As she whipped in the game-winning shot in overtime, Anna Ervin remembered.
The St. Mary’s junior never forgot what it felt like to walk off Severn’s lacrosse field two seasons ago — the Admirals cheering behind her back, hugging their own go-ahead goal scorer so tightly she dropped to the turf.
If given the chance, Ervin wouldn’t let it happen again. She helped guide the Saints to a dominating triumph over the Admirals last year on her home grounds. On Monday afternoon, she made it clear a loss was not a possibility she’d stomach.
Then, in overtime, she got her chance when St. Mary’s went a man up.
“I knew we had the power in the hands. We had control of where this game was going to go,” Ervin said. “And we had a good set for when they called a card.”
By the play’s design, the Severn defense had to choose between Ervin and Sydney DeMaio. It chose wrong. Senior Payton Marohl passed to Ervin, who didn’t hesitate to seal the 10-9 rally with a goal.
“You’d think I’d freak out,” Ervin said, “but this is something our coach prepares us for in practice. We knew exactly how to play it out. Even if it wasn’t perfect, the ball was in the net.”
St. Mary’s struggled on draws in the second half as Severn took a 9-7 lead. But Grace Mitchell and Jayci Frederick popped out of the final four draws with control. Attack Kendall Kemezis netted one of those and DeMaio dished a pass to Ervin to tie the game at 9.
The Saints remained poised, even as what seemed like their final shot clock of regulation counted to one second. Ervin let the Admirals defenders crash her, draw a card, and negate a turnover.
“I think this has to be a good teaching moment for them to believe in themselves,” St. Mary’s coach Tom DeMaio said, “and to not take any team lightly.”
The two clashed for two close periods until St. Mary’s (9-5) led Severn for the briefest moment at the top of the third quarter following a surge of draw controls.
Mitchell generated two-straight possessions from the circle that both she and DeMaio turned into game-tying and go-ahead goals. . The Saints eroded Severn’s defenses, its attacks not suffering the same overthrows and turnovers Admirals were now behaviorally falling into.
But Severn goalkeeper Liv Cochran was not some soft cliffside for them to carve away at wave after wave. While she let in a museum-quality work of art from DeMaio, direct shots began to batter her without effect. The sophomore goalkeeper swallowed up three straight shots, including two in which she had to barrel roll to the turf.
Sophomore Peach Wellschlager tied the game at 5 as Severn regained its footing.
Better known as “Squirt” for her small stature coupled with speed, Severn senior Giselle Torain menaced anyone wearing blue all afternoon. Torain drew two 8-meter chances and converted both, giving Severn a 7-5 lead to close the third quarter.
In the fourth, it didn’t seem to matter what St. Mary’s threw at the net, even if it stuck; if Severn gained possession, it always had a reply. When the Admirals scooped up their ninth draw control, sophomore Courtney Francis stalked around the backfield with the ball safely in her clutches until wrapping around the back and scoring an insurance goal that made it 9-7.
So, St. Mary’s made certain the Admirals never drew out a possession again.
St. Mary’s — 2 1 2 4 1 — 10
Severn — 2 2 3 2 0 — 9
Goals: SM — DeMaio 4, Ervin 3, Mitchell 1, Hodor 1, Kemezis 1; SV — Bolton 3, Torain 2, Wellschlager 2, Francis 1, Leech 1; Assists: SM — DeMaio 3, Ervin 2, Wiese 2; Kemezis 1; SV: Bolton 1, Leech 1, Torain 1; Saves: SM: Drain 2; SV: Cochran 6, Davis 2