Girls Lacrosse: Developed Panthers Striving for a Regional Championship

From the moment last season ended, Pikesville High School girls lacrosse coach Andrew Burkhardt found himself looking ahead to this year.

Although his young Panthers (4-9) struggled during the regular season, they showed tremendous improvement throughout the year and advanced all the way to Class 2A-1A North title game before being eliminated by eventual state championship runner-up Loch Raven.

That development combined with the deep playoff run, Burkhardt said, has him excited for Pikesville’s potential this season. The Panthers return all but three players from last year’s team.

“I’ve been looking forward to this season since we lost to Loch Raven [in the Class 2A-1A North title game],” said Burkhardt, who also coaches girls soccer at Pikesville. “I actually coach a lot of these same girls in soccer. And we’ve really been talking since the fall, pushing and trying to get some things done in preparation for this season.”

Senior midfielder Skylar Fidel, who led the Panthers in scoring last year (30 goals, four assists), will be expected to play a key role in the Panthers’ success.

“She’s definitely somebody I’m looking for a lot out of this year,” Burkhardt said of Fidel, who is entering her fourth year as a starter for Pikesville. “She’s a very fast player with excellent ball skills and really has a great [feel for the game]. She’s almost like an extra coach out on the field.”

Fidel will be joined in the midfield by sophomore Lacey Kurlander (15 goals, four assists), another speedy player with good ball skills who is effective using either hand, as well as senior Paulina Miller (seven goals, one assist).

Sophomore attacker Sydney Weiss will be relied upon to be a key contributor up front.

“We’ll probably be more of an offensive team this year,” Burkhardt said. “One of the things that I’ve really been trying to focus on this year is our speed in transition, really working the ball upfield fast and creating fast breaks."

Burkhardt said the team has still managed to be successful even without those fast-break opportunities. 

While Burkhardt expects the Panthers to be fueled by offense, he will also depend largely on junior goalie Emily Massuda, a returning starter, and senior defender Rachel Margulies, entering her third season as a starter. Margulies, Pikesville’s top defender, will be assigned the task of matching up with each opposing team’s top offensive threat.

With all of the talent coming back, Burkhardt said he sees no reason the Panthers shouldn’t take another step forward this year.

Pikesville won three straight regional championships from 2005-07, but has fallen just short of a regional title each of the last three seasons, eliminated by Loch Raven in the Class 2A-1A championship game each of those three years. But Burkhardt is optimistic that won’t be the case this season.

“We’ve lost to Loch Raven the last three years in the regional finals," he said. "But we’re putting together the finishing touches to hopefully push through this year and come out of the [Class 2A-1A North] region.”

The girls varsity team plays Parkville at 5:15 p.m. March 23 at . The junior varsity girls play Parkville at 3:45 p.m. that day.