Check out the results for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action on Thursday. Photo provided courtesy of Debbie Miller.
American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 7, ABINGTON 6
Pure excitement.
That’s how senior Aurora Mills described the emotions when the final horn sounded on the Colonials’ big win in a battle of SOL National Conference unbeaten squads.
“When it hit three minutes, I was still so anxious,” said Mills, who scored the game winner. “As time was winding down, it was relief and then just excitement – pure excitement.”
They’d been waiting a long time for this one, and perhaps no one appreciated it more than senior Monica Dresnin, who has battled injuries and played in just one game last season.
“It’s special,” the senior captain said. “We’ve been working a long time for this, and everything has finally come together. I think we have a good core group that works together very well. We are very young, and I think the young girls have come in and stepped up in the heat of the moment, just like tonight.”
Both Mills and Dresnin credit the Colonials’ success to team chemistry.
“The past three years – it’s taken us more time to get that team chemistry, and this year it’s come together with this group we have,” Dresnin said.
“Team chemistry and honestly just stepping up and playing the roles we have to play on the field,” Mills said. “That’s a big component.”
Mills broke a 6-6 tie with 3:29 remaining, using the fourth and final assist of the night by Dresnin. The Ghosts won the ensuing draw, and there was the not-so-little-matter of keeping them off the scoreboard. Coach Amanda Kammes called a timeout with 2:56 remaining, but the Ghosts never managed a shot. The Colonials gained possession with just under two minutes remaining when an errant pass sailed out of play. They effectively ran out the clock, and then the celebration began.
“They compete, they love the game of lacrosse, and they know how to play the game of lacrosse,” coach Ellen Reilly said. “They have game sense, and they fight every single second.
“They go out and they compete, and that’s what it takes. It was a good game.”
The Colonials served early notice that they meant business, getting on the scoreboard 58 seconds into the game when Dresnin – who won the opening draw – found Maddie Berman for her first of three goals.
Junior Sam McGee, who kept her team in it in the opening half, connected on the equalizer, but Victoria Betterly turned a Sophie Kolkka pass into a goal, and it was 3-1 after Berman connected on a free position goal. With 10:35 remaining in the half, Dresnin found Kolkka for the score and a 4-1 lead, but back-to-back goals by McGee – with assists from Cathy Staerk and Lindsey Bear – made it a 4-3 game at halftime.
“We came out flat and started slow,” Abington coach Amanda Kammes said. “They were really pumped up and hyped.”
McGee’s fourth goal of the night early in the second half knotted the score 4-4, but Ali Diamond put PW back on top. Again, the Ghosts answered when McGee found Staerk at the crease on a free position. Dresnin won the ensuing draw and hit Berman with a picture-perfect pass for a goal that put the Colonials on top 6-5.
“Making those passes – I don’t really think about it,” Dresnin said. “I just learned to have the confidence to throw passes like that.
“For Maddie to catch that – you have to have confidence in your teammates. You tell Maddie what to do and she does it when she’s asked to.”
Rachel Morris, after coming up with a loose ball near the crease, found the net and knotted the score 6-6 with 6:35 remaining, setting the stage for the exciting finish.
“This is what lacrosse is supposed to look like,” Kammes said. “This was fun.
“It came down to possession and turning the ball over. I thought the kids played great. I’m really proud of them. I know this one stung for conference reasons. It is what it is, but the fat lady is not singing until districts are over and states.”
Reilly also pointed to possession off the draw as key.
“Especially in the first half and then when we had the ball down here late possessing it and being smart with the ball,” Reilly said. “Another thing was – my defense played great.
“Both possessions they had at the end of the game – they didn’t score two, three minutes at a clip, and it was my defense.”
Anchoring the Colonials’ defense were Mills, Sarah Putsch, Kate Golden, Lily Hanlon, Sam Ward, Sara Tenaglio, Sophie Kolkka and goalie Megan Ely.
“They’ve been paying amazing defense,” Reilly said. “You stop the other team defensively, and then you possess the ball and make it count.”
In addition to scoring the game winner, Mills was assigned the task of defending McGee, who scored the first four Abington goals and assisted on the fifth.
“I just had to remember to break down my steps – don’t push, force her to her weak and just think that this eight is my house, and she’s not coming in and she’s not going to score,” said Mills. “The backer ‘D’ allows other defenders on the circle to make aggressive defensive moves and still know that our teammates literally have our backs.”
“The backer ‘D’ – the communication has been there,” Dresnin said. “We came out of the timeout and said, ‘Don’t stop talking’ because that’s key in the backer ‘D.’”
PW goalie Megan Ely had several big stops in the second half, none bigger than her stop of McGee’s free position shot with 8:30 remaining.
Both coaches were pleased with their team’s defense.
“I think it came down to careless turnovers,” Kammes said. “Our ‘D’ just kept shutting down.
“Like I said to the kids, ‘You can only stop a team three, four times and they’re going to get something. Something is going to happen, and they’re going to score.’ Again, it’s that experience of getting those big stops in a one-goal game going down the stretch and understanding how to transition it out of our 30.
“I’m not making excuses, but we have just not been in that scenario this year. To be frank, we’ve been steamrolling people with the exception of our brain (lapse) at Villa (Maria) and Radnor.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-2, 6-0 SOL) will host Norristown on Tuesday, and Abington (10-3, 5-1) will host Council Rock North on Saturday.
Abington 3-3 6
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4-3 7
HATBORO HORSHAM 19, CHELTENHAM 9
By Kyle Morhardt for Suburbanonesports.com
Cheltenham hosted the Hatboro-Horsham Hatters in a rainy league game. The Hatters jumped out to an early lead to due to some excellent combination work between Sydney Rausa and Carly Daley. Hatboro-Horsham dominated the first half shots with an overwhelming 24-8 shot difference.
Hatbroro-Horsham went into the halftime break with a 11-5 lead over Cheltenham. First half goals for the Hatters were scored by Sydney Rausa (2), Carly Daley (3), Gwyn Acker (2), Morgan Crostarosa (2), Kerryn MacBride, and Gabby Acker. Cheltenham’s first half scorers were Amber Turner, Marycait Dorley (2), and Carly Waldman (2).
The Hatters came out of halftime with a similar level of intensity, going on to win 19-9 despite the troublesome weather. The Hatters’ second half goals were scored by Sydney Rausa, Carly Daley (5), Morgan Crostarosa, and Keeley Henry. Cheltenham’s goals were scored by Amber Turner and Marycait Dorley (3).
Arielle Hammer made eight saves for the Hatters as Morgan Sloan had nine of her own. The Hatters defense performed well as they caused 18 turnovers throughout the game and won 16 draws. The Hatters were led offensively by Carly Daley (eight goals, three assists), Sydney Rausa (three goals, four assists), and Morgan Crostarosa (three goals, two assists).
Hatboro-Horsham (3-8, 3-3 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Friday, and Cheltenham (4-8, 0-6) travels to Wissahickon in a night contest for their next league game on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 11-8 19
Cheltenham 5-4 9
UPPER DUBLIN 12, SPRINGFIELD 2
Hannah Reape, Paige Lawton and Lindsey Schreiber each connected for the hat trick to lead the Flying Cardinals. Nancy Decamara had one goal and one assist while Caroline Wall and Charlotte Smith both had one goal. Maddie Templeton and Jess Grodsky each added an assist.
Upper Dublin (7-5, 4-2 SOL) will host Lansdale Catholic on Friday, and Springfield (2-6, 0-5) will host Pennridge on Friday.
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 9, NORTH PENN 8
The weather was far from ideal, and the Indians start wasn’t exactly what coach Krista Dayton-Ventresca had been hoping for either as they found themselves staring at a 5-1 deficit at halftime.
“It was their Senior Night, and my girls got off to a slow start,” the Indians’ coach said. “Their defense was very intense, and it was clearly uncomfortable for us at the beginning of the game. They were playing very good defense.
“I didn’t call any timeouts in the first half. I didn’t think anything was terribly wrong. At halftime, we said, ‘There’s no reason to let this game get away.’ I just think they believed that they could.”
Anna Lehman scored to open the second half, and the Indians were off and running. They knotted the score 5-5 with 13 minutes remaining, and after that, it was a back and forth affair.
“Every time Council Rock North scored, North Penn answered with a goal,” North Penn coach Heather Mellow said. “We had possession of the ball when time ran out, but simply couldn’t find the net one last time.”
While the Maidens played some serious defense in the first half, the Indians returned the favor in the second half, limiting the Maidens to three goals and exploding for eight.
Dayton-Ventresca lauded the efforts of her defensive unit that included Maddie Humes, Lauren D’Amelia, Gabby Shepherd and Cara DePalo. Goalie Margaret D'Auria was credited with nine saves.
“Claire (Jarema) had some clutch goals, and our defense played great,” Dayton Ventresca said. “The defense caused some really nice turnovers.
“Marge played great and had some nice saves coming down the stretch. It was a nice game all around. I’m really proud of the girls for chipping away, not giving up, playing hard and coming back.”
Both teams lost key players to two yellow cards in the second half. The Maidens lost Chloe Novak with 22 minutes remaining in the second half while the Indians lost Anna Lehman with four minutes left in regulation.
“That changed the momentum of the game completely,” Mellow said of losing Novak.
Jarema led the Indians’ attack with five goals while Lehman had two goals and one assist. Devon Mela also had two goals. Megan Haggerty chipped in with an assist.
Sophomore Bri O’Donnell led the Maidens with four goals. Julia Keffer had two while Kaitlyn Phifer and Jenn DeLongis both added one goal. Chloe Novak, Victoria Brauenel and Sam Tossona each had one assist.
Maiden goalie Michelle Dyck was credited with 14 saves.
“We actually had more shots than they did, but their goalie was good,” Dayton-Ventresca said of Dyck.
With the win, Rock North joins Souderton and Central Bucks West in a battle for second place behind Central Bucks South. All three teams have one loss in conference play.
“I feel like Pennridge, Souderton, North Penn and our team are all jammed up in there – one is beating the other is beating the other is beating the other,” Dayton-Ventresca said. “We lost to Souderton by one, we beat Pennridge by two, we beat North Penn, Pennridge beat North Penn by two.
“I feel like our team is holding their own.”
Council Rock North (7-2, 5-1) will be on the road at Abington on Saturday, and North Penn (6-6, 3-4) will travel to Boyertown for a non-league game Saturday.
Council Rock North 1-8 9
North Penn 5-3 8
SOUDERTON 12, PENNSBURY 9
The Indians rebounded from their first conference loss to defeat the visiting Falcons. They took a tenuous 7-6 lead into halftime and then outscored the Falcons 5-3 in the second half.
Katie Halteman led the Indians with three goals, two assists and two caused turnovers. Krista Schneider also had a hat trick. Carly Doughty and Megan Walbrandt both had two goals while Leah Goodwin added one goal and three assists. Sarah Goodwin had one goal to go along with three caused turnovers and four draw controls.
Souderton goalie Hannah Schmidt had four saves.
Souderton (7-5, 6-1 SOL) will host West Chester Henderson in a non-league game on Friday at 4 p.m. Pennsbury (0-8, 0-6) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham for a non-league contest Friday at 3:45 p.m.
Pennsbury 6-3 9
Souderton 7-5 12
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 11, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3
Dani Dundas – who connected on all four of her shots – had a hand in six goals, leading a balanced West attack with four goals and two assists. Finley Ueland had a pair of goals, and Casey Reichwein had one goal and assisted on four others. Contributing single goals were Bryn Boylan, Meghan Darcy, Olivia Fitzgerald and Maddie Maio. Chloe Miller-Russo added one assist.
Reichwein also had six ground balls, two caused turnovers and three draw controls in a solid all-around performances.
Lauren Devlin and Molly Naylor each had two saves in goal in a winning effort.
“The whole team contributed tonight,” coach Tara Schmucker said. “Rachel Shaw played a good defensive game and came up with five ground balls.
“Lauren Devlin was 2-for-2 in saves and also had a caused turnover.”
Council Rock South 0-3 3
Central Bucks West 8-3 11
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 16, QUAKERTOWN 1
Mel Burian had two goals and three assists to lead a balanced Patriot attack. Maggie Vetter, Riley Donnelly and Katelyn Stout each added two goals and one assist while Katelin Cahill had two goals. Adding one goal each were Cailey Lever, Whitney Dietz, Mackenzie Boyle, Bella Ridolfi, Molly Eron and Sara Donnelly.
East goalie Lauren Maurer saved both shots she faced, and Anna Rosenquist turned away three of four shots.
Central Bucks East (6-6, 4-4 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Monday, and Quakertown (2-12, 0-7) will host North Penn on Tuesday.
Quakertown 0-1 1
Central Bucks East 15-1 16
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