SOL Girls' Lacrosse District Preview (5-15-18)

Nine SOL girls’ lacrosse teams will be in action when the District One Class 3A & 2A Tournament gets underway Tuesday. Check out the preview capsules for the eight games featuring those squads.

Class 3A
#23 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN at #10 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST (Tuesday, 4 p.m.)
Central Bucks East

• 13-5 overall
• 7-1 SOL National Conference co-champions with Central Bucks West
• Sophomore Riley Forman surpassed the 100-goal mark and leads the Patriots with 58 goals and 17 assists.
• Junior Brigitte Bishop (56 g, 8 a), sophomore Quinn Ferry (30g, 22 a), senior Erin McGovern (16 g, 30 a) and sophomore Katie Powell (32 g, 7 a) also are major contributors on attack.
• Freshman goalie Fiona Henderson anchors the defense in goal
• Regular season wins over #15 Central Bucks South (14-8), #16 Abington (7-6), #19 Pennsbury (16-6) and #21 North Penn (13-8) and Class 2A #8 Jenkintown (20-5).

Coach David Schlesinger says:  “We are very proud to represent the SOL in District One playoffs as a #10 seed. This is the second consecutive year we have hosted a first round playoff game, an accomplishment long in coming for CB East. Additionally, our 13-5 record represents the best regular season for CB East in at least the past 10 years. These accomplishments help us grow the culture surrounding our program. When you have success in consecutive seasons, success becomes an expectation rather than a hope. That drives each individual player to work harder in the offseason to repeat or exceed that success from season to season and to extend our seasons further into May and June. Success breeds success.”

West Chester Rustin

• 11-6 overall
• Lycoming recruit Maddi Montebianco is a four-year starter in goal and was a first team All-Ches-Mont selection as a junior.
• Led also by senior Tina St. Clair, a four-year starter in the midfield, and junior Ashley Chisolm, a three-year starter in the midfield.
• Regular season win over Class 2A #9 Bishop Shanahan (8-7).

#20 METHACTON at #13 UPPER DUBLIN (Tuesday, 4 p.m.)
Upper Dublin

• 12-5 overall
• 6-3 SOL American Conference fourth place
• Senior Lindsey Schreiber reached the 100-career goal milestone this season.
• Sophomore Mack Moore (43g, 37a) led the Cardinals with 80 points. Schreiber (47g, 15a), Caroline Wall (21g, 5a), Becky Browndorf (13g, 13a) and Jenn McCarry (12g, 24a) also made major contributions on attack.
• Defeated #20 Methacton 8-7 in season opener on March 26
• Wins over #4 Central Bucks West (10-9) as well as Class AA #11 Upper Moreland (13-7) and #14 Springfield Township (16-8)

Coach Dee Cross says:  “Upper Dublin is excited to be back in the playoffs this year. We are hosting Methacton from the Pioneer Athletic Conference. We beat them by one goal back in March in our first game of the season. They are a fast, aggressive team, and it took all we had to come back from a deficit to hold on for the win. They are much improved from March, and I would like to think that we are too, so we are looking for a tough battle tomorrow as we host the first round. I think it will come down to getting to the ball first and being patient on offense, making every shot count. Our defense needs to work together and play as a unit also.”

Methacton

• 10-8 overall
• 9-4 Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division third place
• Led by University of California at Davis recruit Julie Byrne. The senior midfielder/defender has a team-high 57 ground balls to go along with 45 draw controls, 25 goals and 14 assists.
• Attack led by sophomores Sydney Tornetta (46g, 21a, 72dc, 48gb) and Mia Sheldon (2 g, 9a, 52 gb, 40dc).
• Swept season series with #24 Spring-Ford (11-7, 7-6)
• Split season series with #8 Boyertown (6-9, 12-11) and #12 Perkiomen Valley (6-7, 8-6)

#19 PENNSBURY at #14 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON (Tuesday, 5 p.m.)
Pennsbury

• 11-6 overall
• 4-4 SOL National Conference fifth place
• Remarkable turnaround year for the Falcons, who won just four games in 2017
• Senior Lilly Nolan surpassed the 200 career-goal milestone and senior Annie Price reached the 100 career-goal milestone this season. Nolan led the Falcons with 75 goals and six assists (81 points), and Price added 45 goals and 26 assists (71 points).
• Sophomore Emelie Curtis (33g, 38a) also was a major contributor while Brooke Weaver (9g, 19a) and Nell Webber (13g, 7a) added to the attack.
• Regular season wins over Class 2A #6 New Hope-Solebury (12-11), #8 Jenkintown (18-14) and #11 Upper Moreland (14-8).

Coach Shannon MacPherson says:  “The girls have worked so hard this season to get where we are. We went from four wins last season to 11 wins this year.  From day one of tryouts, this team has showed up to work with the end goal of making playoffs. This is a really special group of girls with 10 seniors and a strong group of younger girls as well. They have showed that they have the heart and desire to win. I am so proud of the girls for all of their work this season and look forward to playoffs.”

West Chester Henderson

• 12-5 overall
• Led by University of Penn recruit Jordyn Bauer. The senior midfielder, a first team All-Ches-Mont selection as both a sophomore and junior, surpassed the 200-goal mark this season.
• Senior attack Lilly Siskind, an Old Dominion recruit, also is a major contributor.
• Wins over #17 Souderton (14-7) and #24 Spring-Ford (17-15) as well as Class 2A #5 Pope John Paul II (15-8) and #9 Bishop Shanahan (9-7)

#18 CONESTOGA at #15 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH (Tuesday, 7 p.m.)
Central Bucks South

• 14-4 overall
• 6-2 SOL National Conference third place
• Senior Kasey Dietzel scored her 200^th career goal and junior Anna Green scored her 100^th career goal this season.
• Dietzel, a U.S. Naval Academy recruit, contributed 79 goals and 66 assists (145 points) while Green, a University of Cincinnati recruit, had 97 goals and 47 assists (144 points).
• Junior Francine Richick added 37 goals and 19 assists.
• Regular season wins over #4 Central Bucks West (8-7) and #19 Pennsbury (22-12) as well as Class AA #12 Mount St. Joseph (11-6) and #16 Upper Perk (14-7).
   

Coach Janique Craig says:  “Weare very excited and proud to be in the district tournament. We understand that it does not matter where a team is seeded as any team can win on any given day.  We hope to put our best foot forward and continue to play as a team and work together. We look forward to hosting Conestoga on Tuesday.”

Conestoga

• 11-7 overall
• 7-4 Central League sixth place
• Defending District One 3A champions lost key players to graduation
• Senior Emma McGillis, a second team All-Central League defender last year, will continue her career at Lehigh, and senior Amelia Kienzle, a second-team all-league attack last year, has committed to Delaware.
• Regular season wins over #2 Springfield-Delco (13-11), #9 Owen J. Roberts (12-6) and #11 Downingtown West (21-13).

#17 SOUDERTON at #16 ABINGTON (Tuesday, 4:15 p.m.)
Abington

• 12-6 overall
• 8-1 SOL American Conference second place
• Balanced attack led by Jamira Mashore (18g, 32a), Kaley Ehnow (33g, 15a), Lauren Van Buren (26g, 6a), Abby Thomas (26g, 5a) and Natalie McNamara (24g, 5a)
• Defeated #17 Souderton in April 16 regular season meeting (12-6)
• Regular season wins over #13 Upper Dublin (14-11), and #21 North Penn (13-9) as well as Class AA #11 Upper Moreland (11-4) and #14 Springfield Township (15-4).

Souderton

• 13-5 overall
• 7-2 SOL American Conference third place
• Temple recruit Riley McGowan was a first team All-SOL selection as a sophomore. The junior, who plays attack, led the Indians with 60 goals and 27 assists.
• Also making major contributions were Sarah Goodwin (43g, 22a), Coastal Carolina recruit Carlie Doughty (42g. 15a), Kate Connolly (17g, 10a), Anna Anello (20g, 6a) and Liz O’Hara (19g, 7a).  Both McGowan and Goodwin surpassed the 100-goal mark this season.
• Lost to #16 Abington in April 16 regular season meeting (6-12).
• Junior Lauren Scott – who has more than 300 career saves – anchors the defense in goal. She turned away 150 of 299 shots this season.
• Regular season wins over #13 Upper Dublin (8-6), #19 Pennsbury (16-15 OT), #20 Methacton (12-8) as well as Class A #11 Upper Moreland (16-9), #14 Springfield Township (10-7) and #16 Upper Perk (14-8).

Coach Nancy Offner says: “We are extremely excited to be in the playoffs this season and are looking forward to the opportunity to play Abington again.  They are a very strong team and beat us in the season, so we are coming in more confident and very motivated to play well against them in the first round of the playoffs.”

#21 NORTH PENN at #12 PERKIOMEN VALLEY (Tuesday, 5 p.m.)
North Penn

• 9-7 overall
• 6-2 SOL National Conference tied for third place
• Bri O’Donnell, a Penn State University recruit for field hockey, has 221 career points, which includes 181 goals. She led the Knights with 52 goals and 14 assists.
• Also contributing to the balanced attack are IUP recruit Kelly Macnamara (39g, 5a), Heather Shannon (25g, 8a), Kristin Varilla (22g, 4 a) and Grace Sacchetti (20g, 14a).
• Regular season wins over #15 Central Bucks South (15-13) and #19 Pennsbury (12-11).

Coach Heather Mellow says:  “We feel fortunate to make it to the postseason, and we’re excited for the opportunity to play on Tuesday against PV. Our goal is to simply play well and give it our all for the full 50 minutes.”

Perkiomen Valley

• 12-5 overall
• 9-5 Pioneer Athletic Conference tied for third place
• Fell to top-seeded Owen J Roberts 9-7 in Pioneer Athletic Conference semifinals
• Led by juniors Paige Tyson and Riley McGettigan. Both were All-PAC first team selections as sophomores. Tyson, a Virginia Tech recruit, anchors the midfield/attack while McGettigan is the leader of the defense.
• Regular season wins over #24 Spring-Ford (9-6, 11-10) as well as Class 2A #5 Pope John Paul II (8-7), #10 Phoenixville (10-8) & #16 Upper Perk (10-8) and PCL power Cardinal O’Hara (13-11).
• Split season series with #8 Boyertown (11-10, 2-14) and #20 Methacton (7-6, 6-8)

Class 3A
#11 UPPER MORELAND at #6 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY (Tuesday, 3 p.m.)
Upper Moreland

• 11-7 overall
• 4-5 SOL American Conference
• Regular season wins over Class 3A #10 Central Bucks East (9-6) and Class 2A #8 Jenkintown (13-7) and #14 Springfield Township (10-8)
• Won six straight to open season and four in a row to close season.

New Hope-Solebury

• 11-4 overall
• Junior Amy Hutwelker and sophomore Carolyn Thistlewaite, both All-BAL first team selections last year, lead the Lions.
• Regular season win over #14 Springfield Township (10-8) and split regular season series with #8 Jenkintown (16-9, 6-13)

#14 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP at #3 PENNCREST (Tuesday, 7 p.m.)
Springfield

• 10-7 overall
• 4-5 SOL American Conference
• Led by St. Joseph’s University recruit Lindsey Smith, who reached the 200-goal milestone this season. She leads the Spartans with 61 goals, 82 draw controls and 32 ground balls.
• Ellie Hamilton, who scored her 100^th goal this season, added 31 goals and 53 assists to go along with 17 ground balls and 50 draw controls. Emily Walsh has 52 goals, 44 draw controls and 26 ground balls.
• Gracie Woron anchors the defense and has 22 caused turnovers as well as 16 ground balls. Goalie Annie Ryan has turned away 90 of 204 shots.
• Regular season win over Class 3A #19 Pennsbury (10-8)

Coach Maggie Canavan says:   “We are very excited to be playing in the postseason this year. It's a testament to all the hard work these kids have put in all season. We know we deserve to be here and are looking forward to continue our season, taking it one game at a time.”

Penncrest

• 15-3 overall
• 8-3 Central League tied for fourth place
• Ranked 10^th in the PhillyLacrosse.com rankings this week.
• Attack is led by Drexel recruit Grace Harding, a first team All-Central League selection. Bryant recruit Logan O’Donnell anchors the defense.
• Regular season wins over Class 3A #1 Garnet Valley (11-10), #14 West Chester Henderson, #17 Souderton (16-4), #18 Conestoga (13-11) and #22 Strath Haven (8-5) as well as Class 2A #10 Phoenixville (13-6).