skip navigation

FIELD HOCKEY: PCL Playoff Round-Up, Archbishop Carroll & Bonner-Prendergast Set to Clash in the PCL Final

By PSD Staff - Dan McCarty & Courtney McGuigan, 11/01/17, 11:30PM EDT

Share

Philadelphia Catholic League Field Hockey:

At the beginning of the season Kaitlyn Martin, a senior co-captain on Bonner-Prendie’s field hockey team, rattled off a significant team goal for the season…

“I’d like to make it far into the PCL playoffs,” said Martin after the Panda’s second league game of the season against Conwell-Egan. 

It seems as though the Panda’s not only achieved Martin’s initial goal, but exceeded it, as Bonner-Prendie will be making an appearance in the Philadelphia Catholic League field hockey final this Friday.

The Panda’s, who secured the No. 1 seed after attaining a perfect 9-0 PCL record this season, will take the field against the No. 2 seeded Patriots of Archbishop Carroll at 7:00 p.m. The game will take place at the Proving Grounds (707 Conshohocken Rd, Conshohocken, PA) on Villanova University's field hockey turf.

This is Archbishop Carroll’s second straight appearance in the PCL final. Last year, the Patriots fell to Cardinal O’Hara 1-0 in a defense dominated battle. 

This year’s Catholic League field hockey final could pose a similar result. Archbishop Carroll’s defense has only allowed 5 goals during their nine regular season league games, three of which were against the Pandas. 


MBAP field hockey team has advanced to the 2017 PCL Finals! - PSD Photo


ACHS field hockey team has advanced to the PCL Finals! - PSD file Photo

In their match-up against Bonner-Prendie this year, Carroll only lost by one point, 3-2. The Panda’s defense has proved to be almost equally effective, giving up only 6 goals against their PCL opponents.

Needless to say, the PCL championship game on Friday evening is one to definitely mark on your calendar.

 

Semifinal Results & District 12 Outlook: - by Dan McCarty & Courtney McGuigan.

Bonner-Prendie shut out the Little Flower Sentinels 12-0 in the semifinal round of the PCL playoffs on Monday, October 30, at Cardinal O’Hara High School. The victory gave Prendie its chance to compete for the crown.

         “I feel good,” said senior Allison Martin. “We have to step it up. We’re ready.”

         Martin highlighted the scoring with four goals. This crucial outcome increased Prendie’s record to 10-0 overall in the league. As the top seed in the PCL playoffs, the team had a quarterfinal round bye and therefore, even more time to get ready for the post season.

Martin scored first off of an assist by senior Meg Sullivan and that helped set the tone for the match with Prendie on a roll. Senior Carly Brosious scored unassisted. Martin and Brosious combined for a 4-0 sprint. Freshman Regan Dolan and sophomore Maeve Finnegan provided an assist apiece. Junior Cassandra Howard tallied a goal off a feed by junior Katie Caruso allowing for a 7-0 halftime surplus.

         “We have been working well together,” said Sullivan. “It is a great feeling.”

         The Pandas continued their run in the second half. Finnegan, Sullivan and senior Kaitlin Martin all found the net unassisted. Freshman Brooke Quinn chipped in and registered a goal with Brosious assisting. Brosious completed her hat trick with 6:55 in regulation to call it a game.

         “We work as a whole team,” said Allison Martin. “It really filled our confidence.” 

Final minute of play for MBAP & Little Flower:

Although Little Flower did not get on the scoreboard despite countless hours of practice, Prendie could have taken a much larger lead. That is because junior goalkeeper Allison Ross came up with a total of 38 saves. Senior Caroline Curtiss also prevailed on defense.

         “Caroline did a good job,” said Ross. “She really helped me out. They all did.”

The Sentinels threatened to score at times but junior goalkeeper Chelsea Rafferty stopped four shots, though she never could have done so without her loyal teammates.

“It was my whole team,” Rafferty said. “I couldn’t do it without them. My teammates were behind me. We know how to communicate with each other.”

The Patriots defeated Cardinal O’Hara in the other semifinal game on Monday afternoon on Bonner-Prendie’s home turf.

Carroll senior Jade Orsatti found the back of the cage in the first half and sophomore Megan Curry scored off an assist from Hannah Bateman in the second to lead the Patriots to a 2-0 victory. 

While the Lions are unable to have a repeat PCL championship season, Cardinal O’Hara’s shot at hoisting the state title continues.  

The Lions will compete in the District 12 championship on Saturday, November 4 at the Germantown Supersite. Time still TBD.

         In their quarterfinal triumph over Lansdale Catholic on October 27, Cardinal O’Hara’s offense was on fire, putting up 5 goals. Bunny Ripp ignited the Lions' offensive attack in the first half and hit a shot to the back of the cage to give O’Hara a 1-0 lead. Senior Anna DiRita scored two goals in the contest and teammates Sara Grassi and Kellie O’Conner each added a goal to propel the Lions to a 5-1 victory.

         Lansdale Catholic ended the regular season with a 4-5 PCL record. The Crusader’s won the District 12 championship and will represent the Catholic League in the PIAA A District 1-12 sub-regional game against Lower Moreland at Lower Moreland HS on Thursday, November 2 at 3:15 p.m.

O'Hara vs. Lansdale Catholic Game Highlights

Lansdale Catholic seniors pass along their wisdom to their returning teammates (#14 Lindsay Currie, #3 Hailey Gianoni & #20 Amy Forest):