Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Tuesday.
Non-league
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 9, DOWNINGTOWN EAST 7
Just call them the road warriors.
The Colonials spent the last seven days taking road trips to Doylestown, Radnor, Haverford and – on Tuesday – Downingtown. They split the four games, dropping the first two but winning the two most recent.
Not a bad outcome for a squad that has endured its share of adversity.
“Since we came back from Florida, one of my varsity starters (Lilly Hanlon) is hurt and still out,” coach Ellen Reilly said. “Haley Zygmunt couldn’t play because she has mono.
“I got Zygmunt back, and last night against Haverford, one of my middies got a tooth knocked out, so then we had to go play today after going through that last night, and I don’t have her. We said, ‘Just play, do what you have to do, and you’ll learn from this adversity.’”
The Colonials learned that they could win despite the setbacks, outscoring the Cougars 4-2 in the second half after the two teams battled to a 5-5 halftime tie.
“It was a tough win,” Reilly said. “They maintained their composure during a very physical game.”
Seniors Ali Diamond (four goals, three assists), Vic Betterly (three goals) and Sophie Kolkka (one goal, two assists) led the Colonials.
“The three seniors have been really stepping up,” Reilly said. “My goalie (Meghan Ely) really stepped up in the second half. She made saves that kept us in the game when we weren’t playing well.
“My defense would do a nice job, and we would lose it in transition, and we’d be right back on defense. We had two yellow cards at one time, so we were down two players with a two-goal lead, and my defense and my goalie came up big.”
Ely was credited with 13 saves in a stellar outing.
“When we came down on attack, Sophie, Vic and Ali controlled it because I was missing Lexi (Petrakis) who’s an upperclassman. Lilly (Hanlon) is not out there yet. I had three freshmen on attack. They maintained possession and did what they needed to do in keeping the lead.”
The freshmen who stepped up included Raquel Baskin, Callie Kolkka, McKenzie Lesczcnski (one goal, one assist) and Natalie Lannie.
Reilly admitted that Downingtown East is not as powerful as it has been in the past, and the Colonials – according to their coach – won despite not playing their best lacrosse.
“My kids played awesome last night against Haverford,” Reilly said of her team’s 14-3 win over the Fords. “I thought it was going to be a tough game, but my kids came out and played really well. We took a lead, and Haverford just couldn’t respond.
“I like to play tough teams. Winning a game 20-0 or 15-2 doesn’t help anyone. Who knows when you’re making the schedule what’s going to happen, but you have to learn how to do what you’re supposed to do. We had a tough loss against Radnor, which could have gone to either team. We didn’t play well at (Central Bucks) West, and I don’t understand what really happened to us that night, but the kids are working hard and fighting back so we’ll see.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-3, 1-0 SOL) is off until next Wednesday when the Colonials will host Upper Dublin in a key conference battle.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-4 9
Downingtown East 5-2 7
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 10, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 8
The Spartans and Lions battled to a 6-6 halftime tie, and in the second half, the Lions turned up the defensive pressure, limiting the Spartans to just two goals while they scored four.
Lindsey Smith led the Spartans with four goals, four draw controls and nine ground balls. Ella Marino added two goals and one ground ball. Ellie Hamilton (one goals, two assists, one draw control, two ground balls) and Emily Walsh (one goal, one assist, three ground balls) each added a goal. Gracie Woron had three ground balls and Maddie Yoder had one.
Goalie Annie Ryan was credited with seven saves.
Springfield Township (3-1) will travel to Souderton on Wednesday for a 3:30 contest.
New Hope-Solebury 6-4 10
Springfield Township6-2 8
NORTH PENN 19, CHELTENHAM 1
The Knights owned Tuesday’s non-league contest against the Panthers from the opening draw. Heather Shannon scored four goals and added an assist to lead a balanced attack. She also had five draw controls. Kelly Macnamara added three goals and two assists while Lily Szilagyi and Emily Crawford both had two goals. Bri O’Donnell scored one goal and assisted on four others. Mikayla Barrow had one goal, two assists and four draw controls, and Casey Cavanaugh added one goal, one assist and two draw controls. Kristin Varilla had a goal and an assist. Adding one goal each were Grace Sachetti, Kellie Pickford, Olivia McLaughlin and Brooke Millevoi.
North Penn (2-1) will host Central Bucks South on Wednesday at 3:45 p.m., and Cheltenham (0-2) will host Wissahickon.
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