BY JEREMY GOODE
(PHOTOS & VIDEO BY KATHY LEISTER)
PHILA. --The Germantown Friends School girl’s lacrosse team scores goals. A lot of goals. It’s what they do. On their Senior Day, April, 25th against Friends’ Central, the Tigers rallied behind their two seniors, Ella Shay and Mae Brockman, as Shay netted seven goals of her own in a 15-6 defeat of the Phoenix.
“I appreciate that everyone on our team touches the ball; everyone can score; everyone can defend,” said GFS head coach Katie Bergstrom Mark. “That’s been a big focus for us to make sure that yes, we have some specialty players here and there, but they also can do everything on the field.”
It took the Tigers a bit of time to get themselves on the scoreboard. During the first four minutes, GFS dominated time of possession while threatening to score several times. Shay would open up the scoring at the 20:16 mark with a goal in front of the net.
That may have been the scoring spark the Tigers needed, because within the next five minutes GFS would tally another four goals, taking a 5-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the contest. Shay would score the next two, Sarah Goldberg would assist Halle Smoger for the fourth goal after a face-off win, and then GFS would run the same play that Goldberg and Smoger had scored with, this time with Goldberg netting the goal, assisted by Shay.
Friends’ Central would answer with two goals in a row, cutting the GFS lead to three. That would be enough for the Tigers to buckle down and cripple any run the Phoenix tried to start. GFS would go on to establish a 5-1 goal differential for the remaining 10 minutes of the half, giving the Tigers a commanding 10-3 lead at halftime. Brockman was able to net a goal of her own in the 10-minute span until halftime, Shay netted a few more, and Claire Rigdon was responsible for scoring GFS’ 10th goal with 53 seconds left in the half.
About her seven-goal performance Shay noted, “I’ve been working on my dodging recently, so I think I have been able to implement that and use my speed to get around defenders.”
Germantown Friends School in game vs. Friends' Central. (Highlights by Kathy Leister for PSD)
Germantown Friends celebrate Ella Shay and Mae Brockman on senior day. (Photo/ Kathy Leister)
The beginning of the second half looked similar to first. GFS would not score until the 21:22 mark, as Brockman was able to physically force her way to the net and get her shot by Friends Central’s goalie. Shay would then set up Goldberg in front of the net for a nifty goal to make it a 12-3 game, after Goldberg received the pass and shot it underhanded. Shay would score a few minutes later, followed by a goal from Juliette Kang, making it 14-3 GFS with 16:36 to go in the game.
While it seemed like there were slow starts to each half, Brockman said that was part of the gameplan all along.
“We started for the first four minutes on our motion attack, so we worked on possession, until we scored” Brockman said. “And then we just kept on working on our goals and running our plays.”
Germantown Friends SENIOR ELLA SHAY WHO SCORED 7 GOALS FOR THE TIGERS APPROACHES EVERY GAME WITH THE SAME INTENSITY. (VIDEO/ JEREMY GOODE)
Germantown Friends Senior and multi-scorer Mae Brockman talks about team chemistry and heading into playoffs. (video/ Jeremy Goode)
Quite a few goals; even more plays.
After Kang’s goal, Bergstrom Mark began shuffling the lineups, getting some time for the underclassmen to play. Shay, Brockman, Goldberg, and Katie Day found themselves on the sideline with the lopsided score, cheering on their teammates while getting a much-needed rest.
The final 14 minutes would see both teams trade off goals, as the Phoenix scored one final goal with 32 seconds left.
When reflecting on the last four years of lacrosse play at GFS, Shay acknowledged her teammates.
“They’re my best friends; lacrosse season is my favorite time of year, so getting to come out here and play the game that I love with the people that I love has just meant so much over these last four years and I will miss it a lot,” Shay said. “I’m just going to miss my friends the most and getting to hug them every day and seeing them at practice.”
According to Bergstrom Mark, it will be tough replacing Shay and Brockman next year, even noting that it is often obvious when they are not on the field and sidelined.
“Mae does a wonderful job of leadership on the attacking side; helping set the tempo; helps us in our communication; kind of settles everyone in...” Bergstrom Mark said. “Ella just controls all three parts of the field and is really, really dominant; makes really good decisions; she is a special player and I am excited to see her go on and play.”
Germantown Friends School vs. Friends' Central. (Game day photos by Kathy Leister for PSD)
It is a close-knit group. That is probably one of the reasons why the team wins so much. Brockman said she would enjoy reflecting on her time as a GFS lacrosse player when the season ends.
“We definitely had good team spirit every day,” Brockman said. “It has been very fun and an amazing experience. I would not trade it for anything.”
As the Tigers are in first in the Friends League and have effectively controlled many Friends League games, Bergstrom Mark stressed the importance of keeping the pedal to the medal and overcoming challenges that occur when the Tigers are the top dogs.
“Even in games that are a little bit mismatched, we just try to play with intensity, and maybe we concentrate on other things,” Bergstrom Mark said. “We are not by any means comfortable. Being in first place is hard; I always prefer to be the underdog. When people want to beat you, you have to have a lot of different plans, so we are going to go back and make sure we have multiple plans for anybody we end up playing.”
The win against Friends Central gives GFS a 5-0 record in Friends League play, and a 9-1 record overall. The Tigers have enjoyed collecting wins, but also know there is a lot more work to put in for them to reach their championship goals.
“We just have to keep going,” Shay said. “We have two more games this week and three next week, so we just move on from here; make sure we stay locked in for our more competitive games and keep it sharp.”
GFS will face Springfield Township this Thurs., as well as Friends League opponent Academy of The New Church the day after. Next week they will host Merion Mercy, travel to Abington Friends, and host North Penn.