Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/19/23
From Staff Report
Episcopal Academy coach Josie Tomaino made no excuses after her squad got blanked in the second half after taking a four-goal lead and dropped a heartbreaking 9-8 decision at mighty McDonogh School (MD) Saturday in Owings Mills in its season opener.
In fact, she offered mostly positives.
“It was definitely a really exciting game; we felt really prepared heading into this game,” said Tomaino. “The girls have worked hard during preseason we had our game plan and we made adjustments, but we made too many mistakes in the second half.
“They were able to capitalize. I firmly believe you learn more from losing than winning and losing today forces us to go back and watch this game, stay humble, and stay focused on the next challenge.”
There was much consolation in losing by a goal on the road to a team (2-0) that is ranked No. 4 in the country by Inside Lacrosse and No. 5 by Lacrosse Magazine and would easily be classified as the top girls’ program over the past 15 years. Also, the McDonogh coach is Taylor Cummings, who was the standout of two undefeated national championship teams at McDonogh as a player a decade ago.
But EA (ranked No. 7 by Lacrosse Magazine, No. 15 by Inside Lacrosse, No. 3 in the region by Phillylacrosse.com) jumped to an 8-4 halftime lead, utilizing a fast-moving attack with balanced scoring. Maura Irish (two assists) had three goals and Quinn Whitaker (three draw controls, two groundballs) scored twice while Lex Ventresca (three draws, 2 caused turnovers, one assist, one groundball), Grace McHugh (two caused turnovers, one draw, one groundball) and Kate Dente each scored once.
“To be honest there was an expectation for us; we were excited to come down here,” said Tomaino. “Not everyone expected us to put points on the board, that was a surprise
We have a solid and balanced offense so do they were able to pick apart our defense.
“We preach a balanced attack – 2 seconds with the ball is too long,” she said. We like attacking the backside. We’re just trying to hit whose open and keep the ball moving. The girls have bought into that game plan and it will make us a big threat.”
McDonogh tied the game after a turnover on a referee call (Illegal pick) that some disputed. There were other calls that did not go for Episcopal and McDonogh went ahead, 9-8, with 45 seconds to play. But Tomaino sees the game as a great learning experience.
“We’re hungry and we’ll be working hard to come back and have a successful season,” she said. “We have three games next week.
“To be honest, I hate to say it but it’s a good thing to have this tough a loss this early in the season. We have a lot of challenging games coming up and it won’t be the first time we have to play really in order to win. We can’t just get by with pretty good.”
McDonogh School Invitational
McDonogh School (MD) 9, Episcopal Academy 8
Half: EA 8, McDonogh 4
EA
Lex Ventresca: 1G, 1A, 3DC, 1GB, 2CTO
Avery Le: 1DC, 1 CTO
Grace McHugh: 1G, 1DC, 1 GB, 2CTO
Jenna Morley: 1GB, 1CTO
Kate Dente: 1G
Lainey McGonagle: 1CTO
Maura Irish: 3G, 2A, 1GB
Molly Delaney: 1CTO
Sofia Gagliardi: 1GB, 1CTO
Quinn Whitaker: 2G, 3DC, 2GB
Sydney Richter: 2DC
Grace Holland: 7 Saves