GIRLS LAX: The Playoff Picture Takes Final Form Heading into the Last Week of Friends Schools League Play

BY: JEROME TAYLOR JR.

(Photos & Video by: Ryan Nix, Zack Beavers and Lennie Malmgren)

After some of the best teams in the league faced off last week, the seeding for the FSL playoffs and Quaker Cup are essentially set. Here’s how things stand with one week left in conference play.

Here’s what happened since the last FSL roundup:

Remains Undefeated

In Friday’s matchup against Shipley School, Germantown Friends School relied on one of their most experienced players to pick up their sixth conference win.

In the Tigers’ most tightly contested conference game, senior middie Clare Meyer scored seven goals (and had one assist) in the 15-13 victory. And now they need to secure one more win over a winless Westtown team on Tuesday to nab an unblemished conference record heading into the playoffs.

Germantown Friends vs. Shipley School. (video/ Ryan Nix for PSD)

Germantown Friends vs. Shipley School on 4/29. (photos/ Ryan Nix for PSD)

With their most recent victory over Shipley, the Tigers have defeated all three teams directly below them in the standings since the last roundup. Head coach Katie Bergstrom Mark credits their defense as the driving force in their recent victories over Academy of the New Church (17-6) and Abington Friends (17-3).

Germantown Friends senior Midfielder Annie Mclaughlin talks about her teams chemistry and mindset heading into playoffs. (video/Zack Beavers for PSD)

Germantown Friends Freshman Defender Katie Day discusses teams mindset going into the match against Abington Friends on 4/27. (VIdeo/Zack Beavers)

“We've got athletes that are just really aggressive,” Bergstrom Mark said. “They want to compete for every ball. They don't want to hang back and, and they really just want to dictate the pace of play.”

The final line of defense, goalie Isla Ablin has also been impressive for the Tigers. In the game against Shipley, the sophomore made 12 saves. But it hasn’t just been her work inside the pipes that has her coaches’ attention.

“Our goalie, Isla Ablin, is having a great season. She's become a real outlet passer in the transition, and her clears are very strong,” Bergstrom Mark said. “We're feeling really patient with our transitions. We don't have to rush anything like everyone can contribute on our transitions, and Isla was a really big part of that.”

On attack, Alexa Hanson has led the way for the Tigers’ prolific scoring attack. Against Academy of the New Church and Abington Friends, she had 9 (5 goals and 4 assists) and 7 (2 goals and 5 assists) points, respectively.

Germantown Friends vs. Abington Friends game highlights. (video/Zack Beavers)

The Tigers have hit their stride at the right time, and with the one seed clinched, they’ve set themselves up with a phenomenal chance to repeat as champions.

“It's difficult to be that top team and keep your composure and keep your focus,” Bergstrom Mark said. “We really would like to have home-field advantage, especially for our seniors to be able to play at home for the semifinals and potentially the championship that would be really special."

Abington Friends Goalie Bella Washington-Vasquez talks about the tough game vs. Germantown Friends and takeaways moving forward to playoffs. (video/Zack Beavers)

Germantown Friends vs. Abington Friends - PSD Photos by Zack Beavers

Trading Places

After storming to an undefeated start in conference play, Academy of the New Church (ANC) finds itself in 4th place in the standings following a 17-6 loss to Germantown Friends. It was the second straight loss for the Lions, who fell to Shipley on April 19th.

The Lions will have a chance to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs, though, when they take on Moorestown Friends on Tuesday in their final game of the regular season.

On the same day, ANC fell to Germantown Friends; Abington Friends defeated Moorestown 10-7 for their fourth conference win.

Even though the Kangaroos lost to Germantown Friends on Wednesday, they currently occupy the second-place spot in the standings thanks to their win total. But unlike the other top 4 teams, they’ll play an enormously consequential game during their season finale when they take on fifth-seeded George School. If George School wins, the Kangaroos and Cougars would have identical 4-3 records complicating playoff positioning for both schools.

Mid-Standing Matchup

In a matchup to take control of third place in the conference, Shipley topped George School convincingly. After getting out to a 7-1 halftime lead, the Gators kept the Cougars at bay to win 16-6.

It was another strong win for a Shipley team on the heels of their victory over then one-seed Academy of the New Church and followed that up with a 15-2 win over Friends Central. However, the Shipley three-game win streak ended once they faced off against Germantown Friends on Friday. However, the Gators gave the defending champs the most formidable challenge of the conference season during the 15-13 loss.

Shipley vs. George School. (photos/Lennie Malmgren for PSD)

Both teams have met in every championship game since 2018 (there was no championship in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). So, Friday’s matchup may prove to be the first half of a season series where the stakes are much higher in the second game because of the playoff implications.

For George School, the loss dropped them to fifth place in the standings, but they’ll still have a chance for playoff seeding when they take on second place Abington Friends on Thursday in a regular-season finale.

Win Number One

Friends' Central School picked up their first win in their last regular-season game when they defeated Westtown School 7-6 on Friday. The victory for Friends' Central gives them a bit of momentum heading into the Quaker Cup. For the last winless team, Westtown’s final two games of the season are against Germantown Friends and Shipley, so it will be tough to pick up their first win before the Quaker Cup.