Julie Martinez laughed.
Not because the Abington coach was amused but because of the sheer absurdity of one of the numbers on her stat sheet for Tuesday’s District One AAA Tournament opener against West Chester Henderson that saw the Ghosts escape with a 10-9 win.
“We had 47 shots, and we made 10,” she said of a contest that saw her team hold a 47-20 advantage in shots. “That tells you what kind of game we had.
“The problem was we were jittery. We were getting great looks at the cage, but they want to make the state playoffs so bad – they just wanted to build a 10-goal lead in three minutes, so they were just shooting, and they weren’t taking smart shots. Their goalie didn’t have to move.”The end result was a game that was a whole lot closer than it should have been.
The sixth-seeded Ghosts – who watched a three-goal lead disappear - needed a Kailee Ashby goal with just over a minute remaining to eke out the win.
“With a minute left, Alisha Aquilino made a save on an eight-meter shot, and then we were able to just possess for the rest of the game,” Martinez said of her senior goalie. “I know very well one dropped ball, and the game is tied because that’s what happened to us against Baldwin.”
Ashby led the Ghosts with four goals, and Kate Cooper added three goals and one assist. Aquilino had nine saves.
“I know we were the better team today, but the better team doesn’t always win,” Martinez said. “Now we know this isn’t good enough, and we’re ready to step it up.
“The reality is a win is a win in the playoffs. We move on. Henderson had a long bus ride home.”
The Ghosts will host Downingtown East in a second round game on Thursday.
* To view game action photos of the Abington/West Chester Henderson contest, visit the Photo Gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
The Ghosts join fellow conference champions North Penn and Upper Dublin as the lone SOL teams to advance. North Penn crushed Garnet Valley 17-3, and Upper Dublin ran past Harriton 16-7.
Souderton came close to pulling off an upset of Villa Maria but fell 14-13. Springfield (Montco) was defeated by Bayard Rustin 16-11. Strath Haven defeated Council Rock South 17-5 while Unionville brought an end to Council Rock North’s season with a 10-3 win. Great Valley upended Central Bucks South 16-4, and Boyertown defeated Pennridge 13-5. Wissahickon came out on the short end of a 15-9 score against Conestoga.
Maiden magic – North Penn looked the part of the district’s second-seeded team in its 17-3 rout of Garnet Valley but not until after the Maidens survived a shaky start.
The two teams were actually deadlocked 1-1 at the 15:01 mark of the first half after a goal by Halley Barnes. Lauren McDermott scored the go-ahead goal with 12:47 remaining, and the fun was about to begin for the Maidens.
Twelve seconds later, McDermott – who came up with the ball on the draw – found teammate Abbie Hartman for the score.
A defensive takeaway by McDermott resulted in a pass to Halie Lear for the score, and 10 seconds later, McDermott scored off the draw. Another McDermott goal put the Maidens on top 6-1, and the best was yet to come.
During a dazzling one-minute, 50-second offensive burst, the Maidens went on a 5-0 tear to go on top 11-1, putting the mercy rule into effect with 6:09 remaining in the first half. Included in that run were four Hartman goals as well as a goal by Stacey Pellechia.
“I’m watching in amazement at the things they come up with,” coach Jami Wilus said. “Once Lauren started scoring, they seemed to double her, and we had other people open. She did a great job of distributing the ball. There were some real pretty goals, real pretty.”
Hartman led the Maidens with eight goals and one assist – six goals in the first half. McDermott had four goals and four assists. Pellechia and Dani Horn each added a pair of goals while Alyssa Culp had four assists.
“We definitely had something to prove,” Hartman said. “We were doubted, and we gave it to everyone who doubted us.”
The Maidens will host Villa Maria in a second round game on Thursday.
“We have to learn from it and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes,” senior goalie Lyndsay Hepler said. “We have to be ready from the start.”
Lost in the shuffle was the 10-save effort of Hepler, who came up with some big stops in the game’s opening minutes while the Maidens struggled to find their stride.
“She was unstoppable today,” Wilus said of Hepler. “She had saves all over the place. I think it was more than the saves. It was taking command. Our defense feeds off of her saves.”
Cardinals flying high – Dee Cross knows what it’s like to be hit by the injury bug. Her team lived through a boatload of injuries during a 2007 season the Upper Dublin coach dubbed ‘Adversity ’07.’ On Tuesday, the Flying Cardinals squared off against a Harriton squad that was minus its top scorer
“I know they weren’t the same team that played during most of the season,” Cross said. “Their coach told me they had a couple of girls that were injured, but I don’t know what impact they had on the team.”
The Flying Cardinals - who were led by the five-goal effort of Nikki Harchut - were back at full strength with the return to the defensive backfield of senior Danielle Derr, who had been sidelined with an injury.
“It was nice to have Danielle back on the field,” Cross said. “She really helped.”
The Cardinals jumped out of the gate to an 11-2 halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way.
“I was pleased with the way the girls came out,” Cross said. “They were very quiet during warm-ups, and that can mean they were really, really scared or really, really focused.
“I think we came out a little nervous, but we were able to get a quick three-goal lead, which helped them to settle down. Even though we had some unforced turnovers, I felt like we were able to rally each time and not allow them to gain momentum. I was pleased with that.”
In addition to Harchut, Amy Cross and Kelly Cross both had three goals and two assists. Jen Brannen added two goals while Jordan O’Reilly, Emily Hitchings and Brooke Callahan each added a single goal.
The Flying Cardinals will travel to Boyertown for a second round contest on Thursday.
Indians lose heartbreaker – Souderton held a two-goal lead in the first half of its game against Villa Maria, but the Hurricanes scored a pair of late goals to go into halftime deadlocked 6-6.
“That kind of changed the momentum,” coach Nicole Dudek said. “It was back and forth, but in the second half, they went ahead by four goals.
“We came back to make it 14-13 with 15 seconds left. All we needed was the draw, but we didn’t get it.”
Junior Lindsay Walbrandt led the Indians with six goals while senior Julia Kudla added four. Dana Paulding had two goals and Kirsten Walther, one goal. Bryana Mandato turned away 10 shots in goal.
“We played very well,” Bauer said. “Could we have played better? I always think we could play better. I told them at the beginning I had very high expectations.”
The Indians closed out the year with an 11-5 record in Bauer’s first year in the helm.
“I was very happy with them,” the Indians’ coach said. “We grew so much from the beginning of the season. They worked really hard, and they got rid of all the drama we had last year, and that was the biggest thing – drama free and help them realize they’re in high school, and they should be having fun.
“Winning, of course, is important to me, but I think they had a good time.”
Rams come up short – Pennridge saw its first trip to the district tournament in a decade end in a 13-5 loss to Boyertown, but coach Liz Wallace was pleased with her team’s progress.
“When I took over the program, they had two wins on their record,” Wallace said. “To get to the point we were 13-5 is a great accomplishment.
“Making the playoffs is something we wanted to do every year, and it’s something we ended up doing. It’s great to keep taking steps forward.”
Wallace, in her fourth year at the helm, is seeing a change in the mindset.
“We have girls who have dedicated their time to lacrosse,” she said. “They go to camps, play on club teams. They’re playing lacrosse all the time.
“We have more dedication and interest than we had before.”
Wallace bids farewell to several key players.
“For four years, Jacquie Burke has been an integral part of our offense,” Wallace said. “I’m so used to her being on our team. I don’t know what our offense looks like without Jacquie Burke.
“(Goalie) Eileen Applegate has kept us in games all season, and she kept us in it today – she had some fantastic saves at the beginning of the game.
“Kelli Coffey is one of the smartest players you could come across and was a great part of our defense.”
Burke had a pair of goals while Jen Moyer (one assist), Jess Roy and Roxy Brown each had a single goal. Applegate turned away 16 shots in goal.
“They were a beatable team,” Wallace said. “We were right with them in the first half, but we had trouble maintaining possession.”
The Rams closed out the year with a 13-6 mark.
Tough initiation for Titans – Central Bucks South received a rude welcome from Great Valley in its first ever trip to districts, but not even a 16-4 loss to the Patriots could dampen coach Janique Craig’s spirits after the program’s most successful season ever.
“Overall, it was a great experience for us,” she said. “It was good for especially my underclassmen to get a taste of the playoffs.
“The whole season was a positive experience. They were down because we wanted to win today, but one step at a time. Each year we’ll improve on it. The teams on the Main Line and Malvern are at a different lacrosse level, and it’s going to take us getting used to playing teams like that. Even if we lose, we’ll learn from it.”
The Patriots took control of the game late in the first half, opening up a 9-4 lead thanks to a three-goal burst in the last five minutes.
“We started off really well,” Craig said. “But we got ourselves in a hole, and they’re a fantastic team. In the second half, they really took over.
“It’s tough when you get down four or five goals. We had opportunities, but our shot selection was poor.”
Sophomore Casey Haegele scored a pair of goals while Natalie Rube and Deanna Giorno each added single goals. Kelly Hamilton and Jen Dunn each had an assist.
The Patriots, who won just four games last season, closed out the year with a 13-6 mark.
“I’m so proud of the girls,” Craig said. “Even in this game, they played until the last second.
“They were all hustling, and they were playing hard. I’m very proud of them. They’re good kids, they’re really good kids.”
Trojan facts – Senior Anne Bracaglia scored four goals for Wissahickon in its 14-9 loss to Conestoga while teammates Sam Stutman, Alexa Mohr, Ashley Bossert, Aubrey Bossert and Natalie Draham each scored one. Draham had three assists and Stutman, two assists. Jess Scannapieco had five saves in goal.
The Trojans trailed by just three goals early in the second half, but with the injury of senior defender Gretchen Anderson and a nagging injury to all-league attacker Aubrey Bossert, Conestoga had just too much firepower.
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