Lady Bruins Drop Regional Final To Severna Park, 9-4

SEVERNA PARK - The Broadneck High girls lacrosse season came to an end on Wednesday, losing to Severna Park, 9-4. The local rivals squared off for the Maryland 4A-3A East regional final, with the host Falcons claiming the title.

A gritty 11-save performance by senior goalie Julia Burns kept the Lady Bruins within striking distance for much of the game, but wasn't enough as the offense went cold and the defense wore down. 

"It's hard to come out and not get the result you want, especially when you know you that you can do it," senior Alli Dawson said.

Goals from Rachel Mia and Morgan Torggler had Severna Park up 2-0 after just after nine minutes of play. Torggler would pace the Lady Falcons with a game high four goals.

"Morgan was phenominal," Severna Park coach Carin Peterson said. "That kid was great today."

Freshman Ellie McNulty pulled one back for the Bruins at the 11:35 mark, taking a foul from the defense but still managing to put Broadneck on the board. McNulty's strong effort was quickly equalled as Torggler took a pass off the ensuing draw and went half the field by herself to put the Falcons back up by two.

With the first half winding down and the Lady Bruins trailing 4-1, sophomore Kacy Koolage wrapped around the right side of the goal and beat Falcon goalie Emily Mata low for a goal with two seconds left.

Dawson tallied twice in the second half, while Ally Adams scored in between the Dawson goals. The Falcons led 5-4 with 14:38 still to play.

With the Broadneck defense taking more and more pressure, the Lady Bruins began to show their fatigue.

Torggler's fourth goal of the game at 9:22 in the second started a 4-0 run, as Severna Park pulled away. The Lady Falcons won five consecutive draws, as they scored four times in a span of 2:55.

"We hardly took any shots in the second half. It's hard to put points on the scoreboard when you're not shooting," Broadneck coach Karen Tengwall said.

The Lady Bruins couldn't cut the lead, failing to get any consistent shots against Mata and the Severna Park defense. A missed chance from the free position by freshman Arden Smith was the last threat by the Bruins, as the final whistle followed soon after.

"We just couldn't get it done," Dawson said about her team's performance when facing a deficit. "We just played scared. People are afraid to get the ball. We just resort back to [bad] habits," Dawson said.

Broadneck's season comes to an end, while Severna Park, the only team to defeat the Lady Bruins in the regular season, will move on to the state semi-finals this weekend.

"Great senior class ... They will all be missed for sure," Tengwall said. "They all have bright futures ahead of them."

Broadneck (12-2) 2 2 - 4

Severna Park (14-0) 4 5 - 9