In the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland C Conference championship game held May 16 at Mercy High School, the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School girls varsity lacrosse team lost to Indian Creek High School.
This marked the first time that the Beth Tfiloh Warriors made it to a title game in the Pikesville school’s history.
Still, the 10-7 loss to Crownsville’s Indian Creek — during which the Eagles took command in the final minutes — is not something that Beth Tfiloh’s players say they are hanging their heads about. Instead, the Warriors are looking toward the future.
Alexa Eckley returned as Beth Tfiloh’s head coach this season after working with the middle school since 2013, when she left the varsity lacrosse program. She has known most of these players for a long time and said she thought the team could do something special this season.
“I think they got a taste of what it’s like to feel highly competitive, and now maybe they’re thinking it’s not just enough to be there,” Eckley said. “It hurts to lose. They’ll be that much more motivated and play hard. … Now, we know we can get there.”
The Warriors finished 13-2 this season and shared the regular season title with Indian Creek. Both of the Beth Tfiloh losses came to the Eagles this spring, and the Warriors split two games with them during the season.
Marissa Ross, a Beth Tfiloh senior, said she hopes this season will inspire future lacrosse teams at the school
“Even though we unfortunately lost, we made history,” she said. “Hopefully, it shows that even though we’re often the underdogs, we can still make it there and hopefully win in the coming years.”
Eckley said one of the best things about this particular Warriors team was how easy it was to coach the players and get them to adjust their playing strategies and habits when required. “I feel I walked into a dream team,” Eckley said. “I felt lucky.”
Ross, who will play college lacrosse at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Ali Krieger, who will play at Lafayette College, were the senior captains of the Beth Tfiloh team. Eckley said she felt the two of them set the tone for the team and season.
Eckley said both players brought a lot of positivity and support to the team, which helped the Warriors bond and pushed them into the title game.
“We were just a big friends group,” Ross said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team at Beth Tfiloh that’s been this close. It helps with the chemistry on the field. Everything started jelling on the field halfway through the season.”
Cameron Granek, Allison Schwartz and Alexa Grossman scored early in the championship game as the Warriors took a 3-0 lead. But Indian Creek started battling back and scored six in a row before Beth Tfiloh climbed back, and the game was tied at 7-7.
However, the Warriors just could not stop Indian Creek’s Megan Bunker, with seven goals and two assists, and couldn’t outfox goalie Elia Alewine, who repeatedly made clutch saves.
Sophomores Paige Glick and Grossman also helped Beth Tfiloh this season. Glick scored the game-winning goal when Beth Tfiloh beat Indian Creek in overtime during the regular season. Schwartz, Ross, Krieger, Talia Moshman, Kayla Spern and Sarah Schneider were the seniors on the Warriors this season, while freshman Granek became one of the team’s top scorers.
“It was such a positive dynamic,” Ali Krieger said. “Every practice was fun. There was no stress, and we were able to play good lacrosse. I’ve never been more proud of a team at Beth Tfiloh. We deserved to be there.”
A committed philanthropist and community leader, Russel was president of R&H Motors.
The mother of four was a native of Winchester, Virginia, who spent most of her life in Northwest Baltimore.
The Columbia resident worked on the Gemini and Apollo space missions.
A St. Louis native, Edelman served as ambassador to the central African nation from 1987 to 1989.