Girls lacrosse: Brunswick loses to Bay in weather-shortened match

BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick girls lacrosse team got a lesson in what it takes to become a state contender Thursday night in a 16-6 non-league loss to Bay that was called due to weather after three quarters. The Rockets (2-1) scored five goals in the first 6:29, but the Blue Devils (1-2) kept plugging away and didn't allow another goal in the period while adding a tally from sophomore Chloe Kash to trail 5-1. Bay scored five more goals to take a 10-3 lead into the half. Brunswick got goals by Kash and senior Brooke Gelhar, with the latter scoring with just 28 seconds left in the second quarter. "It's definitely important to not hang our heads," Gelhar said. "That's one thing we really talk about, is keeping the momentum and not getting in our heads and just really supporting each other and playing for each other." The Blue Devils came out of the locker room and put the first two goals on the board in the third, as Kash scored her third just 55 seconds in and Gelhar got her second 46 seconds later. "I think we were in a better place mentally than we were in in other places during the season when we were in a similar position," Brunswick coach Lauren Schwartz said. "I think they all recognized what needed to be done, and they were just ready to get back out there. They're really in the next-play mentality." Bay scored the next three goals to take a 13-5 lead before Kash found the net for the fourth time on a penalty with 3:30 left. "I just told myself that I couldn't hold back," Kash said. "I couldn't get in my head. I just knew what I had to do. And as a team, we were working. They were helping me, for sure." The Rockets scored the next three goals, with the final one coming with five seconds left in the third. Then the skies opened up and lightning was seen, forcing a delay and eventually the game to be called. This was the Blue Devils' third game under Schwartz, following a loss to Hoover and a win over Uniontown Lake. With each passing day, the team gets educated on what it has to improve on. "I think we're still in the process of learning," she said. "We're learning every single game as we go through, and I think it tells a lot coming off of two pretty hard games these past two weeks. I think it just shows a lot from the girls that they were able to dig deep and learn from those experiences and not give up and just keep battling through." The latest game came against a legitimate state contender, as the Rockets have been in the state semifinals in each of the last three years, highlighted by a runner-up trophy in 2024. "I just think we go into it with a mentality that it's just another opponent," said Schwartz, who is a Bay graduate. "We see upsets that happen all the time, and it's really just whoever can show up that day." The players know that games against good competition will only help them improve. "It definitely makes us all hyped up," Kash said. "We were definitely talking, saying we all needed to work as a team, and that's something that definitely helps us a lot and helps me." There was also some enjoyment on the field, as the final couple of minutes were played in rain and wind, including gusts that moved the football goalposts as if they were an inflatable in front of a car dealership. "I feel like it was getting really fun," Kahs said. "We were definitely having a blast working together. We were laughing. It was just a good time." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com.