By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/2/10
Coach Jen Duckenfield calls Lilly Kovatch a “lax rat.”
Kovach, a freshman at Strath Haven, spent the past seven Sundays playing all day in Coach Duck’s Fall Ball League.
Kovach, besides playing on Strath Haven-based Duck’s Bombers, served as a “floater” and ended up playing for nearly all of the 36 teams in the league, held at Radnor and Harriton.
Coach Duck’s Fall Ball League also featured a middle school division (16 teams) for the first time. Overall, more than 900 girls participated in the league this fall. (See article posted earlier on two players out with an injury who coached their combined team. Also, slideshow is below.)
“I started the fall ball league for one reason: to get our players ready for junior fall recruiting tournaments,” said Duckenfield, who has been running leagues for more than 15 years in the Philly area.
“Fall ball leads right up to the small sided tourneys and recruitment weekends, and it puts some of the confidence back in their game.”
Kovach, the younger sister of former Strath Haven and Boston University standout Alyssa Kovach, enjoyed her role.
“I just love to play lacrosse,” she said. “I played for almost every team except Conestoga and Abington; they both come with an army of players. I made a lot of friends, like Rachel Rausa (Hatboro-Horsham), Zoey Gomez (Wissahickon) and Kelsey Crystal (Springfield).”
“It was great,” said Duckenfield. “When a team needed a sub, there was Lilly. Everyone knows her now, and I really watched her grow as a player this fall.”
Click to begin slideshow
League notes – Three Downingtown East seniors that have committed to Division I colleges – midfielders Kelly Devlin (North Carolina) and Emily Solenberger (Lehigh) and goalie/attack Marya Fratoni (Navy) – played for the Duck’s Bombers … Strath Haven High captain Sara Carzo, recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, helped coach freshmen players … Friends’ Central and Baldwin combined to make one team … Longtime coach George Hopson was a surrogate coach to many teams … Long time official July Michel, who has been officiating since 1970, was the league assigner.
