Glenelg field hockey sophomore midfielder Lakshmi Almli had the fate of the Class 2A state championship on her stick. Almli was awarded a penalty stroke with 3:24 remaining in overtime of a 1-1 game against Manchester Valley.
Before that moment, the Gladiators identified three players to take penalty strokes. Glenelg coach Martie Dyer told her girls to pick who felt ready for that moment.
Almli was confident and said, “I feel this, I’m getting this.” The official set the ball down, and in that momentary pause only one thought entered the dynamic sophomore’s head: “I’m going to end it.”
Almli delivered on that strong belief and lifted the ball over the outstretched diving blocker of Mavericks goalie Mikayla Shoaf. Euphoria ensued as Almli repeatedly jumped up and down in excitement before being tackled and swarmed by teammates, sealing the Gladiators’ 2A state title with a 2-1 win.
“We all came together and we said, ‘This ends here. This ends right now,’” Almli said. It was surreal and I was so excited. It just felt like all the hard work our team has put in through the season finally paid off. We’ve been waiting for states all year. We’ve been waiting for this moment. I was just so proud of everyone.”
It is Glenelg’s fourth state title in the past five years and eighth overall, which ranks seventh all-time among Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association field hockey programs.
Glenelg field hockey’s last trip to Stevenson University’s Mustang Stadium 364 days ago ended in tears at the hands of Manchester Valley. The Gladiators lost 5-3 to the Mavericks in last year’s 2A state final, narrowly missing out on historic company with a fourth straight state championship.
Glenelg’s returners vowed to play for those graduated seniors and return to the mountaintop for this year’s 13 seniors. To do so, the Gladiators had to go through a stout and battle-tested Mavericks team, which was hell-bent on defending its state title.
It was a defensive-oriented game throughout with Manchester Valley generating the stronger chances in the opening quarter. However, Glenelg (16-2) took the lead in the second quarter on a goal by senior midfielder Ashlin Cornelius. The Gladiators capitalized on their first penalty corner of the game with junior Meghan Walker delivering the assist.
“As soon as Meghan hit it in my direction, I was just so concentrated on hitting the ball,” Cornelius said. “I wasn’t even worried about swinging or getting it in the goal, just stopping it first and it went in.”
Manchester Valley (15-2) found more space in the second half and pressed forward in the fourth quarter. Mavericks senior forward Amanda Herrold was awarded a penalty corner with 9:14 remaining. She converted the pivotal opportunity, extending Manchester Valley’s surging momentum.
However, Gladiators’ senior goalie Trinity Shackelford and the defense rebounded from that point on. Shackelford turned away several in-tight opportunities with her pad and was a vital component of Glenelg’s strong defensive effort.
“She’s incredible,” Dyer said of Shackelford. “Not only does she have terrific form, but she’s a great leader back there with our defense. She really helped our defense back there today, giving them direction. Our defense was good at stepping to the ball and Trinity was relentless.”
The senior stepped up with timely pad saves throughout the afternoon and played one of her strongest games in a Gladiator uniform. She has been a mainstay in net, starting each of the Gladiators’ 67 games during her decorated four-year career and concludes her time at Glenelg the same way it began: a champion.
“This has been so amazing,” Shackelford said. “I know that everyone doesn’t have this opportunity and I’m so blessed that I’m able to get this opportunity to play through so many games. They’re so long and to have a chance to play every single game I possibly could, with the best girls on this team and the best coach directing us. It’s been such an amazing journey and career, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
While Shackelford and her fellow seniors have felt the elation of numerous state titles, Almli and her fellow underclassmen hadn’t yet experienced those emotions.
Those underclassmen are now part of an exclusive club, high school state champions with the Gladiators accomplishing their preseason goal and turning last year’s heartbreak into triumph.
“We wanted it even 10 times more,” Almli said after last year’s loss. “As my teammates said, ‘This truly has been a family. We’ve worked together so well, and we’ve all shared the same goal from the beginning of the season. We just knew we never wanted to feel like how we did last year and we really showed that today.”
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