Souderton girls lacrosse closes out Methacton for first win
FRANCONIA >> The Souderton girls lacrosse team was hoping to hit the rest button on Tuesday.
After two losses to start the season, the Indians knew they were capable of playing much better and more like a team. For a half, they were just what they wanted to do. Then Methacton came charging back in the second half and Souderton faced a crucial self-test.
Consider it passed after Souderton scored three of the game’s final four goals to seal up a 12-8 win over the visiting Warriors on a cold and misty night.
“They came back and frazzled us a little bit but we just needed to keep our composure,” Souderton midfielder Liz O’Hara said. “The whole first half, we were getting all the ground balls, we were getting a lot of the draws so we needed to hone that in and not get to cocky in the second half. We had to settle into our offense and let everybody touch the ball.”
O’Hara led a very balanced Souderton offense with four goals while Riley McGowan, Randi Hess and Anna Annello each netted two goals for the Indians, who had six different players score. Not only was the offense spread out, it was unselfish with nine of the 12 goals being assisted, led by three helpers from Carlie Doughty and Sarah Goodwin and two dishes from McGowan.
Souderton scored the first seven goals of the game, five of them assisted as the offense continued to create chances thanks to the work being done on the defensive end. Goalie Lauren Scott made nine saves for the game, with a handful coming early as Souderton was able to build its lead.
The backs were in-tune as well, especially Kayla Moyer and Jules Borisow who were able to get to ground balls and start them back up the field.
“It was a lot of communication,” Moyer said. “We had to make sure we were sliding, just keep talking. We had some good checks, and backing each other up, we did a good job of helping each other out.”
Methacton didn’t get its first goal until 7:37 remained in the first half when Sydney Tornetta finally put one away. Erin Hardenberg scored the last goal of the first half, but the Warriors still found themselves down 9-2 at the break.
The visitors totally turned the tables on Souderton for the first half of the second frame. Macie McCarthy turned a Julie Byrne pass into a goal about two-and-a-half minutes into the second half, sparking a 5-0 Warriors run that ended when Katy Benton’s bouncer off a free position shot cut the hosts’ lead to 9-7 with 13:36 left.
“We were losing the draw at the beginning of the second half and we really needed to get that possession back,” Souderton coach Nancy Offner said. “We needed to get the possession back and get our confidence back to move the ball quickly up the field. Methacton was really jumping on us in the midfield and we had to keep the ball moving instead of running it.”
Benton had two goals in the Warriors surge, while Tornetta added her second on a good roll off the right side for a shot that made it 9-5. She followed that up with a sharp pass to Liz Chipman for a composed finish that cut the Indians’ lead to three before Benton got it within two possessions.
Byrne was a key player in Methacton’s strong start to the second half. The midfielder came up with the ball on three straight draw controls, added six ground balls for the game and had a transition turnover that helped keep Souderton pinned back.
Souderton was on its heels, but there was also a lot of time left when Offner called a timeout after Benton’s second goal. The Indians got a good possession and ended it with a goal when McGowan made a sharp pass to a cutting O’Hara for her fourth goal of the game with 12:26 left.
“I think that was a big pick-me up,” O’Hara said. “They kept coming down and scoring and we were, not really losing our confidence but getting away from what we needed to do. That helped us turn the game around from there.”
Mia Sheldon would again cut the lead to two, but Annello restored Souderton’s three-goal lead with 6:57 to play and Goodwin found Hess for a late score with 26 seconds remaining to ice the victory.
“This sport is all teamwork,” Moyer said. “We have to communicate with each other and work to get assists.”
“We promised each other we were going to let the first two games go behind us and forget about it,” O’Hara said. “Tonight was a new season for us because we didn’t prove ourselves those first two games but tonight we finally did.”
SOUDERTON 12, METHACTON 8
METHACTON 2 6 – 8
SOUDERTON 9 3 – 12
Goals-Assists: S – Liz O’Hara 4-0, Riley McGowan 2-2, Anna Annello 2-0, Sarah Goodwin 1-3, Randi Hess 2-0, Kate Connolly 1-0, Carli Doughty 0-3; M – Sydney Tornetta 2-1, Katy Benton 2-0, Mia Sheldon 1-0, Liz Chipman 1-0, Erin Hardenberg 1-0, Macie McCarthy, Julie Byrne 0-1.Shots: S – 18, M – 17. Saves: S – Lauren Scott 9, M – Rachel O’Toole 6.
