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FIELD HOCKEY: Conwell-Egan is on a Roll and Archbishop Carroll Continues its Dominant win Streak in Opening Week of PCL Play

By Mark Zimmaro, 09/20/22, 12:15PM EDT

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Photos/Videos: Mark Zimmaro, Zack Beavers, Lennie Malmgren & Ryan Nix

BY: MARK ZIMMARO

PHILA. --The first one goes in the trophy case. The second stays in the backpack.

Conwell-Egan senior Bailey McCormick has been racking up the keepsakes as the Eagles opened their Philadelphia Catholic League season last week. The school opened its newest artificial turf fields for field hockey, football, and softball on Sept. 14, less than two years after the original turf fields for soccer were installed along Wistar Road.

Field hockey was the first to officially take the field in a PCL opener against Lansdale Catholic. And many other firsts soon followed. McCormick started checking all the boxes as she scored the first goal on the new turf and the game ball was immediately removed from play and designated for retirement.

“Conwell-Egan is really great with traditions,” McCormick said. “So, when I scored, everyone celebrated with me and we decided to put the ball in a case because it was the first goal on the field. The whole team is going to sign it and everything.”

It was a light and fun moment for the school during an intense battle with the Crusaders who weren’t going to let the Eagles have an easy win. The game was tied at two-apiece before overtime, and that’s when McCormick struck for her second goal of the game to give the Eagles their first PCL victory of the season. And, of course, the first school victory on the new field.

“The winning goal (ball) went to me,” McCormick said with a smile. “I kept it in my bag, and I use it for practicing.”

It’s probably in safe hands as the speedy senior is awfully good at controlling the ball and shielding off defenders. But she still might want to keep a close eye on such a monumental game ball.

“I won’t lose it,” she said. “I wrote my name on it and the date. It’ll be OK.”

The Eagles continued their good vibes by securing a road victory against Archbishop Ryan two days later to start the season 2-0 in the PCL. McCormick struck for another goal but Dakota Poland and Kiley Delfin each scored twice in the victory. It was three goals in two PCL games for red-hot Poland, a junior.

CE Senior Bailey McCormick talks about Team Dynamics and being on a Roll. (video/Mark Zimmaro)

CE Junior Dakota Poland talks about the relief in their victory vs. Ryan. (video/Mark Zimmaro)

“It’s been great,” Poland said. “I can really say thanks to my team for encouraging me and pushing me to get better throughout the season.”

It was the first time the Eagles defeated Ryan since 2016. The teams tied last year and the Ragdolls had taken the previous four meetings.

“We haven’t beaten Ryan in the past,” Poland said. “So, when we came back on this field, we were hoping to pull out a win. It’s been close the last three years and (this year) was so much fun.”

Archbishop Ryan senior Janine Swift discusses how these challenging games prepares her team going forward. (video/Mark Zimmaro)

Conwell Egan vs. Archbishop Ryan. Video Highlights by Mark Zimmaro for PSD

India Hainesworth and Emma Buchko also added goals in the win. Things will get a bit tougher for the Eagles as Bonner-Prendie and Cardinal O’Hara are the next two games on the schedule. Conwell-Egan is just hoping to keep the momentum going, win or lose.

“It’s our team chemistry,” Poland said. “We’ve grown up a bit because we’ve had the same juniors and sophomores coming up. We only lost two seniors last year so we’ve been working together for a while and I think this year is really flowing for us.”

The PCL is now up to nine teams with the return of Little Flower, which last fielded a team in 2019. The Sentinels had four PCL wins in ’19 but will have some catching up to do after a two-year absence. Little Flower was defeated by Archbishop Wood, 10-0, in both team’s opener.

Angela Cavallaro recorded a hat trick in the Vikings’ win while Dylan Miller and Molly Waltrich both buried a pair of goals. 

Archbishop Wood vs. Little Flower - Highlights by Zack Beavers

However, a double-digit win was followed by a double-digit loss as Wood was defeated, 10-0, by Cardinal O’Hara just two days later.

O'Hara senior Maeve Boston was proud of first league win and coming out strong. (video/ James Williamson for PSD)

O'Hara senior Rachel Fosbenner feels confidence and positivity were key. (video/James Williamson for PSD)

O'Hara senior Sofia Brown discusses the takeaways from game vs. Archbishop Wood. (Video/James Williamson for PSD)

CARDINAL O'HARA VS. ARCHBISHOP WOOD (VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS BY JAMES WILLIAMSON FOR PSD)

As odd as that sounds, the same thing happened to Bonner-Prendie, which opened with a 10-0 win over St. Hubert, followed by a 10-0 loss to defending PCL champ Archbishop Carroll.

St. Hubert vs. Bonner-Prendie Highlights by Ryan Nix

The Pandas were hoping to make it a three-horse race during the regular season with Carroll and Cardinal O’Hara, but will need to pick up the pace.

For Carroll, mark it two straight dominant performances with an 11-0 victory over Archbishop Ryan and a 10-0 outcome against Bonner-Prendie. The Patriots received six goals from Sienna Golden and three tallies from Courtland Schumacher. Cate McConaghy added a goal and three assists. The Patriots have now won 19 straight regular season PCL games plus four PCL playoff games for an overall streak of 23 straight dating back to a Sept. 18, 2019 loss to O’Hara. The two teams meet on Oct. 7.

Carroll junior Sienna Golden Scores in game vs. Bonner-Prendie. (video/ by Carroll Senior Gabe Petrecz)

The rest of the league is working out the early kinks as Lansdale Catholic followed its OT loss to Conwell-Egan with a 7-0 victory over St. Hubert. Natalia Satterthwaite and Anna Cusumano each scored twice and Izzy Roach, Kate Fredrickson and Katie Dome each added a goal to even their league record at 1-1.

The Bambies and Ragdolls who are both at 0-2 and still looking for their first PCL goal of the year.

Archbishop Carroll vs. Archbishop Ryan - PSD Highlights by Lennie Malmgren

For Archbishop Ryan, a new group of forwards are still getting acclimated to their surroundings. Only the back line of Janine Swift, Maya Chambliss and Elizabeth Edmiston brought varsity experience into the new season.

“You could see a big difference with us,” said senior center defender Swift. "We are communicating more. (Conwell-Egan) is a good team. They know the game in and out. We’re new but we gave them a run for their money and challenged them. They got the better outcome but our results were ten times better than they’ve been and we worked really hard today.”

Coming up this Week

9/21

Archbishop Carroll @ Little Flower

St. Hubert @ Archbishop Wood

Lansdale Catholic @ Archbishop Ryan

Bonner-Prendie at Cardinal O’Hara.

9/23

Bonner-Prendie @ Conwell-Egan

Little Flower @ Cardinal O’Hara

Archbishop Carroll @ Lansdale Catholic

Archbishop Ryan @ St. Hubert