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GIRLS LAX: Germantown Friends Maintain Undefeated Season and Win FSL Championship Title

By Mark Zimmaro, 05/15/22, 5:45PM EDT

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Germantown Friends School 2022 FSL Lacrosse Champions


Germantown Friends 2022 FSL Lacrosse Champions (Photo/ GFS Athletics)

By Mark Zimmaro

(Photos & Video by Mark Zimmaro)

PHILADELPHIA--Like many goalies, Isla Albin is superstitious and never strays from her routine.

“I have to listen to a certain playlist before the game and certain songs,” Albin said with a laugh. “Then I tap my cage on all the different posts and jump before everything. It’s a crazy superstition and I have a lot of weird things. That’s just a few.”

Whatever it is, it works. The Germantown Friends sophomore goaltender was outstanding in the early going with several key stops as the Tigers defeated Shipley, 13-8, in the Friends School League girls’ lacrosse championship, which happened to fall on Friday the 13th.

Albin’s heroics kept Germantown Friends afloat in a tight first half in which they had to claw for every inch against a tough Shipley team that landed a few quick punches.

“It was really tough in the beginning,” Albin said. “You always want to get ahead and get a lot of saves in the beginning so there’s a lot of pressure to start off really well.”

The Tigers hunkered down and relied on their goalie to keep them in it long enough for the offense to heat up.

“Isla was fantastic,” said Tigers senior Zoe Schaedle, who scored three goals. “She was reading the shots and the fakes, and our defense was great with the slides to mark (Shipley freshman Lily Neilson).”

Germantown Friends School's Zoe Schaedle discusses how winning the draw and simple plays were key. (video/ Mark Zimmaro)

Germantown Friends goalie Isla Albin talks about setting the momentum on defense. (video/ Mark Zimmaro)

Neilson, a dynamic rookie, scored the first goal of the game as the Gators peppered the Tigers’ cage early. But three straight goals by senior Annie McLaughlin gave Germantown Friends a 5-3 lead late in the first half. Shipley’s Sadie Duncan cut the lead in half just before halftime. The Gators evened it up on Neilson’s second of the game less than two minutes into the second half, leading to some tense moments.

“I think sometimes when the other team starts gaining momentum, it’s easy to get freaked out and start pushing it too hard and I think that’s what we were doing,” said senior Bluma Hammarhead. “But we had a timeout and we decided to recollect and play our game, not their game. And that made the difference.”

Germantown Friends vs. Shipley School 2022 FSL Championship Match. (video by Mark Zimmaro for PSD)

The Tigers reeled off eight straight goals over the next 15 minutes to take a commanding 13-5 lead into the late stages of the game. Along with Schaedle’s and McLaughin’s hat tricks, Clare Meyer netted four goals while Ella Shay scored twice and Alexa Hanson added a goal.

“I think our momentum was a little lacking in the first half for sure,” Meyer said. “But we really played together in the second half and we turned it around. We were a little nervous about playing in a championship, so it got to us a little bit, but the second half was pretty amazing.”

Shipley didn’t throw in the towel. The Gators scored the final three goals of the game including one from senior Peyton Turner.

“We had a lot of tenacity behind us and tried to score more goals, but GFS is a very good team,” Turner said. “We really gave it our all and tried our best.”

Shipley's Peyton Turner talks about her team's building season. (video/Mark Zimmaro)

Shipley went 6-2 in the Friends League during the regular season which included a 15-13 setback to Germantown Friends and an overtime loss to Abington Friends. The Gators will reload and take aim at the top prize next year. Shipley has played in the championship game the last four times it was held, winning it all in 2019.

“They’re going to win the FSL championship next year, hopefully,” Turner said of a talented group of Gators. “We have a young team, so they are looking forward to more lacrosse and more good games next year.”

Germantown Friends completed a 10-0 undefeated season and has won back-to-back Friends School League titles for the first time since it repeated in 2008 and 2009. This is the Tigers’ 21st FSL girls’ lacrosse championship. 

“It’s pretty great because it’s my last lacrosse season and I’m not going to play in college,” Hammarhead said. “I had a lot of fun and that’s the most important thing.”

2022 FSL Girls' Lacrosse Championship Game Day photos by Marc Zimmaro for PSD