MILLTOWN — Saint Mark’s girls lacrosse team took their act down the hill to the Graveyard for their senior night battle against Middletown on May 4, and the game turned out to be worthy of prime time. Under the lights, the Spartans held off a furious Cavaliers comeback attempt for an 8-7 victory.
Cat Kaminski’s spin and shot high into the net gave the Spartans their biggest lead of the night at 6-2 with 2:06 left in the first half. But any thoughts of a comfortable victory were soon dashed.
Aggressive checking from both teams led to plenty of ground balls and turnovers from the teams, and the Cavaliers took advantage of some Saint Mark’s violations in the final minute of the half. Devon Whayland scored on an eight-meter chance with 40 seconds to go, and Abigail Fisher did the same with just three seconds left on the clock to give Middletown the momentum heading into the break down by just two.
Middletown goalkeeper Madeline Durbin stopped an eight-meter shot early on in the second, and the Cavs made that save count. Whayland weaved through the Spartans’ defense and beat Spartans keeper Mackenzie Fanning with 21:36 to go, cutting the Saint Mark’s lead to a single goal.
Durbin came up with a big kick save after that, but the Spartans put a dent into the Cavaliers’ comeback hopes beginning at the 19:07 mark. That’s when Katie Hanich bounced in an eight-meter opportunity. The Spartans rang another shot off the post shortly thereafter.
Saint Mark’s went into possession mode in the middle stages of the second half, holding the ball on one possession for two minutes before Durbin came up with another kick save. The Spartans nearly capitalized on a ground ball win a minute later, but Durbin came up with a stellar stop on a point-blank chance for Erin Nolte.
That save led to another ground ball, and the Spartans picked it up. Hanich again did the finishing, scoring with 9:38 to go to push the lead back to three.
Another outstanding save for Durbin spurred the Cavaliers. Fisher made a nice spin move on her way to the net and sent a lefthanded shot into the net to make it 8-6 with 6:13 to go. The Cavs kept the pressure on, and Fisher scored again at the 4:42 mark, sending a shot off of Fanning’s shoulder that fluttered into the net.
But the Spartans did a good job down the stretch holding on to the ball and winning ground balls when they needed to. Saint Mark’s was able to extend possessions as a number of fouls were called on Middletown for various infractions.
It was a hot start for one of the Spartans’ seniors, Lindsay Sawyer. She got the scoring started three minutes in after taking a pass while cutting toward the net and spinning out of trouble. Fanning came up with a few big saves to keep it 1-0 Spartans before Elizabeth Cooling tied it with 14:55 to go in the first.
Sawyer scored her second on an eight-meter opportunity, and Sophia Esposito added a goal after a restart three minutes later. After a Cavs goal by Alyssa Lahitsky, Sawyer picked up her hat trick with a top-shelf goal, and Rowan O’Donoghue found the net after receiving a nice pass from a teammate.
Sawyer had three goals and Hanich two for the Spartans, who improved to 6-5 and won consecutive games for the first time this season. Fanning had seven saves. They travel to Wilmington Charter on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Whayland had three goals and Fisher a pair for the Cavaliers (4-9). Durbin was credited with three saves. Middletown closes out the regular season with a pair of home game, beginning Friday at 6:15 p.m. against St. Georges.
All photos by Mike Lang.
