Mt. Hebron girls lacrosse holds off Centennial rally for first win | Howard County sports roundup

May 13—Weathering a second-half push from host Centennial on its Senior Night, Mt. Hebron girls lacrosse got itself the result it had been waiting for on Wednesday evening.

After watching its once seven-goal lead trimmed to three midway through the second half, Mt. Hebron called a timeout and regrouped with a 6-1 run of its own over a 14-minute stretch to create the separation it needed to earn a 17-11 victory over the Eagles. It was the first win of the season for the Vikings, which had lost against Marriotts Ridge and Glenelg to open the year.

"Today definitely boosts our spirits and gives us confidence for the rest of the season. We talked a lot at practice yesterday about focusing on what's in front of us and not those previous losses, so this win really helps a lot with that," said Mt. Hebron senior Ashley Unkenholz, who scored a game-high five goals to go along with an assist. "We know what we are capable of now."

In addition to Unkenholz, the Vikings also got big offensive games from Michelle Pak and Jessie Barke, who both scored three goals and had two assists. Audrey Harrington and Peyton Sims also chipped in for Mt. Hebron (1-2) with two goals apiece.

For Centennial (1-2), Louisa Lagera and Alaina Kelly led the offense with three and two goals, respectively, and two assists apiece. Goalie Ava Welsh led the Eagles' defense with 23 saves.

In the end, Mt. Hebron was just too tough on the draw thanks to Haley Kampert and managed to steady the ship before Centennial could completely grab the momentum in the second half.

"It wasn't perfect today. I think they all realize that they have more in them that they can give, but this is a group that is still meshing as a team. So getting a win is important no matter how it comes," Mt. Hebron coach Sam Brookhart said. "I was definitely proud of how we answered out of our timeout in the second half. ... We really pulled ourselves together there. Definitely some things we have to work on, but also some good things we can take away."

For Brookhart, it was her first varsity win as head coach.

On the other side, Centennial coach Ellen Johnson said she saw flashes from her team but there were just a few too many lapses that Mt. Hebron was able to take advantage of.

"We focus on execution and decision making, and we had moments where that was great. Then we had moments today where that fell short," Johnson said. "It's frustrating for us because I know their potential and we have been working a lot on being mentally tough. The girls played hard, they worked until the end. But we are still figuring out that component of how to play a complete game and keep that poise."

Mt. Hebron jumped out to an early 7-2 advantage and still led by five at the half by a score of 9-4. That lead grew to seven goals, 11-4, following a goal by Barke just over four minutes after halftime.

But that's when Centennial regrouped, finding life on an extended man-up opportunity. In a span of under four minutes, Lagera scored three times and Cudzilo added another to bring the Eagles all the way back to within three and force the Vikings to call timeout.

Just as things seemed to be slipping away, however, Mt. Hebron got back to doing the things it did in the early stages of the contest. Unkenholz scored to stop the run with 14:24 left in the second half, and then after Lagera cut the lead to three again, the Vikings proceeded to rattle off five scores in a row.

"It really came down to decision making I thought," Unkenholz said. "In the timeout, we just said 'OK, settle down. We still are up and there is no need to force the ball.' We started doing a better job taking our time, moving it around and not settling for quick shots."

Centennial added two scores in the final 30 seconds, but by then the outcome was well in hand.

Mt. Hebron is back in action on Friday at home against Howard, while Centennial will travel to face Marriotts Ridge.

Mt. Hebron 17, Centennial 11

Goals: MH — A. Unkenholz 5, J. Barke 3, M. Pak 3, A. Harrington 2, P. Sims 2, C. Mullaney 1, O. Hoover 1; C — L. Lagera 4, A. Cudzilo 3, A. Kelly 2, C. Pilcher 2.

Assists: MH — Barke 2, Pak 2, Harrington, Mullaney, Unkenholz; C — Lagera 2, Cudzilo 2, Kelly 2,

Saves: MH — Skyla Lloyd 15; C — Ava Welsh 23.

Halftime: 9-4 MH.

OTHER GIRLS LACROSSE SCORES:

Atholton 14, Oakland Mills 2

Kendall Dean and Molly Flynn both scored four goals in the Raiders' triumph. Hannah McGrath also led the Atholton (2-0) offense with three goals and six assists. Kaity Browne and Sara Novak both scored for Oakland Mills (1-2).

Box score:

Goals: A — Kendall Dean 4, Molly Flynn 4, Hannah McGrath 3, Taylor McManus, Makayla Gravely-Smith, Christina Min; OM — Kaity Browne, Sara Novak.

Assists: A — McGrath 6, Layna Meyerpeter, Gravely-Smith 1; OM — Yasmine Megdiche.

Saves: A — Kyleigh Eaton 2, Autumn Wenstrom 4; OM — N/A.

Halftime: 10-2, A.

Glenelg 18, Howard 4

The Gladiators won in convincing fashion for the third straight game to start the 2021 campaign. Caitlyn Baehr led Glenelg (3-0) with six goals, and seven other Gladiators also scored in the blowout win. Emma Kennedy registered a hat trick, while Isa Torres, Maura Murphy and Lauren LaPointe all scored two goals. Reese Allnutt directed the Gladiators' offense and tallied four assists.

Box score:

Goals: G — Caitlyn Baehr 6, Emma Kennedy 3, Isa Torres 2, Maura Murphy 2, Lauren LaPointe 2, Reese Allnutt, Sarah Johnson, Kamryn Henson; Ho — N/A.

Assists: G — Allnutt 4, Maddie Key, Molly Sloan, Chloe Birkhead, Emily Renehan; Ho — N/A.

Saves: G — Jocy Torres 7; Ho — N/A.

Long Reach at Hammond (PPD to May 17)

Marriotts Ridge at River Hill (PPD)

Reservoir at Wilde Lake (PPD)

BOYS LACROSSE

Glenelg 12, Howard 6

The Gladiators improved to 3-0 with the convincing win over the Lions. Glenelg outscored the Lions 8-3 in the second half after a competitive first two quarters. Colin Buch and Evan Whatley led the Lions with three goals apiece. Howard (1-2) was led by Braden Zehring and Max Bruno, who both scored two goals. Logan Boone tallied 14 saves in the loss.

Box score:

Goals: G — Colin Buch 3, Evan Whatley 3, Kevin Doughty 2, Rocco Buscher, Jon Nagle, Nick Dalton, Wyatt Haney; Ho — Braden Zehring 2, Max Bruno 2, Nathan Boone, Gavin Smith.

Assists: G — Whatley 2, Doughty 2, Buch, Buscher, Dalton, Jacob Szczepanski N/A; Ho — Zehring 2.

Saves: G — Charlie Wendel 3, Stephen Desantis 4; Ho — N/A.

Halftime: 4-3, G.

Mt. Hebron 13, Centennial 8

After one half of play, it looked like the Vikings were going to fall to 0-3 on the season. But Mt. Hebron scored seven goals in the third period to turn the tide and turn a 6-3 deficit into an eventual 13-8 triumph over the rival Eagles. Rich Tangires scored four times in the third quarter, while Gavin Fleck tallied four assists in the period. Gianni Karam and Brendan Demek both registered hat tricks in the Mt. Hebron (1-2) win. Centennial (1-2), meanwhile, was led by Jack Ritter and Andrew Hockersmith, who both scored two goals apiece.

Box score:

Goals: MH — Rich Tangires 4, Gianni Karam 3, Brendan Demek 3, Cameron Stockenberg 2, Gavin Fleck; C — Jack Ritter 2, Andrew Hockersmith 2, Sam Bussink, Ryan Firebough, James MacLellan, Brendan Hlibok.

Assists: MH — Fleck 4, Karam 2, Nick Machiran, Stockenberg, Demek, Keegan Ryan, Jonas Hulbert; C — Josh Flick, Ritter, Bussink, Hockersmith.