By Harry Chaykun
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/16/24
The Radnor High girls did not get off to the start they had hoped for in their Central League showdown with visiting Penncrest this afternoon.
“You don’t want to have to be coming back after giving up the first four goals,” Raptors head coach Lis Zuern said.
On the other hand, a good comeback win can help a team gain momentum heading into the closing weeks of the regular season.
“This could be very big for us,” Zuern said after her team (9-1) had earned a 13-10 decision to stay undefeated and in first place in the Central League with a 5-0 record (Conestoga is 4-0). Penncrest (7-2), which had dropped an 11-10 decision to Manheim Township last weekend, fell to 4-1 in league play.
Radnor trailed after the first quarter, 5-2, but got even at 6-6 by halftime and used a 5-2 edge in the third quarter to take control of the game.
“We have focused on working on our Central League games one game at a time,” Zeurn said. “A big key was the way we adjusted what we were doing on draws. And I think the loss we had to this team at the end of last year had something to do with how they wanted to play today.”
Lion senior Kathryn Harding had five draw controls in the first period and Penncrest had most of the play on attack, scoring five goals, two by Adisyn Bernhardt.
Senior Sarah Kelley, who scored four goals and added an assist for Radnor, realized that draw controls were the key to rally.
“We have two people who are good at taking draws,” Kelley said. “Taylor Murphy (five draw controls) and Grayson Buono. We have great confidence in what they can do. If (Penncrest) used their tall girl (Harding) on draws, we did one thing.
“When they switched to their shorter girl (Kaitlyn Roth, who had four draw controls), we changed things up. Our coaches were great with the way they adjusted things for us.”
Kelley, who played for a state championship team as a Radnor freshman, would like nothing more than to have a chance at earning another gold medal.
“We knew we had to keep improving as this game went on,” Kelley, a University of Pennsylvania commit, said. “You have to go one goal at a time and keep playing hard as you come back.”
Murphy (three goals, one assist), a junior, said she and her teammates shook off what happened in the opening 12 minutes and rallied to gain control of the play.
“Our game plan was to work against their zone defense,” said Murphy, a Duke commit. “They came out in man-to-man, so we had to make sure we moved the ball well to create 1 v. 1s.”
When pre-season practice began in March, the Raptors had plenty of goals to go after in 2024.
“We lost to Springfield, Strath Haven and Penncrest last year,” Taylor said. “We’ve beaten them all this year. We want to win the Central League and have success in the playoffs.”
Bernhardt (four goals) and Kate Stanton (three goals) did most of the scoring for Penncrest, which had two players sent off the field with yellow cards in the third quarter, resulting in three Radnor 1-up goals.
“You have to make use of what you learn when things like this happen,” said Penncrest coach Caitlyn Morgan, whose team visits defending PIAA Class 2A champion Archbishop Carroll Saturday. “You could be seeing some of these teams again in the playoffs.”
Radnor 13, Penncrest 10
Penncrest 5 1 2 2 – 10
Radnor 2 4 5 2 – 13
Penncrest: Adisyn Bernhardt 4G, Kate Stanton 3G, Kaitlyn Roth 2G 2A, Kathryn Harding 1G 1A, Reese Bigler 1A.
Radnor: Sarah Kelley 4G 1A, Taylor Murphy 3G 1A, Grayson Buono 2G 1A, Kate Gallagher 2G, Cara Ruggieri 1G.
Goalies: Kathryn Brokken (Pennc) 2 saves, Reese Wickman (Pennc) 0; Arden Janssen (Rad) 8 saves.
