Hatboro-Horsham threw a scare into top-ranked Radnor but came up just short in Wednesday’s PIAA Tournament opener. To view game action photos, please visit the Photo Gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/g/053012_hatboro_vs_radnor_dl
(1-1) RADNOR 15, (1-7) HATBORO-HORSHAM 14
WEST CHESTER – Cortnee Daley and Lizzy Carr were making their final trek to Hatboro-Horsham’s team bus after Wednesday’s season-ending loss to Radnor when Daley draped her arm around the shoulder of her teammate and said, ‘Good season – I love you.’
The poignant moment shared by the two teammates underscored that the Hatters’ heartbreaking 15-14 loss to top-ranked Radnor indeed marked the end of a very special era of Hatboro-Horsham lacrosse. This year’s team, which rewrote the program’s record books, will graduate seven seniors who represented the foundation of the program, five of whom were four-year varsity starters and will continue their careers at the Division One collegiate level.
“We have been playing together forever,” Daley said. “It’s easy to communicate out there, and when we’re on our game, it’s magic.”
The Hatters were definitely on their game in Wednesday’s PIAA Tournament opener, and for the better part of 50 minutes, they were the better team. It wasn’t because of a lucky break that they rallied from an early 4-1 deficit to knot the score, and it certainly wasn’t a fluke that the Hatters owned the better part of the second half, rallying from a 10-8 halftime deficit to go on top 13-10 late in the half.
In the end, it was a costly mistake or two that turned out to be the difference between winning and losing and allowed the Red Raiders – who still trailed 14-11 after Caroline Hagan’s free position goal with 6:24 remaining in regulation – to eke out the win.
“I thought we had them,” coach Duncan Swezey said. “We had our foot on their throat, but we let them back in the game.”
Wednesday’s one-goal loss came just 11 days after Radnor defeated Hatboro-Horsham 20-10 in a district quarterfinal game. Those who were at that game know the score didn’t reflect the Hatters’ play. The Red Raiders took just three more shots than the Hatters that day, but the Hatters could not keep Radnor from scoring.
“We went over things yesterday, and I said, ‘There are four things you have to do better,’” Swezey said. “The last time we played this team we had 26 penalties. Today we had 10.
“We needed to get 50 percent of the draws, and we got them. We needed twice as many saves, and we had to be better on our shots if we wanted to win the game. I have watched tape for hours of Radnor. We had all their tendencies picked up, and we knew what they could do. I said, ‘Gang, we can beat this team.’”
The Hatters certainly came close, showing the Red Raiders that they meant business when they rallied from an early 4-1 hole to knot the score after Daley found the net nine minutes into the game after a remarkable individual effort.
Daley had a hand in nine of her team’s 14 goals, contributing six goals and three assists in a superb outing. Carr added five goals in a stellar showing of her own. When it was over, both players admitted that it had been quite a ride.
“This is the furthest a Hatboro-Horsham team has ever come in girls’ lacrosse, and it is really sad to see it end because I’ve been playing with them for so long,” Carr said.
“It’s just weird because they’re my best friends,” Daley added. “I actually don’t feel like this is my last game with them. It hasn’t really hit me yet, but I’m so happy that for our senior year we came out and played like this.”
The Hatters trailed 10-8 at halftime, but they clearly had saved their best for last, opening the second half with a 5-0 run that stunned the Red Raiders. It began with Daley winning the opening draw and racing downfield to score her fourth goal of the day. Carr won the ensuing draw, and moments later, Daley cashed in, converting a free position goal to make it a 10-10 game just over a minute into the second half.
Sophomore Rachel Rausa scored into an empty net after the Radnor goalie was whistled for a foul, and the Hatters had their first lead (11-10). A goal by Carr (Julie McKay assist) upped that lead to two.
Katie McKay controlled the next draw, but Radnor came up with a takeaway. Hatter goalie Jackie Giovinazzo turned away Taryn Deck’s free position shot, and at the other end of the field, Daley found a wide open Nicole Beck for the score and a 13-10 Hatter lead.
Radnor answered with a goal by Moira Mahoney to make it a two-goal game, but after a Casey Swezey interception on the defensive end, the Hatters hit paydirt when Hagan scored after a free position. The Hatters came up with the ball on the ensuing draw, but a costly turnover marked the beginning of the end.
The Red Raiders closed out the game with a 4-0 tear, and they won it when Shannon Quinn scored on a free position goal with 14 seconds remaining. It was the junior midfielder’s third goal in the final five minutes of the game, and this one ended the Hatters season.
“It was just little mistakes that cost us the game,” Daley said. “If we didn’t have those mistakes, we would have won.”
Swezey acknowledged that it was frustrating to see the win slip away.
“I was trying to get them into the corners, but we were still going in when we were up three,” the Hatters’ coach said. “Even when we were up two, I said, ‘That’s fine. Try and get in the stall. We don’t need to shoot.’
“Then we had two bad turnovers and they go down and scored, and it’s a game again. They have the firepower, and you can’t give them second opportunities.”
As losses go, this was one the Hatters could walk away from with their heads held high.
“We had the game, and we should have won, but for our team to really step up like that and to show that the Suburban One really can play these teams and to show them what we have – the last time we played them it was 20-10,” Daley said. “They were expecting to roll over us. I feel as though we all just played our hearts out. It’s been incredible.”
The Hatters closed out the season with a 19-5 mark, a Suburban One Continental Conference title and their program’s first trip to states ever. The legacy of this senior class will not soon be forgotten, and they have raised the bar high for future teams to follow.
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