BY: MARC NARDUCCI
Photos by: Lennie Malmgren, Scotty Haines and Ryan Nix
There are several contenders in what is expected to be a competitive Inter-Ac girls lacrosse race. Agnes Irwin is the defending champion and should contend along with the likes of William Penn Charter and The Episcopal Academy.
Two other teams, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and Germantown Academy appear vastly improved. In fact, in an opening 10-9 Inter-Ac loss to Penn Charter, Germantown Academy showed how competitive it can be against a talented team.
Academy of Notre Dame and The Baldwin School are young teams that look for improvement.
It all should lead to a great season.
Here is a look at each team in alphabetical order.
ACADEMY OF NOTRE DAME
Coach: Austin Martin
Last year: (7-11. 7-7)
Key players: junior midfielder Katie Onderdonk, has committed to UMass. Other veterans include senior defenders Julia Dever, and defender Mia Vitanzo and sophomore attack MK Dwyer. Other players expected to make significant contributions are sophomore midfielder Maeve Seeger, freshman midfielder Kylee O’Donnell and junior attack Aly Maguire.
Academy of Notre Dame in 2019 PAISAA Championship Final. (Photo/James Williamson for PSD)
Outlook: This is a very young team, and the Irish should be competitive and looking to rebuild to be among the contenders in this difficult league. A lot will be on Onderdonk, as one of the leaders of this young team, and the Irish should see improvement during the season as the young players get needed experience.
AGNES IRWIN
Coach: Lauren Wray
Last year: (16-4, 10-2 and Inter-Ac Tournament champions)
The Owls
Key returning players: This looks like a Who’s Who in college recruiting. Among the players who have made college choices are Katherine Ernst (Vanderbilt), Marissa White (North Carolina), Carly Wilson (Florida), Sydney Wilson (Florida), Samantha Hark (Trinity), Alex Lesko (Trinity), Jackie Heinerichs (Drexel), Colby Macaione (Georgetown), Cate Parsells (Georgetown), Quinn Wollard (RPI), and Katie Repp (Fairfield).
Outlook: Once again this is among the teams to beat. In its first Inter-Ac game, Agnes Irwin defeated Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, 12-9, but then fell to Episcopal Academy 10-6 in this year’s first two Inter-Ac games. In the win over SCHA, White led the way with six goals and six draw controls. Ella Springer added three goals, two assists and two draw controls. Maggie Mullen recorded three saves. This will be a team that scores a lot of goals and won’t relinquish its Inter-Ac title very easily.
Agnes Irwin in Season opener vs. Springside Chestnut HIll Academy. (video/Lennie Malmgren for PSD)
Agnes Irwin vs. Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. (photos/Lennie Malmgren for PSD)
BALDWIN SCHOOL
Coach: Samantha Brennan
Last year: (1-14, 0-12)
Key returning players: Senior Clara Page, an attack-midfielder and co-captain, is a Cal Berkeley commit. Senior defender Rebecca McCurdy is a Muhlenberg College commit. Senior attack Thea Rosenzweig will attend Middlebury College and play field hockey. Other key veterans include junior midfielder and co-captain Katie Reed, senior attack-midfielder Savannah Rhodes, senior defender Gabi Pritzker, sophomore attack-midfielder Lauren Halak, senior defender Kaitlyn Johnson and sophomore midfielder Eliza Bryant.
Baldwin senior Clara Page in game vs. Germantown Academy '21. (Photo/Jay Gorodetzer for Baldwin Athletics)
Among key newcomers are freshman defender-midfielder Anya Berlanska and freshman midfielders Bela Ahn and Dylan McKeown.
Outlook: This is a young team, and the immediate goal will be to improve on last year’s record. Page is a premier player and will be the leader of this team. If the young players continue to progress, regardless of the win total, then Baldwin will be moving in the right direction.
EPISCOPAL ACADEMY
Coach: Josie Tomaino
Last year: (10-8, 7-5)
Key returning players: The two key leaders are senior co-captains – midfielder Bella Piselli and attack Alexa Capozzoli. Both were all-Inter-Ac selections as juniors. Piselli will attend Villanova while Capozzoli is a St. Joseph’s commit. There are three other seniors who have committed to college for lacrosse – attack Brooke Stocku (Army), senior attack Jordan Morley (Virginia Tech) and senior defender Grace Schnyder (Scranton). Schnyder is currently injured but is expected back this season. Other returning veterans are junior attack Lex Ventresca, who was an All-Inter-Ac selection last year, junior defender Franny Gallagher and senior defender Kendal Elison.
A player to watch is senior attack Maisy Montgomery, who missed last season with an ACL injury, but should add quite a bit to the offense.
Episcopal Academy vs. Agnes Irwin 3/24. (video/Scotty Haines for PSD)
Episcopal Academy vs. Agnes Irwin. (photos/ Scotty Haines for PSD)
Outlook: Episcopal Academy figures to be among the contenders this season. There is both a strong senior and junior class and this type of veteran experience is invaluable. While EA may not be listed with the favorites, this is a team that should be in the hunt.
If anybody had any doubts, a 10-6 win over Agnes Irwin showed EA is here to stay. A hat trick by Capozzoli led the way. That could be the first of many impressive wins this year for Episcopal Academy.
GERMANTOWN ACADEMY
Coach: Jay Foster
Last year: 5-11, 3-9.
Key returning players: The two main team leaders are senior co-captains, midfield-attack Heidi Cross, and defender Quinn Dooley. Cross will continue her education and lacrosse career at Division I Stetson. Other key veterans include junior midfield-attack Mia Raven, junior defender Sage Battisto and junior attack Sarah Marvin.
Outlook: The Patriots are a relatively young team, but even in an opening 10-9 loss to Penn Charter, showed that they will be competitive with the best teams in the Inter-Ac. Germantown Academy received three goals from Lucia Smigiel and a goal and three assists from Raven while goalie Sadie Hess made nine saves.
“We’re very young, yet resilient team with very capable senior leadership setting the tone both on and beyond the lacrosse field,” Foster said.
That showed in the opening Inter-Ac game and even though it was a loss, the Patriots appear to be vastly improved.
Germantown Academy vs Penn Charter in Season Opener. (photos/Ryan Nix for PSD)
Germantown Academy vs. Penn Charter. (Video/Ryan Nix for PSD)
PENN CHARTER
Coach: Colleen Magarity Kelly
Last season: (18-2-1, 12-2)
Key returning players: There are no shortage of quality college prospects. The following players have made commitments – senior midfielder Darcy Felter (North Carolina), senior midfielder Maddie Shoup (Colorado), senior midfielder Charlotte Hodgson (Harvard), senior defender Grace Turner (Stanford), senior attack Brenna McCaffrey (Monmouth), senior defender Ella Curci (Winthrop), junior midfielder Gracie Shoup (Ohio State), junior attack Bea Buckley (Drexel), junior midfielder Alex Glomb (Penn) and junior goalie Kayla Joyce (Davidson). Two others have made college commitments for other sports, with senior attack Lane Murray going to Dartmouth for swimming and senior defender Lauren Anderson headed to Haverford to play soccer. Senior defenders Kayla Bradby and Kaila Rahn are looking to play soccer in college but have yet to make a decision.
In addition, two sophomores, attack Grace Walter and defender Nora Maione are expected to play key roles. Junior defender Olivia Summers and sophomore defender Ella Lewandowski bring tremendous depth to the back line.
Outlook: Last year Penn Charter tied for the regular season title and fell to Agnes Irwin, 8-7 in the championship game. This year the Quakers opened Inter-Ac play with a 10-9 win over Germantown Academy.
“It was a great game,” Magarity Kelly said. “They slowed us down in the second half and they had the ball a lot and kudos to their goalie and defense.”
Slowing Penn Charter down won’t be easy all season. Felter and Buckley, who each had three goals in the opener, are a strong scoring duo. No doubt that Penn Charter will again be a force in the Inter-Ac. Teams will try to slow the Quakers down, but totally stopping this attack will be a major challenge.
Penn Charter vs. Germantown Academy. (Photos/Ryan Nix for PSD)
SPRINGSIDE CHESTNUT HILL ACADEMY
Coach: Noelle Cebron-Powell
Last year: (7-9. 5-8)
Key returning players: Three Division I recruits, all seniors, highlight the roster. Senior goalie Lucy Pearson, a 2021 All-American and Academic All-American will attend Stanford. Attack Cece Reilly is headed to Louisville, while defender Brooke Gyllenhaal will attend Sacred Heart. Junior defender Riley Kling has committed to Division II Lynn, while senior defender Ava Schreiber is an excellent athlete who is headed to Towson for soccer.
Other key veterans include sophomore midfield Alex Reilly, junior midfielder Emma Bradbury, junior defender Caroline Foley and sophomore midfielder Sarah Scollin.
Leading the newcomers are sophomore midfielders Madison Freeman and Cortney Neverosky, freshman attack Maille Colin and junior goalie Shay Romero.
Outlook: At the least, the Blue Devils appear to be an improved team this year. While not listed with the contenders, they can’t be discounted.
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy vs. Agnes Irwin. (photos/Lennie Malmgren for PSD)
The makeup of the team has strong proven players in the sophomore, junior and senior classes. With Pearson in goal, SCH will be in virtually every game. Cece Reilly heads a strong offense, and her sister Alex will be a major contributor as well.
Cebron-Powell understands that Agnes Irwin and Penn Charter enter the season as favorites, but…
“I would never count out this SCH team,” she said.
Neither should anybody else in what could be a very competitive squad.