BERLIN- A disheartening loss in the state semifinals last weekend did little to tarnish what was another remarkable season for Decatur’s girls’ varsity lacrosse team.
Decatur fell to Westminster, 15-5, in the state 3A-East region semifinals last Friday, but the Seahawks returned home after the game with their collective heads held high. For Decatur, last Friday’s trip to the state semifinals was the fifth in the last six years, reinforcing the program’s dominance in recent years on the Eastern Shore and beyond.
For a while this season, it didn’t appear the young Seahawks would make it back to the state semifinals. Decatur struggled out of the gate a little and had a 3-5 record around the midpoint of the season. The Seahawks then reeled off four straight to improve to 7-5, culminating in a 19-14 win over Parkside to clinch the Bayside South championship.
Decatur did fall to perennial power Kent Island, 12-10, in a hard-fought Bayside Conference championship game, but its season-long body of work earned the Seahawks the top seed in the state 3A-East Section II bracket. The Seahawks then dispatched Bayside South rival Bennett, 21-5, last Monday in a cold, steady drizzle at home in the state playoffs opener.
The win over Bennett propelled the Seahawks into the 3A-East region championship against Mount Hebron and the dramatics continued last Wednesday. Decatur trailed early but battled back from a four-goal deficit to beat Mount Hebron, 10-9, to capture the program’s fifth regional championship in the last six years. The amazing run ended, however, with the 15-5 loss to Westminster in the state semifinals last Friday.
