PHILADELPHIA – While the season is still young, three Philadelphia Catholic League teams have made an early season 3-0 run: Cardinal O’Hara, Bonner-Prendergast and Archbishop Wood.
So what’s the secret to their early season success?
“Communicating…that’s our big key this year to winning the PCL,” said Bonner-Prendie senior, Carly Brosious.
Last year, the Pandas were one game shy from making an appearance in the PCL finals. They finished the season 12-4 overall and 8-1 in the PCL, tying for a regular season first place finish with Archbishop Carroll and O'Hara. Although the Panda’s lost seven starters, head coach Joanne Dolan explains that her new starting line has already adjusted into their positions from experience they gained in past seasons.
“The nice thing for us is that as we progressed through each season, the second-tier players got playing time. So there wasn’t a huge transition at the beginning of the season. They were used to playing their positions, they know what to do and are familiar with our plays,” said Dolan. “Our offense is working together and building together. [Our] Defense is solid. The players are working really hard in practice in transitioning the ball, moving the ball and getting to the ball. And those are the three key factors that keep the ball moving from end line to end line.”
Post Game Interview with O'Hara's head coach, Moire Pellegrini
As for O’Hara…
“One of our main goals is to continue on the traditions of great field hockey here at Cardinal O’Hara, we’ve had a strong program and we are hoping to develop players into those strong players,” said O'Hara's head coach, Moire Pellegrini.
After serving as assistant coach since 2015, Pellegrini has taken over the reins as head coach of the Lady Lions.
Although Pellegrini is in her first year, she is well aware of the expectations of this season as O’Hara has won three PCL titles in the past four years.
Standout Games:
Cardinal O’Hara
On Wednesday, September 13th, the defending PCL champs tested Little Flower’s defensive skills as the Lions rallied on to an 8-0 victory.
Before the game started Little Flower head coach Carol Pisacano, told her team to “Go for it,” which they did. Little Flower’s goalie Anna Ross was phenomenal in the net, making some amazing saves throughout the game.
Cardinal O’Hara started the game off strong. Calie Camuti scored within the first minute of the game. Anna DiRita scored her first of two goals with 20:09 left on the clock. O’Hara’s Hailie Fosbenner and Katie Shallow then scored two more goals, which lead to a Little Flower time out. With three minutes remaining in the first half, DiRita added another goal for the Lady Lions to make the score 5-0.
The beginning of the second half started off a little slow, but at the 18-minute mark Grace Hussey scored the sixth goal of the game. Two and half minutes later Katie Shallow was back with another goal to put O’Hara up 7-0. Bunny Ripp scored the final goal of the game off a breakaway securing the 8-0 victory for O’Hara.
Little Flower did not seem disappointed after the game, but rather used it as a learning experience. Little Flower junior, Serena Pisacano, explained that many players on her team are new to the sport and are building their skills game by game.
O'Hara vs. Little Flower Highlight Video
Post Game Interview with Little Flower's Sophie Walsh and Serena Pisacano
“We’re hoping to come back and make playoffs for another season and build the team up as best we can,” said Serena Pisacano.
Standout Game:
Bonner-Prendie
The Pandas hosted the Lady Eagles of Conwell-Egan on Sept. 13 in a game that showcased their “on field communication.”
Bonner-Prendie came out on fire and their blaze seemed to last the entirety of the contest.
The Pandas controlled the tempo of the first half, scoring five first half goals. Allison Martin scored two back to back in the 28th minute and 22nd minute of play. Hailey Horan and Brosious scored within a minute a part from one another and Katie Caruso scored off an assist from Horan with under 8 minutes to play in the first half making the score 5-0.
Junior, Cassandra Howard, ignited the Panda’s offense in the second half scoring her first of two goals. Her second goal of the afternoon would come seven minutes later. Caruso, Reagan Dolan and Brosious would score the additional goals, culminating to a score: MBAP 10, CEC 0.
While one may be quick to applaud the Panda’s offense, it was their defense that held down their home fort and shut down Egan’s offensive attack.
“We talked really well on defense,” said senior Meghan Sullivan. “And our goalie [Chelsea Rafferty] she talks really well and she’s just great back there.”
This year, Conwell-Egan also has an extremely young roster with budding talent. The Eagles have had a tough opening PCL schedule. First year head coach Shane Roxberry is hoping that playing a few of the PCL’s more dominant teams in the beginning will prepare Egan for additional league games down the homestretch of the season.
MBAP vs. CEC Highlight Video
CEC senior Caitlyn McHugh talks about her role as captain and addresses her team goals
MBAP vs. CEC Photos
“We are young, we had 12 freshmen in the program last year, and we only had 14 girls in the entire program. So it’s really important for us to develop our young players,” said first year head coach Shane Roxberry. “We have a lot of tough games early in our season. We played Carroll, O’Hara, we are hoping to use these harder games for some of the other important games down the stretch against Ryan, McDevitt and Lansdale. We are really trying to use this as a jumping off point to get better for those games.”
MBAP's Carly Brosious talks about their win vs. CE
MBAP's Meghan Sullivan talks defense & gives advice
MBAP's Kaitlyn Martin discusses her role as captain
Archbishop Wood:
So far, Archbishop Wood has also been dominating both offensively and defensively. The Lady Vikings defense did not allow a single goal in their first three games against Lansdale Catholic, Bishop McDevitt and Little Flower. Offensively, the Vikings have totaled 13 goals in three games. Wood will face Conwell-Egan on Friday and will play Cardinal O’Hara on Wednesday, September 27th in a battle that will ultimately leave one team with their first loss of the season.
Around the League: Archbishop Carroll and Lansdale Catholic sit tied for second with a 2-1 record. Archbishop Ryan and Bishop McDevitt are currently in third with a PCL record of 1-2. Conwell-Egan, Little Flower and St. Hubert’s have a record of 0-3.
Upcoming Games:
| DATE | HOME | AWAY |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-09-22 | Little Flower | St. Hubert's |
| 2017-09-22 | Lansdale Catholic | Archbishop Carroll |
| 2017-09-22 | Archbishop Ryan | Bishop McDevitt |
| 2017-09-22 | Archbishop Wood | Conwell-Egan |
Tag(s): Home Schools Philadelphia Catholic Field Hockey Philadelphia Catholic League Arch. Carroll Field Hockey Arch. Ryan Field Hockey Arch. Wood Field Hockey Bishop McDevitt Field Hockey Bonner & Prendie Field Hockey Cardinal O'Hara Field Hockey Conwell-Egan Field Hockey Lansdale Cath. Field Hockey Little Flower Field Hockey Saint Hubert Field Hockey