by Eric Meany
4A South
Emily Kenul (left) of Sherwood and Anna Galeano (right) of Blake may meet again in the 4A South regional final.
Sherwood (14-0) will host Richard Montgomery (3-8) at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday in the regional quarterfinals. The Warriors scored the most goals in the county (75) while allowing the fewest (6), boasting a speedy high-powered offense led by junior forwards Emily Kenul and Gabrielle Yore and a stingy defense anchored by junior goalkeeper Christina Ricciuti. Sherwood did not allow a goal in its last six regular season games, outscoring opponents 39-0 over that time. Their toughest competition in the 4A South bracket should come from the Blake Bengals, who gave the Warriors a scare on September 22nd in a game Sherwood ultimately won, 3-2. Should the Warriors prevail in their region, a challenging state semifinal game would await against the survivor the tough 4A East region. Leonardtown, South River, Broadneck and defending champion Severna Park are all strong teams with legitimate hopes of taking the state title. Sherwood won championships in 1980 and 1985, but has not made it as far as the state semi-finals since then.
Blake (9-3) will host Springbrook (4-7-1) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the regional quarterfinals. A 4-1 loss to Springbrook in the regional finals ended the Bengals season in 2011, but they are well positioned to exact revenge this year. Blake’s offense is largely powered by Maryland lacrosse recruit Caroline Wannen, who had 13 goals and 13 assists in the Bengals’ 12 games in the regular season. Fran Inman and Lillian Watkins added 10 goals each to balance out Blake’s offensive attack.
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