BY MARC NARDUCCI
(Photos by Lennie Malmgren, Mike Nance & Ryan Nix for PSD)
SCHA junior Alex Reilly surprised to hit scoring milestone
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy junior Alex Reilly doesn’t keep track of such trivial matters as how many goals she has scored, but her teammates and coaches sure do.
After Reilly had scored her fourth of five goals during an 18-8 win over Academy of Notre Dame on March 28, the game stopped and she was wondering why her teammates were all converging around her and offering their congratulations.
It didn’t take too long to figure out that it was because Reilly, a standout midfielder and University of Virginia commit, had just scored her 100th career goal.
“I didn’t know it was my 100th goal and was very surprised, but it was surreal to have my teammates huddle around me and give me a big hug,” Reilly said. “It shows how hard our entire team has been working.”
Of course, earning a W made the achievement that much more meaningful.
“We have a special group this year and it was definitely exciting that we won, because it made it better,” she said.
SCHA figures to be a contender in the Inter-Ac. The Blue Devils are 2-1 in the league, with a 9-8 win over Penn Charter and a 12-4 loss to Agnes Irwin.
As for Reilly, she is playing the sport without the pressure of recruiting since she committed to the Atlantic Coast Conference school on Sept. 4.
“It was so rewarding and I am so grateful to have committed that early to such a prestigious university under amazing coaches,” she said. “I am so excited.”
She said that everything filled in the boxes about Virginia.
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy junior midfielder Alex Reilly scored her 100th point in game vs. Academy of Notre Dame. (Photo/ Lennie Malmgren for PSD)
“Just the excellence in athletic and academics and the coaching staff is amazing and so is the team culture,” she said. “As soon as I go on campus I felt at home and knew it was the perfect fit for me.”
In committing to Virginia, she has become third member of her family to compete for an ACC school. Her sister Cece is a freshman competing for the Louisville lacrosse team.
Her father Tom grew up in Long Island playing soccer and lacrosse and attended Wake Forest where he competed in soccer. (Her mother Kathy is a Big 10 alum of Penn State).
Alex says she has been playing lacrosse since kindergarten, thanks to the guidance of her father. She is also a soccer standout, who was a member of the SCHA’s PAISAA state championship soccer team in the fall, where Reilly was a key member of the midfield. In fact, Reilly had the assist on the goal in SCHA’s 1-0 PAISSA state title win over Episcopal Academy.
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy vs. Academy of Notre Dame PSD game day photos by Lennie Malmgren
Back to lacrosse, her father taught her the game from the beginning and what a teacher he must have been. Of course, Alex and her sister Cece proved to be pretty good students as well.
“My father has had a very important role in both my sister and I, building us up from the beginning,” she said when referring to lacrosse.
As for the 100th goal, Reilly wasn’t totally blindsided by it. She knew entering the season she was close, but didn’t know how close. After the fourth goal of the game, her teammates provided the reminder.
“I knew after last season I was close, but coming into this season I was never on my mind,” she said. “I think that made it more special.”
It might be the only time that Alex Reilly didn’t know what was going on lacrosse-wise. And here’s a prediction – if she gets near 200, she likely won’t know that either.
Springside Chestnut Hill vs. Academy of Notre Dame game day highlights by Lennie Malmgren for PSD)
Agnes Irwin School continues to impress
Agnes Irwin, which opened with a 12-4 win over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, improved to 2-0 in the Inter-Ac with Thursday’s 11-5 win over Academy of Notre Dame.
Junior goalie Maggie Mullen, a Richmond commit, made four saves.
Sophomore Mairyn Dwyer led the way with three goals, while the other multiple-goal scorers were sophomore Caroline Chisholm and eighth grader Kelsey Young with two each. Sophomore Blair Fox had a team-high eight draw controls.
The Owls had a few impressive non-league wins such as a 9-8 triumph over Archbishop Carroll as Dwyer had an outstanding all-around game with four goals, two assists, five ground balls and four draw controls.
During an 18-6 win over Lawrenceville, Chisholm, Dwyer and sophomore Catie Holmes each scored three goals.
Agnes Irwin vs. Academy of Notre Dame. Game day photos by Mike Nance for PSD)
Defending champ The Episcopal Academy is rolling
Defending Inter-Ac champion Episcopal Academy graduated some impactful seniors, but the Churchwomen appear to again be serious contenders in the title race with their opening 17-5 victory on April 4th over Academy of Notre Dame. EA continued their impressive run with Thursday’s 13-5 home win over Penn Charter.
The balance of the team was demonstrated by the fact that seven different players scored. Sophomore Quinn Whitaker had three goals, while sophomore Maura Irish, senior Lex Ventresca, sophomore Avery Le, and junior Grace McHugh all scored twice. Sophomore Kate Dente and junior Sydney Richter each had a goal.
This is a relatively young team but like all contending squads, there is still serious senior presence.
“We are definitely grounded by our seniors,” EA coach Josie Tomaino said.
Episcopal Academy vs. Academy of Notre Dame. (Game day photos by Ryan Nix for PSD)
The three senior captains are Ventresca, a Northwestern commit, along with defenders Franny Gallagher, a Colby commit, and Molly Delaney, who is headed to William & Mary. Two other key seniors are defenders Sabrina Burnetta and Anna Maloney. Four of the five seniors are defenders.
Is it any wonder the defense is so strong?
Adding to the back line is sophomore goalie Grace Holland, who had many big saves against Penn Charter.
“Grace is an outstanding goalie and just comes up with a tremendous number of saves and provides great vocal leadership even though she is only a sophomore,” Tomaino said. “She does a really tremendous job of talking to the unit and getting everyone organized and staying really calm and composed in between sets, no matter how chaotic it can be.”
In Thursday’s win, EA scored the game’s first four goals and was never seriously threatened.
Episcopal Academy vs. Penn Charter. Goals by EA's Grace McHugh, EA's Maura Irish, PC's Bea Buckley and EA's Lex Ventresca. (video/ Marc Narducci for PSD)
After the game, Marc Narducci caught up with EA senior Lex Ventresca & junior Grace McHugh who talked about their win vs. Penn Charter:
“You can’t have 25 turnovers and expect to win the game,” Penn Charter coach Colleen Magarity Kelly said. “I thought our defense actually played strong, we played D the whole game because we turned it over. EA is an excellent team, and you can’t have turnovers in general and especially against a team like that.”
Offensively, one of the positive developments for Penn Charter was the play of senior Drexel commit Bea Buckley, who had three goals, one assist and three ground balls. Senior Kayla Joyce, a Davidson commit, made 15 saves, many of them spectacular.
Before the loss to Episcopal Academy, Penn Charter defeated one of South Jersey’s better programs Haddonfield, 13-6. Senior Gracie Shoup, an Ohio State commit, had four goals, five assists, and five draw controls. Junior Aditi Foster added four goals, while Buckley contributed three goals and two assists.
Penn Charter Senior Attacker Bea Buckely. (Photo/ Zamani Feelings for PSD)
Baldwin on the JV level this year
Due to a low number of participants, The Baldwin School is competing on the JV level this season. Baldwin is being guided by first-year coach Christy Hunt. She said it is too early to tell if Baldwin will be competing next season on the varsity level.
Hunt indicated that the numbers are still low this year and it will be determined for next year depending on the number of participants.
Last year Baldwin was 4-15-1 overall but 0-12 in the Inter-Ac, one of the toughest leagues not only in the Delaware Valley, but both regionally and nationally.
Germantown Academy Ready for league action
Germantown Academy is the lone team that hasn’t played an Inter-Ac game. The Patriots’ Inter-Ac opener is Tuesday when they host Agnes Irwin. The following day they will host Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.
During the non-conference portion of the schedule, Germantown Academy is 5-1, having gone 3-1 during a trip to Florida. Junior midfielder Emma Goodwin, a Dartmouth commit, leads Germantown Academy with 19 goals. Senior midfielder Mia Raven, who is headed to Amherst, has 18 goals, while sophomore Sydney Wanner has scored 15 goals.
Inter-Ac standings (Through April 6)
Episcopal Academy 8-2, 2-0
Agnes Irwin 5-0, 2-0
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy 4-1, 2-1
Germantown Academy 5-1, 0-0
Penn Charter 2-5, 0-2
Academy of Notre Dame 1-4, 0-3