Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/21/11
By Dave Kurtz
Courtesy of Pac-10sports.com
Boyertown’s seven-year stranglehold on Pioneer Athletic Conference girls lacrosse is showing no signs of abating.
If anything, the Bears grip keeps getting tighter.
Thursday afternoon at Methacton, Boyertown turned the heavily-hyped PAC-10 Liberty Conference showdown into a smackdown, riding Lindsay Clinton’s stellar work in net and Kelly Furman’s hot stick to a 16-2 rout of the Warriors.
“We were prepared for this game,” said Furman, who finished with four goals and a pair of assists. “Our midfielders controlled the ball and we were running and beating them down the field.”
Both clubs had entered the matchup with identical 7-0 league marks, but that’s about where the drama ended. The Bears set the tone with nine unanswered goals during a 13-minute, 55-second run in the first half to build an 11-2 lead by intermission and never looked back.
The running clock didn’t stop the assault in the second half when Boyertown pitched a 5-0 shutout and left Methacton coach Laurie Markle searching for answers.
“This was just pathetic, we didn’t show up,” said Markle, whose squad got two goals from Emily Kellett. “This was an embarrassment. Every time we hear the word Boyertown, we can’t seem to play.”
Boyertown (8-0, 8-4 overall), which got two goals apiece from Kate DeHaven, Rachel Engler, Jaime Vincent, Devyn Heidelbaugh and Amanda Smith, has left a lot of PAC-10 coaches echoing Markle’s frustrations.
The Bears set up shot in the offensive zone all day, and whenever Methacton got a rare opportunity to answer, the omnipresent Clinton was always in the way.
“This was one of our best games,” said Clinton, a junior, who recorded nine saves. “We stayed focused and everyone was working together. This is my third year as a starter, and I know a lot of people expect us to live up to what we had before. There’s a little bit of pressure, but it definitely motivates us. We always want to play hard and keep our streak going.”
That can’t be good news for the rest of the PAC-10.
“Our kids are competitive and they want to win,” said Boyertown coach Pam Wernersbach. “Our kids are starting to trust in each other and jell. We’re playing well together.”
Conversely, Markle was lamenting a poor outing before a large crowd at the wind-swept venue.
“Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong,” said Markle. “We weren’t winning draws, we weren’t getting to ground balls, our shots were right at their goalie.”
Suffice it to say the Methacton coach won’t be watching Groundhog Day any time soon – she saw it again Thursday. In their first two years in the PAC-10 – 2009 and 2010 – the Warriors finished runner-up to that lax bully from eastern Berks County, and Markle doesn’t like the rerun one bit.
“We seem to choke every year we play these guys,” said Markle. “I was never expecting this type of outcome. This game dictates who’s in first place, and we were horrible.”
Boyertown 11 5 – 16
Methacton 2 0 – 2
Boyertown
Kelly Furman 4g, 2a
Kate DeHaven 2g
Rachel Engler 2g
Jaime Vincent 2g
Devyn Heidelbaugh 2g
Amanda Smith 2g
Hailey Wentzel 1g
Lauren Mengel 1g
Goalie Lindsay Clinton 9 saves
Methacton
Emily Kellett 2g
