Minderlein’s moment carries fourth-seeded Maryvale past No. 2 Spalding in A Conference lacrosse final

By Nelson Coffin
nelson@iaamsports.com

The moment was not too big for Lainey Minderlein.

Although she was not one of the 11 Maryvale starters announced by veteran public address announcer Chris Ely before the A Conference championship game Friday night at USA Lacrosse’s Tierney Field, the junior midfielder was unquestionably front and center during the contest.

In the throes of a defensive tussle between the fourth-seeded Lions and No. 2 Archbishop Spalding, Minderlein exploded for five goals in the second half to help Maryvale overcome a 4-2 deficit and claim a thrilling 7-5 victory to end the program’s 23-year title drought.

Minderlein, who also produced three key draw controls in the contest, started her assault with just over eight minutes left in the third quarter before knotting the score on an 8-meter salvo 73 seconds later.

The stalemate continued until sophomore midfielder Olivia Murphy’s running right-hander put the Cavaliers (12-4, 10-4 league) ahead, 5-4, early in the final period.

Minderlein nailed another free-position shot with just over six minutes left in regulation to deadlock the score for the final time before the University of South Florida commit bullied her way through a couple of defenders for the go-ahead goal with 4:36 remaining in the fourth.

She capped off her special effort by depositing the ball in the net with 33 seconds to go to sew up the victory for the jubilant Lions (13-5, 10-4).

“In the second quarter when we were down, I felt like someone needed to bring the energy, and that had to be me to help bring our team together,” she said. “It all comes from my team, honestly. I like being the underdog, like being down and then coming back up.”

There were plenty of other heroes, starting with a defense that held Spading well under its 12.8 goals-per-game average.

Seniors Maura Rigley and Avery Weetenkamp, sophomore Kendall Carfine, freshmen Carly Aldridge and Maddie Moran — and several others — were stout in front of senior goalie Tessa DeLuca (5 saves), although junior Chloe Thomas may have played the most pivotal role by cooling off red-hot Ellie Roberts after the Cavalier junior attacker solved DeLuca twice in succession to give her team a two-goal bulge.

Thomas said that she managed to make a key takeaway late in the game while guarding Roberts when Rigley joined in for a quick double-team.

Prior to that, she prevented Roberts from getting her hands free to unleash another wicked offering toward the goal.

“You have to get a body on her and get low and move your feet,” Thomas said. “You can’t just let her run through you because she’s too fast and she can shoot.”

Thomas wasn’t the only stalwart on defense, considering the job Spalding senior Ella Doerschner did while face-guarding Cayden Reese to take away a major scoring threat in a game in which goals were at a premium.

“Ella Doerschner has been great,” Spalding coach Tara Shea said. “She’s a three-year starter…shutting down one of the best kids in the country, she did a really nice job. And they had some other kids step up, and that hurt us a little bit.”

Nevertheless, the Cavaliers should be proud of their first trip to the title game.

“It was a big season and they played hard,” Shea said. “Everybody in the conference knows that they gave it everything they had. This team will be remembered at Spalding forever.”

Moran broke the ice by making a steal and finding senior attacker Kadi Rine for the finish and a 1-0 Maryvale advantage midway through the opening quarter.

Senior attacker Amanda Gazelle, assisted by senior attack, Ava Baselga, tied it for the Cavaliers, who pulled ahead when freshman midfielder Lillian Downs finished a Roberts feed early in the second quarter.

Maryvale drew even on a Weetenkamp drive 23 seconds later only to watch Roberts strike twice.

Then came the Menderlein moments, and the rest is history.

Maryvale coach Brian Reese said that he is “thrilled” for his team.

“These girls have bought in,” he said. “This senior class were freshmen in my first year. We talked about raising the program and leaving it in a better place than when we found it. And we did that.”