat, he struggled with Zatkowski’s slider. Before his fifth-inning at-bat, Tolle told the Gladiators’ staff he was going to be sitting on a slider. The senior got what he was looking for on the first pitch and a laced a leadoff double into the left-center field gap.

Blake Bourne advanced him to third on a bunt and Danny Dorsey did the same, placing a bunt down the first base line, scoring Tolle and giving the No. 10 Gladiators all the offense they needed.

“My friends said, ‘You’ve got to lay down this bunt,’” Dorsey said. “I just got the job done. You’ve just got to get the bat out in front and just lay it down. I missed the first one, but I had three chances and I got it done.”

— Jacob Steinberg

Archbishop Curley 7, Catonsville 6: Archbishop Curley’s Cooper Cumberledge hasn’t had many chances to be a hero, but Tuesday afternoon he drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning and Owen Shaprow retired the side in order in the bottom of the frame to give the Friars a 7-6 extra-inning victory over host Catonsville.

Cumberledge, who tripled in his first at-bat, lofted one just inside the right-field line to score Chase Bandy, who singled to lead off the inning.

“It was a little bloop,” Cumberledge said. “I was trying to push it a little bit further or hit like a line drive to right field, but instead it was more of a bloop, but it got the job done.”

It was a rare start for the junior, as Curley coach Joe Gaeta played his entire roster during a break from the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference schedule.

— Craig Clary

Patterson Mill 9, Rising Sun 2

Hammond 2, Marriotts Ridge 1

Softball

North Harford 7, Joppatowne 3

Bohemia Manor 3, Havrede Grace 2

Rising Sun 6, Patterson Mill 1

Francis Scott Key 14, Winters Mill 2

Liberty 6, Arundel 2

Marriotts Ridge 22, Hammond 0

Atholton 23, Wilde Lake 18

Annapolis Area Christian 14, Park 6

Boys lacrosse

Boys’ Latin 15, Mount Saint Joseph 7

Towson 22, Dundalk 1

Gilman 15, Severn 7

St. John’s Catholic Prep 18, Annapolis Area Christian 9

Marriotts Ridge 23, Oakland Mills 0

Centennial 20, Long Reach 1

Archbishop Spalding 10, McDonogh 9, OT

Crofton 18, North County 3

Broadneck 17, Southern 6

Chesapeake-AA 7, Northeast 4

Calvert Hall 18, John Carroll 9

Westminster 13, Francis Scott Key 1

Winters Mill 14, South Carroll 7

Boys tennis

Westminster 4, South Carroll 1

St. James 3, Manchester Valley 2

Girls tennis

South Carroll 4, Westminster 1

Baltimore Sun Media staff contributed to this article.