GIRLS LACROSSE: Pikesville Developing Player-led Team

Standout lacrosse player Skylar Fidel has been the offensive controller so far in the varsity team's season.

The senior captain has more assists than goals, but leads the team in both categories. And she plans to take her talent to Cornell where she'll play on the varsity level for the Big Red.

“I ended up choosing Cornell because I loved the school with and without lacrosse," Fidel said. “I wanted to go to a big school with a good academic reputation where I could be a good impact on the lacrosse team, and Cornell was the perfect fit.”

Fidel was a popular recruit. Princeton, Hopkins, Notre Dame, Virginia, and Brown were also after her. But, she noted that her final choice came to either Princeton, Brown, or Cornell.

Fidel is among the eight seniors and six juniors who have taken the lead this year at Pikesville, a team that has faced some pretty tough opponents in the early part of its schedule. Hereford and Perry Hall both beat the Panthers early on.

Pikesville defeated Parkville in its season opener, and most recently beat Owings Mills 16-5, only to lose to Franklin 14-11.

The team is led by eight seniors and six juniors, upperclassmen who have gained much experience over the last couple of years, said Coach Andrew Burkhardt, who is in his second season at the helm of the program.

“I’ve been talking to the girls since last year about having a players-led team where the captains are the leaders and the upper classmen are the ones really pushing us to get to where we want to be,” said Burkhardt. “I’ve definitely seen that in a lot of my seniors this year.”

The team is also led by senior captains on the defensive end in the form of Rachel Margulies and Paulina Miller.

Both are midfielders and are also contributing heavily on the set offensive end. Their speed and aggression have enabled them to cause turnovers and open up fast breaks on the offensive end.

The pinnacle of any lacrosse defense is the play of their goalie. Junior Emily Massuda has been starter for the team the last two years and has done nothing but improve since.

Burkhardt said he has been working on increasing the speed of her feet and hands. “Her best game probably to this point was against Hereford. They have a standout offense and she turned away a number of point blank shots,” he said.

With all these upperclassmen returning to the team this year, it may have been hard to get in some younger girls who may be the core of the team in the future. But Burkhardt did bring up three freshmen—Allison Kramer, Alex Shearer and Sabina Rasoulov—who have been starting this season and doing an excellent job.

“The one standing out to this point would be Alex Shearer,” who is on the midfield, said Burkhardt. “Since day one she’s really been trying to prove to me that she belongs on the varsity level. She’s done everything right, she’s worked 110 percent every day, and it’s shown on the field. She’ll be something special here.”

During games the team likes to be in a set offense and a set defense. They are not a true fast-break team and have performed much better when they can set up their offense and defense like they did against Parkville.

“There’s no telling how far we could go” Burkhardt said about the rest of their season. With this collection of talent and the leadership of their seniors these Panthers have the ability to make a deep run in the playoffs. Fidel summed it up by saying, “Our team goal is to win a regional title.”

The Panthers play Dulaney High School at 5:15 p.m. tonight at Pikesville's Stadium Field.

The game against Towson, originally set for April 8, was rained out and has been rescheduled for 5:15 a.m. May 4 at Towson.

Roster

No. 16—Ashley Borenstein, senior sttack

1—Becca Borensteim, senior defense

21—Jenn Eisenberg, senior attack

19—Skylar Fidel*, senior midfielder

6—Nina Horadowicz, senior midfielder

4—Tori Kovelman, senior defense

8—Rachel Margulies*, senior midfielder

15—Paulina Miller*, senior midfielder

16—Natalie Benamor, junior defense

11—Stephanie Honig*, junior attack

10—Mackenzie Kaplan, junior defense

23—Sarah Lipman, junior defense

13—Emily Massuda, junior goalie

7—Arianne Schreier, junior attack

22—Lacey Kurlander, sophomore midfielder

12—Allison Kramer, freshman defense

9—Sabina Rasoulov, freshman attack

2—Alex Shearer, freshman midfielder

*team captain