SPRINGFIELD, PA – Another Catholic League regular season is in the books with playoffs on the horizon and a familiar face is gracing the top of the leaderboards. Archbishop Carroll ended PCL play on the road against Cardinal O’Hara on Tuesday, where the Lady Patriots cruised to a 17-2 victory. This win marked another perfect league season as the Patriots have won all ten of their Catholic League games.
Archbishop Carroll is a well-rounded unit on both sides of the field, as the Lady Patriot’s offense has been averaging 17.8 goals per game, while its defense has been limiting its PCL opponents to 1.7 goals.
Carroll vs. O'Hara Highlight Video:
“The girls work really hard and they are good athletes,” said Archbishop Carroll head coach Lorraine Beers. “Today (vs. O’Hara) was a great day because I felt like we thought about a lot of things and made less mistakes. This was not your typical Catholic League game for us where it’s 14-1 in the first 8 minutes. This was a great game for us to play and I’m happy for the competition.”
While an 8-1 Carroll halftime advantage may seem lopsided, Cardinal O’Hara held their own in the first half of the game as the Lady Lion’s pushed Carroll’s defense and tested their offensive attack.
“This was a great first half,” said Beers. “O’Hara has a lot better skills than ever before, and that can be attributed to coach Duck. She’s an awesome coach and she’s going to have her team rocking.”
O’Hara’s first year head coach, Jenny Duckenfield, has brought a new flair to the Lady Lions. Her team ended the season with an 8-2 PCL record, with losses at the hands of PCL powerhouses Archbishop Wood and Carroll. With not even a season under her belt, Duckenfield is very proud of her team’s progress.
“It hasn’t even been a full three months yet, and the growth that I’ve seen in my team from the beginning till now has been exponential,” said coach Duckenfield. “I really want to give my defense credit today. In that first half they created four turnovers and that’s exciting to see as a new head coach. I’m not upset about this loss because I have a vision of what it’s going to be like next year when we take the field against Carroll. I knew what Carroll had this year coming in and we have a lot of young players. We are freshmen and sophomore strong out there. When you are going up against a lot of juniors and seniors, it’s a different type of game. So, I’m excited to see what our future holds in the next few years in the Catholic League.”
Duckenfield’s coaching techniques and team building practices have already made a visible impact that her team can attest to.
“Our coach has really helped us through this season. She taught us what it means to be a team and how to succeed,” said O’Hara freshman Rachel Familetti.
“She definitely pushes us harder than we have ever been pushed before,” said O’Hara sophomore Rosie Defeo. “I think she has really brought out things in us that we possess, like our intensity, that we never knew we had before.”
Arch. Carroll's Shea Neary & Keri Daly address what has attributed to their team's success this season:
O'Hara's Rosie Defeo, Katie Shallow & Emily Camuti attribute their success this season to their new coach:
O'Hara's Rosie Defeo & Rachel Familetti talk about the benefits of playing the PCL's top ranked team before playoffs:
Looking ahead, both teams will most likely meet again, as playoffs begin next week: The first round of PCL girls’ lacrosse playoffs will take place on Monday, May 14th - No. 6 at No. 3; No. 5 at No. 4. Carroll has received an automatic bye into the PCL Semifinals, which will take place at Neumann University on May, 18, 2018 starting at 4:00 PM with the second game following. The 2018 PCL girls’ lacrosse championship will take place on May 21, 2018 at 6:00 PM also at Neumann University.
Students from O'Hara & Carroll give a shout-out to their favorite teachers:
SIDE-BAR: This past Tuesday also marked National Teacher Appreciation Day. After the game, players from both Archbishop Carroll and Cardinal O’Hara were asked to give a special shout-out to their favorite teachers.
Goals - Carroll: Katie Detwiler – 4, Sydney DiOrsogna – 2, Kellie Ann Matey – 2, Alex Almonte – 2, Juilana Keith – 2, Sabrina Narda – 1, Amber Germer – 1, Madison Henry – 1, Keri Daly – 1 and Grace Gallagher – 1. O’Hara: Rachel Familetti - 2