Theresa Delahanty steadies Council Rock North
Every player is disappointed when their push for an undefeated season is interrupted. A mature team, however, takes the momentary setback in stride. Council Rock North’s girls hockey team possesses such a winning attitude.
Entering the second to last week of the regular season, the Lady Indians were sailing atop the Suburban One League National Division with a perfect 10-0 league mark. Having already conquered their closest challengers, Neshaminy and Council Rock South, coach Heather Whalin’s charges seemed headed for perfection.
The pursuers had different ideas. On Oct. 7, Neshaminy dealt North its first loss of the season by a 3-1 score. Two days later, the Golden Hawks avenged their earlier 4-3 overtime loss by posting a 3-1 victory over the Indians.
Suddenly, the SOL National race had gotten really exciting. Neshaminy, with one game left, took over first place. The two Council Rock teams, both of whom have two games remaining, are tied for second with 10 wins apiece.
Theresa Delahanty, senior captain and defender for CR North, knows her team is upset over the losses but not defeated.
“I feel that the last two games we didn’t play like we did before. We were trying but didn’t have quite the heart we always had. With South and Neshaminy, they wanted it more than we did. They were fighting for playoff position. There are some things we have to fix like going to the ball. That’s a huge part of the game. At practice we’re focusing on the little things.’
One quality the Indians do not have to adjust is their overall harmony. They are a team in the most important sense of the word.
“A huge reason for our success is we have such a strong chemistry. All of us are best friends. We find it easy to connect on the field and that’s super important for passing and working the ball. This is the team that has the most heart of any team I’ve played on.’
Part of that togetherness stems from the Indians’ balanced look.
“We have a lot of strong players. In the past year we’d rely on one person. This year we have so many people with so many diverse skills we can work off each other and rely on each other.’
Presently, Anna Lehman is the team’s scoring leader with 20 goals, second in the league. Jennica Jonovich is close behind with 13 goals. On the defensive side of the ledger, Julia Singer looks strong in goal. She is amply supported by Hannah Stalker, Rachel Pomerantz, and the Lafayette bound Delahanty.
Theresa has the perfect selfless attitude of a defender. “I play defense and midfield. I’m more defense minded. I like to stay back and work on recovering rather than pushing forward. I try to get the ball upfield but rather than dribbling the ball upfield I stay in back of the attack in case of a turnover.’
