Severna Park girls yet to meet their match | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Last night, the Severna Park girls lacrosse team matched a feat that it accomplished last regular season.

They finished undefeated again.

The Falcons defeated South River, 26-8, and with the way they played against the fourth-ranked Seahawks, it looks as if they will be favored to reprise their state-championship run from a year ago.

Senior Julie Gardner scored six goals, including four in the second half, to lead the Falcons (14-0).

Severna Park, ranked second nationally by LaxPower.com, scored early and often, building a 10-0 lead seven minutes into the first half. The first tally came 56 seconds into the game by senior Hayley Rausch, with Gardner following 32 seconds later. Only18 ticks later, junior Kathleen Barranco netted a marker, and 37 seconds after that, Gardner bagged her second.

It took junior Jaci Gassaway 1:27 to garner the next goal and senior Kendell Pittinger one minute more to get the sixth Falcons' score.

A half-minute later, senior Allison

Behringer got the next goal and Barranco collected her second 41 seconds later. Behringer netted goal number two 44 seconds after that, and Barranco gained the hat trick in only 25 seconds to make it 10-0 with 17:50 remaining in the first half.

"I didn't expect that," Severna Park coach Carin Peterson said. "They came to play and played phenomenal. That first 10 minutes, they looked great. I was pleasantly surprised with my girls. Everything just seemed to bounce their way."

South River (12-2) managed a pair of goals in the next seven minutes, with juniors Stephanie Peterson and Devin Dorsey hitting the net, but Behringer and Rausch answered those in a span of 1:23. South River senior Joey Demo and Rausch traded goals before the Seahawks scored three straight goals -- by sophomore Brooke Griffin and seniors Ali Mattingly and Alana Glanell -- to make it 13-6 at the half.

In the second half, there were more lessons to learn as the Falcons scored another 13 goals and yielded only two. Severna Park dominated the draw controls, 29-9, including 16 of 17 in the second half.

Brooke scored twice in the second half -- 3:32 into the half and with 3:30 left in the contest.

Unfortunately for South River, Gardner, last season's Capital-Gazette Newspapers' female athlete of the year, was just heating up. She scored four second-half goals, while Pittinger netted three of her four markers after intermission. Rausch and Behringer each collected their fourth goals, and sophomore Sarah Lloyd gathered her two goals in the closing minutes. Senior Amanda Jones and junior Sam Farrell also scored goals in the final 25 minutes.

Severna Park continues its quest for a second perfect season when it faces archrival Broadneck in the County Championship game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Meade High School.

South River (12-2) 6 2 - 8

Severna Park (14-0) 13 13 - 26

GOALS: SR - Griffin 3, Mattingly, A. Glanell, Demo, Dorsey, Peterson; SP - Gardner 6, Behringer 4, rausch 4, Barranco 3, Lloyd 2, Farrell, Gassaway, Jones. ASSISTS: SR - Mattingly; SP - Farrell 3, Behringer 2, Rausch 2, Gassaway 2, Gardner, Pittinger, Cloud, Patterson. SAVES: SR - Kolarik 10; SP - Wadsworth 1. SHOTS: SR - 11; SP - 41. GROUND BALLS: SR - 12; SP - 25. DRAWS: SR - 9; SP - 29.