Gladiators

When Emily Russo's 3-point shot fell through the net late in No. 8 Glenelg's game at Oakland Mills on Wednesday night, the junior let out a sigh of relief. Until then, the Gladiators, an all-guard team known for its accuracy from the outside, had gone 0-for-15 from beyond the arc over nearly 30 minutes. Russo's basket gave the Gladiators the spark and they finished off a 43-41 victory with exceptional defense to hold onto first place in the Howard County girls basketball league.

Missed opportunities will haunt Oakland Mills. The No. 14 Scorpions trailed No. 6 Glenelg until midway through the fourth quarter, when the two teams traded narrow leads. Oakland Mills, looking to beat the Gladiators for the first time in over a year, went ahead 37-36 with two minutes to play but couldn't hold on to its advantage. The Scorpions helped in their own downfall. In the final two minutes of play, they lost the ball on four turnovers, including steals by Glenelg's Sam Heisig, Mary Kittleman and Danielle Burris.

When you have a game plan that works, you stick with it. Score early and often has been No. 1 Glenelg's mantra this season, and the the Gladiators worked it to perfection Wednesday, defeating Queen Anne's, 7-1, in a Class 2A state semifinal at Broadneck. Glenelg will play Poolesville in an 11 a.m. state final Saturday at Washington College. Just one minute into Wednesday's game, Glenelg barely missed a tip-in goal, but the Gladiators quickly came back to score. Meagan Guthrie, Alyssa Parker and Meghan Milani put in goals in fast succession, giving their team a 3-0 lead after less than six minutes of play.

Glenelg had a chance to win a game that would essentially clinch a share of the county title, and the Gladiators took it. After scoring a game-tying touchdown on a fourth-and-8 pass from Mark Darden to Ben Carta in overtime, the Gladiators attempted the two-point conversion for the win. Darden scrambled, dodging tacklers from one sideline to the other, but was eventually brought down behind the line of scrimmage, as River Hill (7-2) held on to defeat visiting Glenelg (7-2) 21-20 in overtime Friday night.

South River made the most of a second chance Monday night. With the District V title game against Glenelg tied, 2-2, the top-ranked Gladiators threatening to score and overtime looming, the No. 3 Seahawks managed one last fast break. To stop the play, the Glenelg defense intentionally swept the ball over the end line, which resulted in a penalty corner call with 30 seconds on the clock. South River's Madelyn Santa inserted the ball to Stacey Mackintosh. During the scrum in front of the goal, the ball hit a Glenelg defender's foot, and a second corner was called with 2.5 seconds left in regulation.

Alyssa Parker comes running across the field with joy in every stride. When she gets to the sideline, the Glenelg senior catches her breath and before anyone can say anything, she asks, "Do you know that bees are born full grown?" She loves trivia like that - and the laughs she draws from imparting such nuggets. Parker, one of the most talented players to ever play field hockey in Maryland, isn't shy off the field. And one would think she wouldn't be shy on the field either, given that she's about to become only the second player in National Federation history to score 100 goals and 100 assists in a high school career.

River Hill girls soccer coach Brian Song has seen his share of closely-contested games against Howard County rival Glenelg with the outcomes not decided until the latter stages of games. In Monday's early-season showdown for first place, he challenged his team to start fast and not look back. They responded. Controlling the first 10 minutes and making the most of their chances, the No. 6 Hawks got early goals from Kathryn Arensmeier and Sheridan Street five minutes apart and protected the lead with poise in coming away with a sturdy 2-0 home win over the No. 5 Gladiators.

Last year's All-Metro Player of the Year picked up where she left off for the No. 1 Gladiators, totaling five goals and three assists to lead the defending Class 2A state champions to two wins and the title at Saturday's South River Invitational. The senior midfielder enjoyed a four-goal, one-assist performance in a 6-0 win over Holy Cross and followed that up with one goal and two assists against No. 5 Bryn Mawr. With 82 goals and 75 assists in her career, Parker needs just 18 goals and 25 assists to become only the second player in recorded National Federation Field Hockey history to reach 100 goals and 100 assists.

The No. 1 Glenelg field hockey team sent a message to the rest of the area at Saturday's South River Invitational. They plan to improve on the 19-1 record they posted in winning the Class 2A state championship last year, and perfection may very well be in their future. With Alyssa Parker scoring five goals and adding three assists, Glenelg rolled to a 6-0 victory over Holy Cross in the first round and followed that with a 4-0 victory over No. 5 Bryn Mawr to win the tournament for the first time.

Putting the bow on what could be argued is the finest boys lacrosse season in Glenelg history didn't come easy for the No. 6 Gladiators in Tuesday's Class 2A-1A state title game against surprising Patterson Mill. It wasn't until sophomore midfielder Anthony Pagnotta won his 11th faceoff in 13 tries — pushing it forward to help erase the final 18 seconds — that the Gladiators finally secured a 5-4 victory over the stubborn Huskies to bring home the program's third state title.