Glenelg girls lacrosse gets over perennial stumbling block, dominates River Hill, 22-3, in regional final
Glenelg girls lacrosse had fallen in the regional final each of the past three seasons. They got over the hump in a big way.
Glenelg girls lacrosse preaches in practice each day the importance of constant motion. Every year, the Gladiators girls lacrosse team hands out dog tags with the mantra for the season. This year, assistant coach Anna Callahan brought the mantra: “Hungry dogs run faster.”
In Monday night’s Class 2A West Region II final, Glenelg epitomized its slogan, coming out energized from the opening whistle. The top-seeded Gladiators built a seven-goal lead after the opening quarter, had 11 players scored, and cruised to a dominant 22-3 win over No. 3 seed River Hill.
“The intensity starts with the practices,” Glenelg coach Alex Pagnotta said. “We talk about that you don’t get a play off in practice. It’s the biggest cliche in sports, but what you do in practice, translates in the game. We’re trying to reinforce that all the time. We’re trying to construct practice in a way that when there is a turnover, that we recognize it and we do something different other than just starting the play over.”
Glenelg (15-1) secured its first regional title since 2019, moving past a stage that had haunted it in previous seasons. The Gladiators lost the previous three regional finals — one to Manchester Valley, two to Century — by a combined five goals.
They now move onto the 2A state quarterfinals and await their next opponent after the eight region winners are reseeded.
“It honestly felt amazing,” senior midfielder Kamryn Henson said of the region title. “This is what we’ve wanted since the first time we lost. Being on that other side, just felt awful every single year. It was like we were almost there and then we just let it go. Finally getting a chance to hold that plaque and move forward is just the best feeling in the world.”
Henson and fellow senior captain Lara Hoeflich pride themselves on spearheading that collective energy. When the veterans are running fast and playing hard, they feel the younger players will follow suit.
However, that spark also comes from experience. The Gladiators seniors have felt the anguish of agonizing defeat, and as such, treat each game as if it could be their last. That motivates them to play harder at each level of the field.
“I’m really happy for them,” Pagnotta said of the seniors. “Lara and Kamryn have been amazing leaders. They’re embracing their role and they’re leading by example and bringing people up as opposed to bringing them down. It’s just contagious across the team. All of our seniors have been so easy to coach. This group has really rejuvenated my interest in coaching because of how coachable they’ve been and willing to come in and put in the work.”
Glenelg is excited for the challenge that comes with the next stage of the postseason. Not experiencing it before, the Gladiators are looking forward to even more time on the field together. Henson said that this year’s group is one of the closest she’s ever played with.
They hope that team-wide connectivity and sustained energy leads them to their ultimate goal: the program’s sixth state title and first since 2018.
“The chemistry for this team is what’s going to take it as far as we can,” Hoeflich said. “It’s a whole entirely different vibe than there’s been any other year that I’ve played on this team.”
River Hill — 0 0 1 2 —3
Glenelg — 7 8 4 3 — 22
Goals: G- Kayleigh White 6, Regan Kelleher 3, Kamryn Henson 2, Kayleigh Rosewag 2, Ava Hernandez 2, Graceyn Brown 2, Grayson Cornelius, Chloe Key, Maggie Metz, Emmy Dello Russo, Emma Chapin; RH- Gabby Bergstrom 2, Jaiden Stoutenborough. Assists: G- Regan Kelleher 5, Claire Altshuler 2, Emmy Dello Russo, Kamryn Henson, Kayleigh White, Maddie Ross, Kayleigh Rosewag; RH- Gabby Bergstrom, Charlotte Laraway. Saves: G- Emily Altshuler 2, Gabby Barnard 1; RH- Serena Soldavin 7.