It didn’t matter how quick Chesapeake’s movements were, how well-constructed its game plan, how aggressive its draw takers or how high-pressure its defense.
Not when the ball dropped from its sticks like there were rips in the strings.
Visiting Queen Anne’s reveled in Chesapeake’s turnovers happily to an 11-6 final in a Class 2A state quarterfinal.
A game full of self-inflected wounds just outweighed a spurt of fire at the end against a capable team like the Lions, and yet, Cougars coach Kaitlyn Hines couldn’t help but look on her team with pride — even as her eyes brimmed with tears for her seniors.
“We didn’t let up in our game play,” Hines said. “We can hold our heads high.”
The Cougars (12-2) plucked the first six draws but only managed to net one of them. The rest were bobbled and swept away in waves of green and black, to feed the seemingly indomitable RJ Ensor.
The junior struck three of her six goals in the first frame and two more in the second. Lions junior Riley Klepper joined her with a pair of her own and an assist for another, the two taking advantage of Chesapeake’s defense being penalized at a steady clip. Of Queen Anne’s eight first-half goals, three flew from the 8-meter spot.
Only freshman Lexi Vosburg’s couple, split between the two frames, made Chesapeake even a factor at halftime as Queen Anne’s enjoyed an 8-2 edge.
But senior Kelsie Payne intended to change that.
“Some nerves played into it,” Hines said. “We kind of let the first quarter get out of control. But I’m so proud of the way they chipped back. I think we kind of surprised them.”
Payne doubled Chesapeake’s haul with two quick jabs in the third while securing the first three draws. The two squads matched two goals apiece through the 12 minutes but still left the Lions ahead, 10-4.
“She has truly been our leader the entire season — in goals, draws, caused turnovers, ground balls. I mean, she’s just an everywhere kind of person,” Hines said. “She just has some grit where she digs in — she sparks everyone else to just be better.”
At the top of the fourth quarter, Payne snatched two draws; Lilly Patrick and Anna Kunes curved deftly through traffic to score both of them. Down 10-6 with most of the fourth quarter ahead, a rally hummed at the Cougars’ fingertips.
Until they turned the ball over again.
Chesapeake defense slowed Queen Anne’s down, but at such a late stage, eating up the clock was deadly. — especially when, four minutes later, Queen Anne’s Baillie Pinder just popped her goal in anyway.
Two years ago, a Chesapeake girls lacrosse team had no hope of competing in a state quarterfinal. The last Cougars team to battle to the state final did so more than a decade before any of the current players came into the world, in 1991.
“Hopefully each year we just continue to progress and get better,” Hines said. “I think that was a good testament to ourselves — a lot of our own mistakes where we don’t turn over the ball, it’s different. Those are positives.
“I don’t feel like we looked like we didn’t belong here.”
Queen Anne’s — 4 4 2 1 — 11
Chesapeake — 1 1 2 2 — 6
Goals: QA — Ensor 6, Klepper 3, Hickson 1, Pinder 1; CH — Vosburg 2, Payne 2, Patrick 1, Kunes 1; Assists: QA — Pinder 2, Dulin 1; Saves: QA –George 6; CH — Bombard 15