St. Vincent Pallotti Lacrosse Begins Quest For Title

The St. Vincent Pallotti High girls lacrosse team, at various times this season, has started off slowly in some of its games.

"I don't know why that is," Paul Billingsley, the second-year head coach for the Panthers, told Patch on Monday. "I don't know if it is nerves. They are slow to get started but then they wake up."

To combat that trend the Panthers, who host The Key School on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Fairland Regional Park in West Laurel in the IAAM C division playoffs, took on a slogan this year: "First and Fast."

"It is a slogan I have been using for years with my club team," said Billingsley, a club coach for several years in Anne Arundel County. "I always tell them if you score first it takes the wind out of the sail of teams you are playing against."

So what does "First and Fast" mean to a player? "The second we step on the field we should score three goals off the bat and start intimidating and create a good lead," said Laurel resident Deanna Moya, a senior for Pallotti.

That is easier said that done, but the Panthers have had a strong season.

Pallotti is 14-5 overall and 10-2 in IAAM play. With a win Tuesday the Panthers would play Thursday at Fairland in the league semifinals against either St. Timothy's or Oldfields. The title game is set for Saturday, May 14 at The Gerstell Academy in Finksburg (Carroll County) and if Pallotti advances it most likely would face Baltimore Lutheran in the title contest.

Pallotti beat The Key School, 18-9, on April 14 at Fairland. The Key School was missing several players during spring break when Pallotti beat them. The head coach for The Key School is Erin Russell, who has assisted Bilingley with club teams in Anne Arundel County.

"They turned into a different kind of team. They are a lot better," Caroline Harvey, a senior goalie and co-captain for Pallotti, said of Key. "We are also a completely different team from where we started. We have worked on fundamentals. I really think the key is to keep our heads up. We have to learn from" mistakes.

The Panthers are led in scoring by Jill Pavlacka (82 goals), Carissa Hill (41) and Ashley Wilkinson (40). The only league losses by the Panthers this year have come against Baltimore Lutheran (12-10) and St. Timothy's (15-14).

Pallotti won the C division title in 2008 when Harvey was a freshman. The Panthers moved up to the B division the past two seasons and then went back to the C league this year.

"The chances are wide open for us to go and win the championship," Billingsley said. "We have to stay focused and play our game."

The team has also shouted on "5-14" after practices and games. That is the date of the championship game, which the team has been pointing towards all season. "This has been our goal. It is what the program needs," Billingsley said.

Collette Small, a senior defender for Pallotti, has been on the varsity for three years. She said she expects a tough game against Key.

"We have had a few games where we have started out pretty slow. I don't know why. I guess that has been our thing. It is going to be a lot tougher game" this time, said Small, a resident of Howard County.

Harvey, one of the top goalies in the league, plans to try out for the club lacrosse team in the fall at the University of Maryland.

Prep notes: The Laurel High softball team lost, 17-16 on Monday to High Point despite four hits and five RBIs from Candace Williams, three hits from Becca Jayne, three hits from freshman Bria Wallace and two hits from Natalie Bishop, who was on base all four times. Jayne raised her average to .617 with 33 RBIs and 13 extra base hits, Williams is hitting .500 and Wallace is at .469. The Spartans lost, 16-9, on Friday to Northwestern ... The Pallotti baseball team beat Bullis, 7-3, at home Saturday.

Corey Dirks drove in two runs and Dominic Marchetti threw five innings out of the bullpen to get the win. He fanned eight and allowed just one run ... The Laurel baseball team beat Northwestern, 16-1, on Saturday and improved to 11-5 overall. Pitcher Alex Hanavin got the win, David Carmen had three hits and Harold Mable and Anthony Nicome had two hits.