Lady 'Rines Continue Their Playoff Push

If Vinnie Naylor were told at the start of this season that Watkins Mill’s playoff fate would rest on its goaltending, the coach would have had no doubt as to the outcome.

"We would lose; that’s what I would expect," he said.

Naylor has split goaltending duties between a freshman and a junior who had never played in goal before, after the team’s senior goalie blew her knee out just before the season started. Watkins Mill has been vulnerable between the pipes all season long, which in turn has put pressure on the offense to be nearly flawless.

Flawless the offense wasn’t in yesterday's playoff opener against Clarksburg. The Lady ‘Rines scored three quick goals but were suddenly silenced by one save after another from the Coyotes’ goalie. Time and again, Watkins Mill’s attack found creases in the defense, only to be shut down at the doorstep.

But each time the Coyotes tried to counter, Sydney Williams—the inexperienced junior—answered with a string of saves that would have found the net only a few weeks prior.

Williams’s season started shaky, and her confidence ebbed as the losses piled up. Her play started to come around at Watkins Mill’s May 7 game at Blake, the team’s fifth game in a six-day stretch against the toughest opponents on their schedule. The girls had lost three straight, and Blake had beaten Watkins Mill 23-2 last year. Williams was determined not to let that happen again.

"Going into the Blake game, it was like, ‘I have to do this, I have to do this. I refuse to let the score be 23-2," she said.

Though Watkins Mill lost the rematch 18-8, Williams came up with several saves she wouldn’t have made earlier in the year. Naylor kept her in for the second half, and she has played every minute since.

"Something just clicked inside my head," she said. "I started coming out more, I started focusing on the ball and everything just kind of fell into place."

Williams's improved play was instrumental in Watkins Mill’s May 10 win over Paint Branch. And on Thursday, she was called upon again as Watkins Mill’s offense went stagnant for more than 30 minutes.

After the Coyotes scored with less than a minute left in the first half to cut Watkins Mill’s lead to 3-1, Stephanie Martinez—the Wolverines' second-leading scorer—won the second-half draw and made a beeline for Clarksburg’s goal, speeding past defenders to find herself one-on-one with the goalie.

Another shot high, another save, another chance missed. The crowd groaned; Naylor muttered to himself as he paced the sideline.

When Clarksburg’s offense pressed upfield, Williams anticipated a pass from behind the net and stuffed a touch-shot from a cutting Clarksburg attacker, then sprawled for a kick save on the rebound moments later.

The goalie duel was on.

Clarksburg continued to thwart all attackers. Sara Labriny had two shots blocked 30 seconds apart. Alexis Rusnak scored, but the refs whistled the ball dead and gave her a penalty shot instead—which was promptly deflected wide. So, too, Abby Young had her penalty shot blocked. Kaylor Ficklin’s drive to the goal found no better fate.

But every time Clarksburg threatened on the other end, Williams and the Wolverines’ defense withstood the would-be comeback.

"After the first couple, your confidence builds a lot," she said. "Whenever I save the ball, the defense picks up and then the offense picks up. So it’s kind of like a chain reaction."

Finally, just past the 7-minute mark, defender Shay Braithwaite scooped up a ground ball, tossed a long pass to Martinez at midfield, and Watkins Mill’s offense was again off to the races. Martinez quickly hit Labriny running full-stride, who fired a pinpoint pass to Rusnak streaking toward the goal, who shot low and at last found the back of the net.

The outburst wasn't over. Watkins Mill won the ensuing draw, and, after three sharp passes traversed 50 yards in barely five seconds, Millie Pryphun converted on a bounce-shot to stretch the lead to 5-1.

Clarksburg closed to 5-2 with four minutes left to play, but Williams assured Watkins Mill’s win by rebuffing a penalty shot two minutes later.

Williams’ improved play will be put to the test tomorrow against a Linganore squad that has scored 199 goals in 14 games on its way to earning the No. 2 seed in the 4A/3A North region. Any success against the Lancers will require the offense to play "a whole lot better" than it showed yesterday during its scoreless stretch, Naylor said.

Led by Ohio State-bound scorer Kelsea Ayers, Linganore is an opponent whose potency he knows all too well from his summer club team in Frederick.

"Ayers is just dominating, dominating—and they probably have five D-1 players on their starting roster," Naylor said. "They’re well-coached and they’re just a very strong team."

The game starts at noon at Linganore High School, 12013 Old Annapolis Rd. in Frederick. Watkins Mill's boys' lacrosse team follows that with its playoff game against the Lancers at 2 p.m.

Scoring Summary

Kaylor Ficklin 2 goals

Millie Pryphun 2 goals

Alexis Rusnak 2 goals

Season Totals

Alexis Rusnak (freshman) – 42 goals, 7 assists

Stephanie Martinez (senior) – 31 goals, 6 assists

Kaylor Ficklin (senior)  – 26 goals, 6 assists

Millie Pryphun (junior) – 16 goals, 5 assists

Sara Labriny (senior)  – 13 goals, 5 assists

Helena Hernandez (senior) – 4 goals, 3 assists

Sara Jane Campbell (freshman)  – 3 goals, 2 assists

Kylee Sklar (freshman)  – 3 assists