McDonogh maintains perfect A Conference lacrosse record after handing Spalding its first loss

By Nelson Coffin
nelson@iaamsports.com

Since claiming its first solo A Conference lacrosse title in 2009, McDonogh has succeeded in fending off most challengers in its path.

There are notable exceptions, including Notre Dame Prep’s historic triumph over the Eagles in the 2018 title game and St. Paul’s back-to-back crowns in 2021 and 2022.

Last year, in Taylor Cummings’ final year coaching at her alma mater, McDonogh regained its championship form while securing the program’s 11th A Conference banner.

This season, with Cummings’ trusty defensive coordinator Megan Nicotra at the helm, the Eagles once again will be presented with roadblocks.

On Tuesday in Owings Mills, McDonogh hosted a red-hot squad from Archbishop Spalding with title aspirations — and six straight wins — of its own.

The Eagles showed once again how it's done, using a fast start to build a 6-2 halftime lead on the way to a solid 12-7 victory while becoming the sole unbeaten team in the A Conference.

North Carolina commit Kate Levy paced McDonogh with four goals and an assist, complementing her excellent work on the draw. Back-breaking goals in the final seconds of the first and second quarters by senior midfielders Amanda Lawson and Remi Schaller, respectively, played a major role in keeping the Eagles in a commanding position in the wire-to-wire win.

“We’ve been focusing on that a lot in practice — starting fast,” Nicotra said. “That was a challenge for us in some of our early games. They came out today ready to go.”

It wasn’t just the offense that deserves kudos because the defense was also sharp, holding Spalding to just four goals until the 3:55 mark of the fourth quarter. Kit Laake was one of those stingy defenders ably protecting fellow sophomore Reagan O’Donovan (4 saves) in the goal.

“She’s one of the fastest players on the field — not just defense,” Nicotra said about Laake. “She has the ability to stop anybody.”

Another stopper worth noting is Spalding sophomore goalie Ella Davis, whose 12-save effort helped to keep the Cavaliers within shouting distance.

“She’s done a real nice job all year, not just making saves, but creating some extra opportunities for us,” Spalding coach Tara Restly said. “She’s extremely athletic outside the cage. I think sometimes we make her job tough.”

“(Davis) made some really nice saves,” Levy said. “You’re not always going to shoot well, but it makes it even harder when she’s standing on her head."

Spalding did manage to dent the Eagles’ backline down the stretch, with Clemson commit Maddie Wrenn scoring twice and fellow senior Gabby Greene, headed to Florida, also breaking through with her second goal of the game.

Fleet freshman Sam Collins also tallied twice for the Cavaliers and junior Maeve Cavanaugh added a goal and an assist.

“I think there are some things we’re going to figure out,” Restly said. “These were just two great teams today and McDonogh put a full game together. We have to figure out a way to dominate the draw to create more possessions. We have to be more effective on the draw and in the draw circle. This was a great experience for us to figure out how to move forward.”