Photos/Videos: Zamani Feelings, Marc Narducci & James Quinn
By: Marc Narducci
PHILADELPHIA - The hat fit Maggie Mullen perfectly, giving the Agnes Irwin junior goalie the look of somebody who loves to go to work.
Agnes Irwin’s lacrosse team started a new tradition this year to award the player of the game a yellow hat, one that would make a construction worker proud.
For lack of better title, let's call it the hard hat award.
“You can call it that,” Agnes Irwin coach Lauren Wray said, not really having thought about a formal title.
Goalie Maggie Mullen earned the "hard hat" award given for hustle, effort and performance in Agnes Irwin's opening Inter-Ac win - PSD photo by Marc Narducci
The hat is presented to the player who shows heart and hustle each game.
Who better to receive the first ever hard hat than a goalie who made one crazy save after another in Agnes Irwin’s opening 12-4 win at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in an Inter-Ac game between two talented teams.
The terms talented lacrosse teams and Inter-Ac appear to be redundant.
It seems the Inter-Ac year after year is among the most talented leagues in the area, with teams showcasing an assembly line of Division I commits and future Division I recruits.
This year is no different.
Episcopal Academy is the defending champ and seemingly in no mood to relinquish its position.
Penn Charter is also considered a major contender and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy opened its season with a 9-8 win over the Quakers. Agnes Irwin, which was 11-9 overall and 8-4 in the league last year, certainly showed in the opening win that it can compete for a title.
That’s four of the seven teams that could probably make an argument for being the last one standing.
Who knows if another team or two may also sneak into contender corner?
Of course, to get to that point, any contender likely needs a goalie who is fearless, confident and talented.
Mullen checks the boxes on all three.
The statistics said that the junior made eight saves in the opening win.
The degree of difficulty on virtually every one of them was extremely high, making it seem like 80 saves.
After the game, PSD reporter Marc Narducci catches up with AIS's Maggie Mullen, Caroline Chisholm & head coach Lauren Wray - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
And not only that, but when the Owls needed somebody to start the attack, Mullen was more than willing to help with some pretty adept stick handling and passing.
Agnes Irwin clearly fed off her performance, especially the acrobatic saves.
“It gives you momentum,” Wray said, talking about the energy Mullen provided the team with one big save after another. “It gives you confidence playing defense, you can go out and take some chances and take some risks when she is solid back there and obviously making good saves.”
Wray mentioned how much the team benefited not only from the saves, but interceptions that Mullen was able to make.
All the saves in the world, however, won’t matter if a team can’t convert at the other end and in that aspect, Agnes Irwin was truly on its game.
The Owls scored the game’s first four goals.
AIS sophomore Caroline Chisholm #45 - PSD Photo by James Quinn
The Owls celebrate after one of Caroline Chisholm's five goals in win vs. Springside Chestnut Hill - PSD Photo by James Quinn
After SCH’s Madison Freeman made it 4-1, Agnes Irwin’s Caroline Chisholm extended the lead to 5-1 with four seconds left in the first half. SCH would never get closer than that four-goal deficit the rest of the way.
“I think everybody was confident and excited we started so fast and scored so many goals and wanted to keep scoring,” Chisholm said.
On this day, nobody wanted to score more than Chisholm.
The sophomore is among the talented young players on the Owls’ roster. She led the way with five goals and also added six ground balls and five draw controls.
Chisholm, who plays at such a fast pace but never seems winded, was everywhere on the field and led the charge for this young group.
How young?
All 12 goals were scored by non-seniors, 10 by sophomores and two by junior Ella Springer.
Two other two-goal scorers were sophomores Mairyn Dwyer and Blair Fox, while classmate Catherine Holmes scored once. Besides scoring twice, Fox also earned five draw controls and was a presence all over the field.
It was a total team effort for a team that some may have expected to experience early growing pains.
“We were pretty senior heavy last year and have a lot of new faces playing for us this year and a lot of underclassmen are kind of stepping into their roles the first time,” Wray said. “It’s is exciting for them and they are a tight-knit group as well and that kind of translates from their friendship off the field into the game.”
Here’s the big question.
What’s going to happen once this team gains some experience?
Right now, veterans on this young team are leading the way, beginning with Mullen. Last season was her first as a starter and one could see how much she has benefited from that experience.
While she was happy to receive the yellow hard hat, Mullen was quick to point out that this was far from a one-woman show.
“I couldn’t have done it without my great defense,” she said. “It was a team effort, and it was very exciting.”
Agnes Irwin vs. Springside Chestnut Hill - PSD Gallery by James Quinn
Wray understands that while this was an impressive debut, it was just that – one game. She knows the key to playing in the Inter-Ac is forgetting about the last game, whether in victory or defeat.
There are simply too many challenges ahead.
And anybody ready to count out SCH after one difficult game may be premature in that assessment.
That win over Penn Charter was so impressive, with Michigan commit Emma Bradbury scoring five goals.
Bradbury had one goal against Agnes Irwin as she was the subject of some extra defensive attention, which will be a consistent pattern this season. Her skillset suggests that extra defensive attention is warranted.
On this day, the Blue Devils were simply taken out of their game early by Agnes Irwin and could never get in sync.
“We failed to execute our game plan in the first 20 minutes of the game,” SCH coach Noelle Cebron-Powell said. “We needed to get that discipline back but it’s so early in the season.”
Springside Chestnut Hill vs. Penn Charter - PSD Photos by Zamani Feelings
She also then stated the obvious about the Inter-Ac schedule, 12 league games, many that won’t be placed in the easy category.
“Every team is loaded with talent for sure,” Cebron-Powell said. “We all know each other really well.”
And one thing that opponents of Agnes Irwin know is that scoring against the Owls won’t be an easy endeavor.
The reality is that Mullen better get used to wearing the yellow hard hat, because it will likely we worn several other times this season.