May 12, 2005
The Start of Something Beautiful
Although they have dominated the top of numerous ranking and rating for the last half decade, two of the top girl's high school programs in the country squared off for the first time this past Saturday.
Mt. Hebron (D.C.), almost unanimously regarded as the No. 1 team in the country, managed to stifle Moorestown (N.J.), another program annually at the top of national polls, 11-5, in a game played at Mt. Hebron.
In a frenetic start to the game, Moorestown had a chance to put its mark on the contest, racing out to a 2-1 lead. But after the flow settled down, the Vikings took control and never let the Quakers back in it. Mt. Hebron scored the next six goals of the game and held a 7-2 edge midway through the second frame and wouldn't be threatened the rest of the way.
"We couldn't let up at all because we didn't know if they could comeback," said Mt. Hebron coach Brooke Kuhl-McClellen after the game in an interview with the Cherry Hill Courier-Post. "They have great defense, tremendous skill. They deserve every bit of that No. 2 ranking."
Without the ability to consistently win draw controls in the second half added to the inability of the Quakers to mount a comeback.
"They took us completely out of our offense because we couldn't get into our offense," said Deanna Knobloch, Moorestown's skipper. "You can't win if you don't have the ball."
While Mt. Hebron took the first game between these two giants of girl's lacrosse, it is expected that this game will be the start of intense interstate rivalry.
"We knew coming into the game that Mt. Hebron was a great team and it was going to be a great game," said Knobloch. "I hope that this is a game we can play year in and year out."
"I've already told Deanna and [assistant coach] K.C. that we'd be coming next year," said Kuhl-McClellen. "I have a lot of juniors out there, so I feel pretty good about our chances."
One-Loss Wonders Eyeing MIAA Prize
A couple of months ago in a story about the MIAA, several of the coaches talked about how tough the league was and the near impossibility to go undefeated. They were clairvoyant in some respects, as the semifinals are set for the MIAA boys and no team has an unblemished record, but still, there is a pair of teams boasting records with just one loss.
The top two seeds in the tournament, McDonogh and Boy's Latin, are sporting 20-1 and 17-1 marks, respectively. McDonough nearly ran the table this year, suffering its only setback to a Gilman (8-6) team - which just lost to Loyola (14-2) in the MIAA quarterfinals - last week in the penultimate game of the regular season. BL was beat by McDonogh midway through the season.
The two one-loss squads are on a collision course in the championship game if BL can take down Loyola and McDonogh can subdue St. Paul's. If they do meet, there is going to be a team as good as any in the country finishing as a league runner-up.
(West Gene)See-ing N.Y. Lacrosse From The Top
The capital of lacrosse in the state of New York right now is on the fields of West Genesee High School, where the Wildcats and Lady `Cats are both the top-ranked squads in the latest Class A state rankings.
With two games left on the regular season schedule, including a battle tonight against Baldwinsville, the West Genesee boy's have posted a perfect 15-0 record and have only been challenged in two games so far. In their two games against Liverpool (10-6), the Wildcats managed wins of 6-5 and 6-3, but in the other 13 contests, the closest any other competitor came was six goals.
After a rough start to the season, in which the Lady `Cats dropped their first two games of the season to Skaneateles (16-0) and Brighton (13-1, Class B), West Genesee has won 13-straight games, recording two shutouts along the way. The first of three games left on the regular schedule is tonight, a huge home match-up with Fayetteville-Manlius (14-2).
A Quick Lacrosse Affirmation
I'm not sure if this story is topical for the High School Notebook, but it is a recollection reaffirming my love of the sport of lacrosse and those involved in it.
While working at the Western College Lacrosse League championship game at Mirramonte High School in Orinda, Calif., a couple of weeks ago, I happened to be at my car during halftime when I saw four or five members of the UC-Berkeley men's lacrosse team sprinting past me to the entrance of the parking lot with concerned looks on their faces.
As I made my way back to the field, fans young and old were combing the grounds of the high school, checking behind bushes and port-o-potties. A co-ed from UCSB or Sonoma State turned to her male friend and said, "You check the bathrooms, and I'll check the concession stands."
Shortly after I passed the students, the public address announcer boomed over the loud speaker, saying a three-old child was missing and pleading for any help in finding the young boy. It was impossible for me to get back to the press box as, to a person, the 900 fans sitting in the stands were streaming out onto the grounds in search of the boy (who was identified by the Maryland lacrosse cap he was wearing).
Senior citizens were searching under stands, students combed the neighboring fields, and parents pushed their way through bushes and shrubs. Players and coaches from both UCSB and Sonoma State peered through the fences in hopes of catching a glimpse of the child as the start of the second half was delayed.
The UC-Berkeley players actually formed a human wall, keeping every car in the parking lot until they were searched for the budding young lacrosse player.
As I took a peek underneath a table in the sponsor's section of the venue, the announcement went up over the speakers. The boy had been found, rumored to be playing with some rocks underneath a stand of trees next to one of the youth fields. A tremendous cheer rose from the entire grounds and spontaneous applause was sustained for several moments.
Returning to the press box, it was hard not to smile. Lacrosse fans and parents from different teams and different stations in life all united to find a lost child. I'm not sure if there is another championship game in any other sport that would be postponed, but there was no question in the minds of the people in Orinda that day the child would be found before any more lacrosse would be played. It was a feel good moment and one making me (again) proud to be involved in this sport.
To all of those fans who participated in the search, and especially the members of the event staff from the UC-Berkeley men's lacrosse team, I say thank you for this small, yet meaningful, reaffirmation.
