Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action in Tuesday’s opening round of the district tournament. CB South/Pennridge photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos. All SOS photo galleries for GIRLS’ LACROSSE can be viewed by clicking HERE.
#9 PENNSBURY 17, #24 SOUDERTON 9
The Falcons saved their best for last.
That’s hardly a surprise since the team coach Shannon MacPherson anticipated putting on the field this season did not actually play together until the Falcons’ Senior Night game against Neshaminy when Maggie Golder, sidelined all season with a knee injury, returned to the lineup.
Since then, the Falcons have won five straight games, and they’ve won them convincingly, including Tuesday’s decisive win over the Indians.
“She did a lot for us even when she wasn’t playing,” MacPherson said. “I know it was hard for her not to play, it was hard for us to watch her not play, but she was still a big part of our program. She would help us with plays, she was basically a third coach.
“Darrien (Furiness) took a lot on her hands on the field. She led us basically through the first three quarters of the season. She’s that kid – she gives her all every single game, and for her to have Maggie back to work with has definitely been beneficial to us, but I give Darrien a lot of credit as well throughout the season.”
There’s no mistaking that the Penn State bound senior’s return to the lineup has added a whole new dimension.
“Just how long Maggie and I have been playing together – it’s nice to be able to have that chemistry one last time,” said Furiness, who will continue her lacrosse career at Ohio State. “I would have been satisfied with just one game, but the fact that it’s been five games she’s been back – it’s just so helpful. We play really well together
“Every time she gets the ball, she’s a threat, and that’s just one other person to balance the attack. Obviously, she has so much experience, so there’s leadership.”
On Tuesday, Furiness had another huge game for the Falcons, leading the way with five goals and two assists to go along with five draw controls, seven ground balls and two caused turnovers. Grace Holmes added four goals and one assist as well as two draw controls. Olivia Graebner had three goals, two assists, seven draw controls, seven ground balls and one caused turnover while Golder had three goals and two assists as well as one draw control and one caused turnover. Lily Abraham added a goal, assist and one ground ball, and Caroline Mellon had one goal. Sophia Curtis had three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
“I’m very proud of the girls for our home playoff win today,” MacPherson said. “It was a full team effort. Olivia Graebner played an awesome game today – she really came up with some key draw controls and ground balls.
“Defensively Sophia did a great job on ground balls and turnovers. Darrien contributed on both ends of the field with some caused turnovers and beautiful goals. Maggie did a very nice job on the draw and setting up our attacking players, as well as contributing to the net. Overall, we are very happy with the girls’ level of play today against a solid Souderton defense.”
Tuesday’s game was a rematch of a May 2 meeting between the two schools – a 7-5 Pennsbury win.
“I think we’re a different team than we were when we played them the first time,” Furiness said.
Last year, the Falcons had an opening round bye and then fell to Downingtown East in a second round game. No one was complaining that they didn’t have a bye this time around.
“I think in the history of our program – we’ve never had a home playoff win,” MacPherson said. “We’ve had byes, which moves you to the next round, but we haven’t won after the bye on our home field. Today was big for our program for them to have a win during the playoffs on our field.”
Prior to the final brackets being announced, the Falcons were flip flopping between eight and nine. Eight would have given them a bye.
“When we moved to nine, I was almost happy because I think it’s better to keep that momentum going,” MacPherson said. “We had a great win against Central Bucks South on Thursday (16-2). I think that’s the most complete game we’ve played, so to go from that into this week was huge for us.”
There’s no mistaking the significance of Tuesday’s win to the seniors.
“I think it was a really important opportunity for us because the seniors this year – we’ve never really had the opportunity to win a playoff game,” Furiness said. “We’ve gotten that bye, but we’ve never actually won a playoff game, so having this win was just really important to us, and it’s definitely keeping our momentum going into Thursday.”
On Thursday, the Falcons (14-4, 8-2 SOL) will travel to Downingtown East to take on the eighth-seeded Cougars, who last year brought an end to Pennsbury’s season in a 15-11 loss on the Falcons’ home field.
“I’m not one to forget those types of games,” Furiness said. “You saw it in our CB South game this year. That was the only team we lost to last season besides losing to Downingtown East, and we came out and we were extremely fired up, and we beat them by a pretty large margin. So having that memory of what happened will get us into that game.”
Souderton (5-5 SOL) closed out its season with a 9-9 record.
Souderton 5-4 9
Pennsbury 9-8 17
#11 PENNRIDGE 15, #22 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 7
It was all about control.
If Pennridge could own the draw control and if its defense could keep itself under control while pressuring the ball, then it wouldn’t matter how much control the Titans had of the clock. A little more than a week after their draw control unit was dominated on their home turf in a loss to SOL National Conference champion North Penn, the Rams never let go of control in the circle, on defense or in front of goal as they topped the Titans to move on in the district playoffs.
They even controlled themselves from rushing the field too early at the final horn, even if senior Maddy Edinger said it was a little tough to wait out those final seconds.
Edinger, who took most of the draws, and her wings Ava Fantaskey and Grace Rosica, helped the Rams win the battle in the circle 17-6 while doing plenty more on both ends of the field.
“It was a priority, I don’t know that we harped on it all that much, but we had to be ready off the start,” said Edinger, who was credited with 10 draw controls. “Against North Penn, we lost our composure, so tonight we started off like we normally played our game and I just communicated with the people on the circle and trusted they would have my back.”
Edinger was a catalyst offensively too, scoring a game-best five goals including the opener and arguably the game’s two most important tallies that kicked off a 5-0 Rams run in the second half after the Titans tied it 5-5. The senior, along with Fantaskey and Rosica, also put in plenty of work defensively pressuring the South offense in the second half.
“When this team is on and meshing as a team, we are on and we are unstoppable,” Pennridge coach Karen Feher said. “Maddy, Grace and Ava did a great job setting the tone on the draw control and it’s been something we’ve worked on since the first time we played CB South.
“Defensively, we were just really in control tonight. I kept telling them to pack the eight, pressure the ball and just communicate and slide, and they did a fantastic job of holding the one-v-ones, holding the doubles and timing their slides. Applause to our defense for executing the plan completely.”
Pennridge opened the game with three quick goals, two from Edinger and one by Fantaskey, but their lead was only 5-4 at the break thanks to some strong goaltending by the Titans’ Gabby Mayo. South, which scored the last two goals of the first half, bagged the first goal of the second half thanks to Kate Victor making it all square with 22 minutes to play.
Edinger won the next draw control, went down the field and scored. Then she did it again.
It was the kick the Rams needed, as they would get three more goals with an energized effort leading the way.
“I think it all came down to trust,” Edinger said. “In transition we tried to double the ball and slow it down on that end so we could cause turnovers and get the ball right back down in our attacking end.”
That’s exactly what Sophie Craig did, causing a turnover that led to Fantaskey converting on an eight-meter shot to continue the run. A few minutes later, it was Fantaskey causing a turnover with her ball pressure on defense, leading to Kate Unzicker getting an eight-meter attempt and eventually converting it for a 10-5 lead.
Seniors Nickie Machado, Brynn Wegner and Lauren Rush plus junior Lauren Moylan kept their slides crisp and their slides clean on defense, giving the midfielders a chance to go out and get after the ball.
“We wanted to play lacrosse, we didn’t want to let them just stand there so we were motivated to keep playing our game and to keep racking up the goals,” Fantaskey said. “We wanted to play our defense and play out on the ball. Our slides are always there if we talk, and we did talk tonight.”
Victor scored to snap the streak, but Pennridge merely responded with four more consecutive scores. The hosts were so in control that even when Edinger had to miss a draw while sidelined serving a penalty card, Fantaskey merely stepped to the middle of the ring and came up with the win.
“I think the difference was our boxing out,” Fantaskey said. “(Edinger) had been great on the actual draw and she would box out and get it every time, and on the sides, we practice boxing out, so it really helped us being able to get in front of them.”
Unzicker had a four-goal game for the Rams and also had an assist while Amelia Loughery scored once and assisted three others. Rosica had a goal and assist to go along with three draw controls and five ground balls. Leah Verespey scored in the second half and Fantaskey put in two goals and also had five draw controls. Craig, who celebrated her birthday on Tuesday, had an assist and got the game’s final goal to wrap up a solid game. Kendall Posey chipped in with an assist and also had one draw control. Brynn Wenger also had one draw control.
For the Titans, Victor finished with two goals, as did Teagan Mullen and Maddy Flynn. Grace Gannon added a goal. Defenders Erin Smith, Rachel Steigerwalt, Colby Roach and Emalee Day each had two caused turnovers. Goalie Gabby Mayo kept the Titans in the game with 19 saves.
“I could not be more proud of this team,” South coach Janique Craig said. “We overcame four injuries this year and still got into playoffs.
“Tonight, Pennridge did a phenomenal job on the draw control, and they had the momentum tonight. CB South goalkeeper Gabby Mayo had a game/season record with 19 saves, which is absolutely amazing.”
The Rams move on to Thursday’s second round, where they will travel to No. 6 Methacton. The Warriors won the PAC playoffs last week. Central Bucks South (7-3 SOL) closed its season with a 10-9 record.
Pennridge 5-10 15
Central Bucks South 4-3 7
#17 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 19, #16 WISSAHICKON 8
The Trojans saw their successful season come to an end at the hands of a strong Rustin squad that opened up a 15-5 halftime lead and never looked back.
“We had an awesome season, and the team should hold their heads high,” Trojans’ coach Nicole Fisher said. “They took a situation of having a new head coach and really went all in and worked together and had some big milestones.
“We have such a young team full of players who stepped up and had six strong seniors truly paving the way for them. Everyone shined.”
Emma Baker’s three goals led the Trojans. She also had one caused turnover and two draw controls.
“Nora Ryan stepped up big in the midfield,” Fisher said.
Ryan had two goals and four draw controls. Alexa McCabe had three goals and one draw control. Amanda Brecher and Ellie Stein both scooped up two ground balls.
Camille Hubbs recorded 10 saves in goal for the Trojans.
“Today was tough, but we had a few obstacles we couldn’t control,” Fisher said. “We missed having senior Lex Hobson out due to a sprained ankle and had some injuries throughout the game as well.
“I’m so proud of this team and all they have accomplished. Each one of them has such a bright future ahead.”
Wissahickon closed out its season with a 13-5 record overall and captured the SOL American Conference title with a 10-1 mark.
West Chester Rustin 15-4 19
Wissahickon 5-3 8
#14 SPRINGFIELD DELCO 15, #14 UPPER DUBLIN 3
The young Flying Cardinals ran into a powerful Cougars’ squad that controlled Tuesday’s opener from the outset. Despite the outcome, UD coach Dee Cross – who never questioned her team’s effort – saw some things she liked.
“Springfield just took us right out of our game,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “They were fast and aggressive, and we were never able to really settle in and play consistently.
“Erin Eby and Ava Constanzo played a solid defensive game. Dara Fishman had some great stops in goal and never backed down. Our midfield – Paige Dinkel, Allie Gay and Anna DiMartile – always works hard in transition and never stopped trying to get us some momentum.:
For the Cardinals, Paige Dinkel had a pair of goals, and Tess Reardon had one goal. Aditi Foster and Kelly Senior both had one assist. Dara Fishman was credited with eight saves.
“After the game the whole team did not want to leave,” Cross said. “They are such a close team, and no one wanted the season to end. It is a special group, and we will truly miss this senior class – Ava Costanzo, Caitlyn Darcy, Jaida Dawoud, Tess Reardon, Dara Fishman, Katie English, Cami Rosenthal, Grace McManus and Erin Eby.”
Mia Valerio’s three goals led a balanced Cougar attack that saw 10 different players score goals.
Upper Dublin (8-3 SOL) closed out its season with a 12-7 record.
Upper Dublin 1-2 3
Springfield Delco 8-7 15
#13 KENNETT 14, #20 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3
#10 GREAT VALLEY 17, #23 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 6
CLASS 2A
#4 UPPER MORELAND 13, #13 SUN VALLEY 4
The Golden Bears – behind the seven-point game of Regan Cummins and the five-goal effort of Annalise Messina – raced out of the gate to a 10-0 halftime lead, but don’t be fooled. According to UM coach Kim Frantz, the final score is not a reflection of the game itself.
“This was a total team effort, and the score really doesn’t reflect the intensity and fight this game really had,” the Golden Bears’ coach said. “We finally came back together as a unit after struggling a bit the last few games.
“Unfortunately, this year we have been plagued with injuries. Today one of our captains was injured in the first half. I think this really gave us some fire to play for Natalie Saresky as she was taken off to the hospital. You could tell we were just playing with a lot of heart and determination. We are excited to move into the second round on Thursday.”
While Messina scored a game high five goals, Cummins had three goals and four assists. Willow Taylor had a pair of goals, and Isabelle Leiter, Charlotte James and Maggie Morrow each had one goal. James also had one assist, and Olivia Meakim chipped in with an assist as well.
Upper Moreland (14-4, 9-2 SOL) will host #5 Mount St. Joseph on Thursday at 5 p.m. The Mount crushed #12 Delco Christian 22-2.
Sun Valley 0-4 4
Upper Moreland 10-3 13
#11 GWYNEDD MERCY ACADEMY 16, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 15
It was the tale of two halves for the Spartans, who appeared to be in control of Tuesday’s opener after a first half that saw them open up a 13-8 lead. The second half – that was another story entirely as the Monarchs rallied and handed the Spartans a heartbreaking defeat.
“We were up at halftime and had momentum,” Spartans’ coach Marissa Conover said. “We knew not to ‘get comfortable’ and play 0-0.
“Gwynedd Mercy was able to pull momentum anyway and win the draws. They got a few consecutive goals and took the lead. We were able to tie it up but not enough time to swing momentum to us. Games where you are fully in the lead, fully in control, and just to lose that is heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking to watch, but I know it’s even more heartbreaking to be on the field.”
The Spartans’ youth and inexperience might well have caught up with them in the second half of a high stakes district playoff game.
“Our defense is all new, some never playing club and none of them were returning varsity,” said Conover, acknowledging she never wanted to spread that news during the season. “Jess Shapley, a freshman, was (is) an attacker but needed to fill in our holes on defense – she ended up earning a starting defense position this year, and I’m proud of her for really stepping up to the plate.
“But sometimes that experience over time is necessary. Our team is majority sophomores – so we are a little young and need a little more experience under pressure – which is fine. I’m so proud of them for making it this far and really dedicating themselves this season.”
Fiona Rizzo’s five goals and one assist led the Spartans. Emma Yoder and Maddie McDevitt both scored four goals, and Sam McDevitt had one goal and three assists. Rounding out the scoring was Emily Smith with one goal and one assist.
“It came down to a few mistakes on defense and some nerves which caused our decline after leading the half,” Conover said. “A few panic passes and missed ground balls can cause an entirely different turnout if you’re not careful.
“This can be a building block year in our program and hope to return next year with. It was fun to play Gwynedd Mercy – I felt like it was an even match and whoever played the better game was going to win.”
Springfield Township (7-4) closed out its season with an 11-8 record.
Gwynedd Mercy 8-8 16
Springfield Twp 13-2 15
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