Check out Monday’s girls’ lacrosse results. To view photos of the North Penn/CR North game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 8, NORTH PENN 7
The Indians looked as though they had seized control of Monday’s showdown when, thanks to back-to-back goals from Kara Magley and Hannah Plappert, they opened up an 8-6 lead with 8:09 remaining.
In truth, things were just getting interesting. And heading toward a controversial finish.
Rachel Shaw’s fourth goal at the 4:27 mark made it an 8-7 game, and when the Maidens won the draw, they were back in business, but a check by Molly Doyle and ensuing takeaway by Natalie Maher gave the Indians possession.
“I was internally screaming,” said Rock North goalie Taylor Beck. “I was so excited – I wanted to jump up and down.”
The game was far from over. A turnover with 42 seconds remaining while the Indians were trying to run out the clock gave the Maidens the ball and one last chance.
With nine seconds remaining, they were awarded a free position but didn’t take a shot, and during the scramble for a loose ball, the Indians were whistled for a foul, which would have given the Maidens another free position.
Except for one not-so-minor matter - the game clock showed all zeroes, and with no horn indicating that time had expired, there was a difference of opinion about what exactly would happen.
The Maidens coaches and players argued that they should be able to take the free position while the Indians were already celebrating the big win. In the end, the officials agreed with the Indians.
“That was crazy,” Beck said. “I was hoping there was no eight-meter shot at the end. I saw it was zero-zero right after they blew the whistle, and I knew there was no way they could call anything at that point.”
The win was the Indians first over the Maidens since April of 2007.
“In the four years we have been here, we haven’t beaten them,” Doyle said. “They’ve always been an extremely good team, so it’s definitely big for us to get a win after all these years.”
The cold and blustery conditions made passing an adventure, and the respective defenses dominated play with no one having a bigger day than Beck, who turned away 13 shots.
“Taylor definitely stepped up huge,” Doyle said. “I don’t know how many saves she had, especially the first half, but she probably stopped 90 percent of their shots.
“After our two scrimmages, defense was one thing we needed to work on, so it was really nice to come up here today and know we pulled some things together.”
Senior Kara Magley scored four goals to lead the Indians while Doyle and Plappert each added a pair.
The Maidens were led by the four-goal effort of Shaw and received a pair from Aubrie Stouffer. Brenda McDermott had one goal and one assist.
“On the offensive side, my personal belief is we rely to much on Brenda,” senior Emilie Ikeda said. “Brenda is an awesome player, so when she doesn’t have her very best game – it seems like we fell apart. We were really off today.”
The Maidens managed just two goals in the first half – one each by Shaw and McDermott, and they came after Magley spotted the Indians a 2-0 lead with back-to-back goals in the opening five minutes of the game. Plappert and Doyle both scored in the final four minutes of the half to send the Indians into halftime with a 4-2 lead.
“In the first half, it was in our offensive end the entire time, and it did not show on the scoreboard,” Ikeda said. “There were a couple of times where I thought, ‘Oh, now we’re getting the flow,’ but then something would get us out.”
“I think it was just an off game,” senior Aubrie Stouffer added. “We were seeing the open girls and we were seeing that we could go to goal, but we just didn’t jump on the opportunities.”
The Maidens showed they were nothing if not resilient, rallying from a 5-2 deficit after a Magley goal early in the second half to knot the score 6-6 after a Shaw goal with 9:20 remaining in regulation. Stouffer contributed a pair of goals to spark the 3-0 run.
The Maidens could not maintain their momentum and scored just one goal in the final 9:20 as Beck and the Indians’ defense refused to break.
“I’m very proud of our defense,” Rock North co-coach Pat Toner said. “We talked to them about not just running around with someone but dictating where they would take the shot or how they would take the shot.
“We spent a lot of time on footwork, on stickwork and just collapsing correctly. It did pay off. I think we played defense very well. It also doesn’t hurt to have (co-coach) Carolyn Kacergis, who played defense at West Chester for their national championships teams. It’s an exciting win for our program.”
HATBORO-HORSHAM 16, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1
The Hatters rolled to a 13-0 halftime lead on their way to the big win. Nicole Beck led a balanced attack with four goals while Katie McKay, Lizzy Carr, Julie McKay, Courtnee Daley and Rachel Rauza each added two goals. Freshmen Casey Swezey and Jenna Cutilli also got into the scoring column with one goal each. Daley had a pair of assists while Carr, Julie McKay, Swezey, Maria Guerra and Jane Henry each had an assist. Rauza led the defense with seven ground balls.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 15, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4
Sophomore Elena Romesburg had a monster game, contributing five goals and three assists as the Bucks upped their record to 2-0. She also was credited with six ground balls, one caused turnover and three draw controls.
Jane Savarad and Jacqueline Fitzgerald (one assist) each contributed the hat trick while Tara Shugars added two goals and one assist. Jess Circuit chipped in with one goal and two assists, and Christine Munsell added a single goal. Sarah Gebre had one assist.
West had 15 draw controls, and senior Amanda Parker had a big day that didn’t show up in the scorebook, contributing five draw controls, five ground balls as well as two caused turnovers.
SOUDERTON 10, ARCHBISHOP WOOD 6
Liz Mower scored four goals and contributed an assist to lead the Indians. Natalie Bulgier added a pair of goals while Sydney Niles, Carley Kendall, Nikki Palmer and Tori Bulgier each added single goals. Goalie Kaitlin Crouthamel was credited with eight saves.
DOWNINGTOWN WEST 21, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 12
The Golden Hawks battled the Whippets tough in the opening half, trailing 10-7 at the intermission. Leann Hurley led the way offensively with four goals and one assist. Christine Besselman and Gabi Rosenfeld both contributed the hat trick. Besselman also had a pair of assists. Jamie Damirgian rounded out the scoring with a pair of goals. The Cougars held a 31-18 advantage in shots. Goalie Claire Quist turned away 10 shots for the Golden Hawks.
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