South River Seahawks Lacrosse—Boys and Girls—Head to Playoffs

The South River’s Boys Lacrosse and the South River Girls Lacrosse teams are each seeded number one heading into state playoffs. If all goes well, they’ll hang on through regionals and have a shot at the state final around May 22-23..

For both, the first game of the playoffs will be the second round play of regionals, Friday at home. Their challengers will be decided in games before Friday. Both the boys and the girls got a bye in the first round of play. The girls will meet the winner of Great Mills (St. Marys) vs. Arundel (Anne Arundel). The boys will either meet Northern (Calvert) or Great Mills.

There is a lot at stake. The loss of a single game during regionals means elimination from playoffs.

The Maryland Public Secondary Athletic Association‘s BoysLAX and GirlsLAX brackets will download if you click on the link. Going to the MPSSAA website and following the links will give you updated brackets following each game.

The Boys

But, before we get too far ahead and have the boys in the state finals, let’s talk a little about last year. Just a little—I know it is painful.

Last year, the South River Boys made it all the way to the state final, beating most of their Anne Arundel County foes, besting regional teams in the playoffs and eventually meeting Frederick’s Linganore High School at UMBC’s Retriever Stadium.

It was a tight game, with a final score of 12 South River; 13 Linganore.

It was heartbreak.

Now

It’s possible that right now, they might look even better than they looked last year. They have a strong team, and they are 14-0 heading into playoffs. They’ve been playing really well together.

In the third round, they may meet longtime inter-county rival Severna Park, but the Seahawks got past them 7-2 during the regular season.

We caught up with one of the team parents, Cheri Gavin, who was happy to see the team once again in the post season. Cheri’s son Jake, a junior, is goalie for the team.

She said that Tuesday’s district game against Glenelg was exciting. South River finished 14-9 to add another win to their undefeated season.

Junior Ben Chisolm, who has already been recruited by Maryland for his lacrosse play, scored a half-dozen goals in that game. Gavin said that everyone on the team contributed to the win.

“Also the whole defense. They have been playing extremely well,” she said.

They are all hoping to keep the momentum going.

In the past five years, the Seahawks have been contenders for the state championship five times. They won in 2009 against Urbana in the state final. In 2008 and 2010, Severna Park stopped their momentum in regionals. In 2011, as mentioned, they lost the state final by a single point.

Whether they make it to the final this year isn’t a topic of conversation just yet. Gavin said they are trying to stay focused. They’ll have to maintain that focus and play it one game at a time.

The next game will be Friday (May 11) at South River High School in Edgewater, 7 p.m. Arrive a little early, parking might be a little more crowded than usual.

The Girls

The Girls team has also had a great season, going 12-2 in regular season play.

The girls won the state final in 2010. The big rival for the girls team is also Severna Park who took them out of playoff contention in 2011, 2009 and 2008.

They have a pretty good chance of seeing them next week, if Severna Park can get past Old Mill and then either Northern (Calvert) or Huntingtown (Calvert).

The girls will play their first round of the playoff at 5 p.m. on Friday (May 11). Come out and cheer the Lady Seahawks to victory.