Plymouth Whitemarsh, CB West and Springfield Township were winners in SOL girls’ lacrosse action Monday. Check out the recaps.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 11, ABINGTON 4
Midway through the second half of Monday’s SOL opener, Ali Diamond put an exclamation point on a glittering four-goal effort, somehow finding the back of the net on an underhand shot in traffic.
“After it was over, the ref told me there were a couple of flags,” Diamond said. “She was like, ‘She fouled you like five times, but I knew you were going to goal.’”
Just over a minute later, the Georgetown-bound senior found teammate Vic Betterly for a goal. The assist capped a nine-point game for Diamond, who had four goals and five assists in a productive afternoon.
“She knows the game, she sees the field, and she’s a lefty,” PW coach Ellen Reilly said. “She’s smart, and she’s been playing the game, and the other kids she’s with – they’ve been playing together so long that they know each other pretty well, and the younger kids are filtering in.”
Junior Lexi Petrakis also had four goals for the Colonials, who played a pair of games during their spring break trip to Florida.
“Today was a more intense game, so we wanted to make sure we were doing everything more slowly so we could perform better and the outcome would be better rather than rushing it and turning it over,” Petrakis said.
“In Florida, it was our first game playing together,” Diamond said. “We were a little frantic, forcing things.
“Today we settled down, got in a rhythm and got comfortable with each other, just playing more together and getting a feel for everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.”
The trip to Florida, according to Diamond, was an opportunity for the players to develop the chemistry that was on display in Monday’s win.
“It was really good for team bonding on and off the field,” she said. “We did a lot of fun stuff together. Just being together all the time, talking to people you hadn’t before.
“We had two practices a day, so we got to work with each other more and get real comfortable on the field.”
The Colonials opened the scoring with three straight goals in a two-and-a-half minute span. Diamond had a hand in all three goals, scoring the first on a free position, then assisting on a Raquel Baskin score and following that with a come-around goal that gave the Colonials a 3-0 lead.
Junior Lauren Van Buren put the Colonials on the board, converting a free position, but Petrakis answered with back-to-back goals – the first on a free position and the second with a Diamond assist that put PW on top 5-1.
Van Buren scored consecutive goals to make it a 5-3 game, but Diamond set up a pair in the final minute – the first by Betterly and the second by Petrakis – to send the Colonials into halftime with a 7-3 lead. They extended that lead to 10-3 before Van Buren connected on her second goal. By that time, the outcome had been decided.
“We finally are settling a little bit,” Reilly said. “Down in Florida, we were forcing and pressuring things and just pushing too much.
“Relax – when you have a lead, take your time, and be smart with the ball. I liked our hustle on the draw. That helped us today – and being smart on attack. I have some young kids out there. I want them to attack when they have it, but they need to know – you have to count on the girls that have experience.”
PW goalie Meghan Ely was credited with five saves in the win.
“I thought my goalie did a good job – she had some nice saves today,” Reilly said. “Defensively, I have some kids that have never really played that much of the game, but they’re understanding how to move and where to go, and it’s starting to come together, but we need to work on it a little bit more..”
The win avenged last year’s 7-6 overtime loss to the Ghosts.
“That was a really upsetting game,” Diamond said. “It just didn’t go our way, and this year I really wanted to come out and beat them.”
This year’s Ghost squad has a whole lot of new faces in its lineup and a new coach, Mary Liz Klepper, at the helm.
“I think they get very mental,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Not only are they getting more playing time, but they’ve got a whole new coaching staff. I was brought in in February, and we’re all getting to know each other. It’s definitely a learning curve for both me and them.
“We have a strong, strong junior class, and there’s a lot of potential for us, but we really have to go back to the basics. From here on out, the biggest thing we talked about in that (postgame) meeting was staying positive. Showing up to practice ready to work and really having that mindset that we can change. Practice what we need to practice so we can be ready for our game on Friday.
Van Buren – who had all four of Abington’s goals – was a bright spot in the loss.
“Lauren Van Buren was 4-for-5 today, and it was because she drove to the goal and she shot and was making those drives,” Klepper said.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday, and Abington (0-2, 0-1) will be on the road at Central Bucks East on Friday.
Abington 3-1 4
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7-4 11
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 11, UPPER MERION 10
The Spartans led by one at halftime, trailed by two late in the contest but rallied for the dramatic win.
“The biggest lead of the game was two goals – we had a two-goal lead in the first half, and they had a two-goal lead in the second half,” coach Maggie Canavan said. “Other than that, it was back and forth. It was a really great game.”
The visiting Vikings, who trailed 6-5 at halftime, took an 8-6 lead early in the second half and still led 10-8 before the Spartans reeled off three unanswered goals to close out the game. Emily Walsh scored a goal that turned out to be the game winner with two minutes remaining. Lindsey Smith won the ensuing draw.
“I said, ‘We’ll just take time off the clock,’” Canavan said. “We actually had an open shot, and their goalie saved it.
“They had a goalie clear, we got lucky and got a call at midfield, so we got the ball back. We got another shot the goalie saved, and then our defense just came up huge with a stop in the eight, and we held it for the last 40 seconds.”
Walsh led the Spartans with four goals and six draw controls. Smith had three goals, one assist, five draw controls and two ground balls. Freshman Ella Marino added three goals, one assist, one ground ball and one interception while Ellie Hamilton contributed one goal, four assists, one draw control and one ground ball.
Junior Gracie Woron, who anchored the defense, had two ground balls and two interceptions.
“Gracie Woron came up huge – she had two stops within the last two minutes to get our attack the ball back,” Canavan said.
The Spartans’ coach pointed to her team’s defense and goalie Annie Ryan, who had five saves, as keys to the comeback.
“Annie Ryan had a fantastic game – she came up really big for us,” Canavan said. “She’s a huge leader. She’s very vocal – she tells our defense what to do, and they respond really nicely to her.
“Gracie Woron is the leader on defense, and I have three freshmen – Molly McGoldrick, Ellie Lynch and Maddie Yoder – back there.”
Also making contributions were Allie Cottone (two assists, two ground balls) and Sophia Perry (one assist, one ground ball).
Springfield Township (1-0) will be on the road at Council Rock North on Friday.
Upper Merion 5-5 10
Springfield Township 6-5 11
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 13, GREAT VALLEY 10
Finley Ueland scored four goals and assisted on another to lead the Bucks to the non-league win. The Bucks raced out of the gate to a commanding 9-4 halftime lead, but they were outscored 6-4 in the second half.
“We need to put together a full game and show more composure when leading, but they continue to finish when we need it,” coach Tara Schmucker said.
In addition to Ueland, Abby Natoli connected for a hat trick. Dani Dundas and Maddie Maio both scored two goals. Dundas also had an assist. Julia Carey added one goal while Casey Reichwein had a pair of assists. Emma Haring and Liv Fitzgerald each had one assist.
“Casey Reichwein had 13 draw controls this evening, which was huge,” Schmucker said. “Finley was a presence on attack, and Abby Natoli was a big contributor on offense as well.
“Dani Dundas and Maddie Maio had a lot hustle with seven and four ground balls, respectively. Lucy Varner was solid on defense with three ground ball rebounds and a caused turnover.”
West goalie Lauren Ring was credited with four saves in the win.
Central Bucks West (3-0) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Great Valley 4-6 10
Central Bucks West 9-4 13
HAVERFORD 12, UPPER DUBLIN 11
One-goal games are becoming a habit for the Flying Cardinals, but after winning the first two, the Cards dropped a heartbreaker on Monday at Haverford.
With less than a minute remaining, the Flying Cardinals had an 11-10 lead only to watch the Fords knot the score with 30 seconds remaining and then find the net with the game winner at the buzzer.
Senior Lindsey Schreiber reached a milestone in the first half when she connected on the 100th goal of her career.
“Lindsey coming out late because of basketball – it wasn’t even on my radar about the number of goals she had,” coach Dee Cross said. “We realized when we got down to Texas that she had scored nine this season already and only needed two more to reach 100, and she did it on her second goal today.
“I was happy for Lindsey. It was at Haverford, and some of her friends came, so it wasn’t right around the corner, but they were there to help her celebrate. We play Lindsey at midfield, and honestly, for just being in basketball this long, she comes out and does not miss a beat.
“She’s a very steady player. I wouldn’t say she’s flashy or fancy, but she is just a hard, blue collar worker on the field. She usually controls the draw, she plays good defense. She’s just an all-around steady player.”
Schreiber, a Butler University recruit, finished the day with three goals, three assists and six draw controls. Caroline Wall had a team high four goals, and Mack Moore had two goals and two assists. Becky Browndorf had one goal and two assists, Maddie Templeton had one goal, and Julie Reardon added an assist.
Sarah Herchenroder had four saves for the Cards in goal.
“She played a great defensive game,” Cross said.
Upper Dublin (3-1) will travel to Pennridge on Friday for a 7 p.m. contest.
Upper Dublin 5-6 11
Haverford 7-5 12
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