Check out the results for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Wednesday. CB South/GMA photos provided courtesy of Lisa Henderson. Check back for a gallery of action photos. CB West/Pennridge photos provided courtesy of Marge Bullock Photography at http://www.margebullock.com
National Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 16, PENNRIDGE 11
The Bucks sound like a team with its sights set high.
Sparked by the stellar six-goal effort of junior Dani Dundas, they had just defeated the Rams by five goals to improve to 6-0 on the young season, but the mood after the game was anything but celebratory.
“I think we got comfortable with the score and didn’t take that to our advantage and keep drilling them in,” Finley Ueland said. “We kind of let them take it, and we were like, ‘Oh, it’s okay, we’re up by a lot,’ but we all know we’re so much better than that, and we’re going to come back from that.”
“We let them come back obviously,” junior Dani Dundas said. “It was the whole team – we weren’t playing together.
“We weren’t coming up for the cuts, there was no transition, we were running away from ball. It just wasn’t West lacrosse. We weren’t playing as a team. It was kind of individual. We weren’t executing our plays, and on defense, we weren’t sliding. We were getting the draws – that’s the weird thing because when we get the draws, that gets us going.”
It was Dundas who jumpstarted the Bucks with a takeaway on the defensive end that she took in for the score less than a minute into the game.
“Her stick was kind of just there, and I was like – boom,” Dundas said of her check and the resulting Ram turnover. “I stumbled at first, and it actually fell out of my stick, but I was glad I got it back. I just ran down – I think I had one to beat, and I took it right in and shot and scored.
“We lost the opening draw, so I feel like that (goal) definitely started it for us. Everyone was like, ‘Yeah, we got this. Let’s execute our plays, play as a team. We’ll be able to get up on them and win this game.’”
That 1-0 score stood until Casey Reichwein turned a Ueland pass into a goal at the 20:11 mark. Thirty seconds later, Ueland scored to put the Bucks on top 3-1. A goal by Grace Loughery interrupted the Bucks’ run, but Dundas, Bryn Boylan – on the rebound of a goalie save – and Lucy Varner answered with goals to give the Bucks a 6-1 lead, prompting Pennridge coach Karen Schnurr to burn a timeout.
“They racked up the goals right away, and Schnurr called a timeout and said, ‘You’ve got to keep your heads in the game,’” senior Jen Rodzewich said. “We had to step it up and keep pushing to the ball.
“Our plays weren’t necessarily working, but we figured we just had to keep up the intensity and look for the open cutters and keep pushing through.”
The Bucks led 10-3 when Ueland scored a goal late in the half, but Maddie Dachowski answered for the Rams to make it a 10-4 game at the intermission. Back-to-back Rodzewich goals to open the second half pulled the Rams to within four, but Dundas and Maddie Maio responded with goals to give the Bucks a six-goal lead.
A Reichwein goal with seven minutes remaining gave the Bucks a 16-8 lead, but the Rams closed it out with a 3-0 run that included a pair of Dachowski goals and a single goal by Rodzewich for the 16-11 final.
“They’re the best team I think we’ll face,” Pennridge coach Karen Schnurr said of the Bucks. “Our goal was to work as one unit and to posses the ball to control. We met that goal, and I said to the girls, I’m pleased with their performance.”
Although pleased to see her team come out on top, West coach Tara Schmucker had some concerns.
“It’s hard – we’re at the point in the season where there are proms, there are spring breaks, and you have to remember they’re in high school,” the Bucks’ coach said. “At this point in the season, I think we need to be pushing and constantly improving, and it starts with practice.
“We were a little flat in practice yesterday. I’m certainly happy we came out with a win. I’m not happy with our lack of adjustments, especially on the defensive side. I still think we’ve had better chemistry on the attacking end. Today we had pockets of that, but I didn’t think it was a consistent effort in terms of execution on the attack.”
The Bucks’ coach acknowledged the strong showing of Dundas.
“She’s been a really good finisher for us,” Schmucker said. “On free positions and her shots, her shooting percentage is really high.
“She also was really composed today. I thought she did a nice job on the attacking side, executing some plays. Some people get rattled when there’s pressure, and she certainly didn’t look like that. She was definitely a leader for us on the attack.”
In addition to Dundas, Boylan, Reichwein, Ueland and Maio each had a pair of goals. Liv Fitzgerald added a goal and assist, and Varner added one goal. Boylan had a pair of assists.
Rodzewich led the Rams with five goals and four assists in a stellar outing.
“She’s a smart player,” Schnurr said. “Her and Grace (Loughery) feed so well off each other.”
Loughery and Dachowski both had three goals and one assist.
Lauren Devlin recorded eight saves in goal for the Bucks while Pennridge goalie Alexa Machado had 10.
Central Bucks West (6-0, 1-0 SOL) is off until next Wednesday when the Bucks will travel to North Penn. Pennridge (4-3, 1-1) will be on the road at Saucon Valley for a non-league game on Thursday.
Pennridge 4-7 11
Central Bucks West 10-6 16
Non-league
UPPER MORELAND 12, PENNSBURY 4
The Golden Bears raced out of the gate to a 7-1 lead on their way to the convincing non-league win.
“Our defense continues to get stronger every game and is working together as a unit,” coach Kim Frantz said. “Mel Wittick and MaddieGrace Wood are doing a great job leading the defense with communication and keeping everyone alert to ball.
“Abby Ellen Wood also had a great game with ground balls and in transition.”
Jess Flanagan led the Golden Bears with four goals, one assist and five draw controls. Senior Sydney Bachmayer, freshman Emma Meakim and freshman Meghan O’Donnell each added two goals. Bachmayer also had two assists and Meakim, one assist. Freshman Chloe Leiter added a goal and two assists and also led the team in ground balls and was second in draw controls with three.
Cheyanne Grumm, according to Frantz, turned in her best game of the season with 10 saves.
Lily Nolan’s hat trick led the Falcons. She also contributed an assist. Brooke Weaver added a single goal while Emelie Curtis and Annie Price each chipped in an assist.
Upper Moreland (6-1, 2-0 SOL) is back in action Thursday at 10 a.m. when the Golden Bears will host former conference rival Upper Merion. Pennsbury (1-5, 0-2) is off until next Wednesday when the Falcons will be on the road at Council Rock South.
Pennsbury 1-3 4
Upper Moreland 7-5 12
UPPER DUBLIN 14, WESTERN ALBEMARIE 8
The Flying Cardinals took advantage of their spring break to take a road trip to Western Albemarie High School near Charlottesville, Va. They wasted little time seizing control, opening up an 11-5 halftime lead over their hosts on their way to the win.
Lindsey Schreiber turned in a glittering six-goal, two-assist effort to lead the Cardinals. She also had two draw controls. Freshman Jackie Rama dominated play on the draw, finishing with 11 draw controls. She also had five goals and two assists in a stellar outing. Caroline Wall had one goal and one assist while Maddie Templeton had one assist and three ground balls. Shannon Reape had three draw controls and one caused turnover.
Hanna Schuler (four goals) and Bella Moriconi (two goals) led Western Albemarie.
UD goalie Sarah Herchenroder had two saves.
Upper Dublin (6-2, 2-0 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 11-3 14
Wester Albemarie 5-3 8
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 8, GWYNEDD MERCY 7
The Titans found themselves on the short end of a 4-3 halftime score but rallied for the come-from-behind non-league win over the visiting Monarchs.
Courtney Taylor and Kasey Dietzel both had three goals and one assist to lead the Titans. Kristen Berntsen and Anna Green each added single goals.
Kendall Seifert’s hat trick led the Monarchs. Hailey Durkin added two goals and one assist, and Danielle Senour had one goal and one assist. Lizzie Ferguson added a single goal.
Laura Robinson turned away nine shots in goal for the Titans, and her counterpart, Gabby Tanner, also had nine saves.
Central Bucks South (6-1, 2-0 SOL) is off until next Wednesday when the Titans will host Pennridge at 5:30 p.m.
Gwynedd Mercy 4-3 7
Central Bucks South 3-5 8
SOUDERTON 14, PENNCREST 9
Sarah Goodwin and Riley McGowan both turned in five-goal efforts to lead the Indians to the non-league win. Goodwin also added an assist and two draw controls while McGowan had a pair of caused turnovers.
Megan Walbrandt added two goals and five draw controls, and Carlie Doughty had one goal and two draw controls. Kaitlyn Mardi had one goal and one assist, and Randi Hess had three draw controls.
Lauren Scott recorded eight saves in goal in the win.
Souderton will host Wissahickon next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
NORTH PENN 20, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 3
The Knights took a 10-2 lead into halftime of Wednesday’s game against their neighboring rival. The Crusaders – who were without leading scorer Jacqui Jester – never threatened.
“The score was not indicative of the level of play,” coach Heather Mellow said. “LC came out strong in the first half and scored the first goal of the game. We continued to go goal for goal until about the 13 minutes remaining in the first half, when we finally put some offense together. LC has some nice players on their team and played a tough game, especially while one of their best was missing.”
Kaitlyn Phifer’s five-goal effort led the Knights while Kristin Varilla had a hat trick. Victor Brauenle had a hand in six goals, scoring a pair and assisting on four. Julia Keffer added three goals and one assist. Bri O’Donnell, Kelly Macnamara and Grace Sacchetti each had two goals. Jess Selverian added a single goal.
“Despite the score, our play was still sloppy at times,” Mellow said. “We need to clean it up or we are going to continue to struggle winning big games. It was nice to see a lot of different players with goal scoring opportunities.
“Jess Selverian tore her ACL this time last year. Finally just got cleared yesterday, and was able to score her first varsity goal. These are some of the small victories we are taking away from today's game.”
North Penn (3-3, 1-1 SOL) will host Boyertown in a non-league game Saturday.
Lansdale Catholic 2-1 3
North Penn 10-10 20
RIDLEY 12, WISSAHICKON 9
QUAKERTOWN 19, FREEDOM 5
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