Philadelphia – Any game that takes place between Saint Hubert’s and Archbishop Ryan is intense to say the least. The Northeast Philadelphia rivals met yesterday on the lacrosse field at Russo Park, with both teams looking for their first league victory.
Simply put, the Bambies' offense came out on fire. St. Hubert’s put up 8 first half goals on their way to a 16-1 victory.
“It was a very big win for us. [Coming into the game] we wanted to focus on some of the things that we had been practicing,” said St. Hubert’s head coach Theresa Gorman. “In the first half, my team was scoring goals, but not the way how I wanted them to score. The players were not transitioning. In the second half, we pulled back on checking and transitioned more and we scored goals the way we wanted to score, as opposed to just scoring any old goal.”
Sarah Hartigan scores 1 of her 4 goals for the Bambies
Kasey Hawe scores for St. Hubert's
Ally Bee scores 1 of her 2 goals to end the first half
Jessica Lee scores for Ryan
Sarah Hartigan and Victoria Wolstenholme propelled the Bambies in the first half, each scoring two goals apiece. Hartigan continued her momentum in the second half scoring two more goals. Senior co-captain, Meg Vogler, tallied three goals to her name in the second half and Kayla O’Hare added two goals.
By the time the final whistle blew, 8 different Bambies found the back of the net for St. Hubert’s. Neumann-University commit, Ally Bee, was proud of the way her team came together and played as a unit throughout the game.
“One thing that is really special about our team is that we don’t just have one goal scorer. We will pass the ball. I know personally, I’d rather pass the ball for someone to get a good shot then for me to run down the field and take a [sloppy] shot,” said Bee, who also serves as a co-captain for the Bambies.
Meg Vogler addresses St. Hubert's team goals
The Wolstenholme sisters & Jessica Lee talk about their family rivalry
Archbishop Ryan senior, Jessica Lee, scored the sole goal for the Ragdolls with under 8 minutes to play in the second half. Although Ryan did not come away with the victory, the future is bright for the Ragdolls. Ryan is a budding young team with a new coach at the helm.
“We are an up-and-coming program. A lot of the girls who play now, it’s their first time playing. So for them, it’s a learning experience. Hopefully, later down the line it will help other athletes come into Archbishop Ryan to make the program a lot more competitive,” said first year head coach, Brenden Ostaszewski. “We are taking it one game at a time, and I’m noticing improvements game by game. For my team to get out there and learn the game, it’s good for them when they compete later on.”
While the anticipated match-up meant a lot to both teams, it meant even more to St. Hubert’s sisters Victoria and Mackenzie Wolstenholme and Archbishop Ryan’s Jessica Lee. The three rivals are also very close cousins.
“We look forward to this game all year,” said Lee.
The cousins even made sure their coaches knew of the impending family match-up.
“On the bus ride over, Jess mentioned ‘we’ve got to win this game.’ So I said ‘well let’s go, we gotta win then,” said Ostaszewski.
from left to right: Cousins, Victoria Wolstenholme, Jessica Lee, and Mackenzie Wolstenholme - PSD Photo
Jessica Lee and Mackenzie Wolstenholme battle on the field - PSD photo
“The Wolstenholme’s and Jess, that’s a nice little combination,” said Gorman, who has had the privilege of coaching all three cousins over a few summer camps. “It’s good for us. It adds to the rivalry.”
St. Hubert’s senior co-captain and York College of Pennsylvania prospect, Mackenzie Wolstenholme, had the pleasure of battling her cousin on defense. The duo played very aggressive against each other – all in good fun of course. However, the referees gave the cousins a few warnings to eliminate any illegal stick checking to quiet the fire.
This is the first year that the trio had the opportunity to play on the field against each other, as Victoria, who totaled two goals in the game, is a rising freshman on St. Hubert’s varsity squad.
“I’ve never gotten to play against Jess or with my sister before, so it’s fun to be sort of rivals,” said the youngest Wolstenholme.
While the Ragdolls fell a little short, Lee still managed to grab a goal to put to rest any imminent vaunting at family parties.
Looking Ahead: St. Hubert’s will host Bonner-Prendie tomorrow at 3:45pm. Archbishop Ryan will also be playing at home on Thursday against Cardinal O’Hara at 3:45pm.
St. Hubert’s Goal Scorers:
Sarah Hartigan – 4
Meg Vogler – 3
Ally Bee – 2
Victoria Wolstenholme – 2
Kayla O’Hare – 2
Kate Brown – 1
Mary Kate Cancelliere – 1
Kasey Hawe – 1
Ryan Goal Scorer:
Jessica Lee – 1
