By Alex Frazier
For Plymouth Whitemarsh senior Meg Piotrowicz, scoring goals is only one of her important roles on the Colonials’ lacrosse team.
On a young team that features three freshmen, two sophomores and a handful of juniors with no varsity experience, Piotrowicz not only has to carry the team on her shoulders in terms of scoring, but also has to serve as a role model to the younger players.
The first is easy to measure; the second is not so easy.
Tuesday afternoon, Piotrowicz scored six goals and added an assist to lead the Colonials to an 11-6 victory over Upper Moreland.
That Piotrowicz provides a majority of the scoring is both good and bad as coach Ellen Reilly explained.
“That’s great because she’s a great player, but my younger players stand and watch, and that makes it harder on her because she gets double and triple teamed.”
But for Piotrowicz, “There’s a lot more things than just scoring and assisting. Leadership is definitely one thing I’m working on. I feel it’s one of my good assets.
“It’s important for the young girls to have somebody setting an example all the time. To have young girls on this team and see them look up to you and see them try to do things you’re trying to do and they see I’m trying to work with them builds their confidence more, which is definitely a good feeling for them and for me as well.”
Upper Moreland took a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Karen Iluminati (23:43) and Lily Smith (21:36), but the Golden Bears only got one other shot in the next 20 minutes. In the last 40 seconds of the first half, Iluminati and Smith each had another shot, but neither was on goal.
“Alisha is fast and once she wants it, she’s going to get it,” said Upper Moreland coach Karen Grossi, “Karen’s really good at seeing the field and has the skills she needs to make herself look good.”
By the time they fired off their shots, the Colonials had gone on an 8-0 rampage, ultimately putting the game out of reach.
“That happened before,” said Piotrowicz. “They scored three or four and then we came out on a run. It was definitely draw control for us that’s very important for us.”
And it was Piotrowicz who led the charge. She scored the first two goals and added three more as the Colonials controlled play for a good 20-minute stretch.
“We threw it away in the first half,” said Grossi. “We must have thrown the ball over the sideline at least five times, and transitioning down the field we missed the girl. That eight-goal run they had was us not being able to transition.”
“We were winning at halftime, but I wasn’t happy,” said PW coach Ellen Reilly. “We were not playing a consistent, spread out team attack. We were counting on Megan doing all the scoring, and we can’t win that way. You have to have everybody working together and wanting the ball and working to get the ball.”
The second half was a different story. While PW came out and notched two more to go up 10-3, the Golden Bears finally put some team work and passing together to string three tallies together around one PW score. Courtney Ellis took a feed from Iluminati and drove around the left side of the cage to make it 10-4 at the 12:06 mark. After Piotrowicz scored her sixth, Christi Torres dodged through the Colonials’ midfield to notch the fifth goal with 5:08 left, and Alisha Pagano scored on a free position with 4:23 left. PW’s Meghan McCullough scored the final goal of the game with 1:46 left to make it a 4-4 second half.
“We picked it up the second half,” said Grossi. “We came out strong as a team and then started to break down. Now we’re starting to come back. They really are starting to play as a team.”
After a winless season a year ago, the Golden Bears are headed in the right direction. They are now 2-11 overall and 2-9 in the SOL.
“We came into the season to have fun and improve,” said Grossi. “It’s frustrating to put together 75 percent of a game at times, but they’re working hard, and when they play as a team, they do great. They’re talented. It’s just a matter of putting it together for a full game.”
The win lifts the Colonials to 3-9 overall and 3-7 in the SOL.
“We’re young,” said Reilly, which explains some of the inconsistency and lack of confidence in the younger players. “Hopefully that will come with experience. They have to get strong mentally and strong physically.
“They’re listening. They’re learning. They’re willing to work and they want to play and get better. I’ve seen big improvement with them.”
It’s part of rebuilding.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 12, Upper Moreland 6
Goals: Meg Piotrowicz (PW) 6, Hannah Heritage (PW), Charlotte Carnog (PW), Caitlin Mundy (PW), Amy Powell (PW), Denise Cotetta (PW), Meghan McCullough (PW), Karen Iluminati (UM), Alisha Pagano (UM) 2, Lily Smith (UM), Courtney Ellis (M), Christi Torres (UM)
Assists: Meg Piotrowicz (PW), Amy Fink (PW), Amy Powell (PW), Karen Iluminati (UM), Alisha Pagano (UM)
Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 30, Upper Moreland 16
Saves: Katie Miller (PW) 7, Sarah Baumgardner (UM) 7
Draws: Plymouth Whitemarsh 11, Upper Moreland 9
Turnovers: Plymouth Whitemarsh 13, Upper Moreland 12
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