Calvert girls lacrosse makes quick work of Great Mills

One day after their contest had been postponed by a series of severe thunderstorms that swept through St. Mary’s County and wreaked havoc on the athletic schedules, the Calvert High School girls lacrosse team scored early and often en route to an 18-2 victory over host Great Mills on Tuesday.

Calvert (5-1) was on the offensive from the opening whistle on Tuesday and the Cavaliers scored the game’s first six goals before the Hornets finally responded with one from Abril Esparza shortly before the first period ended. Calvert would then promptly score the next 12 goals before the Hornets got the last one from Mehek Panwala in the waning seconds of the contest played under a running clock in the second half.

“I thought we came out and played really well right from the start,” said Calvert junior Charlotte Buckmaster, who had four goals on Tuesday,, second only to senior Payton Stevens who led the Cavaliers with five. “We were able to execute really well. I think we were able to put that Leonardtown game [an 11-10 overtime loss] behind us right away.”

Calvert dominated play from the opening whistle, but the Cavaliers’ lopsided lead was actually diminished considerably by the stellar play of goalie Cecilia Wilcox, who made five saves in the first quarter alone, several on shots from Buckmaster. Eventually the Hornets were overwhelmed by the Cavaliers as Buckmaster was among nine different players to score for the visitors.

“I think we played with a lot of confidence,” freshman Danica Lanthier said, scoring one goal and adding three assists. “We all played really well. It was a total team win.”

Stevens led the way with five goals, Buckmater added four and Aurelia Moore and Alyssa Payne each notched two goals apiece. Lanthier, Victoria Russell, Ella Stout and Brooklyn Reamy each added one tally.

Esparza had the lone goal for the Hornets in the first half and Panwala capped the scoring summary with the hosts’ only goal of the second half. Calvert enjoyed a 12-0 run in between as the Hornets failed to score in the second and third periods.

“We have 11 new girls out of 18,” Great Mills (1-5) coach Mark McLeod Jr. said. “But the girls keep playing hard. This group will never quit playing. They really don’t care what the score is, they’re going to keep playing hard.”