By Harry Chaykun
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/4/19
Villa Maria Academy won the battle at the circle Tuesday and earned a shot at defending its state championship.
The District 1 champion Hurricanes got off strong and rolled to an 18-10 victory over District 12 champ Archbishop Carroll in a PIAA Class AA semifinal match at Penncrest.
With the win, Villa (24-1), which hasn’t lost since falling to Agnes Irwin at the Katie Samson Lacrosse Festival in late April, will meet District 1 runner-up Springfield-Delco in an attempt to earn its second consecutive AA state crown.
The game, which will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 8 at East Harold Zimmerman Stadium, will be the first of four PIAA title contests that day. Villa Maria defeated Springfield, 9-8, when the teams met for the District 1 championship two weeks ago.
Villa Maria and Carroll’s meeting Tuesday was their second this season.
“It was right after the season began in March,” Villa head coach Allie Sweeney said. “I had just had a baby (Eddie) March 15 and I had missed a week of practice.
“A lot of things have happened since then.”
What happened at Penncrest Tuesday was that Villa struck for four goals in the first minute and a half and was never headed. Sophomore Margie Carden got two of her five goals during that run, and senior Abby Walheim, who finished with three goals, picked up half of her four first-half assists in the quick start.
Walheim’s biggest contribution may have been her 15 draw controls in helping Villa Maria to a 22-8 advantage coming out of the circle.
“Draw controls mean so much and we knew we had to win them and then take care of the ball,” the Villanova-bound Walheim said. “We hustled real hard out there today, and we played together.”
Villa used its overwhelming edge in draw controls to set up its attack and work patiently for 10 goals before the break.
“Winning a lot of 50/50 balls was important,” Walheim said, crediting senior Adele Iacobucci and junior Jacki Murray for their help in maintaining so much of an advantage in possession time.
Carden, who started the state final as a freshman last year, “didn’t play like a sophomore,” according to her coach. She scored four times and set up a goal by Sarah Delaney (two goals, two assists) in the opening half, then chipped in with a goal and assisted on a score by Bridget Finley (two goals, one assist) after halftime.
“I wasn’t nervous before the game,” Carden said. “I actually was excited about playing. Abby’s so dominant getting us possession, and then we just did what we had to do moving the ball and making our moves (to goal).”
Sweeney could see what the difference in intensity displayed by her team had to do with the outcome Tuesday.
“We’ve had some trouble with that in recent games,” she said. “But they kept it up and stayed tough today. And we changed up our defense to a zone in the beginning to give them another look.”
Carroll (17-5) got five goals from senior Alex Cabahug-Almonte and two goals from Kellie Ann Matey and Amber Germer. Keri Daly chipped in with four draw controls for the Pats, who won their 19th consecutive Catholic League championship this spring.
“Sometimes you have a good day and sometimes you have a bad day,” Carroll head coach Lorraine Beers said. “They have a very good team, and they were better than us today.
“Basically, it was a three-goal game. We had opportunities (to cut the lead) but then we lost them. And we just didn’t pick up ground balls today.”
Villa Maria Academy 18, Archbishop Carroll 10
Villa Maria 10–8–18
Archbishop Carroll 6–4–10
VMA
Abby Walheim 3g 4a 15dc
Adele Iacobucci 2g
Bridget Finley 2g 1a
Hannah Young 2g 3a
Jacki Murray 2g
Margie 5g 2a
Sarah Delaney 2g 2a
Kyla Branco 2 saves
Archbishop Carroll
Alex Almonte 5g
Amber Germer 2g, 1a, 1gb
Madison Henry 1g, 1a
Kellie Ann Matey 2g, 1dc
Julia Delaratta 12 saves
Karli Dougherty 2a, 2dc, 3ct, 5gb
Julia Downs 1a
Keri Daly 4dc, 2gb
Kiley Mottice 1ct, 1gb
Sabrina Narda 1gb
Lisa Dellarata 2gb