Maxpreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Lacrosse Rankings

The Maryland-New York Challenge was created to help discover the top teams – at least for one year – from the two hotbeds of Baltimore and New York, most notably Long Island.

Based on last weekend's games, McDonogh School and Bryn Mawr of the IAAM clearly demonstrated their excellence.

No. 1 McDonogh (11-0) toppled two Long Island powers, former No. 2 Garden City (N.Y.), 20-9, and previously undefeated Hauppauge (N.Y.), 14-1. The No. 1 Eagles now have won 62 straight games.

No. 2 Bryn Mawr (12-1) whipped both St. Anthony's, 15-7, and Garden City, 8-3. Garden City entered last week ranked No. 2 and riding a 55-game win streak, and St. Anthony's was No. 4.

In other games, Hauppauge defeated host St. Paul's (Md.), 15-9, and St. Anthony's clipped John Carroll (Md.), 13-3. West Genesee of upstate New York won both its games, topping John Carroll, 14-6, and St. Paul's, 13-10.

In McDonogh's win over Garden City, the Eagles used a 9-0 run to break open a 6-5 game at halftime. Sophomore Megan Whittle scored seven goals and Taylor Cummings added five. Corinne Etchison and Cummings each had four in the win over Hauppauge.

"Garden City was a great opponent, they were No. 2 in the nation and we knew we had to (play) them really tough," said Cummings."We don't think about the streak much. We just take it one game at a time."

Bryn Mawr rallied from a 3-2 halftime deficit in its win over Garden City. Kassandra Bowling (three goals), Kate Snouffer (two goals), Nancy Dunbar (one goal, two assists), Erica Matz (one goal, two assists) and Caroline Turco (one goal) led the charge for the Mawrtians.

"We were not taking good care of the ball and we turned it over quite a bit early in the game," said Bryn Mawr coach Wendy Kridel. "We were not making good decisions with the ball. But we turned it around in the second half. I'm pretty psyched about how we played. To see the kids perform under that pressure; I think the kids recognize we really can play with the top competition.

"I am very proud of how the girls played overall. It was a great event. In the bigger picture it's an opportunity to get better as a team – that's how we look at it."

Games to Watch

No. 4 St. Anthony's at No. 11 Sacred Heart, Wednesday
No. 4 St. Anthony's at No. 8 Garden City, Saturday
No. 5 Garnet Valley vs. No. 25 St. Stephen's & St. Agnes, Saturday

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Lacrosse Rankings

1. (No. 1 last week) McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.), 11-0
How good are the Eagles? So good that they smoked the No. 2-rated team in the nation, Garden City, by a 20-9 score on the biggest stage at the Maryland-New York Challenge. McDonogh then dominated undefeated Hauppauge, 14-1. Still, the Eagles will have the pressures of the IAAM and a possible rematch with No. 2 Bryn Mawr looming in the playoffs, so it won't get any easier. They play at Notre Dame Prep (Md.) today.

2. (5) Bryn Mawr (Baltimore), 12-1
The Mawrtians jump back to the No. 2 spot with two impressive wins over Garden City and St. Anthony's. They have a big date Friday at Notre Dame Prep.

3. (3) Moorestown (N.J.), 10-0
The powerful Quakers can't be forgotten in the aftermath of the Maryland-New York Challenge. They handled Shawnee, 16-8, as Haleigh Dalmass had five goals and three assists, while Stephanie Toy added four goals and two assists. On Monday they whipped Holy Cross (N.J.), 20-2, as Toy (four goals, four assists) registered her 200th career tally. They host St. Paul's on Saturday; call it their own mini New Jersey-Baltimore Challenge.

4. (4) St. Anthony's (Melville, N.Y.), 7-1
The Friars rebounded well from a 15-7 loss to Bryn Mawr by toppling John Carroll, 13-3, in the Maryland-New York Challenge. Annie Heagerty had three goals and one assist, while Darcy Messina scored three goals. We'll see the showdowns for Long Island bragging rights as they travel to CHSAA rival Sacred Heart on Wednesday and play Saturday at Garden City, which also hosts Farmingdale on May 1.

5. (6) Garnet Valley (Glen Mills, Pa.), 9-0
The Jaguars edged Harriton, 13-12, on an overtime goal by Halley Barnes and remain atop the Central League. They have a big league game today at home against Springfield-Delco (Pa.) and then gear for a date Saturday with St. Stephen's & St. Agnes at the Katie Samson Festival at Radnor High (Pa.).

6. (7) Farmingdale (N.Y.), 7-0
The Dalers have not been tested since the first game of the year and should be undefeated when they travel May 1 to play at Garden City.

7. (2) Garden City (N.Y.), 7-2
The Trojans had a tough week against two fantastic opponents in a row, but should be most proud of their 55-game win streak, which lasted three years. They will have their chance against two other top teams on Long Island when they host St. Anthony's Saturday and Farmingdale on May 1.

8. (11) Marriotts Ridge (Marriottsville, Md.), 9-0
The Mustangs toppled arch-rival Mt. Hebron, 12-6, as Maggie Brooks and Zoe Stukenberg each had four goals. They have allowed just 26 goals in nine games.

9. (12) Century (Sykesville, Md.), 10-0
The Knights won their last three games by 17, 21 and 18 goals. They face their toughest week as they play at Winters Mill (Md.) Thursday and at No. 1 McDonogh on Monday.

10. (13) Ward Melville (East Setauket, N.Y.), 10-0
The Patriots had three tight wins last week, topping Northport 11-9, Middle Country 10-9 and Bay Shore 10-8, as Emily Rogers-Healion had four goals. They host 9-2 Sachem East today.

11. (14) Sacred Heart Academy (Hempstead, N.Y.), 10-0
The Spartans have been one of the top stories of the year and will find out exactly where they stand Wednesday when they host St. Anthony's in the first of their two regular season CHSAA showdowns.

12. (10) Hauppauge (N.Y.), 10-1
The Eagles rebounded from the 14-1 loss to No. 1 McDonogh Sunday in the second day of the Maryland-New York Challenge by downing Comsewogue (N.Y.), 16-11, as Jenna Vinci collected five goals and three assists, Lauren Descalzo had five goals and Taylor Ranftle contributed two goals and seven assists. Hauppauge also toppled St. Paul's, 15-9, in Saturday's first day at the Challenge. They have a key home game Wednesday vs. Eastport-South Manor.

13. (16) Great Valley (Malvern, Pa.), 10-0
The Patriots are dominating the Ches-Mont League. They have a key game Saturday vs. undefeated Notre Dame Academy at the Katie Samson Festival.

14. (8) West Genesee (Camillus, N.Y.), 8-1
The Wildcats rebounded well from an 11-10 loss to Mendham (N.J.) Thursday by sweeping John Carroll, 14-6, and St. Pauls, 13-10, at the Maryland-New York Challenge. They have a key game today at 7-0 Oswego (N.Y.).

15. (9) Ridgewood (N.J.), 9-1
The Maroons suffered an 11-7 loss to Glen Ridge (N.J.) and rebounded with two victories, including an 18-7 rout of Niskayuna (N.Y.). Their two biggest games will be at the end of the regular season when they face Shawnee and Moorestown.

16. (20) Chatham (N.J.), 8-2
The Cougars have rebounded nicely from two early-season defeats with six straight victories, including a 20-7 rout Saturday over Glen Ridge – the team that defeated Ridgewood. Mary Kate O'Neill had four goals and two assists in the win over Glen Ridge.

17. (21) Vero Beach (Fla.), 17-2
The Fighting Indians blitzed St. Edward's, 21-7, in the District 18 championship game for their eighth-consecutive district crown. Alexis Moirano and Zan Biedenharn each scored three goals for Vero Beach and Katy Pridemore had a pair. The Fighting Indians, who have won six straight state finals, will play in a second-round game on Friday.

18. (23) Severna Park (Md.), 10-0
They edged Broadneck (Md.) 8-7, as Morgan Torggler scored four goals and Camille King made seven saves, including a big one late in the game to preserve the win. They host 9-0 Annapolis on Friday.

19. (22) Georgetown Visitation Prep (Washington, D.C.), 11-1
Sophomore Ana Hagarup (three goals, three assists) tallied the game-winner in overtime to lift the Tigers to a thrilling 12-11 victory over St. Stephen's & St. Agnes in an Independent School League AA matchup in Alexandria. It was the first league loss for St. Stephen's & St. Agnes since 1995. The teams figure to meet again in the league finals.

20. (NR) Guilderland (Guilderland Center, N.Y.), 9-0
The Flying Dutch enter the rankings after key wins over three previously undefeated teams, Canandaigua Academy, 11-10; Niskayuna, 12-8; and Shaker, 12-6. Against Niskayuina, Morgan Hardt had four goals and an assist and Michaela Maybee added a pair of goals.

21. (18) Bay Shore (N.Y.), 8-1
The Marauders routed Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.) on Monday as Kyra Harney scored seven goals and Caroline Delyra added four goals and five assists. They get their biggest test Friday at home against Ward Melville.

22. (NR) West Morris Mendham (Mendham, N.J.), 8-2
The Minutemen scored a huge 11-10 win over West Genesee (N.Y.), as Ally Messinger scored five goals.

23. (NR) North Shore (Glen Head, N.Y.), 9-1
Senior Amanda Johansen scored a whopping nine goals as the Vikings ripped Seaford (N.Y.), 20-12. Tess Korten added four goals and two assists and Meaghan Brennan had three goals for North Shore, which is 6-0 in Conference 4C.

24. (NR) Harriton (Rosemont, Pa.), 10-1
The Rams suffered a heartbreaking 13-12 overtime loss to No. 5 Garnet Valley in their Central League showdown. Harriton, which trailed by three goals with 9 minutes to play, battled back on goals from Maddie Pisani, Jessica Schwab (her fourth) and Caleigh Foust (two goals, two assists), who claimed a ground ball at midfield, raced through the defense and tossed in the tying tally 5 seconds before the end of the second half. They play Catholic League power Archbishop Carroll Saturday at the Katie Samson Festival.

25. (15) St. Stephen's & St. Agnes (Alexandria, Va.), 12-3
The Saints have now lost three one-goal games, the toughest being last week's 12-11 overtime loss to Georgetown Visitation (Washington, D.C.). They did rebound well with three wins, including a 14-9 victory over Roland Park (Md.). They travel to play Garnet Valley Saturday at the Katie Samson Festival.

Dropped out: Victor (N.Y.) 6-2; Shoreham-Wading River (Shoreham, N.Y.), 5-2; Shawnee (Medford, N.J.) 6-1.

Chris Goldberg, editor and owner of Lacrosse Media, operates Phillylacrosse.com, LILacrosseNews.com and BaltimoreLacrosseNews.com, as well as the new national gear site, LaxGearZone.com. He may be reached at golax@phillylacrosse.com.