PERRYVILLE — On a night of celebration to honor the hard work and achievements of Perryville’s seniors over the past four years, the Panthers’ senior athletes came up big when it mattered most.
After a back and forth battle that saw the lead change on multiple occasions, Perryville found themselves tied with Chesapeake Division foe North Harford entering the final quarter of Tuesday night’s showdown between the two schools.
Perryville’s Sarah Murrell found the back of the net to break the tie and give the Panthers the lead with 9:49 remaining in regulation. Just over a minute later, Murrell scored again to extend Perryville’s lead to a two-goal advantage.
Despite many North Harford trips into the Perryville zone over the final eight minutes of play, the Panthers’ defense stood tall and shut down the Hawks the rest of the way en route to a 9-7 victory. Perryville head coach Mary Dunman cited her defense’s strong play down the stretch as one of the key factors that led them to victory.
“This game was ultimately a battle of the defenders not letting the ball get into the goal,” Dunman said. “Their goalie had an amazing game and our goalie had an amazing game. But defensively in front of the goals, the girls really forced and pushed the issue and made both attacks work to get to the goals.”
Perryville’s defensive stand was led by senior goalie Samantha Peterson, who kept North Harford scoreless over the final 15 minutes of play. Peterson noted the importance it was for her to have a strong performance on senior night.
“I owe everything to lacrosse,” Peterson said. “It has helped me so much and I met my best friends through lacrosse, so senior night meant a lot to me since it was my last home game. I really wanted to make an impact and it’s just my way to thank the sport and my whole team.”
On the offensive side, Murrell scored seven total goals on the night, including all four of Perryville’s goals in the second half. Murrell feels the win can potentially give Perryville an emotional boost with the playoffs right around the corner.
“It means everything to win on senior night,” Murrell said. “All of us seniors have been here for four years working for this moment and we think that we can do big things this year. To come in and win on senior night is going to propel us for that energy for the rest of the season.”
The victory also marks Perryville’s first win this season against a Chesapeake Division opponent. Dunman hopes getting that elusive first win in division will provide her team with a spark as they look to make another state playoff run this season.
“This is our first upper division win and it’s amazing because it’s been years coming,” Dunman said. “We’re just working hard trying to get ready for the playoffs and see if we can run one game farther this year.”
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