Abington 12, Council Rock North 11
For those who thought the SOL National Conference crown was all wrapped up after Council Rock North downed Abington 10-7 earlier this spring, guess again.
The Ghosts are alive and well and find themselves sharing the top spot in the conference after Tuesday’s heartstopping 12-11 win over the Indians.
“It was a huge win,” said junior Carli Fitzgerald, who scored the game winner with 1:06 remaining in regulation. “I think we really won it as a team.
“Before, it seemed as though there were three or four players who always stood out, but today everyone contributed somehow. If I had a turnover, someone had my back. If someone else had a turnover, I had their back. We were all there for each other. I think today we all clicked.”
Fitzgerald led the Ghosts with four goals, two assists, three draw controls and four ground balls. Molly Seefried had three goals and two assists while Courtney Cox had three goals and three ground balls. Courtney Enderle added one goal and three ground balls, and Hanna Sjoholm had one goal to close out the scoring.
Tuesday’s win was quite an impressive showing for a Ghost squad that suffered a major setback before the league season even began.
“In March we lose Kate Cooper, a potential All-American candidate, a scholarship to Lehigh, first team all-league in 2009 and a captain,” coach Julie Martinez said. “I told my team, ‘It’s March. We’re playing March lacrosse. In April, we get a little bit better, but the best lacrosse we need to play is in May.’”
A convincing win over Germantown Friends in the Katie Samson Festival was a step in the healing process as was an overtime loss to Ridley, and it was a vastly different team that took the field this time around against Rock North.
“I just think that this team refused to lose today,” Martinez said. “That was it. They found a way. It was all about their heart and team effort to leave it all on the field.
“They knew they had 50 minutes to win a championship. It was so much fun to watch.”
Fitzgerald credited Martinez for her role in the team’s turnaround.
“She would always push us and tell us we were going to play them again – keep working,” Fitzgerald said. “She told us today, ‘We have to know we will win,’ and I think just having the positive comments kept us in it and made us believe we could do it.
“I think it’s all about believing you can do it. If you believe, then you’ll play well. I think we knew we had this from the beginning. We didn’t hang our heads at all. At halftime we were down two, and we knew we could come back.”
The Ghosts, who trailed 6-4 at the intermission, rallied to go on top 11-9 with time winding down in regulation, but the Indians came roaring back, using goals by Elly Plappert and Molly Doyle within a 22-second span to knot the score with 2:10 remaining. Plappert led the Indians with five goals and two assists.
“I called a timeout after they tied it up,” Martinez said. “I said to my team, ‘This draw determines the league champions, and that’s what you’re fighting for right now.’
“My girls came out – they knew the task at hand. These seniors won a league championship their freshman year, their sophomore year and their junior year, and I said, ‘Be the first Abington team ever to carry on the tradition and win it all four years.’”
Fitzgerald scored the game winner, and the Ghosts held on for the big win.
The Ghosts have league games remaining against Central Bucks East, Council Rock South and Neshaminy.
“There’s no team we can take lightly, but beating an undefeated Council Rock North – that’s without a doubt the highest I’ve seen my team jump all season,” Martinez said. “That’s the loudest I’ve heard them yell all season when that final whistle blew.
“I said to them at the end of this game – I couldn’t be any more proud. I had tears in my eyes. In 10 years of coaching, this is one of the best games I have ever been a part of because my team came out, and they were focused. Our defense was coming up with caused turnover after caused turnover. For one of the first times this season, it was a total team effort.”
Liz Wilson led the Ghosts’ defensive charge with six ground balls and three caused turnovers. Cait Enderle had a pair of caused turnovers, and goalie Emily Towey had a career-high 13 saves to go along with three ground balls.
If the Ghosts win out, they will own a share of their fourth consecutive conference crown.
“It means a lot for the seniors especially because having four league championships in high school – I think that’s a big deal,” Fitzgerald said. “This year being the most hard-fought one – I feel in my past two years we never had a huge win.
“This game was a huge win, and it meant a lot. I felt most excited in this game – even when we won games last year in the playoffs, it wasn’t this exciting.”
The Ghosts (6-1 SOL, 9-4 overall) will face Central Bucks East in Friday’s Senior Night game at 7:30 p.m. in Schwarzman Stadium.
Pennsbury 14, Central Bucks East 11
Talk about a reversal of fortunes – this was it.
Earlier this season, the Patriots soundly defeated the Falcons 16-9. On Tuesday, the Falcons exacted some revenge with their 14-11 win.
“This is very, very sweet,” coach Kelly White said. “We have had our struggles and our ups and downs. They always had the ability to play the way they did today. There were definitely games we could have won along the way, but I’ll take it.
“My goalie and defense were stellar. The girls made good decisions, and they were running the plays we had gone over on attack. They just played great.”
The Falcons were coming off a 20-9 loss to Abington on Friday.
“I don’t think the score reflects the play,” White said. “Our girls played their butts off against Abington, and they did some nice things.
“Abington has come a long way since the first time I saw them. They looked so much stronger the second time around.”
Falcon goalie Liana Eyre turned away 13 shots in a standout performance. On attack, Jenna Allen scored five goals while Jennalise Taylor and Taylor Hickman each had three goals. Liz Cowley had a pair of goals while Becca Radzinsky added a single goal.
“We played great ‘D,’ but we also had great possession of the ball,” White said. “CB East had a couple of good runs, but our defense just kept fighting. It was just a great game overall.”
The Falcons have 13 seniors on their roster.
“I’m really excited for all the seniors,” White said. “They’ve been frustrated knowing we could have done a little better than we have, but they’re coming together.
“They’re not giving up. They could have – at this point – given up on me as a new coach, and they haven’t done that.”
As a result of the win, the Falcons are 2-5 in league play.
“Our kids were awesome,” White said. “I’m just so proud of them.
“The potential is there, the ability is there. Today we were focused both halves, and we just clicked both halves.”
Council Rock South 15, Neshaminy 2
Lea Britton scored five goals and assisted on another in Rock South’s big win over the Redskins. Kiera McGovern had two goals and two assists, and Christine Besselman, Alexis Vanderslice, and Becca Cocco each added a pair of goals. Leann Hurley had one goal and one assist, and Sarah Brotman had one goal to close out the scoring.
For the Redskins, Cori Duco and Anne Kopera each scored goals.
Neshaminy goalie Kasey Rosseljung turned away 10 shots while Taylor Hurtwitz had four saves for the Golden Hawks. Rock South held a 27-6 advantage in shots.
Upper Merion 15, Upper Moreland 2
The Vikings celebrated Senior Night with a big win under the lights on their stadium field. Mel Ryan led the way with four goals and an assist while senior Kellie Manoppello had three goals and two assists and senior Michelle Bowes added the hat trick and one assist. Amanda McAteer and Haley Fitzgerald both connected on a pair of goals. Fitzgerald also had an assist. Casey Griffith added a single goal to close out the scoring.
Viking goalie Allison Frymoyer had nine saves on 11 shots. The Vikings are 7-6 overall, 5-6 in conference play.
Wissahickon 14, Norristown 6
Laura Frankenfield had three goals and an assist, and teammates Emily Croke and Maddie Sharp (one assist) each had a pair of goals. Jackie Hibbs, Ali Hunter, Carly Weist, Alana Stutman, Lindsay Anderson, Sam Schafer and Samantha Stutman each had one goal. Weist had a pair of assists while Hibbs had one assist.
Jess Scannapieco had two saves, two ground balls and one interception. Erin O’Brien Melissen had five saves and one interception.
For the Eagles, Beverly Pate scored a pair of goals while Charmaze Banks, Taylor Foxworth, Precious Evans and Shernai Banks each scored single goals.
Upper Dublin 14, Plymouth Whitemarsh 2
The Cross sisters – Amy and Kelly - combined for eight goals and four assists in the Flying Cardinals big win over the Colonials. Both had four goals and two assists while Jordan O’Reilly and Emily Hitchings each had two goals and an assist. Kathleen Speese had one goal and two assists while Siobhan Brady had one goal.
The Colonials received single goals from Cait Mundy and Mollie Getzfred.
PW goalie Jordan Dunacusky had nine saves while Upper Dublin’s Anna Lauer had three saves.
North Penn 17, Pennridge 5
The Maidens were once again without their top scorer as Abbie Hartman (ankle injury) watched from the sidelines. Stacey Pellechia picked up the slack, leading the Maidens with five goals and three assists while teammate Macie Hauck had four goals and Halie Lear, three goals. Garrie Grenfell and Rachel Shaw both had two goals, and Brenda McDermott had one goal and a team-high five draw controls. Dani Horn had four assists, and Shaw had two assists.
Maiden goalie Sarah Prall turned away seven shots. The Maidens, who led 9-3 at halftime, held a 27-12 advantage in shots. They upped their overall record to 12-1.
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