GIRLS LAX: Inter-Ac League Play Has Officially Commenced and the Competition is Already Heating Up in This Week's Notebook (4/7)

Inter-Ac Notebook (4/7)

Photos/Videos: Zamani Feelings, Lennie Malmgren, Grayson Rupp & James Quinn

By: Marc Narducci

BRYN MAWR -- Friday provided example No. 1,000 on why the Inter-Ac is considered among the top girls’ lacrosse leagues in the country.

Penn Charter and Agnes Irwin played a typically tough Inter-Ac matchup between contending teams.

Agnes Irwin prevailed 7-6, but not before a late comeback by Penn Charter closed the gap to the eventual final score on a goal by junior Dartmouth commit Ana Buckley with 1:17 left.

Agnes Irwin would hold on and what came out was true respect for each other by both teams.

“Penn Charter is always a competitive team, the Inter-Ac is so competitive this year, so I think we did a really great job keeping our composure,” said Agnes Irwin’s Catie Holmes, the Maryland commit who scored a hat trick. “They have a lot of great girls and just being able to manage that, we came out with the win.”

How strong is the Inter-Ac?

In the most recent national Top 25 ranking by USA Lacrosse Magazine, half of the six Inter-Ac teams found their way onto the list.

Episcopal Academy was No. 2, with Agnes Irwin No. 16 and Penn Charter No. 22.

“It’s awesome to see that and it is why we challenger ourselves with so many tough games (before the Inter-Ac schedule),” Penn Charter coach Colleen Kelly said.

For Agnes Irwin, Caroline Chisholm (Boston College) joined Holmes as a three-goal scorer and Denver commit Rowan Lawrence scored the eventual game-winner, extending the lead to 7-4 with 10:42 left in the fourth quarter.

Goalie Rowan Pauzano (Rhode Island) made six saves, several of the spectacular variety.

Last year Agnes Irwin did seemingly the impossible – beating Episcopal Academy twice in the regular season. The Owls needed those wins to share the title with Episcopal after losing to Penn Charter and Notre Dame earlier in the regular season.

Both finished co-champs with an 8-2 record. Episcopal Academy then beat Agnes Irwin, 9-6 in the PIASAA state championship game.

So, it looks as if Agnes Irwin and Episcopal Academy are on another collision course, but nobody should overlook Penn Charter.

Agnes Irwin vs. Penn Charter - PSD Highlights by Marc Narducci

Agnes Irwin vs. Penn Charter - PSD Photos by Lennie Malmgren

The Quakers are young. Make that extremely young.

Attack Kenighan Mattice was the lone senior starter for the Quakers against Agnes Irwin. Penn Charter received two goals each from juniors Buckley and Harbor Campbell (Loyola). One person who really stood out was freshman Makenna Myers, who had one goal and seven draw controls.

Not surprisingly, Kelly saw a lot of positives in her team’s performance.

“I was proud of them,” she said. “Honestly, we had one of our I guess, average performances offensively, so to lose 7-6 in a battle, I was pleased.”

Of course, one reason for the so-called average offensive performance was the Agnes Irwin D and the last line of defense, Pauzano in goal.

Both teams felt they could have played better but that usually happens when paired against a quality opponent.

Agnes Irwin coach Lauren Wray said she was simply happy to leave her home field with a coveted W.

“I was proud that our girls played with a lot of composure,” Wray said. “You have to give a lot of credit to Penn Charter; they are a great team.”

So is Agnes Irwin. So is Episcopal Academy, which visits Agnes Irwin on April 17.

It’s a date that promises to show this talented league at its best once again.

AIS senior Rowan Lawrence talks about her teams 7-6 win vs. Penn Charter - PSD Video by Marc Narducci

AIS senior Catie Holmes gives praise to Inter-Ac Opponent Penn Charter on a hard-fought game - PSD Video by Marc Narducci

More on Agnes Irwin

Agnes Irwin opened its Inter-Ac schedule with an 18-3 win over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.

Eleven different players scored for the Owls, led by Kelsey Young, who had five goals. Lawrence added three goals and two assists.

A truly impressive non-league win was a 15-7 triumph over nationally ranked Good Counsel of Maryland.

Chisholm and Holmes, a dreaded duo for any defense to face, each had four goals, with Chisholm adding six draw controls.

Mairyn Dwyer (North Carolina) added a hat trick, four ground balls and five draw controls.

Agnes Irwin vs. Springside Chestnut Hill - PSD Photos by Zamani Feelings

Tough Schedule for Penn Charter

Penn Charter always plays a strong non-league schedule, and the Quakers were competitive in an 11-6 loss to Sacred Heart of Connecticut, ranked No. 9 in the aforementioned rankings,

Freshman Sailor Campbell led the way with three goals and one ground ball, while sophomore Cate Wall added two goals and Myers contributed six draw controls.

Buckley and Molly Dougherty (Michigan) combined for 10 goals in an 11-9 win over Nobles. Buckley had six goals, while Dougherty added four.

In an earlier 13-3 loss to Episcopal Academy, the game was competitive in the first half, when the Quakers trailed 4-1. Harbor Campbell had a goal and a ground ball for the Quakers.

During an 8-7 loss to nationally ranked Potomac, Buckley had three goals and one draw control, and Dougherty added two goals and a draw control for the Quakers.

Junior goalkeeper Maeve Magarity walks us through the Quakers first league victory vs. Notre Dame on April 2nd - PSD Video by Grayson Rupp

WPC junior Harbor Campbell addresses what her team has been working on after win vs. Notre Dame - PSD Video by Grayson Rupp

Episcopal Academy impressive against ranked teams

One of the most impressive wins of the young season saw Episcopal Academy defeat McDonogh (MD), 12-4 in a game featuring two of the country’s top five ranked teams.

As outlined earlier, Episcopal Academy entered the game No. 2 and McDonogh was No. 5.

Episcopal Academy took control early and led 9-2 at halftime.

Freshman Maeve Irish led the way with four goal, one assist, two ground balls and two caused turnovers.

She is the sister of senior Maura Irish, a Notre Dame commit, who has missed some games due to injury, but is expected back before the end of the season. Another key senior who has been sidelined but is expected back before the end of the season is Avery Le, a Penn commit.

Junior midfielder Sofia Gagliardi, a Penn State commit, added a hat trick. Senior Quinn Whitaker (Boston College) had a goal and an assist along with five draw controls, one ground ball, two caused turnovers and one interception.

Senior goalie Grace Holland (Boston College) had four saves and four ground balls.

“We had a lot of different people step up in the McDonogh game,” said Episcopal Academy coach Josie Tomaino. “We put some new looks on offense, which helped open thing up a big and we were ready to make adjustments on defense.”

EA senior Maura Irish #4 and freshman Maeve Irish #11 - Photo Courtesy of James Quinn

Beating such a talented team was a great accomplishment for an Episcopal Academy squad used to posting big wins.

“It was an exciting win, but we have high standard for our play and know there is still a lot more room for us to grow,” Tomaino said. “We have nine of our 18 game schedule this season against teams in the Top 25 rankings.”

Earlier the Churchwomen beat another nationally ranked team in a 16-10 victory over No. 19 Potomac (VA).

Episcopal led 6-5 at halftime before taking over in the second half.

Whitaker had three goals and three assists, along with seven draw controls. Junior midfielder Nora Bailer (Gettysburg) added eight draw controls while Gagliardi had three goals and three draw controls.

Episcopal Academy's girls' lacrosse team is currently ranked No. 2 in the Nation by USA Lacrosse Magazine - Photo Courtesy of Josie Tomaino

Junior attack Teagan Cook (Georgetown) scored a hat trick and had two assists.

The Churchwomen also earned a 14-5 win over No. 23 Good Counsel.

Whitaker showed why she is among the best players in the area and beyond with six goals, and seven draw controls.

Bailer added 11 draw controls.

Scoring two goals were Gagliardi, Maya Le and Maeve Irish.

In Episcopal Academy’s first Inter-Ac game, the Churchwomen defeated Penn Charter 13-3.

Senior attacker Kate Dente (Princeton) had three goals, two assists and two ground balls. Whitaker and Cook also scored hat tricks, while Bailer had seven draw controls, two more than Whitaker.

Episcopal Academy also defeated Notre Dame 14-4 in league play as Whitaker had four goals, Maeve Irish added three and Bailer contributed eight draw controls.

Episcopal Academy senior Kate Dente #5 scored 3 goals in league opener vs. Penn Charter - PSD Photo by Lennie Malmgren

Moving out of the league, Episcopal Academy ended last week with a 12-6 win over defending New Jersey state Group 2 champion Summit.

Whitaker contributed four goals, two assists and five draw controls. Bailer had 13 draw controls and Gagliardi added four goals and one assist.

Successful trip for Academy of Notre Dame

Academy of Notre Dame enjoyed a successful trip to Charleston, South Carolina, winning all three games on the trip. The Fighting Irish defeated Oceanside Collegiate Academy, 19-14, Lucy Beckham 19-7 and Wando, 21-1.

“We had a great trip,” Notre Dame coach Anna McNevin said. “They had never traveled before in program history, and I thought it was important when I got the job last year to start planning a trip because a team can bond and become closer.”

Keira McHugh, a Boston College commit had 13 goals and 19 draw controls in the three wins.

Sophomore Riley Davis, among the top basketball players in the area, had 12 goals and 12 draw controls. Cate Fox (Coastal Carolina) contributed eight goals.

Notre Dame vs. Penn Charter - PSD Photos by Grayson Rupp

Coming back home, Davis scored four goals. and McHugh added a hat trick in a 10-7 win over West Chester Rustin.

The Fighting Irish then played nationally ranked Penn Charter and Episcopal Academy to begin the Inter-Ac season.

In a 12-5 loss to Penn Charter, Emma Anthony (Rutgers) led the way with a hat trick.

Riley Davis talks about key takeaways after first league game vs. Penn Charter - PSD Video by Grayson Rupp

Academy of Notre Dame junior Keira McHugh addresses team goals for the season - PSD Video by Grayson Rupp

Then came a 14-4 loss to Episcopal Academy.

“That was closer than the score indicated,” McNevin said. We played much better than the day before against Penn Charter."

SPRINGSIDE CHESTNUT HILL ACADEMY UPDATE

Friday’s game between Springside Chestnut Hill Academy at Germantown Academy was postponed and will be played on April 21 at Germantown Academy.

SCH has only played three games. Junior Lily Spaeth and senior Haley Hamsher (Flagler) both have three goals with freshman Devon Donato scoring one.

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY GOES OT FOR FIRST WIN

After opening their season in Florida with losses to two highly touted teams St. Andrews and American Heritage, Germantown Academy earned a thriller in its first game in PA with a 9-8 overtime win over at Mount St. Joseph Academy.

Senior Sydney Wanner, a Georgetown commit who has been the team leader, had four goals and the winning assist on a goal by sophomore Sienna Paone. It was Paone’s second goal of the day.

Sophomore Harper Henly had two goals and one assist while freshman Ellerie Catullo scored once.

It was the first win for Germantown Academy coach Colleen Dawson, who won a national championship as a player at Maryland in 2010 and spent the previous five seasons as the head coach at William & Mary.

“It was good,” Dawson said about the win. “We played OK and had some mistakes, but it was the first time playing together as a full team because in Florida not everybody was with us.”