Lady Wildcats End Playoff Run

The Arundel High girls lacrosse team had high hopes this year, but ultimately its inability to put two strong halves together ended its season. The Lady Wildcats were eliminated from the MPSSAA state playoff tournament on Thursday, falling to Annapolis, 15-9.

"Expectations were high. I expected to win today," Arundel coach Josalyn Powers said.

Ana Brandenburg and Madeline Dion each tallied three times to start the game for the visiting Panthers, who took an 8-0 lead after 15-plus minutes of play.

"After we dig ourselves a hole, it's tough to come back," Powers said."We weren't able to overcome that deficit."

Holly Johnson mustered the only Arundel goal of the half, scoring at the 9:11 mark.

Annapolis would need just 22 seconds to match Johnson's goal, as Dion added her fourth goal of the half. Lorianne Hoover would rack up two more goals for the Lady Panthers, taking a 11-1 lead into halftime.

"We played great the first half, obviously. Very dominant," Annapolis coach Dave Gehrdes said.

Thirty-five seconds into the second half, the Lady Wildcats woke up. Senior Cassie Mahdi scored from a free position, starting a 3-0 run by the hosts.

"It just clicked, 'Oh, we can do this,'," Madhi said. "It just wasn't enough."

Kaitlin Vazina and Caley Breese contributed to the strong second-half start for Arundel, each scoring in a 41-second span after Mahdi's goal.

The Lady Wildcats would win the half by a 8-4 score, but couldn't comeback from the first-half hole.

"I see a lot of lacrosse players, a lot of girls committed to the game and committed to building this program and making it better," Powers said about the school's budding girls lacrosse program. "I'm tired of being in the middle of the pack, I'm ready to shine."

Arundel (5-7) 1 8 - 9

Annapolis 11 4 - 15