Girls’ lacrosse: Host St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes downs Good Counsel at Spring Fling

The St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes girls’ lacrosse team’s Spring Fling began in 1992 as a play-day full of 25-minute scrimmages to get local squads warmed up for a new season. But in recent years, the event has become more competitive, and now coaches across the nation call Coach Kathy Jenkins asking for a spot in the 12-team field and the chance to match up with some of the Washington area’s best.

The second-ranked Saints emerged as one of the stars on their own stage Saturday at the 21st Spring Fling, beating No. 9 Good Counsel, 13-6. Junior Carly Reed had five goals and senior Michele Phillips added three goals and two assists to ensure St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes was the only local squad to end the day without a loss.

“Since it is our tournament, it’s a pretty big deal — we have to play well,” Reed said. “We’ve played five games this week, so we’re all pretty tired, but we knew we had to come out strong and kind of prove ourselves to everyone.”

St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes (9-2) lost just twice last spring, but one of them came to the Falcons at the Spring Fling. The Saints scored three goals in the first six minutes this time for an early cushion and pulled away in the second half behind Reed, who will play college lacrosse at North Carolina.

The Saints had little trouble finding open looks around the goal and — despite a strong effort from Good Counsel junior goalie Meagh Graham (14 saves) — converted enough of them for a comfortable victory. Since suffering back-to-back one-goal losses last month, the Saints have now won seven straight.

“There was definitely pressure, especially against Good Counsel after losing last year,” Phillips said. “It was really important for us to play well and show all the other teams that we’re the best team here.”

Meanwhile, top-ranked Georgetown Visitation’s perfect early-season run ended with an 8-7 overtime loss to Notre Dame Prep.

Nursing a one-goal lead, the Cubs held possession for more than five minutes before turning it over with less than 20 seconds left in regulation. Notre Dame Prep — ranked No. 5 by the Baltimore Sun — managed to tie the score on junior Hannah Joblonski’s goal at the buzzer and then won it with two goals in the six-minute overtime.

Georgetown Visitation, which plays at St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes on Wednesday, bounced back later in the day with a 13-9 win over Archbishop Carroll (Pa.).

“I think this was a good weekend to learn what we need to fix before Wednesday,” said junior Tess McEvoy, who had four goals and two assists on the day. “Now we know what we have to bring to that one.”

Holy Cross arrived back in the area Friday night after sweeping three games on its spring break trip to California and pushed through tired legs to split a pair of games. The Tartans (8-4) knocked off Loyola Academy (Ill.), 10-7, in the morning before falling, 15-14 ,to Collegiate (Va.).