Huntingtown High School sophomore Emma Schiemer runs through the line behind her teammates after being introduced prior to the start of Tuesday’s girls lacrosse game against Northern. Schiemer, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease one year ago, scored once as the Hurricanes coasted to a 21-5 victory over the Patriots on a day designed to highlight awareness of Crohn’s Disease.
Players and coaches from the Huntingtown High School girls lacrosse team gather for one final cheer before the start of Tuesday's game against Northern. The host Hurricanes had plenty to celebrate as they coasted to a 21-5 victory over the visiting Patriots behind six goals from senior Suzy Smith.
Huntingtown High School sophomore Emma Schiemer runs onto the field to greet her teammates during the introduction of players before the start of Tuesday's SMAC girls lacrosse game against Northern. Schiemer, who was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease one year ago, scored once as the Hurricanes coasted to a 21-5 victory over the Patriots on a day designed to highlight awareness of Crohn's Disease.
Northern High School’s Elaina Stewart prepares to take a shot in the first half of Tuesday’s girls lacrosse game at Huntingtown. Stewart scored twice in a losing cause as the visiting Patriots were upended by the Hurricanes, 21-5.
Huntingtown High School sophomore Emma Schiemer runs through the line behind her teammates after being introduced prior to the start of Tuesday’s girls lacrosse game against Northern. Schiemer, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease one year ago, scored once as the Hurricanes coasted to a 21-5 victory over the Patriots on a day designed to highlight awareness of Crohn’s Disease.
Staff photo by Ted Black
Players and coaches from the Huntingtown High School girls lacrosse team gather for one final cheer before the start of Tuesday's game against Northern. The host Hurricanes had plenty to celebrate as they coasted to a 21-5 victory over the visiting Patriots behind six goals from senior Suzy Smith.
Staff photo by Ted Black
Huntingtown High School sophomore Emma Schiemer runs onto the field to greet her teammates during the introduction of players before the start of Tuesday's SMAC girls lacrosse game against Northern. Schiemer, who was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease one year ago, scored once as the Hurricanes coasted to a 21-5 victory over the Patriots on a day designed to highlight awareness of Crohn's Disease.
Staff photo by Ted Black
Northern High School’s Elaina Stewart prepares to take a shot in the first half of Tuesday’s girls lacrosse game at Huntingtown. Stewart scored twice in a losing cause as the visiting Patriots were upended by the Hurricanes, 21-5.
In the days leading up to their home clash with longtime county rival Northern High School on Tuesday, Huntingtown High School senior girls lacrosse players Suzy Smith and Emma Schiemer had ample reason to be excited and nervous about the contest for varying reasons.
Huntingtown and Northern have been natural rivals since the programs began and Tuesday marked a contest that would have dual meaning, one that would evolve around Schiemer for reasons not associated with playing. Schiemer was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease one year earlier although she has been battling the pains and fatigue associated with the disease for her entire life.
The Hurricanes (8-2-1, 4-0 SMAC Chesapeake) scored early and often en route to a 21-5 victory over the visiting Patriots (7-3, 2-2) in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division contest as Smith scored six goals and Schiemer, a reserve limited in her playing time by the combination of the disease, scored once in the first half and nearly added another goal in the second.
For both players it was an ideal end to a day designed to raise awareness for Crohn’s Disease and funds for Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
“Of course, it’s Northern so we’re all a little anxious and nervous before the game,” said Smith, who plans to attend Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina this fall. “Getting those goals early really helped everyone relax. We never expected to have that big lead at halftime. I’m happy for Emma. She’s always had such a great attitude and it was great we could have this game.”
Schiemer, who also played field hockey for the school in the fall, had dual reasons for being motivated to perform at a high level on Tuesday. She has battled through stomach and abdominal pains since she was a child, but was not diagnosed with Crohn’s until last year and has made numerous adjustments to her appetite and her schedule.
“This whole day meant so much to me,” Schiemer said. “Not only were we playing Northern, which is always a big game for us, but we had the game raising money for Crohn’s awareness. I’ve had to give up eating at fast food places. I eat plenty of red meat and I sleep well. But I get tired quickly and sometimes I fall asleep in class, but my teachers understand.”
On the field Tuesday evening, however, Schiemer, Smith and their Huntingtown teammates were alert from the outset.
Kenley Zeruto scored the Hurricanes’ first two goals, then Smith added two goals and the hosts owned a 4-0 lead in the opening four minutes. Elaina Stewart got the Patriots on the board two minutes later, but the rest of the half belonged to the hosts.
Huntingtown scored the last nine goals of the first half with Willow Cooper finding the net twice, Smith added two more goals, Taylor Nicholson scored once and Schiemer tallied. The last six minutes of the first half and the entire 25 minutes of the second half were played under the running clock.
“My personal goal is to score at least one goal every game,” Schiemer said. “It really meant a lot to me to be able to score one today.”
Northern first-year head coach Mark McCauley was clearly not pleased with his team’s performance. Northern’s Alaina Teselle opened the second half with a goal, but the Patriots could never get back within single digits and the running clock brought a quicker end to the lopsided affair.
“There’s really not much that I can say,” McCauley said. “We got outplayed in every aspect of the game. It definitely wasn’t what I had expected. We’ll probably see them again during the playoffs, but we have a lot to work on before then.”
Players from both teams contributed to the fundraising cause on Tuesday by purchasing T-shirts to wear during warmups.
Both teams are back in action on Wednesday as Northern will be at Calvert at 4 p.m. and Huntingtown will travel to Great Mills at 6 p.m.
Northern boys beat Huntingtown
The Patriots and Hurricanes boys lacrosse teams played Wednesday night at Northern with the hosts coming out on top 10-8.
Northern (11-1, 4-0) led 2-0 after a quarter and 4-3 at halftime, then took an 8-5 lead to the fourth quarter and held on to win by two goals over Huntingtown (9-3, 3-1).
