#6 North Penn 11, #11 Merion Mercy 10
Abbie Hartman is capable of creating magic on the lacrosse field.
In Thursday’s District One second round game against the Golden Bears, the North Penn senior was quite simply in a league of her own as she repeatedly broke down her defenders and scored every big goal down the stretch in the tightly-contested win.
It was hard to single out the biggest in Hartman’s brilliant six-goal effort.
Her back-to-back goals in a 45-second span midway through the second half were highlight reel material as she all but spun her defenders into the turf with some dazzling moves out of the Maidens’ spread offense to stretch her team’s lead to four after the Golden Bears had trimmed a once five-goal Maiden advantage to two.
“Sometimes the defense forces you one way with one hand,” Hartman said. “Whatever they give me, I take.”
And Hartman spent the better part of the game taking from the Golden Bears. Again and again and again.
With 5:50 remaining, Hartman scored what turned out to be the game winner after spinning by her defender and bursting down the middle of the field for the score to put the Maidens on top 11-9.
“She fakes everybody out,” said teammate Brittany Hanrahan, who has a chance to get an up-close look at those moves at practice. “She challenges really hard. She stutter steps, and she pulls hard to one side and goes straight to goal – 100 percent challenge.”
The Maidens won the ensuing draw and took four minutes off the clock as they utilized an effective stall game, but a turnover set the stage for a goal by Margaret Corzel (Julianne D’Orazio assist). Suddenly it was an 11-10 game with 33 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock.
Things got real interesting when the Golden Bears won the ensuing draw, but the Maidens’ defense checked the ball away near the crease, and Brenda McDermott was there to gather what well might have been the biggest ground ball of the season as she ran out the clock on the big win.
“As soon as that ball is on the ground, it’s ours,” Hanrahan said.
The win ensured the Maidens at least three more games. One win in any of the three would ensure them a return trip to the state tournament.
“It’s awesome,” Hanrahan said. “We set goals for ourselves at the beginning of the season, and we’re heading in the right direction to accomplish our goals.
“We worked very hard for this. We put in a lot of time and effort, and it’s great that it’s paying off. We’re out here to make a statement and prove to ourselves and everyone else that we deserve to be here.”
For the game, Hartman had six goals – four in the pivotal second half.
“She was the Abbie Hartman of old today,” Maiden coach Jami Wilus said. “I have been waiting since her ankle injury for her to come back.
“She was phenomenal. She took charge of the game from the mental standpoint and also a physical standpoint. She really put the ball in the net. She was determined to not let this season be over.”
Hanrahan had an idea Hartman might have herself a day even before the Maidens stepped onto the turf.
“She was extra fired up,” Hanrahan said. “She came into the training room screaming. I knew she was ready to go.
“Abbie fires everyone up. Her energy carries over into everyone else’s play.”
Hartman acknowledged she is once again 100 percent, but there’s more to her resurgence
than that.
“As captains, we want to motivate everyone and keep everyone’s heads up,” she said. “When the other team scores, we want to answer.
“In the Souderton game, they came back, but we answered them by scoring. We don’t retaliate, we don’t talk to the other team. We answer by scoring.”
The Maidens, who sprinted to a 3-0 lead and extended that lead to 5-1, took a 5-2 lead into halftime. They stretched that lead to 7-2 after a goal by Stacey Pellechia at the 23:30 mark, and it looked like the Maidens were going to coast to the win.
The Golden Bears had other ideas, but the Maidens would not be denied.
In addition to Hartman, Macie Hauck had two goals and five draw controls. Pellechia, Kaitlin Colbridge and Danielle horn each added a goal and assist.
#9 Conestoga 15, #8 Upper Dublin 9
The Pioneers jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on their way to the win, but despite the outcome, coach Dee Cross had high praise for her squad.
“We rose to every challenge that came in front of us, including Tuesday when we were blindsided,” Cross said. “It was a testament that they can play with good teams.
“Today we just didn’t have the depth. We just didn’t have any fresh legs.”
Amy Cross (one assist) and Jordan O’Reilly both connected for the hat trick. Kelly Cross had a pair of goals while Emily Hitchings scored a single goal.
“It was just fun to play a game like that,” Cross said. “I know exactly what they’re going to do, but we just couldn’t match what they were doing.
“They scored on us at will. We probably outshot them, but we shot high, shot wide or hit the post. We definitely played even with them on offense, we played with them on draw controls, but defensively, we just could not stop their offense.”
The loss was the first of the season for the Flying Cardinals, and although the Cardinals closed out the year with an 18-1 mark, Cross issued a challenge to her players.
“We said to them, ‘What are you going to do now to get better for next March?” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “That’s what a team like Conestoga does - they play all year round, they always have a stick in their hand.
“Today they had five or six different subs, and we had none, and by the end of the game, we were just worn out.”
#4 Strath Haven 14, #13 Abington 7
The Ghosts fell behind 4-0 early and still trailed 6-3 at halftime before rallying to knot the score 6-6 in the first five minutes of the second half.
“We looked like we were coming to life, but in the last 20 minutes of the game, Strath Haven really turned it on,” coach Julie Martinez said. “They’re a class act, they’re well disciplined, and they outplayed us.
“I wish them nothing but the best, but like I said to the players, we achieved so much more than anybody expected us to do. As much as there was sadness, I think in retrospect there also needs to be a tremendous amount of pride for the feats they accomplished.”
Molly Seefried (one assist) and Courtney Cox led the Ghosts with three goals each. Carli Fitzgerald added a goal and an assist. Goalie Emily Towey was credited with nine saves.
#2 Great Valley 24, #18 Hatboro-Horsham 15
Hatboro-Horsham scored more goals than any team had this season against a Patriot squad that twice allowed 10 – the only times anyone reached double digits against them all year, and according to coach Marie Schmucker, the final score is not a reflection of a contest that saw the Hatters trim an eight-goal lead to two with six minutes remaining in the second half.
“We cut it to two and had possession of the ball when one of my kids forced a pass, and we couldn’t get control after that,” said Schmucker. “It’s like we lost our focus.
“We had them, but we made too many mistakes. To be down that much and to come back says so much. We just made too many mistakes, and they capitalized on it.
“The girls played hard, they had a great season. You can’t take anything away, but I just feel bad that the score is not an indication of the game. To lose by two – I’m okay with it, but to lose by this much – that is not how the whole game was.”
According to Schmucker, the fact that her team had played a tough game the preceding day may have had an impact.
“That last six minutes - fatigue started to set in,” she said. “I also don’t know if the girls believed we could beat them, but overall, they played well, they played hard. They had so much character and integrity that they could come back after trailing by that much. They never quit. It was a great year, it was a great run.”
Cortnee Day led the Hatters with five goals while Lauren Purvis had three goals and one assist.
#1 Radnor 20, #16 Wissahickon 4
The Trojans held a 4-3 lead over the state’s top ranked team midway through the opening half.
“We were possessing the ball, and they were getting frustrated with their shots,” coach Jamie Donahue said.
Radnor closed out the half with an 8-0 run, and the Trojans were never heard from again.
“Once they got their game started, they did a lot of good things with the ball,” Donahue said. “There’s definitely a reason they’re number one.
“Obviously, I was hoping the goal differential wouldn’t be that big, but I was proud of the girls and their effort.”
Aubrey Bossert had two goals and three draw controls. Laura Frankenfield and Sam Stutman each scored a goal while Ashley Bossert had an assist.
Jessica Scannapieco had 10 saves in goal to go along with three ground balls and three interceptions.
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