PHILADELPHIA – For Springside Chestnut Hill senior attacker Natalie Schwartz, yesterday’s first league match-up against Baldwin was just like any other game.
Except, it wasn’t.
Natalie Schwartz poses with her family and was given flowers to honor her 100th goal.
Schwartz was in need of five goals to reach her 100th career goal – she scored six.
“Once I got on the field, I didn’t even think about it,” said Schwartz, who has been accepted to both the University of Richmond and Tulane University.
The referees paused the game momentarily, allowing the Blue Devil’s to congratulate their teammate on her milestone and for head coach Allison Thomas to collect the 100th scored lacrosse ball – a memento Schwartz will certainly cherish.
“She had to score five goals to get to her 100th today, so she was running and gunning,” said Thomas. “She’s been such a great threat not only for scoring but also assisting in her years here. Natalie came in as an eight grader. She has such a great spirit and energy I’m so excited for her.”
Springside Chestnut Hill vs. Baldwin
Backing Schwartz on SCH’s offense was fellow senior and Stanford commit, Mikaela Watson, who ignited the Blue Devil’s 15-seconds into the game scoring her team’s first goal.
Sophomore, Marissa McGarrey, propelled Baldwin to an early lead of 3-1 with 17 minutes left on the clock. Schwartz and teammate Riley Redpath, scored back-to back goals for SCH to tie Baldwin 3-3 with a little over 14 minutes remaining in the first half. McGarrey then fired back and scored again for Baldwin regaining the lead with a score of 4-3. Unfortunately for the Bears, this would be their final lead of the game.
In a matter of less than 30-seconds, Watson scored two consecutive goals. Mason Rode and Riley Redpath followed in Watson’s path and each scored a goal enhancing the Blue Devils lead 9-4. With 8-seconds remaining, Ryanna Neuman added on a goal for Baldwin to send the Bears into the half trailing by 4.
The second half began with a quickly scored goal from Baldwin’s McGarrey, cutting her teams’ deficit to three. Then it was time for the “woman of the hour” to have her spotlight. Schwartz scored her 99th and 100th goals within a minute from each other and then decided to add on another goal, because why not? Her 101st goal was apart of a 6-goal run for the Blue Devils.
The final score of the game was SCH 18, Baldwin 10.
For SCH (1-0, 1-0), Thomas explained that winning their first Inter-Ac game was a great test of her teams’ dexterity on the field.
“It was really exciting to see my team hone in on their skills,” said Thomas. “We were able to possess the ball and spread out in the mid-field.”
Thomas also noted a few stars on her roster that have been attributing to her teams’ early success.
“Some of our standout players include Mikaela Watson. It’s her fifth year playing for us because she came up as an eight-grader. Elsa Rall, our senior goalie, is fantastic and will be going to William and Mary,” said Thomas. “We have a lot of key returning players and two of our juniors are already going to be playing in college. Mason Rode is going to Bucknell and Morgan Fitton-Zellers is going to Franklin and Marshall."
SCH's Mikaela Watson talks about her personal & team goals for this season
SCH's Natalie Schwartz reflects upon her team's league opener & scoring her 100th goal
As for Baldwin (0-2, 0-1), the spring season is still young and head coach Marisa Lozano will be working on intensifying her teams’ on-field chemistry.
“We have a young team, especially in our mid-field where it counts the most. I think our goal for this year is to figure out how to capitalize on our strengths,” said Lozano. “Half of our team are returning players and the other half are young players. So for us, it’s all about getting those players to mesh well and play together and put more goals in the back of the net.”
One of Lozano’s standout players is sophomore, Marissa McGarrey, who totaled 6 goals in her teams’ Inter-Ac opener. McGarrey expressed her team and personal goals for this season.
“I want our team’s shooting percentage to get better and for our plays to run smoothly,” said McGarrey. “I definitely want my 1v1’s to get better and work on making one hard move and to not turn my back on opposing players."
Looking ahead: Baldwin will play Friends Central at home on April 5th before playing their second Inter-Ac match up away vs. Germantown Academy on April 8th. SCH will play two games away against Bullis School and Sidwell Friends before returning home on April 5th for another league game against Penn Charter.