When archrivals Poly and City meet on the field in any sport, players know the atmosphere will be intense. So when the Engineers girls lacrosse team saw the game starting to slip away in the second half on Thursday, players knew they had to turn down the temperature.

“We really needed to just take a breath,” sophomore Winnie Marshall said. “We took our time, called a timeout and reset ourselves … We really just stopped panicking.”

After surrendering four straight goals to lose control of a game it had led throughout, Poly closed the fourth quarter with three straight of its own, holding the perennial Baltimore City power Knights scoreless for the final 13:40 and getting the game-winner from junior Kit Engelke with 40 seconds left in a 12-11 win that clinched its first city title since 2011.

Marshall, a sophomore who played last season for City before transferring, finished with five goals and two assists to go along with three goals from Kate Johnson Carey and two each from sophomore Juliet Goad and Engelke. Midfielder Rye Pierre scored a game-high six goals and teammates Tayonna Jones and Nicole Ryan two each for City, which was in search of at least a share of the championship for the 10th time in 11 seasons.

This year, however, belonged to Poly (7-1 overall, 5-0 city), which clinched the championship by twice beating City, 12-11, in the span of 16 days.

“This is such a good group of kids,” Poly coach Marissa Totten said. “Everyday they come to practice and really just want to fight. They really lift each other up too. We don’t have a JV program, so we have a range of skills. We have kids picking up a stick for the first time and we have kids who are probably going to go off and play in college. I just see so much leadership in those kids who have the experience … and that’s why I think they have so much success on the field.”

Trailing by two entering the fourth quarter, Poly pulled even on a pair of goals by sophomore Kate Johnson Carey, setting the stage for Engelke, who took a feed from Johnson Carey on the wing, then drove in and scored to the goalie’s left.

“I just saw there was an open spot to go to goal,” Engelke said. “I knew we had no time, so I might as well take the chance. I just hooked it over the goalie, and it surprisingly went in.”

When Poly won the ensuing draw, City (5-2, 3-2) could only watch the final seconds tick away.

It marked the first championship in 14 years for the Engineers, who close out the regular season Tuesday against Western. Regardless of that outcome, players said they will always remember this special moment against their biggest rival.

“It’s always special to play [City],” Marshall said. “Everyone just came together, and I’m just so excited to be a part of this team.”

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