By Bradley Schlegel & Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/2/14
Amelia Kienzle entered Saturday’s Girls Philly Showcase feeling confident. She left Westtown School with a designation as the event’s top freshman.
Kienzle – a midfielder from Conestoga and Motion Lacrosse – was named the 2018 Most Valuable Player based on her performance in three morning games as chosen by event evaluators.
“I was surprised I won,” she said. “But I think I did well. I was very confident.”
Alex Di Chiara, a sophomore from Plainedge, N.Y., received the 2017 Most Valuable Player award.
Kienzle answered these questions:
What did you do to adjust to the high level of competition?
Kienzle: “Everyone was especially fast, so I needed to come up with the extra speed and switch the field more than I usually do. The ball needs to be played more.”
Are you surprised you won the MVP?
Kienzle: “I was surprised but I think I did well. Since all the girls were nice it made me more comfortable playing.”
Was it easy to mesh with players you’ve never played with before?
Kienzle: “Everyone was totally nice. No one yelled at anyone, so we helped each other. It was fun.”
What kind of a college would you like to attend?
Kienzle: “I think I like the colleges on the medium to large scale.”
Is there anything you learned playing against this competition that you can take into the spring season?
Kienzle: “I definitely learned that as I am getting older, everyone is getting faster and bigger. I need to switch the field more and improve on my stick skills.”
Alex Di Chiara – 2017, Plainedge (NY), LI Yellowjackets
What did you do to adjust to the high level of competition?
Di Chiara: “I pretty much just played my game; a lot of running, going hard after the ball. I thought the competition was absolutely great. It was a great experience being here. All the girls we competed against were really good.”
Did the (poor) weather affect you at all?
Di Chiara: “Not really. I just had to make sure I focused through it. I didn’t really think about it too much.”
Are you surprised you won the MVP?
Di Chiara: “I feel like I could definitely play a lot better than I did. But I was just so happy I got the award.”
Is there anything you learned playing against this competition that you can take into the spring season?
Di Chiara: “There’s always things I can improve on, especially going hard to the cage and cutting hard. There is always room for improvement.”
What kind of a college would you like to attend?
Di Chiara: “I’m looking for a school with high academic standards and a Division I lacrosse program. I would love to play at a top level school.”
