Severn girls lacrosse welcomed top-ranked McDonogh to its field on Thursday, fully prepared to stamp the defining victory of their season and program. But the Eagles had no interest in being a figure in the Admirals’ underdog story.
Two teams unbeaten in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference faced each other. Only visiting McDonogh walked away with its record intact and an 11-7 win.
McDonogh’s conference unbeaten streak extends to 35, stretching back to April 2022, while Severn (6-1, 3-1 IAAM A) has not been able to beat McDonogh in 20 meetings, spanning 18 years.
“We knew Severn had a lot of confidence coming in. They’ve got a really strong team this year and some good conference wins. They were gonna give us a game,” McDonogh coach Megan Nicotra said. “But we’re trying to have the mentality of being ready every single day to play McDonogh lacrosse. Every opponent is going to want it badly.”
Though the Eagles (7-1, 4-0) seemed to be running away with a lopsided victory in the third quarter, Severn found its spark at seemingly the right time.
Admirals Bronwyn Bolton and Eleanor Beard sent their draw wins to teammates who immediate scored goals, with McDonogh having little time to react. Only a shot clock violation-beater by Eagles junior Aiyanna Hammonds-Rippon stemmed Severn’s run, but the Admirals kept coming. When a collision sidelined Beard for a free position, junior Peach Wellschlager fulfilled her role, defying the two Eagles on her flanks to slash McDonogh’s lead to three goals, 8-5.
McDonogh’s Ava Fossati knew the Admirals felt their motivation brewing. So, she had to create a little of her own.
Though Severn drew the first two possessions of the fourth quarter, the Eagles had no trouble swiping it from their sticks — and Fossati had even less issue profiting from it. The Admirals defenders seemed to wilt behind her as the junior darted to the net and sniped back-to-back goals within a minute of each other.
Her quick work inspired her teammates, who pelted Severn keeper Cari Davis (eight saves) with shots and were swift to recover the ball. Hustling for the ground ball is the McDonogh specialty, Fossati said.
A yellow card within the final two minutes gave McDonogh the numbers advantage, too, which Hammonds-Rippin was happy to score on.
“We know what each other can do,” Fossati said. “It’s just about trusting each other to run our plays and come together.”
The Eagles defenders spent much of the fourth quarter standing in a row, far from the action. Though the Admirals were able to frequently create turnovers, the Eagles rode Severn’s ball-handlers into surrender before the Admirals could clear the midfield.
The once achievable rally looked smaller and smaller in the distance. With only a minute or so to play with, two more quick Severn goals came too late to give the hosts a true chance.
“[The ride] that’s something we’ve been working on all year, not conceding in the midfield and pressuring,” Nicotra said. “They’ve had success getting the ball back and that success just motivates them more.”
The adrenaline of a tight victory over Notre Dame Prep on Tuesday rode the bus with McDonogh to Water Street on Thursday. From the first whistle, McDonogh clawed down the first three draw controls with little interference. When Severn carried a one-goal lead into the second quarter, the Eagles countered by adjusting against Davis and upping its intensity on attack. Parker Kitchel, Payton Magday and Fossati combined to forge four second-quarter goals and a 5-2 halftime lead. The Admirals’ scorers, meanwhile, fell silent.
Severn coach Kathy Rudkin doesn’t believe the gravity of a victory against McDonogh is what hampered her Admirals’ play. There have already been surprising results through league play this spring, where the losing team didn’t play to its best standard. This was just Severn’s turn to have a bad day.
“We beat ourselves today,” the coach said, “and they were more poised mentally than we were. The talent on the field was pretty even. It just came down to turnovers.”
There hasn’t been one game this season that Rudkin watched her players make so many “silly,” wholly unforced turnovers. They were never going to be able to stop McDonogh from scoring
“Honestly, for us to have that many mental lapses and lose to one of the best teams in the country by four goals?” Rudkin said. “That tells us we have plenty of things that we can fix to get ourselves right.”
MCDONOGH — 1 4 3 3 — 11
SEVERN — 2 0 3 2 — 7
Goals — MD: Ava Fossati 4, Payton Magday 2, Ayianna Hammonds-Rippin 2, Reed Pinkin 1, Parker Kitchel 1, Byers Martin 1
SV: Eleanor Beard 2, Kelsey Pozdol 1, Antonia Huber 1, Maddie Ripley 1, Peach Wellschlager 1, Sally Reed 1
Assists — MD: Byers Martin 1, Payton Magday 1, McKenzie Brown
Saves – MD: Reagan O’Donovan 6; SV: Cari Davis 8
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