Mt. Hebron field hockey relies on its mental toughness in 2-1 state semifinal win over Severna Park

Nov. 9—Mt. Hebron field hockey continually preached the importance of mental toughness in the days leading up to Thursday night's Class 3A state semifinal against Severna Park.

The Vikings, unbeaten since Sept. 11, haven't faced adversity in many games this season. A week ago, Mt. Hebron surrendered the first goal in its state quarterfinal matchup against Westminster. The Vikings responded with five straight goals.

They faced a similar scenario after giving up the game's first goal Thursday night against the Falcons at Glen Burnie.

Second-seeded Mt. Hebron once again relied on its mental toughness, responding with two straight goals to close out the 2-1 win over No. 6 Severna Park. Mt. Hebron advances to the program's first state championship game since 2013 with an opportunity to win the program's first state title. They will face either top-seed Northern-Calvert or No. 4 Thomas S. Wootton at 11 a.m. Saturday at Paint Branch High School.

"We've really worked on our mental toughness," Mt. Hebron coach Jeannette Ireland said. "We said, 'We've got a whole game to go and we know we can come back.' We know we can score and I feel like the girls are really connected. They're playing hard for each other."

Mt. Hebron (15-1) jumped out of the gates quickly. The Vikings hit the Falcons with a barrage of offensive pressure in the opening five minutes, but Severna Park's defense and goalie Amanda Giebels kept Mt. Hebron off the board.

Severna Park (10-5) quickly mounted a response. Junior midfielder Ava Zimmerman sprinted up field on a fast break, cruising past several Vikings defenders. She then rifled a shot that beat Kaelyn Cisna five-hole, flipping momentum to the Falcons' side.

But that surge didn't last long. Mt. Hebron was awarded its first penalty corner three minutes into the second quarter and made it count.

After Natalie Machiran's initial touch, Maddie Casto fired the ball toward the back post. AC Lindner was there for the deflection, bringing Mt. Hebron even.

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"I watched the ball go through half of the people's legs in the circle," Lindner said. "I just got really low and waited for the ball to come to me. Then I hit it in."

Mt. Hebron continued its success on corners later in the period. Lindner corralled the ball in the middle of the circle and knew exactly who to look for. The junior fired the shot on cage and looked for "her tipper" as Lindner described sophomore Tylar Fleck. Fleck deflected the shot, changing the direction and it snuck under Giebels for the go-ahead goal and the Vikings' first lead of the evening.

"You've got to get there first," Fleck said. "It is scary, it's really scary to do it. Whenever it hits your stick and goes in it feels amazing to know you just got past that. It's that drive that just pushes me to get there."

With Mt. Hebron gaining control, Severna Park's offense found its footing once again. The Falcons had three penalty corners in the late stages of the first half but were unable to convert with two quickly cleared away and one saved by Cisna. In the third, Severna Park continued to press its attack forward, desperately searching for the equalizer.

Cisna made a critical save early in the third, while the Falcons saw an in-tight opportunity go just wide of the post a few minutes later. That set up a high-intensity fourth quarter with the Vikings clinging to a one-goal lead and the Falcons looking to keep their season alive. Severna Park saw another shot sail just wide early in the fourth, in what was their final best chance. Mt. Hebron promptly cleared the Falcons final corner with 2:20 remaining as the Vikings faithful roared louder.

Machiran found the ball on her stick inside of the final seven seconds. The senior Michigan commit who possessed the ball for so much of the night fired it down toward the far end of the field. Immediate elation ensued as Machiran gathered several teammates and they all engulfed Cisna for a team-wide warm embrace.

"It's exhilarating," Machiran said. "So many feelings all at once. For me personally it means so much because I'm following my brother [Nick who played lacrosse's] footsteps. I'm getting to where he was. I want to accomplish what he wasn't able to do at that time. I want to do it for the both of us, so we can say Machiran's are on the board and Mt. Hebron field hockey is on the board. We have a wall in our gym with all the banners of state championships and field hockey isn't on there yet. We're going to get a field hockey banner on there. It means so much to me, more than words can describe. That was amazing."