Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/23/18
Staff Report
For the first time, the girls’ teams at Emmaus and Southern Lehigh were included in the annual Cancer Awareness Day at Emmaus Memorial Field Saturday – and that made the event that much more meaningful.
“This year it felt more like a community experience, like a family event; I think playing with the boys and all the support we got made us feel good,” said Emmaus senior attack Paige Weaver, who scored four goals in a 16-7 win over Southern Lehigh. “It felt especially good to win but this was so big because it was a great cause for two great foundations. Doing it together just made it better.”
The event featured boys’ and girls’ varsity and JV games between Emmaus and Southern Lehigh (SL won, 13-6 in the boys’ varsity) as players helped raise thousands of dollars for the HEADstrong Foundation and Pancreatic Foundation during the past few weeks. A large crowd came out and the weather was ideal for an event that only included the boys’ teams in its first few years.
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“We know too much how important this is because one of our players lost her mom to pancreatic cancer 2 years ago so it was a big deal,” said Weaver. “We were there for her and it made us stronger as a team having someone go through it. Hearing people’s stories, it’s heartbreaking.”
For the past weeks players collected change/donations and sold t-shirts and ribbons to raise money. In the game players wore either purple (Emmaus) or lime green (Southern Lehigh) headbands and laces to signify the charities.
“It was a huge event to see us come together with the boys; that made it a lot bigger,” Weaver said. “This (event) is a powerful thing and to be a part of it and to get to support other families is amazing.”
Senior Lizzy Ninesling had three goals and four assists for Emmaus (6-6) while juniors Taylor O’Brien and Grace Hall each had four goals and an assist. Junior Chloe Gerhard and freshman Ellison Ervin (4 saves) split time in the cage.
Solehi dropped to 2-5 with the loss. Sophomore Taylor Moncman had a hat trick while Lizzy Kanzler added two goals and two assists.
Emmaus snapped a two-game losing streak and seemed to rally together behind the cause.
“We had a team meeting on Friday after practice,” said Weaver. “The team wasn’t a team anymore. I feel after that meeting everyone came together. We all wanted to win the game for the cause and we really needed it. Everything we had lost came back together. It was a great feeling.”
Emmaus senior Megan Carter, who was a key on defense, agreed: “We knew it was going to be a great cause. To come together with the Southern Lehigh teams made it even more special. We knew we had to play for the cause and play for each other and that helped us come together on this beautiful day.”
Carter believes this win could be a turning point.
“We had the big team meeting and knew it was a must-win game. We kind of needed to turn our season around. I think this game can determine the rest of the season. We played for one another and believed in one another and that helped us to win.”
Emmaus 16, Southern Lehigh 7
Southern Lehigh 5 – 2 – 7
Emmaus 10 -6 – 16
Emmaus
Paige Weaver 4g
Grace Hall 4g, 1a
Taylor O’Brien 4g, 1a
Lizzy Ninesling 3g, 4a
Kaitlyn Csensits 1g, 1a
Laura Boyko 1a
Chloe Gerhard 0 saves
Ellison Ervin 4 saves
Southern Lehigh
Taylor Moncman 3g
Lizzy Kanzler 2g, 2a
Teah Lakatos 1g
Emily Donnelly 1g
Lauren Malicki 1g, 1a
Bella Sabram 1a
