Perryville girls lacrosse coach Mary Dunman says Taylor Poore's play greatly impacts the disposition of the entire team. That's never been more apparent than it was during the final stages of the Panthers' riveting 14-13 comeback win over visiting Rising Sun Thursday night. Incredibly, Poore scored three goals in a 24.4 second span during the final minute of the game. The Tigers had taken a 13-11 lead on a Heather Amos goal with 2:31 remaining. Perryville's Sydnie Bjork clanged a shot off the post with 1:28 to go, but the Panthers got the ball back when Rising Sun was unable to clear the ball.
Poore scored with 60 seconds to go to trim the deficit to 13-12. The Panthers junior picked up the ball following the ensuing draw and scored again, just 7.1 seconds later. She wasn't finished. Poore scored the eventual game-winner with 35.6 seconds left. "I just found where the draw kept coming and I just tried my hardest to box them out and it just started working I guess," Poore said. Following the go-ahead goal, Perryville controlled the draw again and was able to run put the clock. Dunman says Poore's desire sets her apart. "The want she has is what took her their," the coach said. "She had an intensity and everyone fed off her so they gave her a lane. They pulled out and took their defense away so she could get in there." It was an agonizing loss for Rising Sun. After falling behind 2-1, the Tigers tallied six straight goals to go in front 7-2 and didn't trail again until the final minute. "It was just little basic things, but honestly, that was the best that they've played all season and I think everyone can agree they've grown from the beginning to the end," Rising Sun coach Becca Guethler said. "Perryville's lucky. They controlled the last three or foul draws. There was one goal that just rolled right in. But honestly, I'm so so proud of Rising Sun. They played as a team for almost the entire time and that's all I can ask for. A coach always wants you to play consistently. It's hard for [50] minutes." Poore paced the Panthers with six goals and Bjork recorded four. Bea Muscella added two and Merve Akbay and Laura Ricketts each notched a goal. Amos led Rising Sun with four goals and added an assist. Liz Zatalava finished with three goals and an assist. Jackie Barbon and Sarah Yashinskie each had a pair of goals and Sam Foster and Maggie Palfi also scored. An aggressive Tiger defense led by Courtney Spangler, Paige Wesley, Jasmyne Moore, and Ashlyn Mocknis kept the Panthers in check for long stretches of the game. "The defense played great," said Guethler. "We had charge calls. Their sliding was great. Their communication was on point and their transitions from defense to midfield to attack was why the score was so close. Jasmyne really has impeccable defense and so does Paige, Courtney, and Ashlyn. They really stepped it up together." Rising Sun led 9-6 at halftime before Bjork and Muscella scored to make it 9-8. The Tigers answered with back-to-back goals by Yashinskie and Barbon to regain a three-goal edge with 15 minutes to go. "I was really scared because we are trying to go undefeated in the county and so far we have," said Poore. "We have North East [Friday night] and then Elkton for our last two games. We know they're going to be really hard games. We've all improved a lot since the beginning. Our goal is to be undefeated in the county." Poore had scored one goal up to that point. "I was getting frustrated," Poore said. "So my coaches pulled me off and they talked to me. That happens every game and it just works." The coaches' message was simple and nothing Poore hasn't heard before. "They tell me to calm down and that the way I play affects the team," she said. "If I'm playing well we play well as a team. It just feeds off of each other." Poore tallied five of her team-high six goals in the final 15 minutes. She scored twice to whittle the deficit down to 11-10 with 13:53 to play. The defenses dominated the next seven minutes before Rising Sun's Zatalava scored with 6:18 remaining. Bjork scored off of a free position opportunity to make it 12-11 with 4:22 left. The Amos goal with 2:31 remaining gave the Tigers a two-goal advantage but Poore made sure it wasn't enough. "We played full force on both ends of the field and aggressively [in the last few minutes]," Dunman said. "We weren't being aggressive going after the ball. [Rising Sun's aggressiveness for the ball was two times what [Perryville's] was. It just wasn't going our way and then they just decided to reach down and give me the team we always have." Comments are closed.
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