#27 Methacton (12-6) at #6 North Penn (16-1)
North Penn – with wins over Central League foes Ridley and Conestoga as well as PAC-10 power Boyertown – is the SOL’s top-seeded team.
The Maidens have earned the six seed and a first round date with neighboring Methacton.
“I have been watching their scores, and I see they have really improved as the year went on,” coach Jami Wilus said. “We’re just focusing on ourselves. We want to play our game and put on a good performance.
“Once you get in districts – my philosophy is every team is good. They all deserve to be there, so we know we need to be ready to play.”
The Maidens – who just recently saw Abbie Hartman return to their lineup – had some close games in the season’s final weeks against several SOL opponents.
“I think maybe we took a step back at the end of the season,” Wilus said. “The past two days we had unbelievable practices.
“I really think it was a turning point. When the regular season ended, we said, ‘Okay, wipe the slate clean. We’re starting a new season.’ I think it was kind of a relief to the girls. There’s a lot of pressure going through the league season and people expect you to win by 10-12 goals, and if you only win by seven, people question you. A win is a win.
“Now it’s survive and advance. It doesn’t matter if you win by 10 or 20. It’s the playoffs, and it comes down to winning – not how much you’re winning by.”
Hartman, who has 51 goals, is once against close to full strength, and although she hasn’t lived in the spotlight, Dani Horn has been a key player on attack as well, contributing 34 goals and 27 assists.
“Dani is the ultimate team player,” Wilus said. “She will do anything and everything for the team – diving for loose balls, assists. She doesn’t want to be in the limelight, but I don’t know if we could play without her this year.”
Defensively, Brittany Hanrahan and Kaitlin Colbridge have had huge years.
“After all is said and done, really, our offensive production is down a little bit, but our defense has really stepped up,” Wilus said. “Since day one, they have been the most stable part of our team.
“Both Brittany and Kaitlin are college-bound. They don’t get a lot of glory playing defense, but they take pride not just in game situations but preparing our offensive midfielders at practice for the different kinds of defense they will see.”
The Maidens (16-1) only loss came at the hands of Archbishop Wood.
#25 Avon Grove (10-7) at #8 Upper Dublin (17-0)
Upper Dublin puts its undefeated record on the line when the district playoffs begin with a contest against Avon Grove on Tuesday.
“I’ve heard they’re very scrappy, and they have a quick midfield,” coach Dee Cross said of her opponent. “I don’t know a lot about them, but I tell the girls – ‘A number is deceptive. Even though they’re seeded 25th, come playoff time, everyone is even.’
“We just have to play our game and hopefully control the draws.”
Cross – whose team will have two home games if it wins on Tuesday – was happy with her team’s seed.
“I know we’ve won our league and everything, but our league this year was just not as strong as other leagues, so at least getting in the top eight was good for us,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “We were looking forward to playing Ridley on Friday, but the game never happened because of the storm.”
The Flying Cardinals are led by the Cross sisters – Amy, a senior, and sophomore Kelly. Amy has 66 goals, 34 assists, 64 draw controls, 38 ground balls and 14 interceptions while Kelly has 51 goals, 60 assists, 46 draw controls, 63 ground balls and 14 interceptions. Brooke Callahan has 34 goals.
Emily Hitchings has 29 draw controls. Defensively, Michelle DeVincent has 33 ground balls and 12 interceptions while Kaley Weinstein has 31 ground balls.
“I’m excited, and the girls are excited to play someone different and to play a good team,” Cross said. “We know they’re a good team.”
#20 Downingtown West (12-6) at #13 Abington (12-5)
Talk to coach Julie Martinez, and it doesn’t sound as though a whole lot separates the Ghosts from their opening round opponent.
“I think we match up really evenly with Downingtown West,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “We have similar records. They lost their best player to an ACL, we lost our best player (Kate Cooper) to an ACL.
“Both teams have faced some tough competition. Both of us lost to Downingtown East. Both of us lost to Conestoga. We beat West Chester Rustin by one goal, and they lost to Rustin by one goal in the last seconds of the game. We have a goalie named Emily, and they have a goalie named Emily, so really, there are uncanny parallels.”
What does Martinez see as the key to the game?
“I think what it will come down to which team is better prepared, but more importantly, who wants to advance, which team is more hungry,” Martinez said. “Our team, at this point in the game, is willing to do whatever it takes to advance in the playoffs.”
Defense, according to Martinez, will be paramount.
“The defensive effort of Liz Wilson has kept us in many games,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “She has 60-plus ground balls, and she leads the team in caused turnovers.
“This is a kid who has everyone else’s back, and that makes it easier for players like Courtney Cox, Molly Seefried and Carli Fitzgerald to challenge the goal and take risks. The three-headed monster of Cox, Seefried and Fitzgerald – no one has found an answer. It’s nice to have three players with 60-plus goals on a team.”
The Ghosts are understandably pleased to be playing on their home field.
“These girls have been working tirelessly since September and even if you go back as far as last summer,” Martinez said. “It was all for this moment.
“My goal is to have them come out and play the kind of lacrosse I know they’re capable of playing – good, solid, fundamental Abington lacrosse. I know they have the heart, I know they have the skill. It’s just a matter of taking care of business.”
#18 Hatboro-Horsham (10-4) at #15 Council Rock North (14-1)
While some might suggest there’s an advantage to playing a team twice in a season, Pat Toner – whose team defeated Hatboro 13-8 in the season opener – says it can be a mixed bag.
“Since we already played them, we’re already are familiar with who their players are, so in that way, it’s better, but at the same time, we also know they were missing some players that day – both of us were missing players,” the Indians’ coach said. “You hope that everybody is healthy, and that’s it’s a good hard-fought game and may the better team win.”
The Indians, according to Toner, must focus on playing their own game.
“Whether it’s hockey or lacrosse, you try and take one or two things away from the other team and make the other team deal with your style of play,” Toner said. “I’m sure Marie (Schmucker) is saying the same thing to her team.
“They have a very good team, and it’s not going to be easy.”
The Indians – co-champs with Abington – lost a coin toss with Abington for seeding position but still managed to get an opening round home game.
“I’m happy we have a home game,” Toner said. “I knew we didn’t play a hard enough schedule. Our North Penn game wasn’t re-scheduled, and we didn’t know about our Souderton game.
“Both of those games would have been good for us, but I’m not upset with our seed. You always want to be higher, but I understand why we’re not.”
#17 Garnet Valley (11-7) at #16 Wissahickon (16-2)
Trojan coach Jamie Donahue recognizes that her team will need to bring its ‘A’ game to defeat a Garnet Valley squad that plays out of the tough Central League in Tuesday’s pairing of the district’s 16th and 17th seeded squads.
The exciting part for the Trojans is they will have a chance to play in front of their home fans.
“This is our first home playoff game ever,” coach Jamie Donahue said. “We were in our warm-up today, and I congratulated them on their seed. Knowing they were the first team to have a home playoff game made their eyes light up.
“I said, ‘If you think for one second you’re not going to be pumped up for the game, you have another thing coming.’”
The Trojans boast both youth and experience. Senior Aubrey Bossert is the team’s top scorer with 54 goals, but right behind her with 53 is freshman Laura Frankenfield.
“We have people from all grades contributing to the success of the team,” Donahue said. “It’s nice because the girls who aren’t graduating know they have leadership to look forward to, no matter what their grade is.”
Goalie Jessica Scannapieco has been a key piece of the Trojans’ defense all season. The junior net minder leads the team in interceptions with 17.
“She does so much,” Donahue said. “She does so much outside of school just to get ahead in terms of leagues and tournaments that she plays in.
“She’s doing a lot to improve as a player, and her field sense is very good. She’s getting more vocal, and that would be my goal for her next year – to be a vocal leader.”
Also important on the defensive end are Angelino Fiorito, Jackie Hibbs and Emily Croke.
“Angelino helps the defense get organized – I’d say she’s like the defensive mother down there,” Donahue said. “She always keeps everyone in line.
“We call Jessie Hibbs the Dyson because she has so many ground balls this season. She has 37 ground balls. She’s fast, and she’s strong.
“Emily Croke has had a great deal of interceptions this year as well. She’s worked her butt off. She joined the track team just to get faster. Having that kind of work ethic is nice because she’s only a junior. She was not on varsity last year, but she worked her butt off to get to the varsity level this year.”
Hibbs, Frankenfield and Alana Stutman are three freshmen who see significant time for the Trojans, who finished the season with a 16-2 record.
#22 Souderton (11-6) at #11 Merion Mercy (14-4)
The scouting report on Merion Mercy is simple – contain Margaret Corzel if your team entertains any thoughts of defeating the 2010 Catholic Academies champions. The high-scoring senior All-American, who has accepted a lacrosse scholarship to the University of North Carolina, is coming off a seven-goal, two assist performance in Merion Mercy’s 17-13 win over Villa Maria in the Catholic Academies title game.
“Lindsay Walbrandt will be our key player because we’re having her faceguard their best player,” Souderton coach Nicole Bauer said of her senior captain. “She will set the tone for the rest of the team in regards to how the other team is playing.”
The Indians will be without sophomore Liz Mower (34 goals, 17 assists), who tore her ACL in Souderton’s recent game against North Penn.
“It’s even more important now that the girls are connecting on offense,” Bauer said. “The games we do well and score well are when we’re passing and connecting, so we need to make sure that’s on tomorrow.”
Leading the way for the Indians offensively will be junior Danielle Notvest, who has 57 goals and 10 assists. The junior standout also has 57 ground balls, a team-high 23 caused turnovers and 76 draw controls. Walbrandt is not far behind with 51 goals and 19 assists to go along with 42 ground balls, 12 caused turnovers and 38 draw controls.
Junior Kirstin Russell, who has committed to play lacrosse at George Mason, has 45 goals and a team-high 28 assists as well as 44 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and 49 draw controls. Defensively, Carly Anderson (58 ground balls, 16 caused turnovers), Melinda Wojt (57 ground balls, 18 caused turnovers), Kaitlin Shinners (47 goals, 10 assists), Madison Trout (45 grounds balls) and Haley Kershaw (44 ground balls) will also play key roles.
The Indians have shown they can play with the top teams, twice extending North Penn to the limit before falling – most recently in overtime. They also have had lapses where they have struggled against lesser teams
“I think it’s about practice,” Bauer said. “The two games we played Hatboro (both losses) we just had horrible practices before it. The games against North Penn we had great practices and team bonding.
“Today we looked on and we looked refined, and I’m hoping that just goes into the game tomorrow.”
#24 Pennridge (10-8) at #9 Conestoga (11-7)
Pennridge will be the third SOL opponent for Conestoga this season. The Pioneers (11-7) fell to North Penn 9-8 but defeated Abington 14-6.
“It’s hard because you don’t really know too much about them,” coach Liz Wallace said. “We know they’re a real athletic team.
“We’ve prepared for our tougher contests all year, and nothing really changes. It’s all the same things that need to go into it. We have gone over what they need to do. It’s nothing new.”
Wallace recognizes that the Rams will face a stiff challenge from a Pioneer squad that is a perennial district power, and she points to midfielders Jess Roy and Jen Moyer as keys to keeping the Rams in the game.
“Jen Moyer has had some phenomenal games in the past few games,” the Rams’ coach said. “She was unstoppable in our game against C.B. South when she had four of our 11 goals. If she can capture that again, she will be tough to stop.”
Defense will also be paramount as the Rams try to contain a dangerous Pioneer squad.
“Our goalie – Jenna Esposito – has had some really big games for us, and if she can have a good game, that will help a lot,” Wallace said. “Amanda Jaynes is our top low defender. If she can pull the defense together – that’s really where the meat of it is probably going to take place, so if we can hold them off there, we can take care of them in the midfield.”
This is the second trip to districts in as many years for the Lady Rams.
“Last year was the first time in at least 10 years Pennridge went to districts, and so to go two times in a row – I told them in practice today, ‘You might not be here for another few years. Just make sure you play like it,’” Wallace said. “We’re definitely happy to be back for a second year.”
#30 Central Bucks East (9-8) at #3 Springfield Delco (16-1)
Coach Megan Macauley is not kidding herself.
The Patriots’ coach knows she faces a daunting task when her team takes on a Springfield squad that has lost just once this season – and that was an 8-7 loss to top-seeded Radnor.
That being said, Macauley is thrilled that her players earned a spot in districts.
“I’m just so proud of these girls,” she said. “They have worked so hard all year long. It’s great to get in there and have a shot.
“They’re excited. It’s fun being the underdog. They have nothing to lose.”
Key players all season for the Patriots are midfielders Carly Bitzer and Meredith Lavin – Bitzer plays center while Lavin is a defensive wing.
“Carly has a natural-born ability to lead,” Macauley said. “They both play with so much heart and so much passion for the game and also for their team.”
Senior Dana Thomas is a key defender, and Tessa Roedel has been leading the team in assists. Jamie Burns will be counted on to help with draw controls and also set up her teammates.
“The kids have a great attitude,” Macauley said. “They’re having fun. We’re just going to go out there and have fun.”
#29 Springfield (Montco) (12-6) at #4 Strath Haven (15-1)
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