PW plays patient in win over Abington
WHITEMARSH >> Even as her coaches shouted that seven seconds remained in the half, Ali Diamond stayed patient.
The clock wound, six then five as Diamond made her way toward Abington’s net but she never rushed. As the timer ran past three, she found Lexi Petrakis on a cut for a shot and finish a split-second before the buzzer. It less than seven seconds, but Plymouth Whitemarsh’s patience had been rewarded with a goal.
The Colonials played under control and at their pace Monday as they topped visiting Abington 11-4 in girls lacrosse with Diamond’s four goals and five assists and a four-goal game from Petrakis leading the way.
“Once we settled it and got the ball around on attack, we found our rythym,” Diamond said. “We were hitting our cutters, working a draw and dump and got less frantic.”
PW spent its spring break in Florida where coach Ellen Reilly saw an offense that was pressing far too much. Reilly saw her players forcing too many shots and not playing relaxed, especially with a lead.
While there are some underclassmen working into the attack for PW, it’s a pretty experienced group that showed what it can do playing with poise on Monday. Diamond had a hand in four of the team’s first five goals, scoring two and assisting the other two as the Colonials built a 5-1 lead.
“I liked our hustle on the draw, they helped us get possession of the ball and that’s key,” Reilly said. “I have some young kids out there and need to know who should get the ball and who shouldn’t get the ball. I want them to attack but also know to count on the girls who have more experience.”
Diamond, who has signed with Georgetown, directed the Colonials attack well all afternoon. Petrakis said it makes the rest of the attackers’ jobs easier with Diamond on the field with them because they know she’s either going to score or put the ball in the right spot almost every time.
“She’s smart,” Reilly said. “The other kids she’s with, they’ve been playing together for so long they just know each other.”
Abington is still trying to find its identity with a new coaching staff and a roster of largely new faces. New head coach Mary Liz Klepper only came on the job in February and with weather limiting their chances to get outside, the Ghosts are still working through some growing pains.
Lauren Van Buren played well for Abington in the loss, scoring all four of her teams’ goals and putting away four of her five opportunities by attacking the net with determination.
“We’re just trying to stay positive, that was a rough game and I think we’re in our head about the snow and not being able to practice,” Klepper said. “We have to come together now and work on what we need to work on. We weren’t getting ground balls, we weren’t taking care of the ball and not making any drives to goal.”
Klepper said it’s a learning curve for both coaches and players and they’re still getting to know each other. She sees a lot of potential in the Ghosts, especially the junior class, but for them to go anywhere this season, they’ll have to commit to the work in practice.
PW meanwhile, is hoping to avoid the injury-plagued start it had last season and play more like the team that closed the campaign on a tear. With Diamond heading up the attack, it’s a safe bet the Colonials will be able to score some goals this season as long as they play with the patience they showed on Monday.
“We wanted to focus on taking our time,” Petrakis said. “The last game, we were more rushed and by doing that, we were able to do better and make sure we had good shots as opposed to fast shots and trying to take the first shot we saw.”
The goal before the horn put PW up 7-3 at the break and was part of a quick response by PW after Van Buren had cut the lead down to 5-3. Prior to setting up Petrakis, Diamond had set up Victoria Betterly with 53 seconds left in the half.
Diamond, who scored off a feed from Petrakis with 16 minutes left in the second half, came up with a fantastic individual goal about four and a half minutes later. Cutting in off the right side, she fought through contact and as the ball began to pop free of her stick, fired off a bouncing shot that ripped into the net.
“Florida was our first chance to play together and we were really crazy, spazzing, forcing passes and playing with too much tempo,” Diamond said. “This game, we got comfortable with each other, found the openings. With the freshmen, it was just getting used to playing with each other.”
PW’s defense was also stout on Monday with senior Meghan Ely making five saves in goal.
“We’re trying to do a couple different defenses and I have a couple kids who haven’t played that much of the game but they’re understanding how to move and where to go,” Reilly said. “It’s starting to come together but we still need to work on it a little more.”
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 7 4 – 11
ABINGTON 3 1 – 4
Goals-Assists: PW – Ali Diamond 4-5, Lexi Petrakis 4-1, Victoria Betterly 2-0, Raquel Baskin 1 -0; A – Lauren Van Buren 4-0 Jamira Mashore 0-1. Shots: PW – 16, A – 10. Saves: PW – Meghan Ely 5, A – Ellie Hughes 5
