Seven SOL girls’ lacrosse teams will be in action when the District One Tournament begins on Tuesday.
Monica Dresnin was five years old the last time Plymouth Whitemarsh won a championship in lacrosse, and after an injury-riddled career that included sitting out last season, this year’s run to an undefeated conference season and the program’s first title since 2003 is pretty significant.
“It means a lot,” Dresnin said. “We didn’t really have a winning season for the past four years. To go from nothing to something – people are talking about PW lacrosse now.”
The senior tri-captain admits she had plenty of question marks coming into the season.
“I’m not going to lie – we have a very small roster, and we were a little bit worried at the beginning because we were extremely young,” Dresnin said. “We have a class of 10 freshmen that came in, and we were even asking around at the beginning of the season for girls to come out and play lacrosse because we were low on players.
“I think halfway through the season when we started going on a win streak – we beat good teams, and we said we could hang with anyone.”
Coach Ellen Reilly admits it was a giant leap to go from 4-5 and fifth place in the conference standings to 9-0 and a conference crown.
“We have struggled for the past 10 years,” the PW coach said. “We were middle of the road every year because I didn’t have the number of kids that know how to play the game like I do now.
“Now three quarters of my team plays the game and knows the game.”
Dresnin has played a major role in the turnaround, dishing out 66 assists.
“We lost three of the four (conference) games by one goal without Monica, so I knew we were going to be half decent,” Reilly said. “We would have been good last year if Monica hadn’t gotten hurt.
“She has three times more assists than goals. She’s amazing, especially as a senior and a big-time player. Normally, girls like her want to be the goal scorer. She’s made our team what we are because she gives it up.”
Dresnin relishes our role as feeder.
“I think it was a matter of the younger kids letting me do that and them just adapting to that,” she said. “I think they’ve done a great job of doing that.
“Without that feeder role, I think scoring goals would be harder than normal because it’s so much easier getting feeds instead of going one-on-one.”
Dresnin also has 28 goals, but she brings more than just goals and assists.
“Today at practice she went after a ground ball with someone who’s much faster than her, but she reached in there, just curled her stick around it, lifted it up off the ground and took it right from the kid, and I’m like, ‘That’s what makes her a different player,’” Reilly said. “She sees the field and sees kids and gives them the ball without thinking twice about it.”
Dresnin as well as seniors Maddie Berman and Aurora Mills have provided strong leadership to a young squad.
“I knew this year coming in – if we played together – we could be good,” Reilly said. “We’re young, but we have good leadership with Monica, Maddie and Aurora. They’ve taken us to the next level.”
Berman is a consistent scorer on attack for the Colonials.
“Maddie is aggressive,” Reilly said. “She really wants it, and when she wants it, look out.
“When we’re struggling getting the ball off the draw, I switch Maddie to the circle because she goes after the ball. She has a competitiveness, and she holds herself to a high standard and wants to do her best. She loves to do the crease roll and put the ball in the net.”
Mills, a defensive midfielder, is a presence all over the field.
“She goes full field and gives 110 percent,” Reilly said. “She runs herself ragged.
“She does all the little things off the ball on attack, keeps her defender busy. She doesn’t have to put the ball in the net. She does what she’s being asked to do to make her teammates better and that’s run the entire field.”
In Tuesday’s opening round, the Colonials will host 20th-seeded West Chester Henderson.
“We have to take it one game at a time and focus on the game at hand,” Dresnin said. “We have to keep our heads straight, stick to the game plan and trust each other.”
Titans in new territory – The 2016 Central Bucks South lacrosse team will be the new standard bearer for the program. The Titans captured their program’s first ever title and earned the number eight seed to cap a historic regular season.
“We are absolutely thrilled at being seeded eighth in the district, earning the opportunity to have two home games in the playoffs,” coach Janique Craig said.
The Titans’ first order of business Tuesday is defeating 25th-seeded Boyertown. A win would set up a potential date with ninth-seeded Radnor, a perennial power in the Central League, on the Titans’ home turf.
“First things first,” Craig said. “We need to play our best game against Boyertown and come out hard.
“It’s playoff time, and everyone is in it to win it. We can’t underestimate anyone, and we have to show up. It truly is ‘now or never,’ which is our team motto this year.”
#25 BOYERTOWN at #8 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH (at War Memorial Field, 7:15 p.m.)
Central Bucks South
- 14-2 overall
- 10-0 SOL National Conference champions
- First league title in history of program
- Allowed an average of 5.5 goals a game while scoring 12.75
- Regular season wins over #15 Central Bucks West (9-8), #23 North Penn (9-4), #26 Council Rock North (6-5 OT) and #30 Wissahickon (7-6)
- Led by Courtney Dietzel (47 goals, 33 assists), Kristen Berntsen (38 goals, 18 assists) and Kasey Dietzel (37 goals, 24 assists)
Boyertown
- 10-7 overall
- 8-5 PAC-10 Liberty Division tied for second place
- Defeated 27th-seeded Upper Perk (9-8) and split season series with #14 Spring-Ford (12-11 & 9-15), #17 Methacton (10-7 & 10-11) and #18 Perk Valley (19-10 & 13-16). Lost to #23 North Penn (13-10) on April 30
- Led by senior Kyle Graver (Montclair State) and junior defenders Ally Bardman (Bloomsburg) and Tiffany Diachynsky (Bloomsburg) as well as junior attack Hailey Heimbach (Coastal Carolina)
#22 STRATH HAVEN at #11 ABINGTON (7 p.m.)
Abington
- 15-3 overall
- 8-1 SOL American Conference second place
- Regular season wins over #15 Central Bucks West (8-7), #16 Haverford (17-13), #23 North Penn (10-7), #26 Council Rock North (11-7) and #30 Wissahickon (16-3)
- Led by St. Joseph’s commit Sam McGee
- Five straight wins to close out regular season
Strath Haven
- 8-8-1 overall
- 5-5-1 Central League seventh place
- Regular season wins over #16 Haverford (11-10), #19 Merion Mercy (14-11) and #19 West Chester Rustin (13-9)
- Tied fourth-seeded and defending state champion Garnet Valley 10-10 on May 10.
- Led by junior midfielder Nicole McNeely
#20 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON at PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH (7 p.m.)
Plymouth Whitemarsh
- 16-2 overall
- 9-0 SOL American Conference champions
- First conference title since 2013
- Young squad led by Rutgers-bound Monica Dresnin (66 assists) and fellow captains Maddie Berman and Aurora Mills
- Regular season wins over #8 Central Bucks South (12-11 OT), #11 Abington (7-6), #15 Central Bucks West (9-8 OT), #16 Haverford (18-17), #23 North Penn (6-5) and #30 Wissahickon (12-9)
West Chester Henderson
- 10-8 overall
- 4-7 Ches-Mont League eighth place
- Regular season wins over #22 Strath Haven (14-11), #26 Council Rock North (23-7), #29 Kennett (13-4) and #32 West Chester Rustin (13-9)
#18 PERKIOMEN VALLEY at #15 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST (War Memorial Field, 5:30 p.m.)
Central Bucks West
- 13-5 overall
- 9-1 SOL National Conference second place
- Regular season wins over #22 Strath Haven (9-7), #23 North Penn (12-3), #26 Council Rock North (15-7) and #30 Wissahickon (11-8)
- Led by Bryn Boylan (44 goals, 20 assists), Dani Dundas (35 goals, 20 assists) and Finley Ueland (35 goals, 15 assists.
Perkiomen Valley
- 12-5 overall
- 8-5 PAC-10 tied for second place
- Regular season wins over #14 Spring-Ford (9-6 & 13-12 OT), #25 Boyertown (16-13), #27 Upper Perk (11-8) and #30 Wissahickon (14-11)
- Led by Lehigh commit and first team all-league attack player Christie Balestra, who surpassed the 200-goal mark this season.
- Anna Koniencki recently scored her 100th goal
#23 NORTH PENN at BISHOP SHANAHAN
North Penn
- 11-7 overall
- 6-4 SOL National Conference fifth place
- Led by Bri O’Donnell (57 goals, 19 assists), Jenn DeLongis (36 goals, 10 assists) and Chloe Novak (23 goals 25 assists).
- Regular season wins over #17 Methacton (11-8) and #25 Boyertown (13-10)
- Won five of six games to close out regular season.
Bishop Shanahan
- 14-4 overall
- 8-3 Ches-Mont League third place
- Regular season wins over #16 Haverford (8-7), #20 West Chester Henderson (17-7), #22 Strath Haven (11-9), #25 Boyertown (11-10), #29 Kennett (14-9) and #32 West Chester Rustin.
- 13-game winning streak to close out regular season after a 1-4 start
#26 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH vs #7 DOWNINGTOWN EAST (at Downingtown West, 7 p.m.)
Council Rock North
- 12-6 overall
- 7-3 SOL National Conference third place
- Young team led by the senior trio of Claire Jarema, Devon Mela and Anna Lehman
- Regular season wins over #24 Mount St. Joseph (15-10) and #32 West Chester Rustin (14-13 OT)
- Lost to Downingtown East 18-4 on May 9
Downingtown East
- 15-3 overall
- 8-3 Ches-Mont League third place
- Upset six-time defending champion Great Valley 14-13 in overtime in Ches-Mont title game, snapping a 55-game Ches-Mont winning streak dating back to 2011
- Led by Tori Barretta, who has over 200 career goals.
- 13-game winning streak to end regular season after a 2-3 start
#30 WISSAHICKON at #3 GREAT VALLEY (4 p.m.)
Wissahickon
- 10-6 overall
- 7-2 SOL American Conference third place
- Regular season win over #31 Gwynedd Mercy Academy (11-10)
- Lost to #3 Great Valley 16-6 on April 2
Great Valley
- 14-4 overall
- 11-0 Ches-Mont regular season champion
- Upset by Downingtown East 12-11 in overtime in Ches-Mont League title game
- Regular season wins over #4 Garnet Valley (9-8), #12 Unionville (13-5), #20 West Chester Henderson (21-10) and #32 West Chester Rustin (16-3)
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