By Marc Narducci
(Photos and Video by): James Williamson, Geanine Jamison, Marc Narducci & Nick Schreder
INTER-AC LACROSSE: Bella Piselli and Alexa Capozzoli know each other’s every move on the lacrosse field.
That is what playing together for about a dozen years will do.
The two Episcopal Academy seniors grew up together and they estimate they first met while playing soccer in their town of Ridley at about the age of four.
It wasn’t long after, that they were playing lacrosse and other sports with each other.
So much of their lacrosse careers have paralleled together.
Both have been starters since their freshman year, helping Episcopal Academy to the Inter-Ac title that first season.
Each is a high scoring senior captain and both have earned Division I scholarships – Capozzoli to St. Joseph’s and Piselli to Villanova. They are also teammates on the lacrosse club team the Philly Blast.
The two seniors are as familiar with each other’s game as any teammates can be.
“Playing with Alexa, I know where she is and she knows where I am and we complement each other well,” said Piselli.
There is one major difference.
“We are two totally different leaders,” Piselli said. “I am a very vocal energy person and I like to scream and am the loud one while Alexa leads by example and it is definitely a good combination.”
It sure is.
“Over their years at EA, they have both developed their leadership skills and are doing a tremendous job guiding our program as captains so far this season,” said Episcopal Academy head coach Josie Tomaino.
Now both seniors on an Episcopal Academy team that is among four serious contenders for this year’s Inter-Ac Title.
Each has an offensive mentality. Piselli is a midfielder who at times moves up to attack while Capozzoli plays attack.
Both are a handful for opposing defenses.
“Bella runs our midfield - she plays on the draw circle, helps run our motion offense from high, comes up with scrappy caused turnovers in transition and sees the field well in our zone defense,” said Tomaino, who also coaches both players on the Philly Blast. “Her vision, game IQ and vocal leadership are few of her biggest strengths.”
Episcopal Academy in close knit 11-10 win over Penn Charter in game on 4/8. (highlights by James Williamson for PSD)
Tomaino’s assessment of Capozzoli is equally impressive.
“Alexa plays attack and runs our offense at the crease,” Tomaino said. “She is a crafty and skilled player who is very difficult to stop. She is relentless in our ride and hustles to create additional plays for our offensive unit.”
Both also made their college commitments in October of their junior year.
While Capozzoli always was going to play lacrosse in college, Piselli had a more difficult decision. For the longest time she thought soccer would be her sport at the next level..
Capozzoli comes from a lacrosse family. Her father Chris played lacrosse at St. Joseph’s and her mother was a lacrosse player at UMass.
There were two aunts who played at Penn State and an uncle at Rutgers.
Yet Capozzoli was never nudged into playing. She developed a passion for lacrosse as soon as she was introduced to the sport.
“One day my mom heard of a local team that started for first and second graders and I fell in love with it from the start,” Capozzoli said.
Both players would like to do one more thing together – win a final Inter-Ac title.
Episcopal Academy's Bella Piselli talks about team Motto of "Locking In Together" in tight game vs. Penn Charter. (video/James Williamson for PSD)
Episcopal Academy Alexa Capozzoli discusses last possession and taking the lead in nail-biter vs. Penn Charter (video/James Williamson for PSD)
Inter-Ac Standings (through Thursday 4/14)
Episcopal Academy 4-1, 7-1
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy 3-1, 7-1
Agnes Irwin 3-1, 5-3
Penn Charter 2-2, 8-2
Germantown Academy 1-3, 3-3
Baldwin 0-3, 2-5-1
Notre Dame 0-2, 1-5
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy with an overtime thriller
As the above standings suggest, four teams are seriously in contention for the Inter-Ac title and things got tighter when Springside Chestnut Hill Academy scored a 13-12 overtime win at previously unbeaten Episcopal Academy, 13-12.
Episcopal Academy was the last remaining team that was unbeaten in league play.
The game-winner was provided by sophomore Alex Reilly.
“EA is a tough opponent that made us work for every single possession,” SCHA coach Noell Cebron-Powell said. “This was an especially inspiring win for the team as quite a few of our players were rotating through non-traditional positions to cover injuries/illness at the moment.”
Alex Reilly and Emma Bradbury each had five goals, one assist and five draw controls. Cece Reilly added two goals, while Maddy Caliendo scored once.
Lucy Pearson made 10 saves.
This was SCHA’s third straight Inter-Ac win after opening with a 12-9 loss on March 22 to defending champion Agnes Irwin.
“We were fortunate to be carrying a lot of momentum from the past two weeks into this game and that everyone is whole-heartedly invested in the team as a whole - camaraderie can make any team tough to beat,” Cebron-Powell said.
Springside Chestnut Hill in 13-12 OT Victory vs. Episcopal Academy 4/13. (PSD video by Nick Schreder)
Two days before its big win, SCHA controlled play throughout during a 17-8 win over Germantown Friends.
Alex Reilly and Bradbury each had six goals, while Cece Reilly added two goals. Cortney Neverosky had two draw controls.
Shay Romero had six saves while Pearson added three saves.
Bradbury and Cece Reilly each had five goals as SCHA defeated Germantown Academy, 18-11 last Friday. Alex Reilly contributed three goals, two assists and six draw controls while Sarah Scollin and Madison Freeman each contributed two goals and Riley Kling scored once.
Two Inter-Ac nail-biters for Episcopal Academy
Besides the aforementioned 13-12 OT loss to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Episcopal Academy also enjoyed an 11-10 hard-fought victory over Penn Charter. Those two games were sandwiched around a 20-7 win over Baldwin
In the OT loss to SCHA, Capozzoli had two goals, three assists, and four draw controls while Bella Piselli and Quinn Whitaker each scored a hat trick and Brooke Stocku, who is an Army commit, added two goals. Grace Holland made nine saves.
In the 11-10 win over Penn Charter Stocku scored the game-winner. Lex Ventresca led the way with three goals (and one ground ball) and Whitaker and Sydney Richter each had two goals. Richter also had eight draw controls and three ground balls in a dominating effort.
Ten different players scored in the win over Baldwin. Kate Dente, Ventresca and Capozzoli each had a hat trick. Piselli, Stocku, Maisy Montgomery, Whitaker and Alice Nash each had two goals.
William Penn Charter remains in the hunt
Despite two close league losses, Penn Charter remains very much in contention for the Inter-Ac title. The losses were 12-9 on April 5 to SCH and last week’s aforementioned 11-10 defeat to Episcopal Academy.
The game against EA was close throughout, tied 7-7 at halftime.
Junior goalie Kayla Joyce, a Davidson commit, made 15 saves for the Quakers.
Penn Charter vs. Episcopal Academy on 4/8 (photos/ James Williamson for PSD)
Maddie Shoup had three goals and one assist, while Bea Buckley added three goals, one assist and one ground ball.
Darcy Felter contributed two goals, three assists, two ground balls and three draw controls, while Grace Walter had a one goal, assist and ground ball.
In a 11-7 win over Manheim Township, Maddie Shoup exploded for six goals, two assists, three ground balls and one draw control, while Grace Shoup added a hat trick and Felter had seven draw controls along with a goal and an assist and Joyce made nine saves.
Charlotte Hodgson, a Harvard commit, led the way in a 19-5 win over Notre Dame with seven goals, while Buckley added six.
Penn Charter's Grace Turner talks about the tough match-up with EA. her team's strong passing game and moving forward. (video/James Williamson for PSD)
Penn Charter goalie Kayla Joyce talks about her team's defense vs. EA and the Warm Fuzzies that pick up her team. (video/James Williamson for PSD)
Tough schedule for Germantown Academy
Germantown Academy had the most difficult of schedules last week, facing two Inter-Ac contenders, falling 18-11 to SCHA and 15-6 to Agnes Irwin.
Junior attack Mia Raven has continued her strong season, scoring six goals against SCH, while Emma Goodwin added a hat trick. Also scoring goals were Lucia Smigiel and Kaitlin Pokorny. Sadie Hess made 11 saves.
In the defeat to Agnes Irwin, Germantown Academy trailed just 7-4 at the half. Goodwin led the way with two goals and one assist. Single goals were scored by Heidi Cross, Cate Luviano, Sydney Wanner and Maggie Borek, while Hess made nine saves.
Lightning literally struck for the Patriots in Thursday’s non-league game with the Shipley School. The game was canceled at 11:50 of the first half due to a second lightning stoppage.
Germantown Academy vs. Baldwin. (PSD photo by Geanine Jamison)
Agnes Irwin rolling along
Agnes Irwin had two convincing wins, beating Germantown Academy, 15-6 and Baldwin, 18-4.
On Thursday, April 21, Agnes Irwin will have a key Inter-Ac game against visiting Penn Charter.
In the win over Germantown Academy, Marissa White, the North Carolina commit, had six goals and five draw controls. Mairyn Dwyer added a hat trick, while Alex Lesko and Ella Springer each added two goals.
Maggie Mullen had seven saves, one caused turnover and one ground ball.
In the win over Baldwin, 11 different players scored, led by Elle Brady, who had a hat trick. Sydney Wilson, Springer, Caroline Chisholm, Catie Holmes and Quinn Wollard each had two goals.
Agnes Irwin's Marissa White in game vs. Baldwin on 4/14 (photo/ Marc Narducci for PSD)
Baldwin strong in non-league games
Baldwin earned another non-league win with a 16-4 victory over Delaware County Christian School. Thea Rosenzweig led the way with five goals, two assists, three ground balls and one draw control. Senior Clara Page, the Cal-Berkeley commit, had three goals, two assists, three ground balls, two caused turnovers, and two draw controls. Eliza Bryant had three goals, one assist and an impressive six draw controls. Also scoring multiple goals were Lauren Halak, who had a hat trick and Savannah Rhodes who added two goals.
Page scored six goals in a 20-7 loss to Episcopal Academy while Katie Reed added the other goal.
The goal scorers in an 18-4 defeat to Agnes Irwin were Page, Reed, Lexi McCurdy and Rhodes. Also of note was the play of Anya Berlanska, who caused three turnovers.
Baldwin vs. Germantown Academy. (PSD photo by Geanine Jamison)
Short week for Academy of Notre Dame
The Academy of Notre Dame only had one game last week, falling to Penn Charter, 19-5.
A positive sign for Notre Dame was that the game was competitive in the first half, with Penn Charter holding an 8-4 lead.
Katie Onderdonk, a UMass commit, had two goals and five draw controls. Cate Fox had one goal and one assist, while Maeve Seeger contributed a goal, and one draw control and Kylee O’Donnell had a goal and two draw controls. Erin Sweeney made five saves.