By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/24/11

Hannah Schmitt scored seven goals as Archbishop Carroll raced to an early lead and routed Archbishop Wood, 17-5, today to win its 11th straight Catholic League girls’ lacrosse championship at Neumann University.

Archbishop Carroll won its 11th straight Catholic League championship Tuesday by downing Archbishop Wood, 17-5

The Patriots (17-3) earn District 12’s lone berth in the PIAA tournament and open play next Wednesday against the District 1 sixth-place finisher.

For Wood, it’s yet another disappointing conclusion to a strong season. The Vikings (13-6) have lost to the Patriots seven years in a row in the league title game and never have come closer than five goals since they dropped the 2005 title game, 11-6.

Schmitt, a senior headed to Loyola, scored two quick goals to open the game as Carroll took immediate control.

Sam Moore tallied three goals while Kerri Newby, Natalie Schmitt and Rachel Flynn each added a pair for the Patriots.

Carroll won the regular-season game over Wood, 12-10, but used its superior speed and ability to win draw controls to dominate possessions. Also, the Pats converted on 10 of 11 first-half shots.

“It’s awesome,” said Carroll senior midfielder Alyssa DiBona. “When championship time comes around, it means a lot to us. Coach (Lorraine) Beers brought in a player from the first championship team (Kristen Dwyer) to talk to us and we said, ‘Hey, this not just our tradition, it’s a Carroll tradition.’”

“We’ve been working so hard for this all year and it’s awesome to finally win. We look forward to this game all year. We always have a good game with them in the (regular) season and we don’t take this game for granted.”

DiBona said her team has endured some lapses this year and knew the loser would be denied a trip to states.

“Our No. 1 goal was not to let down,” she said, “We’ve had a tendency to do that. There is no tomorrow (in the playoffs).”

Patriots coach Lorraine Beers said her team has begun to peak.

“We’re more confident now and they trust themselves and trust their skills,” Beers said. “I am so excited for them.”

Archbishop Carroll
Hannah Schmitt 7g
Natalie Schmitt 2g
Sam Moore 3g
Kerri Newby 2g
Maddie Lesher 1g
Rachel Flynn 2g
Megan Samtoleri 1a
Katie Boyle 3 saves
Nora McGeever 3 saves

Archbishop Wood
Nichole Hayes 3g
Marisa Palombi 1g, 1a
Megan Oczkowski 1g
Emily Hutson 1 save
Ryan Bucher 7 saves

Tags: Archbishop Carroll, Archbishop Wood