By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/18/08
Boyertown coach Pam Wernersbach said it was simply a matter of experience.
Wernersbach’s Bears used a strong second half and steady goaltending from Ashley Harman to claim their fifth consecutive Pioneer Athletic Conference championship Friday night with a 14-8 victory over Spring-Ford at Owen J. Roberts.
Top-seeded Boyertown (17-3) held just an 8-6 lead over the Rams (13-7) early in the second half when its veteran players took control. The Bears have gone undefeated in PAC-10 play in each of the past four years.
“You never know going in who is going to perform to what capacity,” Wernersbach said. “Our kids went in and played with confidence.
“I think just because we have a little more experience, we were able to maintain a stronger performance throughout 50 minutes. At the point they got it close, our kids stepped it up and got it done.”
Boyertown’s ace scorer, senior Maggie Tamasitis (headed to Notre Dame) tallied two of her five goals to make it 10-6 and junior standout Sam Mazzie notched two of her four goals to make it 12-6.
Denver-bound Harman (12 saves) made several key stops in the following minutes and the Bears’ defense – paced by seniors Megan Corrigan and Lindsey Crits and sophomore Kelsey Smith – kept the Rams’ potent attack off track. Sophomore Emily Austerberry added two goals for the Bears.
Jess Schubach led Spring-Ford with four goals and Allie Kakareka added a pair.
“They have some very talented players,” said Wernersbach. “We needed to make sure we did the job on them defensively.
“We wanted to work our offense and make sure all our players were involved on the offensive end.”
Wernersbach, who has nine seniors, is now looking forward to the District One playoffs. Boyertown, ranked eighth by Phillylacrosse.com, should receive a high seed in the Class AAA brackets.
Last year the Bears reached the semifinals, bowing to eventual champion West Chester East, 11-2.
“Every year we’ve gotten one round further, which means this year we should make it to the finals,” Wernersbach said. “Our kids – like Ashley and Maggie – have a lot of experience.
“I think we need to limit our own turnovers and I think we just need to play with confidence and have defenders work well together with Ashley. We also have to limit good opportunities for other teams.”
Germantown Friends wins Friends Schools League
Betsy Sachs and Mariah Barstow pumped in five goals each to lead a second-half comeback as Germantown Friends defeated George School, 15-13, Saturday for the Friends Schools League championship.
George School led, 12-7, with 15 minutes to play until Sachs, Lydia Kring (four goals, two assists) and Barstow led the rally. Barstow had the tying and winning goals.
The win capped an amazing post-season for the Lions (11-7), who rallied for an 18-17 victory over Shipley in the semifinals.
Lisa Bernardini poured in nine goals for the Cougars (11-4), who had a 10-game win streak snapped. Bernardini, who is headed to Old Dominion on a soccer scholarship, had four games this year with nine goals and closed her season with a school-record 111 goals and her career with a school-record 245 goals.
Also for Germantown Friends, Allie Beer had the game-tying goal and Cate Barrett was solid at midfield. Katie Low, Anna Bak, Chelsea Guy-Frank, Theresa Shropshire, and goalkeeper Becca Williams played strong at defense while Camilla Warren and Lyles Swift-Farley played solid defense on Bernardini.
George School had won the regular-season game, 13-9.
Villa Maria takes Catholic Academies League crown
Mary Liva, Cathy Young and Kyrstin Mackrides scored four goals each as Villa Maria Academy throttled Merion Mercy, 18-9, Thursday to claim the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies championship at St. Joseph’s University.
Sarah Radie turned aside 17 shots and Allie Mongan was strong on defense for the Hurricanes (18-2), who avenged a title-game loss to the Bears (12-6) last year. Chelsea Fay added three goals and Olivia Maggitti had two.
Emily Corcoran and Margaret Corzel led Merion Mercy with three goals apiece.
Bayard Rustin finishes season at 14-2.
Bayard Rustin, which won the Ches-Mont League American Conference crown with the help of Unionville’s 15-14 victory earlier in the week over Great Valley, closed its regular season Thursday with a 22-5 rout of visiting Haverford High.
Leanna Brewer tallied five goals while Allison Tatios, Megan Watkin, Tori Dugan, Julie Tatios and Carolyn Adams had two goals apiece as the Golden Knights led 17-2 at halftime.
Rustin, ranked third by Phillylacrosse.com in last week’s poll, will get a high seed in Class AAA when the District One brackets come out tonight.
Leave a Reply