By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 7/12/10
Radnor senior midfielder Kelyn Freedman admitted that her team faced extremely high expectations entering the 2010 season.
“There was definitely a lot of pressure and a lot of expectations from ourselves, which isn’t as hard as everyone else’s expectations,” she said. “But we were up to the challenge and we were not going to be satisfied without a state championship, a district championship and a Central League championship.”
Thanks to a brilliant senior class of 10, led by Freedman, the Red Raiders met all expectations in 2010.
By winning its final 10 games and finishing 26-1, Radnor repeated as Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) champion while also winning the District 1 crown and sharing the Central League title.
Freedman was the catalyst for the amazing run, which saw Radnor finish fifth in the MaxPrep National Rankings, in a tie for fifth in the final LaxPower National Rankings.
Freedman, who will play at Georgetown, collected mind-boggling numbers. She amassed 90 goals, 111 assists, 103 groundballs, 106 draw controls, 48 caused turnovers and 15 interceptions. Overall, Freedman, a four-year starter, had 217 goals, 219 assists, 436 points, 283 draw controls, 210 groundballs and 125 caused turnovers.
The post-season honors have piled up higher than Freedman’s trophy case could fit. Freedman was named a US Lacrosse All-American for the third straight year, was named Academic All-American and Under Armour All-American and was selected as the MaxPreps Player of the Year.
Freedman also was named MVP while helping Team Philly win the Senior Division at the US Lacrosse National Tournament Memorial Day Weekend. Lastly, she was MVP at the recent Vail Shootout in the U-19 scholastic division while playing for the Heather Leigh Albert squad that placed second. She also will play next week in the US Lacrosse Champion Showcase at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Now, she has been named the Phillylacrosse.com Female Player of the Year.
Also a standout on the basketball court (1,225 career points) and county champion in cross country, Freedman provided it all on the lacrosse field – offense, defense and leadership.
Phyllis Kilgour, the venerable Radnor coach who recently retired after 32 years at the helm, noted that Freedman was the one who set the tone for the Raiders.
“The thing that really sticks out is that right after we won at Hershey in ’09, (the score was 20-10), Kelyn immediately said, ‘Is that an omen? And that really stood with us- somewhat as a burden, but also as a goal,” Kilgour said.
Freedman said the season turned for the better after Radnor’s lone loss, a 9-8 overtime decision to Strath Haven on May 6. The very next game, Radnor was trailing Springfield-Delco, 6-0, and rallied for a dramatic 8-7 victory. The three teams finished in a tie for the Central League crown.
“I know the pressure was getting to us in the middle of the season,” Freedman said. “That loss almost helped us. I don’t think we would have been able to come back from the 6-0 deficit to Springfield-Delco if we had not had that loss.
“We decided we were not losing again.”
Radnor would meet Springfield-Delco next in the District 1 finals. Again the Raiders fell behind, 6-4, in the second half, but the Raiders roared back for an 8-6 victory. After that, Radnor dominated in states and routed Unionville, 23-14, in the semifinals before toppling Springfield-Delco, 14-7, in the title game at HersheyPark Stadium.
“I think we started playing really well in the state tournament,” said Freedman. “We played great against Unionville and that gave us a ton of confidence going into the game with Springfield.”
Freedman – a member of the National Honor Society who plans to study Business at Georgetown – said her teammates share equally in all her honors and that Radnor success is based on team chemistry and camaraderie as well as great leadership from longtime mentor Kilgour.
“We’re all best friends and that keys into chemistry on and off field,” she said. “You can’t beat teamwork. We can hit teams from so many directions and have so many people that can score.
“We also have a great goalie and great defense. I think the way we played together made it so hard to stop us.”
Tomorrow: Male Co-Player of the year
Past winners of Phillylacrosse.com Female Player of the Year
2009 – Emily Garrity (Strath Haven, midfielder)
2008 – Kelly Barnes & Beth Ellis (Radnor, midfielders)
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