One of the main goals of the new scheduling arrangement for regular-season games between schools from Anne Arundel and Howard counties was to create more competitive matchups.

Wednesday's girls lacrosse game between No. 3 Severna Park and No. 4 Mount Hebron on the first full day of such games certainly achieved that goal.

In a game between two of the winningest programs in the state, the host Falcons fought through five first-half ties and defeated the Vikings, 15-12, on Wednesday at Kinder Farm Park in Millersville.

Severna Park (5-0) never trailed and built the lead to four on three occasions in the second half.

“It was our first Howard County game and a new thing for the season, so it was nice to come out and have a little pride and come out with the win,” Severna Park coach Kaitlyn Hines said. “I'm excited. I think this Howard County stuff is going to be a good change and tempo. It's nice to see some fresh faces.”

Eva Klaus scored six goals, assisted on one and won six draws for the Falcons, who scored two goals in the first minute of the second half to build a three-goal lead and never let Mount Hebron get closer than within two the rest of the game.

“We knew how good they are and we knew they've won 15 state championships,” Klaus said. “It definitely is a pride thing, so we played as hard as we could.”

Sorana Larson scored six goals to lead the Vikings, who came back from a three-goal deficit in the first half to pull within one at halftime.

“I think it was a really well-matched game, and I don't really think it was our best outing,” Mount Hebron coach Lindsay Menton said. “We started a little bit flat, and I think today they just had our number.”

In a game that had the feel of a playoff matchup, the Vikings came back each time Severna Park built a lead in the first half. The Falcons used a three-goal run to take a 5-2 lead, but Mount Hebron came back with three straight goals and held Severna Park scoreless for more than eight minutes. The teams traded goals and were tied at 7 in the final minute of the half, but Laura Milleker's goal with 28 seconds left put the Falcons up for good.

Despite the halftime lead, Hines wasn't 100 percent satisfied with the way the game was going, and she let her team know.

“The message was to clean it up. We had some sloppy play on offense. We were dropping the ball a little bit and not coming up with as many ground balls as I expected,” Hines said. “So I just told them, ‘You guys are good, but I expect you to be great and I expect that consistency and we have to make sure, start to finish, we're taking care of those little things.' I tried to light that fire under them a little bit.”

Milleker finished with three goals and two assists, Claire Domshick had two goals and Amanda Rumsey stopped eight shots for Severna Park, which also received solid defensive play from Alex Miller on dangerous Vikings scorer Jordan Stevens.

“We knew going into the game that she was one of their top players, so we wanted to do our best to shut her down,” Hines said. “I was very impressed with Alex — being a freshman — stepping up. She did the game plan very well and start to finish she did her job.”

Stevens still managed to score three goals and Jen Schaaf stopped nine shots for Mount Hebron, which will host South River on April 19 and Arundel on April 25.

“I think it's great for us to get out and play some other teams,” Menton said. “You can become a little bit complacent sometimes when you see the same teams all the time, so I think it's good to get some fresh looks at some new teams, and it makes us better.”