West II

After a 9-3 effort last spring, the girls’ lacrosse team enters this season with high potential and expectations. The Wildcats proved they could contend with many of Montgomery County’s top programs a year ago, stacking convincing wins, navigating a challenging midseason stretch and earning a top seed in the postseason. WJ opened last season with a dominant start, pulling off four straight victories over Blair, Churchill, Whitman and Northwood by a combined margin of 52-21. That early run quickly established the Wildcats as one of the county’s teams to watch and showed off an offense capable of scoring in bucketloads. Even after their first setback, a loss to Quince Orchard, the team responded with resilience, winning four of its next five games. The heart of the schedule underscored how competitive WJ could be. Road wins at Rockville and B-CC, along with a dominant 19-6 victory over Einstein and a shutout at Paint Branch, highlighted the team’s ability to maintain energy and discipline on the road. However, tight losses to Damascus and Sherwood showed just how thin the margins were between the Wildcats and some of the region's best. Looking ahead to the 2026 campaign, WJ faces a challenging slate that will quickly test whether last year’s success can be sustained. The Wildcats open with a tough non-conference matchup at Sherwood before diving into familiar county opponents, including Churchill, a program they defeated in the preseason. A rematch with Whitman looms large as both a chance to avenge last year’s postseason exit and an early measure of how far this group has come. Later clashes with B-CC, Quince Orchard and Damascus will again demand a lot of the CatLaxKillas, helping determine where they might land in the playoff picture by season’s end. “I’m really excited, I have really high expectations for this season because we have so much potential,” sophomore captain Alina MacDermott said. “We have already started well; hopefully, it will carry into the rest of the season. Everyone has their own role on the field. Trusting each other to do our jobs and be there for each other is really important.” READ MORE WILDCATS COVERAGE AT wjpitch.com

A few first-round games are already in the books 📚, and just like I said last week, the top spots are locked in 🔒🔥. Not too many surprises in the middle of the pack, but we do have a new team breaking into the rankings 🎉🚨 1. Manchester Valley 2. Sherwood 3. Severna Park 4. Glenelg 5. Queen Anne’s County 6. Towson 7. Quince Orchard 8. Liberty 9. Broadneck 10. South Carroll

Just before playoffs, there’s major movement at the top of our lacrosse rankings 👀🔥 Can spots 1 & 2 hold on, or are shakeups on the horizon? 1. Manchester Valley 2. Sherwood 3. Glenelg 4. Queen Anne’s County 5. Severna Park 6. Towson 7. Kent Island 8. Quince Orchard 9. Broadneck 10. Liberty

On April 29, the Einstein Girls defeated the Gaithersburg Trojans in a strong 19-10 victory. The game instantly started for both teams after the Boys Lax game under the doubleheader. As the 1st quarter commenced, the Titans made sure they started the game with a strong lead despite seeing the 0-10 record the Trojans held. Einstein first put points on the board 43 seconds in with a goal from #13 Elena Limauro, a player most defenders are afraid to face when she enters near the crease. Einstein later scored 5 more goals in the first quarter, with #23 Charlotte Richey scored her first goal on Varsity after being bumped up from JV. Gaithersburg would pull one back in order to keep hopes up. The quarter ended 6-1 with the Titans leading. Gaithersburg would enter the 2nd quarter in scoring one more to make sure the morale was high in the deficit, but the Titans wouldn't allow any hope despite substitutes in play. JV bump ups scoring their first varsity goals was seen to be a trend within the game, with Einstein player #24 Morgan Young being in the spotlight with her first varsity score. Limauro would continue to play as usual in rushing within the crease, scoring a hat trick alone and recording 5 goals in the first half. #5 Paige Shultz and #7 Caroline Davis increased the deficit in making sure there's no sign of coming back. The first half ended 12-3 with Einstein Dominating. Gaithersburg knew the mercy rule was just around the corner for the Titans going into the 3rd quarter. Einstein would score two more additional goals from Davis and #1 Kendall Korball, all in the same area of the top of the net. Gaithersburg suddenly started an offensive surge after the last two Einstein Goals, scoring a total of 5 goals out of 9 shots and #20 securing the hat-trick for Gaithersburg. It was noticeable that the Einstein defense started to slow down after seeing the lead. The quarter ended with a short 15-8 Einstein Lead. A slow 3rd defensive quarter for the Titans made sure to wake the entire team up and prevent a comeback going into the 4th quarter. The Titans added back some starters into the field and made sure to put the game to rest. Einstein player #17 Maddie Huth put up another tally as the 3rd JV bump up player to score in this game. Richey would also continue to shine in adding two more goals and claiming a hat trick in her 2nd career varsity game. Limauro and Fleschner added two more to the scoreboard as the dagger, with the final score being 19-10. The Titans move up to 6-4 and will play Kennedy on senior night as the Trojans drop to a 0-11 record and face Quince Orchard in hopes of adding a win column.

1. Manchester Valley 2. Sherwood 3. Queen Anne’s County 4. Glenelg 5. Severna Park 6. Towson 7. Long Reach 8. Broadneck 9. Quince Orchard 10. Liberty

1. Severna Park 2. Manchester Valley 3. Sherwood 4. Queen Anne’s County 5. Glenelg 6. Eleanor Roosevelt 7. Broadneck 8. Long Reach 9. Towson 10. Quince Orchard

twitter.com/cszscores/status/1791628320536236115

Tough draw and game for Whitman especially with 3 starting seniors not available for the game. Highlights for Whitman include a hat trick from Jr. Grace Nemeroff and 6 underclassman starting and finishing the game. See you next year Dulaney. countysports.zone/scores/view/QyVYGLBEzWwnZ4NtZ6hGm

In their first game without injured senior Captain Abby Waldvogel, the Vikings took care of Churchill with a spurt of goals toward the end of the first half. Freshmen Alex Shavitz and Caroline Reichert scored their first career high school goals, while being led by Senior Ava Chambers with 4 points and Junior Grace Nemeroff with 8 points, including 5 goals. countysports.zone/scores/view/V7G9Q-p66HyKJsoRQJiG_

Went into overtime! countysports.zone/scores/view/jp1oIEYbUX3Mp_qV8K5Md