By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/11/14
Garnet Valley senior midfielder Haley Warden has been named a Phillylacrosse.com Co-Player of the Year for 2014.
Warden guided the Jaguars to their third Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association championship in four years, collecting 83 goals and 38 assists overall and 16 goals in the state tournament.
A James Madison signee, Warden was especially dominant in the PIAA finals when she scored five goals in helping the Jaguars (24-2) handle Springfield-Delco, 13-9, at HersheyPark Stadium. The win avenged a 10-9 loss to the Cougars in the District 1 championship game. Garnet Valley also won the Central League crown and finished as the No. 2 team in the region by Phillylacrosse.com and No. 23 team by Brine/TopLaxRecruits.com.
“We had the thought of it (a state title) and it was our overall goal, but we took each game one at a time,” said Warden, a starter on Garnet Valley teams that won the 2011 and 2012 state titles. “We made it our overall goal because we had a Lot of learning experiences coming off the previous season.”
Second-year Garnet Valley coach Jenny Purvis relied heavily on Warden when she took over in 2013.
“She has a presence all over the field,” said Purvis. “I remember when I first started working with her in her junior year. She was on attack and I thought, ‘Why would I not have her play midfield?’ She is so helpful for us all over the field.
“She is unbelievable at defense. She just has that natural athletic ability at any sport. She is so good in soccer and basketball. She also was the hardest worker. That’s so helpful for underclassmen when they see a girls is so good one and yet still pushes herself and is always willing to work hard and get better.”
Warden – a US Lacrosse All-American – said the disappointment of failing to make the state tourney in 2013 was a large motivating force.
“We learned that it took a lot more patience and we knew that we had to make everyone on the field a threat,” she said. “We also improved with our conditioning.”
Also named Co-Player of the Year:
Marie McCool, Moorestown
Katie O’Donnell, Henderson
High Honorable Mention
Brittany Edwards, Great Valley
Emily Santana, Springfield-Delco
Wednesday: Boy’s Co-Players of the Year, Coaches of the Year
