Central Bucks South was the lone survivor in Tuesday’s opening round of the District One 3A girls’ lacrosse tournament. CB South/Downingtown West photos provided courtesy of Lisa Henderson. Pennridge/Methacton photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery of both games…CLICK HERE to go directly to the girls' lacrosse gallery.
#10 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 7, #23 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 6
CB South trailed 5-3 late in the first half on Tuesday night and got an opportune goal with 0.3 seconds left in the half, setting the stage for a wild second frame.
Kristen Bernsten scored her only goal of the game with 12:53 to go to tie the score at five, and Kasey Dietzel (three goals, two assists) gave CB South the lead with 11:09 to play. Downingtown West quickly tied the score again under two minutes later, and the score stayed tied until 6:55 to go, when Courtney Taylor scored to put the Titans in front to stay.
But it was anything but easy, so much so that head coach Janique Craig was dealing with a hoarse voice later on, something she’ll gladly accept given the final score.
“They had shots on us with 20 seconds and one second left, so they kept coming until the end,” Craig said of Downingtown. “We’ve had two ACL injuries, two foot injuries … we keep getting presented with obstacles that we stand up and face. We’re a comeback team, and I believed in our ability to rally when we were down.”
Taylor added an assist to go with her goal, and Melissa Veal and Molly Sullivan each added scores for CB South. Goalie Laura Robinson had 12 saves, including a few game-savers.
“We needed to play as a team today, and we really did come together as one complete unit,” Craig said. “I’m proud of our girls.”
CB South (15-3, 6-2 SOL) will face No. 7 Abington on Thursday.
“We need to cut down on turnovers and improve our draw controls,” Craig said. “That hurt us today, but luckily our defense played amazing and caused turnovers to give us possession. That’s what we’ll focus on for Thursday: getting the ball from the start and executing properly on every single possession.”
Downingtown West 5-1 6
Central Bucks South 4-3 7
#21 METHACTON 18, #12 PENNRIDGE 15
Maddie Dachowski, Kira Ozer, Emily Price, Jen Rodzewich, Kate Ziegler.
Coach Karen Schnurr – who took over the helm when they were freshmen – needs to look no further than her five seniors to explain the program’s remarkable turnaround. Three short years ago, when the seniors were freshmen, the Rams won just two league games and finished in second last place in the SOL National Conference.
“Playoffs were a far reach,” Rodzewich said. “Our team wasn’t much of a unit, but when Schnurr arrived here, we figured with our coach being the center of our unit that we could work more together and fight for what was the ultimate goal, which was playoffs, and we made it.”
This year, the Rams (14-5) were tied for second in the conference standings with a 6-2 record, and although they came up just short in a game that was even closer than the final score suggests, no one was hanging their heads when this one was over.
“Three years ago when I took over this program, playoffs wasn’t even in their mindset – it wasn’t even there,” Schnurr said. “I applaud my senior class this year because they are the ones that put in time, they put in the effort, they put in the 5 a.m. practices, and they changed the program, starting when they were sophomores all the way up to when they were seniors. They helped get us to playoffs.”
The Rams – behind seven goals from Rodzewich – led 12-11 at the end of a high-octane first half.
“It was going to be close, it was back and forth,” Rodzewich said. “The draw was the most important thing, and it seemed they started winning it more at the end, so they started racking it up more.”
In a contest that was back and forth from the opening draw, the Warriors took a 13-12 lead early in the second half, but a free position goal by Grace Loughery was followed by Rodzewich’s eighth goal of a stellar outing, and the Rams led 14-13 with 17 minutes remaining.
That’s when the goals stopped coming. The Rams managed just one the rest of the way – Maddie Dachowski’s fourth goal with nine minutes remaining to make it a 16-15 game. They would get no closer.
The difference?
“Turnovers,” Schnurr said. “I think turnovers were key. We had sloppy, silly turnovers, and it was a possession game.
“I knew it was going to come down to the last five minutes, which it did. We were going tit for tat, back and forth, but when you make that one small error, the other team is going to capitalize on it, and that’s exactly what they did.”
A pair of Temple recruits stole the spotlight with Rodzewich contributing eight goals and an assist while her future teammate, Jackie Cerchio, dominated play for the Warriors. Cerchio scored the first two goals of the night for the Warriors – both on powerful shots. She scored just one the rest of the way, content to draw the Ram defenders and then find open teammates with pinpoint passes, finishing with seven assists.
Alana Cardaci was on the receiving end of many of those passes, matching Rodzewich goal for goal with eight of her own. Freshman Sydney Tornetta added four goals.
Rodzewich, Dachowski (four goals) and Grace Loughery (three goals, two assists) scored enough goals to win on most nights, but this wasn’t most nights, and a successful season had come to an end.
“I never want to say good-bye to them,” Schnurr said. “They have had such a huge impact on this program. It’s going to be five shoes that are extremely hard to fill next year.
“But I am so proud of them and everything they have accomplished, and I know they’re going to do great things at the next level.”
“It’s really emotional for us,” Rodzewich said. “Over the years, we grew really close as a team, and knowing it’s over – it’s really sad, but it was a well-fought game.
“I accept the loss because we fought hard.”
Methacton 11-7 18
Pennridge 12-3 15
#14 HARRITON 20, #19 SOUDERTON 12
Against the defending state champions, Souderton fell short. But they never stopped fighting.
Sarah Goodwin (two assists, four draw controls), Riley McGowan (assist, five DC’s), Kaitlyn Mardi, Liz O’Hara and Anna Anello all scored twice in the losing effort, and Jenny Ubowski and Carlie Doughty (assist) added goals.
Lauren Scott had 14 saves in goal for Souderton.
At one point, Souderton (12-7, 6-3 SOL) was trailing 15-6; instead of packing it in, the team scored four straight against Harriton to make things interesting at the very least.
“We are very proud of how the girls continued to play hard throughout the entire game,” head coach Nancy Offner said. “They played with the same heart they have all season. They played as a team, our defense hung tough and continued to work together and communicate. We had seven different players contribute goals on offense. Harriton is a very talented team and we wish them the best of luck throughout the playoffs.”
Harriton will next be in action on Thursday at No. 3 Owen J. Roberts.
#11 STRATH HAVEN 13, #22 HATBORO-HORSHAM 5
Hatboro may have saw its season come to an end on Tuesday, but on the heels of a 3-17 season in 2016, all the Hatters could do was admire how far they came together.
Kaitlyn Wallace and Gabby Acker each scored two goals, while Gwyn Acker added a goal. Emma Roesing had three caused turnovers and two DC’s, while Gabrielle Liott also caused three turnovers and picked up a ground ball.
“I don’t think the score reflected how well we played defensively,” Hatboro head coach Marie Schmucker said. “We were right there with them for most of the game. Then we had a lull where we couldn’t get possession, and the draw control hurt us.”
Hatboro goalie Arielle Hammer was sensational in making 21 saves, including 13 in the first half to keep her team in the game.
“Arielle played out of her mind,” Schmucker said. “To be able to come from where we were to where we are says a lot. It was a great group of kids who worked really hard and have a ton of heart. We can build on this.
“Did we play our best? Absolutely not. We went in as the underdog, and we had nothing to lose. For us to get a playoff game after our record last year … to have that turnaround in one year is incredible.”
Hatboro-Horsham(5-4 SOL) closed out its season with a 12-8 record. Strath Haven will travel to No. 6 Unionville on Thursday.
Hatboro 2-3 5
Strath Haven 6-7 13
#18 GREAT VALLEY 20, #15 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 8
CB East hosted its first-round district game on Tuesday, but ran into a buzzsaw named Great Valley. The visiting sprinted out to a 12-4 first half lead and never looked back from there.
Brigitte Bishop led CB East (12-7, 6-2 SOL) with four goals, while Riley Foreman added two scores. Maggie Vetter and Mel Burian also contributed goals in the losing effort.
“We got beat by a better team,” CB East first-year head coach Dave Schlesinger said. “I’m very proud of what my girls accomplished this season. We’ll miss Sara Donnelly, Maggie Vetter, Kayla Bartl and Mel Burian, our four wonderful seniors. But we are just getting started in building this program.
Great Valley advanced to play No. 2 Conestoga on Thursday.
Great Valley 12-8 20
CB East 4-4 8
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