by Michael Natelli ’14

After a long, unprecedented run, the Warriors’ season came to an end at the hands of the Broadneck Bruins in tonight’s 4A/3A Girl’s Lacrosse State Championship. The final score of the game was a lopsided 21-5, but don’t be fooled. While Broadneck was the dominant team, the Warriors certainly deserved to be in the dance. 

After defeating Howard 17-14 in Saturday’s state semi-final, the Warriors became the first ever team from Montgomery County to ever clinch an appearance in the state championship. The MPSSAA, which hosts the state championship tournament, was founded in 1946, and after 67 years of this format, the Warriors finally accomplished a feat that no team from any of Montgomery County’s 26 high schools has ever managed to achieve.

As if that weren’t enough.

Putting together 16 consecutive wins is a pretty daunting task, and one that is unthinkable for most teams. But not when for a Warrior squad led by senior Maddie Doan and junior Emily Kenul, who combined for an incogitable 137 goals on the season (71 and 66 respectively). To put that in perspective, opposing teams combined to score a mere 119 goals on the Warriors in their 16 wins this year. The next three leading scorers for the Warriors (senior Taylor Polhemus, juniors Kristen Lauda and Natalie Sebeck) were not far off from that mark, combining for an additional 95 goals. The Warriors’ offensive production this season was certainly one for the history books, and when combined with the strong effort from the defense and the consistent goaltending of senior Jamie Langbein, resulted in the Warriors winning each game by an impressive average margin of 9.11 goals.

It was apparent that the team recognized what they had accomplished this year after the final horn sounded tonight. Hugs were given all around, and smiles were worn as if part of the team’s uniform.  And rightly so. While falling a game short of perfection is as bittersweet as it gets, it was truly a season for the ages, and the greatest that Montgomery County has ever seen.

Photo Credit: The Washington Post/All Met Sports