Bruin Girls Clip South River, Prove Growth

At this point in the calendar last year, the Broadneck girls lacrosse team might have lost a game like they played against South River, the way their April 4 contest unfolded.

But the Bruins, who were up and down for a lot of last year, have had more ups than downs in 2025, and are better for the experience.

And against the Seahawks, they flipped the script.

Avery Katzen scored her second goal of the game with less than two minutes remaining, giving the Bruins their first and only lead of the night. They won the ensuing draw and played keep-away, bleeding the clock dry for a 6-5 victory.

Nora Lopes also netted twice for the Bruins, while Ceci Facciponti and Savannah Libby both also scored.

Though Broadneck didn’t lead through the first 46 minutes, they battled and fought through offensive execution issues and held on long enough to make the victory stick.

“I’m proud of their grit and resilience. I’m proud of their composure on the defensive end to continue and fight to give our offense an opportunity,” said Broadneck coach Katy Kelley. They were very aggressive, very united, connected. A couple of transitional issues, but they made big plays when they needed to.”

The decisive moment came after one of those defensive plays. Kaitlyn Kearns twice intercepted a South River pass in the final few minutes, allowing the Bruins to race the other way. On the second of those turnovers, Broadneck’s eighth takeaway of the game, the offense finally clicked.

“Our strength is just being able to fight through those hard times, keep doing our job helping out the offense as much as possible,” Kearns said. “Knowing we had the chance to take the lead gave us a ton of energy.”

Katzen drifted into space in front of the net, a look that the Bruins had been trying to exploit for most of the game, to no avail. But at the end, Facciponti found her, and she netted to put Broadneck ahead for the first, and final, time.

“We were going through our plays where we have two people on the elbows, and I saw that my (defender) left me, and when I saw her leave I trailed behind her, and Ceci found me right in front,” Katzen said. “It’s definitely hard to do, but I know that if I see an opening, it’s this or nothing. That’s our chance.”

Katzen, just a sophomore, has developed a knack for showing up in big moments. It’s her second game-winner for the Bruins, the first coming in last year’s state championship.

“I think (Katzen is) very even keeled, and I think she’s very intelligent,” Kelley said. “I don’t think she really cares if she scores goals or doesn’t score goals. She’s just reading what’s in front of her, and sometimes that’s what it takes.

“She’s not even thinking it’s the last minute of the game. She’s thinking that she’s done this a million times before, and she does have that composed, quiet style about her.”

That even keel is serving Broadneck well so far. Through seven games, they’re 5-2, the losses coming to Cape Henlopen (Delaware) and St. Mary’s. They’ll pick up at home to Severna Park on April 11, followed by a one-day, two-match tango with Northern and Huntingtown on April 14.

The tussles they’re enduring now, the Bruins hope, will pay off as they hit the stretch run.

“Our schedule is very different from last year, and we have a lot of big games coming up,” Katzen said. “Our scrimmages weren’t too strong, but we knew after that we will only go up from here.”