CYLA Cyclones Battle Davidsonville To 9-9 Draw

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Story And Photos By Colin A.J. Murphy

In an exciting back-and-forth matchup with Davidsonville under the lights at Chesapeake High School on March 31, the CYLA ‘Cyclones’ Junior B girls lacrosse team overcame a late second-half deficit to salvage a 9-9 tie and stay out of the loss column to open its 2012 county season.

Playing a very strong Gators team, the Cyclones struck first in what was a very fast-paced first half. Mary Fitzhenry found the goal with a well-placed shot from a tough angle on the left side, giving CYLA a 1-0 lead. After Davidsonville responded with a goal to tie the game, Riley Hutson made it back-to-back scores, the second assisted by Alex Hodges, to push the Cyclones out to an early 3-1 edge.

A long stretch of scoreless play followed, highlighted by great defense and midfield play from the Cyclones’ Jordan Latham, Carly Bohlen, Julia Dunshee, Emilie Forrester, Rachel Heller, and Jenna Hutson. Goalkeeper Allison Mervine turned away five Davidsonville shots in the half to preserve the early lead. But the Gators’ goalie also made a series of fine stops, one of which led to a quick transition score that cut the Davidsonville deficit to 3-2 just before half. The Gators did well to win the ensuing draw and then punched it home, sneaking into halftime with the game tied, 3-3.

Despite playing without key team members Mackenzey Adams, Andrea Phelps, Marissa Emmart, and Abbey Kipke, and having several of their girls playing their second CYLA game of the day, the Cyclones still looked the more energetic team emerging from the break. Allisyn Freburger found the back of the net after taking a feed from Fitzhenry to put CYLA back up, 4-3. Davidsonville, forced to respond, rattled off three consecutive scores to roar back and take a 6-4 lead.

Refusing to make excuses, the shorthanded Cyclones made a comeback of their own. Lizzy Maxwell powered her way down the middle through three Davidsonville defenders to beat the Gators’ goalie and close the gap to 6-5. Moments later, Brooke Martin got the Cyclones right back in it at 6-6 with a goal of her own.

The boxing match was on, and the teams took turns trading punches the rest of the way. Davidonsville scored to go up 7-6, but Maxwell got it right back for the Cyclones. Davidsonville answered again and could have made it a two-goal advantage if not for an outstanding, point-blank save by Mervine. The save regained possession for CYLA, and Lillian Maenner made it count beating the Davidsonville keeper to tie it 8. After Davidsonville again took the lead, Maxwell made it three goals on the night after drawing a shooting space penalty to tie the game at 9-9.

No youth lacrosse game in Anne Arundel County would be complete without a little bit of healthy controversy, and the play in question came in the final 30 seconds with the outcome hanging in the balance. On the left side of the goal, Maxwell found Riley Hutson, who fired a shot into the back of the net, and a suddenly sunken Davidsonville team watched the Cyclones jump in jubilation. The referees originally signaled a goal, but what appeared to be a torn seam in the back of the net allowed the ball to trickle out behind the base of the goal. The refs deemed the shot hit the side net and wiped away the score. Play resumed and the game ended just seconds later, CYLA 9, Davidsonville 9.

Taking the high road, the upbeat Cyclones were unfazed by the retracted game-winning goal and were nonetheless happy with their performance.

“The girls ran the whole game, so we’re happy,” said Cyclones Head Coach Greg Hutson following the game, noting that the emerging strengths of the squad will serve them well over the remainder of the season. “We’re an aggressive team with a lot of speed, and that’s what really propels us.”

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