Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action in the opening round of the District 1 3A Tournament. Pennridge/Methacton photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. CR South/Lower Merion photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of both games.
District 1 6A opening round
#10 PENNSBURY 11, #23 RIDLEY 10
The Falcons opened up a 7-2 lead out of the gate of Tuesday’s opening round game against Ridley, but any thoughts that this was going to be easy were quickly put the rest. By halftime, the Green Raiders had trimmed that lead to 7-4, and it got a whole lot closer.
With 12 minutes remaining, the two teams were deadlocked 8-8, and with 5:11 remaining in regulation, the game was still tied – this time 10-10. The Falcons took a lead they would not lose with 4:04 remaining on a goal by Mia Popovich.
“I really give them a lot of credit – they knew what they needed to do,” Pennsbury coach Marguerite Piccolo said. “We taught them all the skills, but they really were able to implement it and play together.”
Ridley was hardly an unfamiliar opponent. The two teams met on April 5, and the Green Raiders earned a 9-7 win.
“When we played them before, we didn’t have one of our attackers and we didn’t have one of our midfielders, so we were down two players,” Piccolo said. “We know that they’re a good team, and it was good to play them full strength.”
Olivia Graebner’s five-goal, one-assist effort led the Falcons. Popovich added three goals and one assist and Grace Holmes had two goals and one assist. Angelina Kennedy had one goal and one assist while Riley Borgman added one assist.
“Grace Holmes, our center, really took control of the attack and all over the field,” Piccolo said. “Obviously, she’s great on the draws, but she really took control of the attack this game and led them. She really stepped up, especially being a sophomore.”
Pennsbury (14-4, 9-1 SOL) will travel to #7 Downingtown West for a second round game Thursday.
Ridley 4-6 10
Pennsbury 7-4 11
#11 NORTH PENN 11, #22 UPPER MERION 6
The Knights opened up a 6-1 halftime lead over the visiting Vikings and never looked back on their way to the opening round win.
“For the seniors, this is potentially the last game they will play at home, and it was emotional for them just as it was emotional for Upper Merion because it was their last game,” NP coach Heather Mellow said. “It’s emotional for our seniors because they don’t want it to end, especially on their home turf. Just to go out with one last win on their home field, emotions were high.
“You could see it in the beginning. Especially the younger players who had never been in a playoff situation before, they were nervous. You could see that in them. We were making more mistakes than we typically make, but in the end, we took care of things and came out on top.”
Senior Kayla Stressman had a hand in six goals, finishing with three goals and three assists. She also led the team with six draw controls.
“Kayla Stressman had a great game,” Mellow said. “It’s the same story over and over again. She’s just a great player coming into her own.”
Quinn Rodoff added two goals and four draw controls and was pivotal late in the game.
“Quinn Rodoff really did a great job,” Mellow said. “We were struggling for a little bit in the middle with draw controls. Methacton had a quick, fast player on their team. Even if we could place it for Kayla, she was quick enough to beat up on her or get there, so we had to come up with an alternate plan, and that was Quinn Rodoff.
“She did a great job of self-drawing to herself. She’s probably the smallest kid on the draw, and the last four draws – she got to herself, and that really helped seal the deal for us, keeping possession of the draw and helping us out when we needed it.”
Also for the Knights, Katie Harkins and Lauren Blanch both had two goals while Stephanie Gibson and Grace McGeehan each added a goal.
Kiera Holt was credited with seven saves in goal in a winning effort in goal.
“Kiera Holt made some really nice saves,” Mellow said. “They had some beautiful shots that went in – beautiful shots are going to go in, but she did a really nice job. She had seven saves, and they were good saves and important saves.”
The Knights’ coach also credited the play of Upper Merion.
“Hats off to Upper Merion,” Mellow said. “That’s a good team. Ang (Yanocha) has some really nice players down there. I know their record in the past hasn’t been great, but they’ve really made a pretty good run this year. They’ve had a really good season.
“With their speed, they were just going straight to goal at the end of the game, and we had a tough time stopping them a couple of times. They got the game closer than we wanted it to be, but it was a great win. I’m really excited for the seniors to at least have another opportunity.”
North Penn (13-5, 9-1 SOL) will travel to #6 Great Valley for a second round game Thursday.
Upper Merion 1-5 6
North Penn 6-5 11
#15 PENNRIDIGE 13, #18 METHACTON 6
The fourth time was the charm.
“Three times we’ve made it to playoffs, and three times we have played Methacton and we have lost up until this point,” Pennridge coach Karen Feher said. “Last year, we played them in the second round and lost (13-6), so to play them in the first round and beat them – we called it our revenge game. We had unfinished business from last year, for sure.”
No more unfinished business for the Rams, who opened up an 8-4 halftime lead and never looked back for a win that sent the Warriors home for the season.
Tuesday’s opening round win was the second in as many years for the Rams, who last year defeated SOL rival Central Bucks South in the opening round.
“Last year we played in the first round against CB South, and we were psyched and we played really well, so when we got a first round game again this year, my team game planned, was focused,” Feher said. “We’ve been struggling with playing a full game, and tonight we played a full game for the entire 50 minutes.”
The key to Tuesday’s win, according to the Rams’ coach, could be summed up in one word – defense.
“I have to credit my defense,” Feher said. “My defense stepped up to the plate.
“Lauren Moylan, Abby Keller, Norah Herbst, Lilly Reilly, Grace Rosica, Ava Fantaskey, Kate Unzicker and Kendall Posey played perfect defense. The entire defensive squad stepped up and 100 percent completely stuck to the game plan.”
Also deserving credit is Molly Hawkins, who was the jayvee goalie but stepped in for Anjali Verma, who is sidelined due to concussion protocol. The sophomore was credited with 12 saves.
“She played phenomenal,” Feher said. “She stepped up huge in her first playoff game.
“Grace (Rosica) and Ava (Fantaskey) did really well on 16 (Michelle Zhei) and 22 (Megan Sanelli), but everyone followed the game plan. They stuck to the game plan.”
Fantaskey (3 goals, 2 assists, 2 caused turnovers, 2 ground balls) and Unzicker (3 goals, 1 assist, 2 caused turnovers 1 ground ball, 1 draw control) led the Rams’ attack. Rosica added two goals, two assists and three draw controls. Leah Verespy had two goals while Kendall Posey had one goal, one assist, one ground ball and one caused turnover, and Madigan Posey had one goal, two assists and one ground ball. Jordan Feder had one goal while Cayla Wurz and Alexa Bailey each chipped in an assist.
Moylan led the Rams defense with four caused turnovers and two ground balls, Herbst had three ground balls, Maia Machado had two caused turnovers and one ground ball while Reilly had one ground ball and one caused turnover. Keller had one ground ball.
“Kate Unzicker and Kendall Posey did well on the draws,” Feher said. “It was definitely an all-out team effort. We played a complete game. They played with passion and executed the game plan.”
Pennridge (12-7, 7-3 SOL) will travel to second-seeded Owen J Roberts for a second round game Thursday.
Methacton 4-2 6
Pennridge 8-5 13
#21 AVON GROVE 12, #10 UPPER DUBLIN 10
The Flying Cardinals, who trailed by as many as seven, scored four straight goals in three minutes to pull to within two at 12-10, but that’s where their comeback ended as time expired on the game and UD’s season.
“Time is what we needed,” UD coach Dee Cross said. “We needed time to figure out how to score on Avon Grove’s goalie and then we needed time at the end of the game, when we scored four straight goals in three minutes
“The girls did everything that we asked them to do. We played solid defense all game and figured out how to score on their goalie who made save after save. She was very active and made us work for every goal, but we just couldn’t string together goals in the first half. We had trouble getting the draw control for a stretch of time and Avon Grove took advantage of each possession, getting up by as much as seven goals at one point in the second half.”
Ava Shohen’s hat trick led the Cardinals, and Anna DiMartile had two goals and one assist. Ella Lyon scored two goals and assisted on another while Paige Dinkel added two goals. Kelly Senior had one goal.
“It is always tough to lose, especially to end a season or career,” Cross said. “We will learn from this and bounce back. Avon Grove is a very fast team, and they knew how to push the ball in transition and make their shots count.
“It was a pleasure to coach this group of girls and I am looking forward to watching them get better and better.”
Upper Dublin closed out its successful season with a shared of the SOL American Conference and an overall record of 14-5 (10-1 SOL).
Avon Grove 8-4 12
Upper Dublin 4-6 10
#20 LOWER MERION 11, #13 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 10
The Golden Hawks gave the visiting Aces all they could hand. They trailed by two at halftime and were in the game until the final horn. This despite playing without a pair of key starters – Zoe Brossman and Meg Rafter, who were sidelined with injuries.
Amy Loving led the Golden Hawks with four goals and one assist. Karissa Smedley added two goals and two assists while Kelly Longmore contributed a goal and an assist. Lizzie Hearn, Kate Deal and Ella Mayberry each added one goal. Amanda Green had two assists.
Doing her part to keep the Golden Hawks in the game was goalie Kaya Mallon.
“Kaya was insane in goal – saves, interceptions, ground balls, poise,” Rock South coach Madison Hurwitz said. “She played so well.”
Council Rock South closed out its season with a 14-5 record. The Golden Hawks were 8-2 in the SOL, finishing second to North Penn and Pennsbury.
Lower Merion 6-5 11
Council Rock South 4-6 10
#9 KENNETT 16, #24 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3
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