After one quarter, it appeared the Broadneck-Walt Whitman Class 4A girls lacrosse state semifinal would be a tight, tense affair.
The Vikings controlled possession early and scored on their first two shots to jump out ahead. The Bruins battled back and scored twice in the span of 23 seconds to tie and it looked like it would be a back-and-forth, low-scoring affair the whole way.
That narrative went out the window in a hurry during a dominant second quarter as Broadneck turned up the intensity on both ends of the field and took complete control of the contest.
Junior attackers Sienna Miller and Cayman Holmes led the way as No. 3 seed Broadneck buried No. 2 Walt Whitman in that decisive second stanza and cruised to a 16-8 victory at Severna Park High.
Miller scored four goals and assisted two others to spark an offense that outscored Whitman 8-1 in the second period to pull away. Holmes served as the playmaker operating behind the net, amassing four assists and scoring a goal for good measure.
“I think it was more about our offense finding some openings and some chemistry and executing,” Broadneck coach Katy Kelley said when asked what changed in the second quarter. “As soon as we put a few goals in, the whole momentum shifted.”
Senior midfielder Lily Trout also scored four goals, while senior attacker Olivia Orso had a hat trick for Broadneck (14-5), which will seek its fourth straight state championship when it plays Urbana on a day and time to be determined next week. The Bruins suffered significant losses from last year’s team that posted a state title three-peat, so Kelley is grateful to get back to the final.
“It’s never a given. You have to earn everything. It’s great to have that opportunity,” Kelley said. “I saw tonight that they were hungry for it, which was exciting to see.”
Whitman scored on two straight shots to start the game with Faith Howell and Quinn Foa finished free position opportunities. The Vikings forced several turnovers on the defensive end and held the ball for long stretches, drawing two yellow cards along the way.
Kelley acknowledged it was a “scary start” and said it was obvious from the outset that Walt Whitman was very athletic and well-coached. The 11th-year coach felt the Bruins just needed to settle down.
“I knew coming out we had a lot of energy. The girls were really into this game. I think it was getting that high adjusted to the levels of let’s go play Broadneck lacrosse,” Kelley said.
Senior defender Susanna Moore started the decisive run by scoring off a free position just 58 seconds into the second period and moments later sophomore midfielder Nora Lopes intercepted a Whitman clearing pass and raced straight to the cage for an uncontested shot.
Those two early goals opened the floodgates and the Bruins just poured it on. Holmes fed a cutting Trout for a point-blank shot then Miller circled around to the front of the net and fired a left-handed laser into the top corner.
Orso scored off a breakaway, Miller used a superb change of direction move to net another unassisted tally and Holmes connected with Trout once again and suddenly it was 9-2.
“On the field you could feel it, you could feel the intensity. It was like electricity and we felt a connection,” Miller said of the second period explosion.
“I think they had a stretch where they got a bunch of draw controls and defensively we had some breakdowns where we didn’t stay with our cutters,” Whitman coach Maddie Parker said. “They’re great shooters and if you give them a chance they’re going to finish.”
Kelley credited the defense with helping turn things around. Sophomore Nya Williams did a superb job of marking Foa, Whitman’s leading scorer who finished the season with 52 goals. Three-sport athlete Katelyn Kearns was also very active defensively and was a force in gobbling up ground balls.
“I thought my defense was very composed tonight. I was very proud of them,” said Kelley, praising Miller and others with doing a great job of re-defending and forcing Whitman to commit turnovers in the clearing game.
Whitman did not have a defender who could stay in front of Miller, who used her tremendous speed and quickness to repeatedly dodge to the front of the net. Holmes repeatedly put pinpoint passes right on the sticks of teammates for easy finishes.
“She’s a vision girl and I love kids like that. She just knows where her teammates are going to be and has that ability to place it right where they’re going,” Kelley said of Holmes.
Broadneck will be making its ninth appearance in the finals and seeking its seventh state championship. Meanwhile, Walt Whitman has now advanced to the state semifinals 10 times without being able to win at that level.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. We don’t see this type of competition in our county very often,” Parker said. “I think our girls stepped up to the challenge for the most part. They just have so much talent and it’s hard to compete with that.”
No. 3 Broadneck (14-5) 2-8-4-2=16
No. 2 Whitman (15-3) 2-1-3-2=8
GOALS: BN — Miller 5, Trout 4, Orso 3, Moore, Lopes, Holmes, Facciponti. WW — Foa 3, Ekin 2, Howell, Einberg, Reichert. ASSISTS: BN — Holmes 4, Miller 2, Lopes. WW — Foa. SHOTS: BN — 23. WW — 15. SAVES: BN — Robison 5. WW — Milhollin 6. DRAWS: BN — 16. WW — 12.
