Check out the results for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Thursday.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 18, NESHAMINY 2
What had been all but a foregone conclusion became official on Thursday when the Titans clinched sole possession of the program’s first ever SOL National Conference title.
Making the Titans’ run to a title even more impressive is the fact that they played a good part of their season without senior co-captain Sarah Poli. The four-year starter went down with a torn ACL early in the Titans’ win over Central Bucks West on April 21.
“I think the natural reaction when something like that happens is you’re panicking and you’re going to get all out of whack, but we just needed to come together,” senior co-captain Courtney Dietzel said. “We’ve been working super hard in practice, especially with offense and working with what we have.
“I think since the first game we’ve played without her we’ve gotten so much better and even improved the past three or four games. I give so much credit to our younger attackers for really stepping up into that role and becoming more confident with the ball because we really couldn’t do it without them.”
“It took a few days to get ourselves together,” Courtney Taylor added. “I know our Souderton game wasn’t the best game we could have had and also our Council Rock North game.
“After that, as much as she contributed to our team, we realized we could do it without her.”
In Thursday’s win, Dietzel scored four goals and added three assists. Kristen Bernsten, Kasey Dietzl, Anna Green and Courtney Taylor scored two goals apiece, while Dietzel, Reading and Taylor each drew two assists. Tori Wigand added a goal and two assists, Amanda Krysko scored once and assisted on another goal and Erin Putnam and Ashley Ferreo each scored once.
Courtney Dietzel, Krysta Reading and Courtney Taylor all had three draw controls. Kasey Dietzel and Melissa Veal both added a pair while Wigand and Green each had one. Veal and Green each had two caused turnovers, and Taylor led the Titans with three ground balls.
Putnam stopped two shots in net for the Titans, who led 13-1 at the half.
Kasey Goetz and Tessa Kane scored once each for the Lady Redskins.
CB South ends its regular season at 14-2 overall and a perfect 10-0 in conference play.
“I just feel like it’s better because I’m a senior,” Wigand said. “This is what we’ve worked for four years. It’s amazing.”
Neshaminy finished 1-12 and 1-9, respectively.
Neshaminy 1-1 2
Central Bucks South 13-5 18
SOUDERTON 13, PENNRIDGE 11
In an emotionally charged atmosphere that felt a whole lot like a playoff game, the Lady Rams and Indians battled for their playoff lives.
Pennridge entered Thursday’s Senior Night showdown 32nd in the latest power rankings while the Indians were 34. Thirty-two teams are invited to the big dance.
The Indians escaped with the heartstopping win, thanks in no small part to the glittering 15-save effort of senior goalie Hannah Schmidt, who coach Lindsay Walbrandt talked into coming out for the team just this past winter.
“Three huge saves down there – colossal,” said Walbrandt of Schmidt’s big stops in the closing minutes. “My mind is blown.
“Sometimes I’m driving home after a game or practice, and I have to remind myself she has never before three months ago set foot in a lacrosse cage. That’s insane. She’s incredible, and she is smart to boot.”
Walbrandt credited goalie coach Mike McGowan for Schmidt’s remarkable development. The senior goalie was especially effective at stopping the Lady Rams’ free position shots.
“I’m always told to step out further because that makes the goal really small,” Schmidt said. “A lot of them they just missed.
“This has been so much fun. I’m glad I joined.”
While Schmidt stole the spotlight with her big stops down the stretch, this was a team win for the Indians, who recorded assists on eight of their 13 goals.
“We didn’t play as individuals,” senior Leah Goodwin said. “We played as a team. We were working the ball and not holding it.
“I actually got subbed, and (coach Walbrandt) told me, ‘If you want to stay on the field, you better start working the ball, so we started working the ball more. I’m not going to lie.”
“I think it came down to hustle,” senior Krista Schneider added. “In the other games we lost, we just didn’t seem like we wanted it.
“We went for every ground ball. We gave it our all.”
The Indians led 2-0 after Leah Goodwin turned a Sarah Goodwin pass into a goal, but the Rams came roaring back to take a 3-2 lead after a goal by Maddie Dachowski. Megan Walbrandt (Riley McGowan assist) scored the equalizer, and the Indians led 4-3 after Schneider (McGowan assist) found the net. Then Jen Rodzewich, who scored a game-high five goals, made her way through the defense for a goal to knot things up.
The Rams took a 6-5 lead into halftime, going on top at the 6:40 mark when Rodzewich found Grace Loughery for the score. At the 23:31 mark of the second half, Loughery, who had two goals and one assist, received her second yellow card and was lost for the remainder of the game.
“Her presence in the middle is one that you can’t really replace,” coach Karen Schnurr said.
Goals by Sarah Goodwin (McGowan assist) and Carlie Doughty (Leah Goodwin assist) put the Indians on top 7-6. They led 9-7 after Sarah Goodwin’s free position goal, but the Lady Rams came roaring back, knotting the score on a Rodzewich goal with 9:05 remaining.
The Indians opened up an 11-9 lead after a free position goal by Doughty but then suffered a setback of their own when Julianna Ofalt received her second yellow with 7:10 remaining. Seconds later, Rodzewich connected on a free position goal – the 100th of the standout junior’s career – to make it an 11-10 game.
Doughty scored off the ensuing draw, and the Rams – thanks in no small part to Schmidt – would get no closer than two the rest of the way.
“Their goalie was really good,” Schnurr said. “I told my attackers going into the game – you have to change up your level. This is a goalie – if you score low, you can’t score low again. I told them to maintain their composure and stay with the game plan.”
The final district seedings will be announced on Sunday, and if they are on the outside looking in, the Indians say they won’t have any regrets.
“A lot of us have been playing together since third grade,” Leah Goodwin said. “This might be the last game for a lot of the seniors playing lacrosse, so it was really exciting to be able to start together and finish together.”
“We made it very far last year, but this is probably the most exciting game I’ve ever played in,” Schneider said.
Souderton was led by Sarah Goodwin, Doughty and Schneider with three goals apiece. McGowan added two goals and three assists, while Walbrandt and Leah Goodwin each scored a goal and tallied two assists.
“We had our highs and lows this season, and the last week’s been a little rough, but I’m incredibly proud of the way they played tonight,” coach Walbrandt said.
For the Lady Rams, Rodzewich had five goals and one assist while Dachowski and Loughery both had a pair. Casey Hefner and Kate Ziegler added one each. Loughery, Miya Wagner and Hefner each had an assist.
The Lady Rams regular season record ended at 12-6 overall and 6-4 in conference play. With the win, Souderton improved its record to 9-9 and 7-3, respectively.
Souderton 5-8—13
Pennridge 6-5–11
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 6, NORTH PENN 5
It wasn't easy, but Plymouth Whitemarsh held on in the final minutes of a one-goal non-league win over host North Penn in a non-conference meeting between the two teams, helping the Colonials to cap off an incredible regular season.
"It was a good game and play went back and forth between the two teams," PW coach Ellen Reilly said. "Our defense held North Penn at the end after a good fight off the draw which North Penn came up with. We were able to hold on for the win."
The Maidens took an early lead on a goal by Chloe Novak in the opening minute of the contest, but that would be their only goal of the half as the Colonials took a 3-1 lead into halftime.
“PW’s defense was tough to get through,” North Penn coach Heather Mellow said. “After the half, we actually put in the go-ahead goal at 15:44 to lead briefly 4-3.”
Victoria Betterly answered with the tying goal less than a minute later, and goals by Ali Diamond and Monica Dresnin put the Colonials on top 6-4. A Jenn DeLongis free position goal with 2:57 remaining made it a one-goal game.
“It was a hard fought game by both teams,” Mellow said. "I was very proud of the effort my girls gave tonight. They fought very hard on both ends of the field.
The Lady Colonials received three goals from Diamond and one apiece from Dresnin, Betterly and Sophia Kolkka in the winning effort. Dresin also added a pair of assists.
The Lady Knights received two goals each from DeLongis and Novak, as well as one goal from Julia Keffer.
Michelle Dyck stopped 12 shots in net for the Maidens.
“Michelle Dyck was outstanding in goal,” Mellow said.
North Penn's regular season ends at 12-6 overall and 6-4 in conference play. Wissahickon, which went undefeated (9-0) in conference play, now sits at 16-2 overall.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3-3—6
North Penn 1-4–5
UPPER MERION 18, SPRINGFIELD 8 
The six seniors and the entire Lady Vikings' team turned in a strong performance in the season ender.
All six seniors had a major impact in the win and played with intensity and heart in their final game wearing blue and gold.
Haley O'Malley had four goals, one caused turnover and two ground balls. Anna Davis had three goals, one assist, an interception and four ground balls. Camille Martorella scored a goal. Lizzy Goernemann scored a goal, forced 2 turnovers and had one ground ball. Marion Fortino won three ground balls on defense. Jordan Cabahug-Almonte had seven saves on 15 shots.
Also scoring for the Vikings were junior Allison Shuster (3 goals, 1 assist), sophomore Quinn O'Malley (2 goals, 3 assists), freshman Molly Weygand (2 goals, 1 assist), freshman Riley O'Malley (1 goal, 2 assists) and junior Francesca Lindelow (1 goal).
The Vikings end the season 10-8.
VILLA JOSEPH MARIE 11, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 4
Council Rock South finishes the season 2-15 overall and 1-9 in conference play.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 15, MOUNT ST JOSEPH 10
Council Rock North took care of Mount St. Joseph in the Lady Indians' second to last game of the season, defeating the Magic by five goals in a non-conference affair.
CR North, which hosts New Hope-Solebury in a regular season finale on Friday, now sits at 11-6 overall. The Lady Indians finished conference play at 7-3.
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 14, WISSAHICKON 11
Wissahickon lost a season finale, non-conference matchup with host Perkiomen Valley, losing by three.
Sam Intrieri led the way for the Lady Trojans with four goals, while Emily Vervlied scored three. Carolyn Wilde added two goals and two assists, while Mary Matthews and Claire Tarzia each scored once. Tarzia and Shannon Stagliano both added one assist.
“Once again, winning the draw had a lot to do with the outcome,” coach Patty Kovacs said.
Vervlied had four ground balls, four caused turnovers and six draw controls. Megan DeGroat had two ground balls and one interception. Talia Abrahams had one caused turnover, and Caty Santucci had three ground balls. Tarzia had one caused turnover and one ground ball, and Marie Dickson had one caused turnover and one ground ball. Intieri had three ground balls, Kelly Dickson had one ground ball.
Wissahickon finishes its regular season 10-6 overall and 7-2 in conference play.
ACADEMY PARK 15, NORRISTOWN 2
Norristown's season ended at 1-16 overall and 0-9 in conference play.
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