Shorthanded CYLA Danes Play Tough, Tie Quickstix Beta 6-6

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By Colin Murphy

In their third game of the season on April 9, the Chesapeake Youth Lacrosse Association Danes came from behind to tie Quickstix Beta 6-6 in a frenzied, back-and-forth battle in the Anne Arundel County “Middie” Girls 5th and 6th grade division at Chesapeake High School. Missing several key players from their roster and having only one substitute, Head Coach Mandy Beal was especially proud to see her team fight through exhaustion and grind out the tie to remain undefeated at 2-0-1.

“I knew coming in it was going to be a tough game,” said Beal, whose two daughters, Logan and Eryn, play on the team. “They practiced hard [this week]. We knew we wouldn’t have players with fresh legs to give them a break, but they dug deep. They didn’t want to quit.”  Click the "read more" link to see the rest of the story.

Logan Beal opened up the afternoon’s scoring by notching a goal two minutes in to give the Danes a 1-0 lead. Quickstix Beta responded with three unanswered goals to make it 3-1 at halftime, though the deficit would have been greater if not for stellar goalkeeping by Elisabeth Engelmeyer, who made an array of impressive saves throughout the game amidst a relentless attack from Quickstix Beta.

“We have an excellent goalie,” said Eryn Beal. “There were so many saves by Elisabeth.”

Before taking the field to begin the second half, the Danes made their intentions clear with a chant of “Together!,” and they played true to their word finding one another for several crisp passing sequences as they clawed their way back into the game. Bridgette Tayman scored off a deft assist by Margot Lawn, who along with Eryn Beal is one of two fourth graders playing on the team, to close within a goal of Quickstix Beta, 3-2. After briefly leaving the field due to injury, a determined Logan Beal re-entered and scored shortly thereafter to tie the game, 3-3.

“They did a good job getting the ball from open girl to open girl and spreading out today,” said Coach Beal, who added the team had practiced spacing and opening up passing lanes throughout the week.

Trading punches as the half wore on the two teams were dead-locked at 5-5 late in the second half on the strength of two goals by Sidney Sohn, each assisted by Logan Beal.

Chanting “Fight fight fight!” as they emerged from a timeout with less than three minutes to play, the Danes took a 6-5 lead on a frenetic sequence. A Quickstix Beta shot attempt ricocheted off the goalpost and was scooped up by Logan Beal, who raced the length of the field to score, putting the Danes ahead for the first time since the opening moments of the game.

Having expended a great deal of energy to come from behind and regain the lead, the Danes surrendered a goal in the game’s final minute, as Quickstix Beta salvaged the 6-6 tie. Despite coming so close to victory, the Danes remained upbeat after the game as they congratulated one another with high fives.

Sohn, who knew the amount of work she and her teammates have been putting in, was more than content with the outcome. “We’ve been running in practice — a lot,” said a smiling Sohn after the game, drawing more than a few chuckles and nods from nearby teammates.

“They’ve improved their stick skills so much since the beginning [of the season]. They’ve worked really hard,” said Coach Beal of her team’s progress and development before concluding, “I’m really proud of them.” 

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