By: Josh Abrams
Photos: Donna Eckert
Warminster - We are starting to reach the later stages of the girls lacrosse regular season in the Philadelphia Catholic League. This means that, especially for the teams who find themselves at the top of the standings, the games against each other are only going to get more intense with stakes even higher.
Two of those teams squared off against each other on a beautiful sunny Thursday afternoon, with the Lady Lions of Cardinal O'Hara traveling northeast to Bucks County to take on the Vikings of Archbishop Wood. Both schools boasted undefeated conference records in PCL play, clashing to see who would come away with a 'zero' still on the right side of their loss colum.
Behind five goals from sophomore standout Fran Fazio and a spectacular team defensive effort in the home stretch of the fourth quarter, Cardinal O'Hara managed to hold off a physical and tough Archbishop Wood squad by a final score of 8-5. The victory was the Lady Lions' sixth win in PCL play, and they have yet to drop a contest in the 2025 campaign.
"For us, I thought it was (about) finding the open space and having confidence, because they (Wood) were a really aggressive team," said Fazio after the win. "I think, also, on the 'eight meter' we did a great job with assists and looking for the open girl on the other side."
Archbishop Wood's Casey Schuette and Lily Auxer provided the offense for the Vikings, including three second half tallies (Video by Josh Abrams)
O'Hara girls lax received a balanced effort on offense, with Fazio leading the way and Marquis chipping in with a pair of goals (Video by Josh Abrams)
The Vikings came out of the gates firing early and often, taking an early 2-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest via goals from senior captain Casey Schuette and junior Lily Auxer. Archbishop Wood had a chance to go up 3-0 shortly thereafter but a spectacular save from O'Hara netminder Marina Mersch kept the early deficit at two goals and sparked a run for the Lions in which they would not look back.
Less than a minute after falling behind by two goals, sophomore Eva Marquis put O'Hara on the board, folllowed by a tally from classmate Penny Miller just 14 seconds later. It seemed as if the score would be deadlocked at two apiece at the end of the first quarter, but with just two seconds showing on the clock, Fazio notched her first of the game and gave Cardinal O'Hara a 3-2 lead through the first 12 minutes.
The sophomore phenom took over on offense in the first half, scoring three consecutive goals to extend the Lions' lead to three, 5-2, with 98 seconds remaining in the first half. Another tally from Marquis with 36 seconds left made it 6-2 in favor of O'Hara at halftime.
A large majority of the third quarter featured both teams' tough and tenacious defenses; neither O'Hara nor Wood could find the back of the net for over eight minutes until Auxer broke the two-plus quarter scoring drought for the Vikings. Schuette notched her second goal of the game with just 18 seconds remaining and all of a sudden O'Hara's lead was down to two goals at 6-4 going into the fourth.
Even when Auxer tallied her third goal of the game and brought Wood back to a one-goal deficit, the steady and hard-nosed defensive unit of the Lions held tough and didn't waver.
"We just really made sure we communicate with each other (on defense) and boosting each other's confidence," said senior captain Chiara Mersch.
Sophomore defender Sophia Gosseaux also elaborated on what allowed the Lions to hang tough and assure Wood would not create a new ballgame.
"(We're) just making sure that we're always there to help, especially around the goal when they try to get in there (to score)," said Gosseaux.
Cardinal O'Hara's Sophia Gosseaux, Chiara Mersch and Fran Fazio reflect on hard-fought 8-5 victory on the road at Wood (Video by Josh Abrams)
Defensive highlights from Cardinal O'Hara; senior goalkeeper Marina Mersch was spectacular from start to finish (Video by Josh Abrams)
Along with the stout defensive unit of O'Hara, Fazio ensured that she and her Lions teammates would emerge victorious through the form of two more goals to cap her evening, scoring her fourth and fifth goals just before the midway point of the final frame.
Cardinal O'Hara girls lacrosse is in a new era under third-year head coach Jen Armstrong. But it certainly should not be associated with rebuilding, because even though Archbishop Wood lost eight starters from last year's team, do remember that the Vikings boasted a 5-0 record in PCL play before Thursday's loss.
A win like this away from home is huge, and Fazio can certainly attest to that.
"I think (this win) says that we're a very hard-working team, and we're going to try to do whatever it takes (to win)," said the four-sport athlete. "But it was definitely a great win, because (Wood) is a great team."
Auxer and Schuette provided all five goals for Wood, while Fazio (five), Marquis (two) and Miller (one) found the back of the net for O'Hara. Marina Mersch, Chiara's twin sister and the only other senior on the team, recorded 11 saves, two ground balls and an interception, anchoring a defense determined to keep Wood off the board late.
"I think (the win) just shows how far we've come," expressed Gosseaux. "We only have two seniors, we're a very young team. So (we're) just working together and (creating) friendships on the team."
The final three games of PCL play for Archbishop Wood (5-1) will be away from their home field; they first travel to Nazareth Academy Tuesday 4/29 and will look to bounce back with a win. Cardinal O'Hara (6-0) will put everything they have worked on to the ultimate test the same day, as they host frequent girls lacrosse powerhouse Archbishop Carroll.