Gwynedd Mercy shuts out Upper Moreland to reach District 1-AA semis
PLYMOUTH TWP. >> After Tuesday’s win against Lower Moreland put Upper Moreland into the PIAA District One class AA quarterfinals of the for the first time in seven years, the fifth-seeded Golden Bears looked to have a tough matchup with Gwynedd Mercy Academy Thursday afternoon.
Gwynedd Mercy used a combination of dominant midfield play combined with effective offense to advance to the semifinals with a 4-0 victory at The Proving Grounds.
“It was 4-0 but I definitely have to applaud my defense, they stepped up this game,” Upper Moreland coach Karen Grossi said. “Coming into this season, that was our biggest question, who was going to fill the two back positions and they did and they really showed it today.”
The GMA midfield play was the key to game. Defensively, the Monarchs were on every Upper Moreland pass, sending the other way into the offensive zone where they owned possession of the ball. Offensively, GMA moved the ball through the midfield with precision stick to stick passes.
“They could control the midfield and every pass they made was stick to stick,” Grossi said. “We weren’t going for those 50-50 balls we just had to deny the pass which we didn’t do.”
Maddie Meagher held down the midfield for the Monarchs as she was the catalyst to their great play in that area of the field.
“Lacrosse is her first sport but she is a senior and she is the hardest worker and the most consistent player we have on the team,” said GMA coach Alex McMahan of Meagher. “She is always poised, which is such a hard skill for high school kids to have but she is poised, she is never panicked or frantic, she makes smart decisions every time and we can count on her.”
Gwynedd Mercy advances to face top-seeded Villa Maria, which defeated No. 9 Villa Joseph Marie 8-0, in the semifinals Tuesday at a site and time to be announced. Winner earns one of the district’s two berths in the PIAA AA tournament.
Offensively for Gwynedd Mercy, Kaitlin McCauley, Megan Duvernois and Hailey Durkin took advantage of the Monarchs’ offensive opportunities, as the trio accounted for six of the seven credited points.
“I think they’re always impact players,” said McMahan of McCauley and Duvernois. “Every time they step on the field and the ball is in their hands you know something incredible can happen.”
To Upper Moreland’s credit it fought hard until the final gun as the final 10-15 minutes of play marked the best stretch of play for the Bears all day as they managed to get a couple of corner chances and fired two of their most high quality chances of the game.
“We put something together it was just a little too late and unfortunately not in the cage,” Grossi said. “They picked it up second half and towards the end even more so.”
For the Golden Bears, making the second round of districts for the first time since 2008 makes the season a success as the caps the careers for the senior class with two consecutive playoff appearances with a playoff win coming early in the week.
