Good Counsel girls’ lacrosse finishes growth process with another WCAC title

In the two games since, she has met — and maybe even exceeded — those expectations.

In Good Counsel’s 19-12 win over Paul VI in Tuesday’s final in College Park — which secured the Falcons’ 13th WCAC title — Rudolph had five goals and three assists, capping a two-year stretch in which she recorded more points than any other player in program history.

“She never folds under pressure. … She gets it done every single time,” Haight said.

Rudolph’s performances in big games have proved that. She scored six goals in last year’s title game as a sophomore. But even though both Good Counsel teams ended their WCAC seasons the same way, hoisting a trophy at the University of Maryland’s Ludwig Field, they took different paths.

Last year’s title, secured by a veteran group, felt at times like a foregone conclusion, Haight said. Departures from that squad pushed eight underclassmen into the starting lineup and turned the 2023 season into a growth process.

“Some other teams in our conference believe we are on the downfall since we lost so many seniors and we were such a young team,” Rudolph said. “But I feel that really we were able to prove ourselves today and dominate just as we wanted to all season.”

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To get to this meeting with Paul VI (15-6), the Falcons (16-5) had to build trust in one another as they integrated new pieces, Haight said. He called the turning point of the season an early April game against Severna Park in which his team rebounded from a steep deficit to win.

That game was key for Rudolph as well; it was where she found her offensive running mate. Last season, she got to play with her sister, Madeleine, and the two had built-in chemistry from years of playing together. It took Rudolph time to adjust after her sister’s graduation.

“Since I’ve played with her my whole life, I was expecting everybody else to be that way,” Rudolph said.

She pulled aside freshman Annabelle Walsh before the Severna Park game and told her she had full faith in her. Walsh scored three goals in that game. She scored four more Tuesday, breaking the program’s freshman scoring record with 49. Her growth embodied the balance the Falcons developed over the season.

“Going into the year, you would say if you scouted us, you had to stop Hannah Rudolph,” Haight said. “You had to stop all seven players today.”

Seven players scored for the Falcons, who have advanced to every title game the WCAC has held since 2004. With Rudolph, Walsh and a host of talented young players set to return next year, they’ll look to extend that streak and hunt for a three-peat.