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GIRLS' LAX: Archbishop Carroll & Cardinal O'Hara Advance to the PCL Finals After Defeating Little Flower and Archbishop Wood

By Angelise Stuhl, 05/19/18, 7:00PM EDT

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Game 1: No. 1 Archbishop Carroll vs. No. 4 Little Flower

ASTON, PA – Archbishop Carroll and Little Flower kicked off the 2018 Philadelphia Catholic League girls’ lacrosse semifinal double-header at Neumann University yesterday afternoon. The top seeded Patriot’s had little trouble defending their seat in the championship, cruising to a 19-2 victory.

Carroll looks to claim their 18th consecutive PCL title on Monday at 6:00 PM at Neumann University. 

Carroll vs. Little Flower 2018 PCL Semifinal Highlights:

Worth Noting: Little Flower’s lacrosse team has a lot to be proud of this season. Last year, the Sentinel’s finished seventh in the league with a 5-5 PCL record and lost to St. Hubert in the 2017 playoff play-in round. This year Little Flower can bask in the glory of finishing as the fourth best team in the Catholic League. 

The team ended the regular season with a 7-3 PCL record and made it all the way to the PCL semifinals only to be knocked out by the league’s perennial powerhouse.

“They are just a beautiful team. They work hard together, they have fun and I think they like what they are doing. They’ve gotten better and have a lot more trust in each other,” said Little Flower head coach, Carol Pisacano. “They played their hearts out the whole time. Until we get to this type of game (the semifinal round) it’s hard to know what it’s like to play at this type of level. So now that we got here, I had a lot of sophomores out there, they are exposed and know what level they have to get to next year.  You can’t get from nowhere to the championship. It’s a stepping stone for us. We would have liked to win it, but we know how good Carroll is and at least now we know what we are against. We scored a couple goals and will be better next time.”

Goals:

Carroll – Madison Henry (2), Liza Dellarata (2), Jess Suloff (2), Alex Cabahug-Almonte (1), Juliana Keith (1), Grace Gallagher (1), Margeuax Pawelec (1), Rachel Matey (1), Keri Daly (1), Katie Detwiler (1), Sydney D’Orsogna (1), Julia Downs (1), Kelli Ann Matey (1) , Grace Ewing (1), Lana Pergine (1).

Little Flower – Madeline Curran (1), Molly Killion (1). 

Little Flower senior Maggie Grant sheds light on what attributed to the Sentinel's success this season & passes down her senior wisdom:

Arch. Carroll senior Katie Detwiler talks about her team's preparations for the Final & gives kudos to Little Flower:

Game 2: No. 2 Archbishop Wood vs. No. 3 Cardinal O’Hara

ASTON, PA –  In their regular season meeting, it was the Vikings of Archbishop Wood that came away with a narrow 8-7 victory. This time, the game was in favor of the Lions.

Cardinal O’Hara and Archbishop Wood went back and forth in the first half, with the Lions holding a 3-2 halftime lead. After the brief intermission, O’Hara switched up the game-plan and came out on fire to seal an 8-5 victory and a chance to compete for the 2018 PCL plaque.

“At halftime we talked about making cuts and moving away from defenders,” said Cardinal O’Hara sophomore goal-tender, Jackie Deuber-Peterson. “In the first half we were going into our defenders, so we were talking about moving in and out and cutting away and making sure our plays are perfect.”  

O'Hara vs. Wood 2018 PCL Semifinal Highlights:

Worth Noting: This semifinal match-up featured two new head coaches. Cardinal O’Hara’s head coach Jenny Duckenfield is excited for her first trip to the PCL Championship and anticipates a bright future with her team.

“It’s exciting. We hope to make it happen a lot. What I am really excited about is that the girls are growing. They are clicking and getting better,” said Duckenfield. 

“I thought Wood did a really great job all season and it was great to kind of get a little redemption back after that last loss. It feels good for us.”  

Archbishop Wood’s head coach, Nicole Fisher, has made her way to her first coaching stint after having a strong career playing lacrosse at Bloomsburg University. This year, Fisher's goals centered around molding her team into understanding the importance of creating a solid on-field work ethic.

“In my first year, there were a few things that I wanted to focus on. First, was making sure that the little things were the big things, because those things matter. Having the girls recognize the importance of discipline and composure while playing and sticking to a game plan were the kinds of things I wanted to engrain in them,” said Fisher. “We definitely had a great season. Obviously, this was not the way we were hoping it would go, but I think that they did great. The game will come, it’s more so the personalities, the discipline and the work that is put in that I wanted to make sure was all on point for this season.”

Goals:

O’Hara –  Erin Grady (3), Julia Ferraiolo (2), Rachel Familetti (2), Marie McNicolas (1).

Wood – Annie Whalen (3), Lindsay Faul (1), Kate Waddington (1). 

Archbishop Wood’s Erin Welsh eloquently speaks on behalf of her team discussing her favorite part about playing on the Vikings LAX team:

Post Game Interviews with O’Hara Julia Ferraiolo, Erin Grady & Jackie Deuber-Peterson who address their team’s offensive spark & composure: