Falcon Girls Lacrosse Grinds Out Win over Arundel

In the playoffs, style points don’t matter. Only winning does.

The county champion Severna Park girls lacrosse team opened their playoff run by turning on the style early and grinding out the result late, holding off a plucky Arundel squad 15-10 in a Class 3A South Region II semifinal contest Thursday at Severna Park High School.

Alyssa Gore-Chung paced the Falcons (13-3) with six goals, while Maria Bragg had three goals and an assist. Charlotte Diez, Stella Bordone, and Regan McDonnell each added two goals in the win. Goaltender Allison Schiavone logged three saves.

The Falcons found the net four times in the opening three minutes and threatened to turn the game into a ho-hum affair. But Severna Park could not quite break away from Arundel, and neither could the Wildcats muster more than twice in a row in their bid to get back into the game.

“It’s great to have competitive games … it is getting tougher,” said Severna Park coach Annie Houghton. “I think it’s good to grind things out sometimes. It shows perseverance and grit from our team, that they can push through and finish what we started.”

When Arundel scored twice in quick succession to make the game 14-9 midway through the second half, Severna Park worked more methodically on offense to slow down the game. But they were frustrated by Arundel’s defense, and both teams went goalless for nearly 10 minutes before Bordone scored her second goal to effectively settle the game.

“Lacrosse is growing, and teams are getting better,” Houghton said. “We were working for the perfect shot, and they were shutting us down on defense, so credit to them.”

With the win, Severna Park is now one step away from a regional championship and a trip to the 3A state quarterfinals. The Falcons will host the regional championship game on Monday, when they’ll face the winner of Friday’s regional semifinal between Chesapeake and Crofton.