To view photos of Wednesday’s Upper Dublin/Wissahickon game, visit the Photo Gallery.
National ConferenceA team effort for Indians – The injury bug has hit defending National Conference co-champions Council Rock North and Abington in the season’s early weeks. While the Ghosts have been playing without Temple-bound Molly Seefried (concussion), the Indians have been without junior Molly Doyle (torn ACL) and have yet to see junior Hannah Plappert (concussion) on the field this season.
Doyle – a midfielder - is lost for the season, but Plappert, who plays attack, is easing her way back. In their absence, the remaining players have been asked to step up.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out – who will step up,” co-coach Pat Toner said.
The Indians – taking advantage of the move of Central Bucks East to the Continental Conference – have toughened up their schedule this season. They have already faced Hatboro-Horsham, North Penn, Bayard Rustin and Archbishop Wood.
“My thought was to play some very difficult teams, not realizing we were going to lose two of our top players,” Toner said. “Having to play a schedule like that was going to determine if we would be able to come back from those injuries.
“There were times when we didn’t look too hot – we had some things we had to work on, but it’s been okay – it’s forced us to learn a lot. By playing really good competition, you find out what you’re doing wrong pretty quickly, and it gives you an opportunity to try and correct some things.”
The Indians lost to Hatboro in overtime (10-9) and fell to North Penn 7-6. They rallied for a come-from-behind 9-7 win over Rustin and notched a convincing 11-2 win over Wood.
“It’s been pretty much of a team effort,” Toner said. “I can’t cite one particular player. They all have done really well at knowing what their job is.”
Helping the Indians immeasurably has been the fact that they returned two of their top offensive weapons from last season in Lindsay Rheiner and Kara Magley. Neither has disappointed.
“We have two pretty strong attackers, and people have been hanging all over them, but they still manage to get their goals,” Toner said. “It’s been a matter of playing with poise and patience. That’s a sign of them coming together as a team.”
On defense, the Indians have relied on Kara Le, Becky Ely, Bridget Doyle, Nora Simcox and Caitlin Hannagen. Hannagen is a soccer player who is a newcomer to the sport of lacrosse but has made an immediate impact. In goal, Taylor Beck has stepped up for the Indians.
“It’s a matter of us working together and finding out what it’s like without Hannah and Molly, and hopefully when they come back we will be that much better for it,” Toner said. “We have a long way to go.
“We respect the teams in our league. We’re just trying to keep plugging away to get to where we need to be.”
The Indians are 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the league.
Continental Conference
Indians looking for consistency – Souderton has shown flashes of brilliance this season, rolling to several lopsided wins. The Indians have also stumbled out of the gate in a pair of games and came out on the short end of the score in both.
In last week’s showdown against neighboring North Penn, the Indians fell behind early and never recuperated, falling 16-3. On Tuesday night, the Indians spotted Hatboro-Horsham a 10-5 halftime lead and still trailed by five late before rallying to pull to within one in the game’s final minutes and falling 15-14.
“We were talking at halftime, and the tone was very similar to the North Penn game,” coach Nicole Bauer said of her team’s slow start against the Hatters. “They kind of had blank faces and no emotion.
“Even in the second half, they didn’t come out that strong, but something happened in the last 15 minutes – everybody turned it on.”
Bauer watched her team outscore the Hatters 5-1 over the final nine minutes of the game.
“That’s the team,” the Indians’ coach said. “That’s our team. I don’t know whether it’s because they don’t realize they have that much potential and they’re really that good because obviously they can do it.
“Every other game they’ve been doing it except our game against North Penn. They showed the last 15 minutes (against Hatboro) they could do it.
“They just played together as a team – they were passing as a team, their fundamental skills were on, they were picking up the groundballs and they were double teaming. The things we talk about that we have to do - were just all on.”
The Indians are 5-2 on the season, 3-2 in league play. In their five wins, they have outscored their opponents 77-36 and averaged over 15 goals a game. They showed that explosiveness in the final minutes of their loss against Hatboro.
It’s hardly a secret that seniors Kirstin Russell, Danielle Notvest and Melinda Wojt – all signed, sealed and delivered to play lacrosse at the collegiate level – are the keys to this year’s squad.
“When they turn it on, they’re hard to stop,” Bauer said.
They proved that in the final minutes of Wednesday’s loss to Hatboro that saw the Indians’ heroic comeback fall just short.
American Conference
Cardinals flying high – Things have been much too easy for Upper Dublin in conference play so far this season. The Flying Cardinals are not only 4-0 out of the gate, they have outscored their opponents 54-3 in those four games. Their most recent win came on Tuesday when they downed a short-handed Wissahickon squad 12-0.
While things might not get a whole lot tougher for the defending champions in league play, the Flying Cardinals will be facing stiff competition in their non-league games.
The Flying Cardinals – minus Kelly Cross (injury) - fell to Abington 10-6 in their season opener but haven’t lost since. Their most impressive win came last Saturday when they defeated Boyertown 10-8.
“That was a great test for us,” coach Cross said. “Their coach said they’re young this year, but they had good senior leadership.
“The difference we felt in that game was that our girls got to every ground ball, and the attacking end re-defended the whole game, and that’s exactly what we want from them. Our midfielders will get a run every game, so for our low attack and low defense to step up and help keep the ball safe in transition, that really helps our midfielders.”
Coming up big for the Flying Cardinals was goalie Anna Lauer, who turned away 11 shots.
“That made a big difference,” coach Cross said. “They had some point-blank shots, and she just really took the challenge and had a really good game.”
Kelly Cross – who had five goals and two assists in Wednesday’s win over the Trojans – led the Flying Cardinals with four goals and three assists in the win over Boyertown. She also had seven draw controls and equaled that number in Upper Dublin’s win over Wissahickon.
“Kelly just really helps settle the midfield down,” coach Cross said. “By her getting possession, she is then able to start our offense.
“Emily Hitchings, Brooke Callahan and Kelly have been consistently working together in the attacking end and also with the ball in transition. That’s good chemistry there.”
Michele DeVincent – also a key midfielder – is sidelined with an injury and will miss three to four weeks.
“That happened before the Boyertown game,” coach Cross said of DeVincent’s injury. “Danielle Ferguson – who just started to play last year – stepped into her position, and she’s just using her athletic ability.
“Her stickwork will come, but players like that have helped solidify our midfield, and that’s what made the difference in our Boyertown game and carried over to our game against Wissahickon.”
A pair of freshmen – Taylor D’Ginto and Rachel DiFrangia – have also stepped up for the Flying Cardinals.
“They’re playing attack, and they’re getting a lot of touches on the ball,” coach Cross said. “They’re still feeling their way.
“We’re really depending on the junior class to bring this team around.”
Kaley Weinstein is our only senior who is seeing playing time for Upper Dublin.
“She also had a huge game against Boyertown and came up with a key catch off of a clear,” coach Cross said. “That really helped us have possession at the end of the game.
“Different players have stepped up. Stephanie Speese has been really steady for us on the defensive end. Lily Morreale – it’s her first year of playing defense, and her timing is really coming along. We have another freshman on the defensive end – Anna Petrucci, and she is learning as we go. I just feel that they are valuable minutes for each of these girls that hopefully will carry over into the rest of games that we play.”
Waiting in the wings to challenge the Flying Cardinals is a list of non-league opponents that includes Villa Maria at the Katie Samson Lacrosse Festival as well as Ridley, Conestoga and Springfield (Delco).
“This year we have six out of league games, and I just feel the better the competition you play – even if we don’t win or lose by a lot, we’re still going to learn from that game, and that’s what we need to stay competitive,” coach Cross said. “We have been playing Springfield-Delco for quite a while, and they usually beat us by a lot, but it still makes us better.
“The Central League is pretty much the league to beat, and we end our season by playing Conestoga and Springfield-Delco, and if we are fortunate enough to make the playoffs, I have to believe that is really going to help us fine tune our skills.”
The Cardinals are 4-0 in league play and 5-1 overall.
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