‘This is where we want to be’

n Leonardtown girls lacrosse captures third straight SMAC crown

Friday, May 9, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN The Leonardtown girls lacrosse team smothers goalie Katie Hammerer, center, as they all celebrate the program’s third consecutive SMAC championship Tuesday evening. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

After a shaky first half where Patuxent (7-5, 6-4 SMAC) appeared ready to pull an upset, Leonardtown (13-1, 10-0) played a near perfect second half to win the match, 15-8.

‘‘All compliments to Patuxent,” said Leonardtown head coach Mike Denny. ‘‘They really controlled the match in the first half. They outhustled us.”

The win secured the first-ever perfect conference record for the Raiders, something Denny said was a goal for his team after one-loss conference seasons the past two years. It’s the third consecutive SMAC championship for the Raiders, who shared the title with Chopticon last season.

‘‘The bottom line was, the girls realized they were playing for an undefeated season,” said Denny of Leonardtown’s second-half comeback. ‘‘I think it was important to them. At halftime, I could sense a sense of urgency from them. They knew what was happening to them.”

Denny said the win not only meant a lot to his current team, but also his program in general. He added that it was important for him as a coach to win this game and to make sure his program continues to improve year to year.

‘‘This is where we want to be,” said Denny, who noted Leonardtown’s undefeated junior varsity squad as a key to feeding his team with talented players every year. ‘‘We don’t want to take a step backwards – that’s the key. We feel the program is moving in the right direction.”

Leonardtown junior Krista Tippett scored the first goal of the match with 19 minutes 46 seconds left in the first half, and the Raiders appeared ready to take control of the match from the beginning, like it has done so many times in the past. But a surprising performance from Patuxent instead took over and became the first half story.

The Panthers scored their first goal of the night with 17:51 left when junior Erin Mooney notched her only goal of the game.

Three minutes later, Michelle Denny scored the first of her three goals, followed by Nina Capuano’s first goal of the night three minutes after that. The latter goal caused a tense Coach Denny to call his first timeout of the game with the Panthers leading 3-1.

‘‘[Patuxent] really played well,” said Denny, who said his team’s biggest problem has been consistency. ‘‘They played as a complete unit, and our girls weren’t playing with the same intensity.”

The timeout did little to stop Patuxent, which scored three more goals in the next seven minutes to push its lead to 6-1. It was the biggest lead Patuxent held all night and Denny said it was the biggest deficit his team has faced all season.

‘‘Usually, we do have a rough first half,” said Tippett. ‘‘It’s hard to get into the groove of things. We try to get out strong, but once we get momentum going, we can keep it going.”

The first half wasn’t a complete loss for Leonardtown, which began its comeback when sophomore Katelyn Blondino scored the first of her two goals with 3:02 left and Tippett followed with a goal at 2:07 to cut Patuxent’s lead to 6-3 entering halftime.

‘‘I would’ve been happy if we were up by one at the half, or even if we were tied,” said Patuxent head coach Anthony Barone. ‘‘It was a great surprise and the girls played, I mean that was the best we’ve played all season.”

Leonardtown continued its comeback in the second half, coming out strong and scoring six consecutive goals before the Panthers scored their first of the half.

After Patuxent junior Celeste Jourdanais scored her only goal of the game with 13:55 left to cut Leonardtown’s lead to 9-7, the Raiders went on another scoring streak, with five goals in eight minutes, before the Panthers threw home their last goal of the night with 1:58 left.

In total, the Raiders scored 12 goals in the 25-minute period and held Patuxent to only two.

‘‘I think Leonardtown woke up a little bit,” said Barone. ‘‘We were worn down a little bit. We were playing through some injuries and I think by the second half, the injuries showed a little bit.”

Although it turned out to be a seven-goal loss for the Panthers, Barone said the game was a step in the right direction for his team and hopes it can reproduce its first half success during the upcoming playoffs.

‘‘That first half gives us great momentum,” said Barone, who also noted that Leonardtown was playing the ‘‘kind of ball we need to be at.” ‘‘We just have to get healed up by Saturday.”