Check out the results for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Thursday. Check back to view Kim Supko’s photos of the Wissahickon-Central Bucks South contest.
ABINGTON 8, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 7
Thursday’s non-league game was just the third of the season for both squads, but it had the look and feel of a playoff game.
It certainly had enough drama to keep fans on the edge of their seats for 50 minutes as the Ghosts fell behind 4-0, rallied to take a lead, broke the third tie of the second half in the final minutes and then held defensively for the final 2:12 to escape with the thrilling win.
“Coming in after we beat Haverford, we were pretty confident in ourselves and confident in our offense,” junior Sam McGee said. “We worked on our defense a lot at practice.
“(Coach) Amanda (Kammes) said going into it that this would probably be our toughest game yet after watching them, and this (win) was important for us because I think now we have trust, we have faith in ourselves.”
McGee certainly did her part to ensure there would be a happy ending for the Ghosts, scoring five goals in a dynamic offensive performance.
“This is a game where you need a kid like Sam McGee to step up and run the show,” Kammes said. “I asked her to do that, I asked her to be the general out there. I can’t say enough about the kid. She listens, she buys into things, and when I tell her crazy things – she does them anyway.”
Early on, the fired-up Bucks had things going their way. Maddie Maio connected on a free position goal just over five minutes into the game, and four minutes later, it was Casey Reichwein finding the net. A goal by Bryn Boylan was followed by another free position goal – this one by Dani Dundas – that put the Bucks on top 4-0 at the 12:57 mark of the opening half, prompting Kammes to call a hasty timeout.
“We won the first draw and turned it over,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “We had a really long defensive possession, and they ended up scoring.
“We weren’t in sync. We were choppy on attack. We were forcing it – instead of looking to make the good pass, we were trying to make the perfect one. We came out of that timeout and regrouped. I don’t think any of them for one second thought we were out of it. I know I certainly didn’t.”
Cathy Staerk broke the Ghosts scoring drought with a goal at the 10:58 mark, and when McGee scored on a wicked long distance shot, it was a 4-2 game. A goal by Casey McCallister made it a one-goal game with just under two minutes remaining in the half, but Maio answered with a goal that sent the Bucks into halftime with a 5-3 advantage.
McGee went to work in the second half, knotting the score at the 20:10 mark when she connected on her second goal of the half. Another McGee goal – this one with a McCallister assist – gave the Ghosts their first lead at the 16:43 mark, but Dunda scored the equalizer on the rebound of a goalie save. McGee (Staerk assist) made it a 7-6 game, but Boylan (Finley Ueland assist) answered with a goal at the other end, and the two teams were deadlocked with 5:56 remaining.
McGee won the ensuing draw, and McCallister capped a long offensive possession with the game winner at the 2:12 mark.
“We’ve been working a lot in practice on being patient and working for the right shot and not just 1v1s and forcing it,” Kammes said. “I think what you saw down the stretch – our attack was extremely patient. We were methodical. They cut for each other rather than just for themselves, and that’s when we started scoring goals.
“We had nice long attack possessions, we burned some clock and then you exclamation point it with a finish.”
All but lost in the shuffle of McGee’s glittering performance and the dramatic finish was the standout effort of Abington’s defense, which allowed just three goals in the final 37-plus minutes after giving up four in the opening 13.
The Bucks had possession for the final 2:12 but never really managed a dangerous shot.
“I can’t say enough about our ‘D’ down the stretch,” said Kammes, tipping her hat to Jordan Campbell, Maddie Sjoholm, Becca Gable and Mikki Raymond. “Our ‘D’ was extremely disciplined today.
“We put in a new defense yesterday that was scout specific to these guys, and we ran it to a ‘t.’”
The Ghosts’ defense, according to Campbell, lives by a slogan that is on the back of the team’s shirts.
“We have outwork, outplay, outlast on our shirts, and having this on our shirts, we really feel it,” Campbell said. “We feel every second of the game we need to outwork everyone.
“We need to outplay, we need to outlast. We want to be known as that team that never gives up in all aspects. Our goalie (Kiki Brasher) did amazing. Having our goalie really helped us out a lot. Never giving up is one thing Abington is bringing to the field this year.”
West coach Tara Schmucker – whose team includes a lot of young players – noted that it came down to execution.
“For us, it was just a matter – we weren’t executing our plays, we weren’t capitalizing on the attack,” the Bucks’ coach said. “Most of the time we didn’t get a shot off. We just kept throwing the ball away.
“On the defensive end, in the beginning, we did a really nice job of shutting them down, but I think we just got tired, got a little sloppy, and you have to hand it to Abington. They came back with a fight.”
Dundas and Boylan each had six ground balls to lead the Bucks and Riechwein had five ground balls, two caused turnovers and three draw controls. Boylan had five draw controls.
Raymond finished with three caused turnovers and one draw control while Sjoholm had two ground balls and one draw control. Kaley Enhow and Rebecca Morris each had one ground ball while Campbell had a caused turnover.
Brasher was credited with eight saves while West’s Lauren Devlin had seven.
Abington (3-0) will host Souderton on Monday (3:30 p.m.), and Central Bucks West (1-2) will be on the road at Central Bucks East.
Abington 3-5 8
Central Bucks West 5-1 6
PENNRIDGE 12, SOUTHERN LEHIGH 11 (OT)
The Lady Rams needed overtime and a crease roll goal by Maddie Dachowski with an assist from Casey Hefner, but they escaped with a dramatic win that avenged last year’s 16-11 loss at the hands of Southern Lehigh.
“Pennridge not only came to play but to win,” coach Karen Schnurr said. “It was an entire team effort.”
Dachowski was once again unstoppable, exploding for seven goals for the second time in as many games. She connected on all seven shots she took and also had a pair of assists. Grace Loughery collected a hat trick to go along with two assists, five draw controls and two caused turnovers. Hefner added one goal and two assists, and Kate Ziegler contributed a goal. Jennifer Rodzewich had one assist, three draw controls and five caused turnovers.
Freshman goalie Alexa Machado was credited with 10 saves in the win.
“Maddie Dachowski had another strong showing on attack,” Schnurr said. “Grace Loughery and Casey Hefner added to the spark on attack.
“Jennifer Rodzewich had an outstanding defensive game. Alexa Machado stepped up and made some great saves to keep us in the game. This team is focused and determined, and it shows how bad they want to be successful and win this year.”
Pennridge (2-0) will host Upper Dublin on Friday.
UPPER MORELAND 15, QUAKERTOWN 10
Delaney Smith had a huge game for the Golden Bears. The senior midfielder contributed seven goals and two assists and also had 10 draw controls in a dominant performance.
Allison Felicetti added four goals and one assist while Sydney Bachmayer had four assists to go along with two goals. Jess Flanagan and Claudia Zanine each scored a goal.
“Allison Felicetti had a stellar game at the attack,” coach Pam Remmey said. “Sydney Bachmayer took the team role of feeder.
“Playing well on defense were Cait Corr and Sarah Durphy.”
Goalie Emma Hood was credited with six saves and allowed just three goals during her stint in the net.
For the Panthers, Brooklyn Law scored four goals while Olivia Maseloff added three. Alisa Robinson had one goal and two assists while Kayla Donnelly had one goal and four assists. Morgan Craighead was credited with 17 saves in a busy afternoon in goal.
Upper Moreland (1-1) will travel to Council Rock South on Tuesday, and Quakertown (1-2) will be on the road at Northampton on Saturday.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 17, WISSAHICKON 6
The Titans recuperated from their heartbreaking overtime loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh to turn in an impressive performance against the defending American Conference champions.
Kristen Berntsen led a balanced Titan attack with five goals. Sarah Poli had a hand in seven goals, finding the net for four and assisting on three others. Courtney Dietzel had three goals and two assists, and Kasey Dietzel added two goals and three assists. Courtney Taylor and Krysta Reading both had one goal and one assist, and Tori Wigand added a single goal.
Poli also had a game-high eight draw controls and Courtney Dietzel had six draw controls.
Emily Vervlied led the Trojans with two goals and one assist, and Shannon Stagliano had one goal and one assist.
Central Bucks South (1-1) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Monday night while Wissahickon (1-2) will travel to Great Valley on Saturday.
CHELTENHAM 15, FRANKLIN TOWNE CHARTER 3
Dana Shelton scored four goals and also handed out a pair of assists, and Marycait Dorley also scored four goals to lead the Lady Panthers to the non-league win. Amber Turner added a pair of goals, and Tylar Marren had one goal and one assist to close out the scoring.
Morgan Sloan was credited with eight saves in goal in a winning effort.
Cheltenham (1-1) will host Lower Moreland on Tuesday.
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