by Lem Satterfield
(see videos below)
In a game whose pace and intensity was dictated by two, high-powered offenses which matched each other virtually step-for-step, and goal-for-goal, the difference between winning and losing came down to defensive efforts by Dulaney midfielders Paige Messersmith and Emma Larkin.
First, Messersmith aborted a wind-up by Towson University-bound midfielder Jackie LaMonica within eight yards of Lions’ goalie Hannah Whiteley (nine saves) with two minutes on the clock.
Then, with 46 seconds left, Larkin, similarly, disrupted a free position attempt for what would have been the fourth goal of the game by Hereford midfielder Kierstin King.
As a result, the Lions, ranked 12th in the DigitalSports/Inside Lacrosse Top 20, avoided an upset with Thursday’s 11-10, non-divisional Baltimore County League victory over a Hereford team that was riding the crest of its confidence-boosting first win, 19-0, over league rival Parkville.
“I remembered that I had to get down into the 8, because she’s a good player, and one of their best players. So I just had to play good body position and force her out. I think I just had good body and she dropped it,” said Messersmith, a junior who also scored twice for the Lions (5-2).
Larkin, a senior who is bound for American University, displayed similar poise.
“I just had to get into the 8 as fast as I could and check the ball out and we got it back, and we just held it until the final buzzer,” said Larkin, who scored the eighth and 11th goals for the Lions, who led, 7-5, at halftime.
“I just think that [the difference] was the hustle at the end. We put so much passion into it,” Larkin said. “We just got so into it, and everyone knew what they had to do out there, and we just got it done.”
Fourth-year Lions coach, Kristi Korrow, has guided her team to last year’s Class 4A-3A state title game, as well as the Class 4A-3A state crowns in 2005, and, 2006.
With contributions from senior Cailin Colegrove (three goals, two assists), junior Brooke Martin (two goals, two assists), Kayla Amin (two assists) and senior Sarah Cauley, the Lions displayed a balanced offense.
“The Hereford game is always a really important game for us every single year. There’s a rivalry, not only between Hereford and Dulaney, but also, between [Bulls’ coach] Anne Ensor and myself. We’ve played lacrosse together since I was a freshman in high school in the summer league, so we’ve known each other for a long time,” Korrow, 26, said of Ensor, who is a teacher at Dulaney.
“She always gets her girls ready for this game and they’re pumped. So it’s always guaranteed to be a good game, and this, obviously, was no exception,” said Korrow, who is without injured University of Delaware-bound attack player Blair King.
“We wanted to come out and get an early lead, but they were neck-and-neck with us the whole time, and it kept going back and forth. The girls really worked hard today, and it was a lot of running for both teams,” said Korrow, who played her high school ball at Mercy, and collegiately at Loyola.
“They worked the ball well, and if we made a mistake, they made sure they were taking advantage of it. But they stayed with us. They did a really good job of capitalizing on things. I think we were even on the draws,” Korrow said.
“It came down to the wire, but we were lucky, down there, that we disrupted Jackie at the end and got that ball back,” Korrow said. “That was good defense, and I’m really proud of the girls. They really stuck it out.”
A big source of motivation, Larkin said, came from seeing Ensor during the school day.
“I did see her throughout the day today,” Larkin said. “Seeing her in the hallway, we were just like, ‘we really have to go out there and beat Hereford today.'”
“It’s a huge game for both of these teams. We came into it pretty excited and ready to go. I got my girls pumped up. Now I’ve got to hear about it tomorrow,” said Ensor, whose Bulls were county runners-up last year to Catonsville.
“It’s a rivalry. Towson-Dulaney is a little bit moreso, but Hereford-Towson, Hereford-Dulaney–it’s just as competitive,” said Ensor, whose Bulls entered the game having suffered losses against Notre Dame Prep, North Harford and Century.
Meg Becker (two assists) and Ellen Halle (two goals) also contributed for the Bulls, who lost to Century of Carroll County by 11-5. The Lions lost to Century, 8-7.
“I have not seen my girls play like this all year. So I’m excited,” Ensor said. “It’s hard to say you’re excited when you lost, but they’re a ranked team and we’re not anywhere to be found. So 11-10, that’s not bad. We’ll take it.”
Central to Hereford’s effort was junior midfielder Marta Randall (four goals, one assist), particularly in the first half where she scored three of the Bulls’ five goals and assisted on a fourth.
“Marta will find a reason to be competitive, and I’m not sure what she found — we’re going to have to ask her. But that’s the first that we’ve seen her play at that level all year, and we needed it. And it was outstanding play,” Ensor said.
“It wasn’t just on the goals, but all over the field — getting the ball back, forcing turnovers,” Ensor said. “Marta’s a great athlete, there’s no two ways about it.”
The Bulls were within, 6-5, after Randall scored unassisted, but Dulaney senior Sarah Cauley made it 7-5 with 58 seconds left in the half, and the score remained that way at the intermission.
“I’ve not actually been playing very well at practice the last couple of days, and I’ve been getting a little bit of grief about it. In essence them talking to me and telling me that I need to step it up a little,” said Randall.
“Today, like [Ensor] already said, this is a really personal game, especially for her because she teaches here,” Randall said. “I talked to one of my friends who graduated last year and who plays for Georgetown, and they just played Georgetown. And she said, ‘if we can beat UVA, then you can beat Dulaney.’ And I was like, ‘alright, we’re going to do it.’ And we came so close.”
The Lions, however, had their largest lead at 8-5, following a goals by Larkin off of a pass from Colegrove.
But the Bulls scored three of the next four times to pull within, 9-8, with 17:05 to play with Halle scoring the sixth and eighth goals — with the first being assisted by Meg Becker — and Randall scoring the Bulls’ seventh goal, unassisted.
Just as determined, however, were the Lions, who maintained their poise against a potential comeback.
Martin’s unassisted goal made it 10-8 with 16:51 to play, although the Bulls were back to within, 10-9, after LaMonica fed teammate Caroline Stanley.
Larkin’s unaided goal had her Lions ahead, 11-9, with 13:24 to play before Kierstin King’s free position goal had the Bulls within, 11-10, with 2:39 on the clock.
That’s when Messersmith and Larkin came up with their defensive stops, securing an emotional victory over their rivals from the North.
“I think that the intensity level was up the whole time because of Hereford, you know, being a big rival of ours. They wanted to make it a good game. And it was close, and they tried to pull it out,” said Loyola-bound defender Ana Heneberry, who scored her lone goal in the first half.
“But I think we did really well, holding our own even with the loss of Blair King, who is obviously a very big player on our offense, so we’re just trying to rebuild it and re-work it and get in who we need to get in,” said Heneberry.
“I think a lot of our players showed their versatility. Paige also scored the first two goals of the game,” Heneberry said. “I think it helps a lot that we have girls that can go down on defense and make big plays, but also, bring the ball up and score. Like, Emma had a huge drive, got the ball back, and scored.”
So the Lions left Thursday’s contest feeling as if they could contend, yet again, for a Class 4A-3A state title, and the Bulls, feeling like they could as well.
“This game reminded me a little of ‘Rocky,’ in that the no one team comes in and almost wins. It’s so exciting, even though we didn’t win. This game, now that the team has seen that we can play at this level, I’m just excited for the rest of the season,” Randall said.
“Dulaney’s one of the best teams we’ve played,” Randall said. “I think if we can play this well against them, I’m just really excited to see what we can do with the rest of our season.”
Dulaney 11, Hereford 10
Goals: H- Randall 4, King 3, Halle 2, Stanley. D- Colegrove 3, Messersmith 2, Larkin 2, Martin 2,
Cauley, Heneberry. Assists: H- Becker 2, Randall, LaMonica. D- Amin 2, Martin 2, Colegrove.
Saves: H- Rienhoff 9. D- Whiteley 9
Half: 7-5, D
Processing your request, Please wait....
