Newtown Square, PA – A battle of Inter-Ac heavyweights played out under bright sunshine in Newtown Square on Tuesday.
In one corner – Episcopal Academy – last year’s league champs, but off to a slow start in 2016. In the other corner – Baldwin School – undefeated, with a 9-0 start to its season.
From the opening touch on the ball, it was clear Episcopal wasn’t ready to give up its crown just yet. The Churchwomen methodically grinded out a win, 2-0, and put the league on notice.
“It’s a big win,” said Episcopal head coach Andy Fraggos. “They’re a strong team, absolutely. They are talented on the backline, center-mid and up top and they caused us a lot of problems today. We’re pretty proud of today’s win though.”
Episcopal {7-2 overall, 2-0 league} got on the board right away when sophomore midfielder Anna Salvucci converted Molly O’Brien’s corner kick. The goal seemed to put the Bears back on their heels, as they struggled at times to handle Episcopal’s pressure. But the score remained 1-0 heading into halftime.
O’Brien had several chances to extend the lead in the second half, hitting the post twice, before converting a pass from Lauren Cunningham to make it 2-0 with only a few minutes remaining.
EA senior captain forward Molly O'Brien
“I was a little unlucky today,” said O’Brien, a senior who plans on playing for D1 Loyola (MD) next fall. “You always seem to have one of those games where you hit the post twice. You just have to keep going for it. You can’t let that get to your head. You just have to keep going and going and I got one in.”
“She was all over the place up top and that was huge,” said Fraggos. “She’s someone you have to worry about for other teams. They have to communicate where she is on the field, otherwise she’s going to find holes and gaps and everything.”
O’Brien’s goal could have been deflating for the Bears, but it only seemed to energize them. Baldwin made a late run, forcing Episcopal goalkeeper Morgan Messner to make back-to-back point blank saves to preserve the two-goal lead and the win. The Churchwomen hope they’re hitting their stride with their sixth straight victory after a 1-2 start.
“We had a shaky start with a couple losses, but they were good losses for us I think,” said Fraggos. “We know what we need to fix. And one of the things we talk about with the team at practice is – know where we need to improve - and being reflective is a thing we talk about constantly with our team.”
“We’re playing hard,” said O’Brien. “Every game we get better and better. We’re playing with each other so well now. We’re capable of winning an Inter-Ac title again.”
But don’t count out Baldwin {9-1 overall, 1-1 league} just yet. Head coach Adrian Cox notes his Bears are a young team that is still learning how to play together.
“I’m proud of what we accomplished so far, but there’s still a lot of games to be played,” he said. “I can’t wait to get a return match against them in a few weeks and see how we do and make adjustments and give them a better challenge next game.”
