Roland Park Country School Comes Up Just Short in Lacrosse Championship Game

For Caroline Seats, who was playing in the last game of her high school career for the Roland Park Country School, the 18-17 loss to McDonogh hurt.

Yet the senior midfielder was proud of the Reds team, and that it made it to the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM) A conference championship game.

“We never gave up on ourselves and we had a really great chemistry and we were very united,” Seats said after the game.

“I knew our team had it in us, but over the years we haven’t been able to pull it out.  That’s why I’m so proud of our team this year to come over the hump of just losing in the quarterfinals or the semis,” she said

But after finally advancing to the championship game for the first time in Seats high school career, the Reds faced a daunting task.  Their opponent: an Eagle team that was two time defending champion, and entering the contest with a 50 game winning streak.

Yet the Reds looked straight at McDonogh, which led the game three times by four-goals, and bounced back each time.

The game boiled down to a battle of the draws. But the one that counted the most, after the Reds pulled to within one with 37 seconds left to play, was won by the Eagles.

“They played an incredible game,” McDonogh head coach Chris Robinson said in a post-game interview.  “They played with a lot of heart. I congratulate them on putting out just a tremendous effort.”

As the score indicates, it was a tense game of ups and downs.  Roland Park was able to grab the lead twice in the first half, the last time on an unassisted Seats goal when she hit from eight yards out with the Reds down a player due to a yellow card.

Yet it was that yellow card that turned out to be costly.  The Eagles scored three times during the three-minute penalty and turned a 6-5 deficit into an 8-7 advantage – a lead they would never surrender.

McDonogh carried a three or four goal margin through much of the second half, including four goal leads at 24:33 and 14:56, when Brooks Ann Lawler scored unassisted moving from right center to left center.

Even after the Reds narrowed the margin to 16-14 on a Meggie Ramzy jump shot from the left side with 7:22 left, the Eagles scored 30 seconds later when Sammi Burgess bounced home a goal from the left front.

Yet Roland Park again battled back.

Jenna Reifler took a feed from Betsy Angel at 4:54 to pull the Reds back to within two.  A little more than a minute later, Angel side-armed a shot past the McDonogh goalie to make it a one-goal game.

The all-important draw went to McDonogh and the Eagles immediately went into a slow-down offense to bleed the precious seconds that remained on the clock.

Realizing they had to regain control of the ball, Reds goalie Mattie Miller left the cage to play a more active role on defense.

Seeing the open net, Taylor Cummings flicked the ball into the goal to give McDonogh an insurance margin.

And it was one they needed.

Gabby Weintraub controlled the draw for RPCS and passed the ball to Mattie Meredith, who was fouled.  She netted the free-position shot with 37 seconds left, but McDonogh won the ensuing draw and ran the clock out.

“I’m really proud of the effort they put out – all year, really,” said Reds head coach Kristin Nicolini.  “It was so close.”

She said the key for Roland Park was to keep the game close, play patient, and capitalize on the available opportunities.

And draws.

“Draws are pretty crucial in games like this,” she said.

McDonogh won that battle as well, 20-17, though RPCS had a 10-7 second half advantage.

“I wanted to get that last draw,” Seats said.  “But she boxed me out and got it.”

Seats finished the game with two goals.  Meredith scored four times and added an assist, Audrey Todd scored four goals, Ramzy three with two assists and Reifler three goals.  Angel finished with one goal and an assist and Madison Formwalt had five assists.

Cummings paced the Eagle attack with five goals and an assist, Burgess, Lawler and Corrine Etchison each scored three times, with Posey Valis, Mallory Schonk, Jen Cook and Megan Whittle each notching one goal.  Cook added two assists and Schonk had one.

McDonogh finished the season 14-0, Roland Park 10-4.