Lady Seahawks support, play for each other, coach says

By Lisa Capitelli Managing Editor

(May 19, 2023) The Stephen Decatur girls’ lacrosse team topped the Parkside Rams, 19-6, on Monday in Berlin to win the MPSSAA 2A East Region II championship – its first regional title since 2019.

“I’m just so incredibly proud of them,” said Decatur Coach Lindsay Owens. “We’ve been working hard since March changing the culture and just being a family and they are living it. They are doing it with their action not just their words.”

The top-seeded Lady Seahawks dominated No. 3 Parkside from the start and led 12-3 at halftime.

Sophomore Lily Carson was Decatur’s top producer with five goals and one assist.

Junior Sadie Kauffman chipped in with three goals and one assist. She also won eight draws. Senior captain Mia Kemp tallied two goals and one assist. She won five draws.

Senior Kayla Brady added two goals and one assist.

Junior Addison McDaniel recorded two saves in goal for Decatur.

“They played outstanding. Again, our goal with every playoff game at this point is play for each other and we’ve been doing that,” Owens said. “They’ve been bringing the love on the field, just supporting each other, through transitions, on attack, on defense, and you can really tell the difference.” beginning of the year,” Underkoffler said. “His strokes got stronger. He recognized parts of his game that needed improvement and he worked on them.”

Junior captain Dylan Simons was down, 6-7, and battled back to edge out his second singles competition, 97.

Decatur advanced to the regional championship after a 22-7 victory over the fifth-seeded Easton Warriors last Friday in Berlin.

“I think we played fantastic on Friday. Offense really put a great game together and our transitions looked crisp,” Owens said. “After the losses to Bennett and Queen Anne’s the girls have really dug deep and pushed each other even harder. The vibe is very positive and supportive and they don’t want this season to end. They will play for each other to the very last second.”

Freshman Ava Konyar tallied four goals and one assist. Sophomore Mariabella Morse also scored four.

Senior Audrey Mumford chipped in with three goals and two assists.

Kemp contributed with three goals. She won five draws.

McDaniel stopped nine Easton shots.

“Going off a great win over Easton and a great win over Parkside – both really good teams – it’s a reminder to them that when you play together and you play hard, good things come,” Owens said.

The eight regional champions were re-seeded according to their regular-season records. Decatur and C. Milton Wright had the same record, so there was a coin toss to determine who would get seeds four and five.

The Seahawks won and hosted the Mustangs on Wednesday for the 2A state quarterfinals. C. Milton Wright won, 9-6.

“He was one point away from losing the match. It was back and forth the whole time,” Underkoffler said. “It was quite the battle. He wore the other player down. He really gutted it out.”

Junior Hunter Simons’ serve was dominating, Underkoffler said. He See WOR Page 62