Four SOL girls’ lacrosse teams were winners in the opening round of the District One Tournament Tuesday.
SOL teams put on a strong showing in the opening round of the District One Tournament with four out of seven teams advancing to the second round. North Penn extended 10th seeded Bishop Shanahan – winners of 13 straight to close out the regular season – to overtime, and 26th-seeded Council Rock North battled gamely against an equally red hot Downingtown East squad before falling by four goals. Wissahickon fell to a talented Great Valley squad.
#8 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 12, #25 BOYERTOWN 9
As the Titans loosened up on the sidelines, they watched the final minutes of Central Bucks West’s lopsided win over Perkiomen Valley in game one of a district doubleheader at War Memorial Field on Tuesday night.
On paper, the Bears figured to be an even easier opponent for the Titans, but games aren’t won or lost on paper, and the Titans had their hands full for 50 minutes. They saved their best for last, reeling off three straight goals in the final 5:08 minutes to earn the hard fought win.
“There definitely is more pressure this year,” senior co-captain Courtney Dietzel said. “It would be super disappointing to be league champs and then lose in the first round and not go as far as we did last year.
“We wanted to get this game out of the way, so we can take that pressure off. We’re playing a nine seed (Radnor) next, and I consider that even. We’re so excited. We’ve never been past the second round, and this is the year to do it.”
A date with Radnor was on the Titans’ wish list. Most of them remember making the trip to Radnor two years ago for an opening round game that saw the Red Raiders roll to a 14-4 win. The Titan squad that lost that game included 12 sophomores and freshmen. Those sophomores and freshman are now juniors and seniors whose expectations are considerably higher than they were back then.
“We’ve come a long way,” Dietzel said.
Dietzel scored on a free position goal less than two minutes into the game, but the Bears came back to knot the score. The Titans led 4-2 after Kristen Berntsen connected for her second of four goals, but again, the Bears rallied to knot the score.
Back-to-back-to-back goals by Berntsen, Kasey Dietzel and Courtney Taylor sent the Titans into halftime with a 7-4 lead. Krysta Reading’s goal six minutes into the second half extended the Titans’ lead to four, but that advantage turned out to be anything but secure as the Bears rallied to knot the score 9-9 with 10:30 remaining in regulation.
The Titans won the ensuing draw but then lost the ball. South goalie Erin Putnam – who recorded 11 saves – came up with a big stop, and the Titans had a lead they would not lose when Berntsen connected on an eight-meter shot with 5:08 remaining.
“We had a few defensive runs in a row where we couldn’t get a stop, so as soon as Erin (Putnam) got that save, we got back in our groove,” Courtney Dietzel said. “Erin was playing so great, and she really stepped up on those defensive stops when we couldn’t get the slide there.”
Twenty-five seconds later, Berntsen found Tori Wigand on a perfectly-executed pass play, and Kasey Dietzel put the finishing touches on the win with a goal that put the Titans on top 12-9.
“I was really pleased with how poised our attackers were with moving the ball and making the smart decisions and not going to goal and forcing it,” coach Janique Craig said. “We started playing as a team offensively – moving the ball fast and not going in and keeping possession, which was key. We wanted to make sure we worked the ball well.”
While Berntsen led the Titans, Kasey Dietzel had a big game as well, scoring three goals and assisting with two others. Taylor also had a hand in five goals, scoring one with two seconds remaining in the first half and assisting on four others. Reading added a goal and an assist while Courtney Dietzel had two goals and Wigand, one goal.
There wasn’t a whole lot of celebrating when this one was over as it was just too close for comfort.
“It was more relief when it was over,” Berntsen said. “It was tied a few times, and the fact that it finally ended and we came out with a win definitely was a huge sigh of relief for us.”
Central Bucks South (15-2, 10-0 SOL) will host ninth-seeded Radnor on Thursday in a second round game.
“It will be exciting to play a historic team on our home field,” Craig said.
Boyertown 4-5 9
Central Bucks South 7-5 12
#11 ABINGTON 11, #22 STRATH HAVEN 10 (4 OT)
Lindsay Baer, according to coach Amanda Kammes, is the quintessential role player.
“She does not do anything flashy, she is extremely fundamentally sound,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “She has maybe the best lax IQ on the team. She never does too much, she does what is needed.”
When it mattered most in Tuesday’s district opener at Schwarzman Stadium, the junior attack player delivered the game’s biggest play, turning a pass from teammate Rachel Morris into the game winner late in the fourth overtime period to propel the Ghosts to the dramatic win.
The play began with a caused turnover in the defensive end.
“Rachel Morris came up with the ball and started pushing a fast break down the field,” coach Amanda Kammes said of the game-winning sequence. “She got fouled right around our 30.
“Mikki (Raymond) was to her left, and it was basically a 2v1 at that point. Lindsay had already sprinted down the field and was sitting on the crease opposite Rachel. Rachel drew the defender and dumped it to Lindsay, and Lindsay faked low and finished high on a very pretty textbook goal, a very savvy finish. It was a pretty incredible finish.”
Nothing comes easily when district playoffs roll around, and the Ghosts found that out in a hurry in Tuesday’s opener. The Ghosts took an 8-5 lead into halftime.
“We pretty much took care of the first half,” Kammes said. “We weren’t really playing that well overall, but we pretty much led most of the game.”
The Ghosts still led by three in the second half only to watch the Black Panthers reel off three unanswered goals to knot the score with under five minutes remaining.
“We couldn’t win a draw,” Kammes said. “Probably the last 20 minutes of the game we couldn’t win a draw.
“They kept getting possessions, and our defense really didn’t play very well today. In overtime, they kind of came alive.”
Giving the team a lift was sophomore goalie Claudia Grossi, who came off the bench late in the second half and was impenetrable through four overtimes.
“She played the game of her career so far and had some amazing saves down the stretch that kept us in the game,” Kammes said. “She played in two other games all year.
“She came in after a very short warm-up on the sidelines, and she literally saved the day. The kid played out of her mind – was very cool, calm and collected.”
Grossi recorded five saves, and Kiara Brasher had three.
Casey McCallister had a game-high five goals while Sam McGee and Baer each added three goals. McGee also had six draw controls while Baer had one.
Baer’s game winner – according to Kammes – was poetic justice.
“She was the kid that threw the ball out of bounds on our last possession at PW,” Kammes said of the Ghosts’ one-goal loss to the Colonials. “The kid really beat herself up about it. I think she held on to that for a while, and tonight was her redemption. She finished it when it counted.
“I told them after PW – ‘I’m not happy that you lost, but we have bigger fish to fry, and we’re on a mission.’”
Also making important contributions were Maddie Sjoholm (one caused turnover, one draw control), Jules Greco (two caused turnovers), Jordan Campbell (one caused turnover), Cathy Staerk (three ground balls, one draw control), Emma Garg (one assist), Rachel Morris (one assist, three ground balls) and Mikki Raymond (one ground ball, three draw controls).
“Strath Haven is a good team,” Kammes said. “I don’t think they were deserving of a 22 seed going into districts.
“They’re a Central League team, and they play a really good schedule. They came on at the end of the year. They tied Garnet Valley 10-10. I knew it was going to be a game like this. I have a lot of respect for Strath Haven, I have a lot of respect for the Central League. I expected a dogfight, and it was. It was in every sense of the word just a great battle.
“It was not pretty lacrosse. It was sloppy on both ends. It was one of those rainy nights, it was slippery. I’m extremely proud of the kids. They weathered the storm, and some of those overtime losses that we incurred or one-goal losses we had during the season prepared us for tonight.”
Abington (16-3, 8-1 SOL) will travel to sixth-seeded Owen J Roberts for a second round game on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Wildcats edged 27th-seeded Perkiomen Valley 8-6.
Strath Haven 5-5-0 10
Abington 8-2-1 11
#13 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 12, #20 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON 10
The Warriors raced to an early 3-0 lead, but the Colonials regrouped and took a 5-4 lead into halftime.
“(We) took our time gaining ball possession and then shared the ball,” coach Ellen Reilly said. “Four different players scored.”
The Warriors came back to tie the score 5-5 early in the second half.
“(We) had several draw controls that gave us opportunities to score, and they did just that, scoring three goals in succession,” Reilly said.
The Colonials led by as many as five only to watch the Warriors rally to make things interesting.
“They lost their concentration, creating some turnovers that gave Henderson an opportunity to come back,” Reilly said. “(Our) defense played tough in the end with goalie Meghan Ely coming up big with some great saves.”
The PW coach went on to credit Cate Golden, Sam Ward, Aurora Mills, Kennedy Reardon, Sophie Kolkka, Sara Tenaglio, Lilly Hanlon and Lex Petrakis for contributing defensively.
Sophomore Ali Diamond had a big game for the Colonials, scoring three goals and assisting on two others. Kolkka also had a hat trick. Monica Dresnin added two goals and two assists, and Maddie Berman had a pair of goals. Victoria Betterly and Mills both had one goal.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (17-2, 9-0 SOL) will travel to fifth-seeded Harriton for a second round game on Thursday. The Rams defeated 28th-seeded Ridley 22-7.
West Chester Henderson 4-6 10
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-7 12
#15 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 18, #18 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 9
The Bucks put on a clinic that underscored the merits of teamwork in Tuesday’s opening round win.
The pesky Vikings trailed by just one (5-4) midway through the first half after a free position goal by Anna Koniencki. After back-to-back saves by goalie Lauren Devlin to keep the Bucks’ one-goal lead in tact, Kelly O’Callaghan took a Bryn Boylan pass and found the opposite corner of the net. It marked the beginning of a dazzling 8-0 West tear that put the game completely out of reach.
Making that run even more impressive was the fact that all eight goals were assisted.
The sequence went something like this: O’Callaghan from Boylan, Boylan from Finley Ueland, Boylan from Dani Dundas, O’Callaghan from Maddie Maio, Maio from Boylan, O’Callaghan from Maio, Ueland from Olivia Fitzgerald and Dundas from Ueland. Everyone – it seems – got a piece of the action.
Twelve of West’s first 13 goals came with assists – the only one that didn’t was scored on a free position. All told, the Bucks had assists on 13 of 18 goals. Ueland had four while Maio added three.
“Our coach always tells us that she likes assisted goals – not just one-on-ones,” Dundas said. “That was definitely a thing that was good today – we were seeing each other.”
The Bucks led 13-4 after their 8-0 tear. The only question that remained was when the mercy rule would go into effect. It did with 14:10 remaining when Ueland found the net. The Vikings cut the lead to nine on several occasions, but the outcome was never in doubt.
“I think the last two minutes of the first half helped us pull ahead and in the second half, the offensive team was tough to beat,” Schmucker said. “Defensively, we started coming together at the end of the first half as well.
“Finley (Ueland) and (Maddie) Maio fed some excellent assists, and we had a number of players contribute offensively.”
The Bucks also held a decided advantage on draw controls with Boylan winning eight and Maio finishing with four.
“We like to change up the draw a bit,” Boylan said. “We have a group of girls we call the draw team, and we work on draws with coach during practices. We try to focus on communication.”
Boylan and Maio also had six ground balls each.
“Casey Reichwein and Rachel Shaw also helped us in these categories,” coach Tara Schmucker said.
Boylan and Dundas led the Bucks with four goals each. Boylan had two assists and Dundas, one. O’Callaghan collected a hat trick, and Ueland had two goals to go with her four assist. Meghan Darcy, Olivia Fitzgerald, Maura Houk, Maio and Reichwein each had one goal. Fitzgerald had a pair of assists while Dundas and Reichwein had one each.
Central Bucks West (14-5, 9-1 SOL) will travel to Springfield-Delco for a second round game on Thursday. The second-seeded Cougars defeated Gwynedd Mercy 15-8 in an opening round game.
“This is what you work hard for,” senior Katie Holt said. “Coach said this is the celebration for the whole entire season, so just to keep moving on is a reward for all the work you put in during the preseason – all the running. This is what you work for.”
Perkiomen Valley 4-5 9
Central Bucks West 9-9 18
#10 BISHOP SHANAHAN 10, #23 NORTH PENN 9 (OT)
The Maidens gave the favored Eagles – who brought a 13-game winning streak into Tuesday’s district opener – all they could handle and then some before falling in overtime.
“What an exciting game,” said coach Heather Mellow. “My team should be very proud of the way they played, the effort they gave and simply how they finished our season strong.
“It was a good run.”
The Maidens, who played their best lacrosse of the season down the stretch, led by four early and took a 5-4 lead into halftime. The Eagles rallied to knot the score 9-9 with nine minutes remaining, a score that stood until the end of regulation.
“We led the entire way until the very end,” Mellow said. “We started to get tired and sloppy, and Shanahan took advantage of it.”
Bri O’Donnell led the Maidens with three goals while Kaitlyn Phifer had two goals and three assists, and Jenn DeLongis had a pair of goals. Julia Keffer and Sam Tossona each added one goal.
Chloe Novak was credited with 11 draw controls in a dominant effort, and goalie Michelle Dyck also came up big, turning away 11 shots.
“Michelle Dyck did an outstanding job in goal once again,” Mellow said. “And Chloe Novak came up huge with so many draw controls.
“She even won the last draw control in OT to set us up with the ball, but their goalkeeper made a huge save on a free position with 1:30 remaining in the overtime. That save set them up for a fast break down field that Shanahan capitalized on to win the game.”
Shanahan won it when Kenzie Staska scored with 1:14 remaining.
North Penn closed out its season with an 11-8 record (6-4 SOL).
North Penn 5-4-0 9
Bishop Shanahan 4-5-1 10
#7 DOWNINGTOWN EAST 13, #26 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 9
The Indians took on a Cougar squad that boasted an impressive resume. Downingtown East brought a 13-game winning streak into Tuesday’s contest and had just captured the Ches-Mont League championship, derailing a Great Valley squad that had won six titles in a row and had not lost in league play since 2011.
The Cougars raced to a 9-2 halftime lead, but the Indians didn’t go down quietly, outscoring their hosts 7-4 in the second half and battling to the final whistle.
The Indians had no answer for high-scoring Tori Barretta, who scored eight goals.
Anna Lehman led the Indians with four goals while Devon Mela had three. Claire Jarema and Megan Haggerty scored one each. Mela also had a pair of assists while Haggerty and Lehman had one helper each.
Margaret D’Auria was credited with 11 saves in a contest that saw the Cougars hold a 25-16 advantage in shots.
Council Rock North closed out its season with a 11-7 record overall (7-3 SOL).
Council Rock North 2-7 9
Downingtown East 9-4 13
#3 GREAT VALLEY 21, #30 WISSAHICKON 6
About the Author
