By Harry Chaykun
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/30/24
Bishop Shanahan survived a 75-minute weather delay and rallied in the fourth quarter for a 10-8 victory over Villa Maria Academy in the PIAA District 1 Class 2A championship game at Haverford High’s Cornog Field Wednesday night.
It was the third district crown in four years for coach Kacy Small’s squad, which lost to Mount St. Joseph in the 2023 final round.
The Eagles will face District 3’s Hershey (third-place finisher) in the opening round of the PIAA Class 2A Tournament Tuesday while the Hurricanes will open against District 11 champion Southern Lehigh.
Bishop Shanahan and Villa Maria were tied, 7-7, with 42 seconds to play in the third quarter Wednesday when thunder and lightning followed by plenty of rain forced the officials to stop play.
The Shanahan players made themselves at home in the hallway beside the officials room in Haverford Middle School while they waited for the game’s resumption.
“They were playing kindergarten games and things like that to keep themselves amused,” Small said. “We didn’t want them doing anything that would require too much energy.
“They knew what it was all about coming over here. We’ve played a tough schedule and we’ve gotten better in getting here. Thinking about what happened to us in this game, last year helped keep them going.”
Freshman Fiona Duncheskie collected four goals, an assist, four draw controls and a groundball while senior Gillian Greco had three goals, one assist, two caused turnovers and a groundball. Duncheskie put her team ahead with a goal four minutes after play resumed, then after Villa sophomore Mary Grace Gormley tied the score less than a minute later, it was Greco putting Shanahan ahead to stay and assisting on a Duncheskie goal a little more than two minutes later.
“We had so much fun while we were waiting,” said Greco, who will play at Drexel University. “We were singing our favorite songs and then thinking about being ready
“We couldn’t wait to get out there and play that last period.”
Duncheskie was an eighth grader during the 2023 seasons and didn’t go through all of the heartache of last year’s district loss.
“At the beginning of this season I didn’t start the first few games,” she said. “But everyone on this team was so welcoming and nice to me and being encouraging. We did have games in the rain this year, so we were used to playing in these conditions. It’s nice to be able to celebrate with everyone on this team.”
Junior Stella D’Ambro was a key with six draw controls, three groundballs and two caused turnovers.
“She (Stella) really got going in the second half of our season,” Small said.
D’Ambro said that she and her teammates made the most of their inside activities during the weather delay.
“We were playing things like 7-up,” she said. “We were doing things that were great for keeping us from worrying about what was going on. Last year, we got to the championship game but lost, And then we lost a lot of really good seniors from that team.
“We had a good feeling about being here for this game. And we weren’t going to let this year’s seniors be disappointed. We didn’t want to give up after thinking about the way districts ended last year.”
Villa Maria got three goals from junior Elle Toto and a goal and an assist from senior Allison Meyer.
District 1 AA championship
Bishop Shanahan 10, Villa Maria 8
Bishop Shanahan 4 3 0 3 – 10
Villa Maria 3 2 2 1 – 8
Bishop Shanahan
Ava Mullen: 1ct, 1gb
Stella D’Ambro: 2ct, 3gb, 6dc
Gillian Greco: 3g, 1a, 2ct, 1gb
Elise Pezone: 1g
Riley Murray: 1g, 1gb
Emma Mcglothlin: 1g, 2ct, 3gb
Fiona Duncheskie: 4g, 1a, 1gb, 4dc
Carly Cunningham: 1ct, 2gb
Adri Sward: 1ct, 1gb
Julianna Obrien: 2 saves
Villa Maria
Elle Toto 3G
Allison Meyer 1G 1A
Caroline Capaldi 1G
Sophia Tray 1G
Kayla Cellucci 1G
Lila Traynor 1G
Alice Nash 1A
Quinn Hechler 4 saves
