Smith nets 200th in Upper Moreland’s 2OT loss to Wissahickon
UPPER MORELAND >> Scoring 100 goals in a lacrosse career means excellence. Scoring 200 is rarified air. With 7:06 left in the second half of Upper Moreland’s final game senior Delaney Smith netted her 200th career goal.
“I never thought I would get it, I thought I would come close,” Smith said. “Getting my 200th in my last game of my senior season it’s an amazing feeling.”
The goal was not only significant for career accomplishment but in the game as well. The goal was Smith’s fourth of the game and gave the Golden Bears a four goal lead with time waning in the final stages against Suburban One League American Conference opponent Wissahickon.
It looked as if Smith’s goal broke the Trojans. The Bears had momentum and the lead on the scoreboard. The Trojans had other ideas about being apart of a storybook ending to Smith and her fellow senior’s careers as Wissahickon mounted a second half comeback to eventually overtake Upper Moreland 13-12 in double overtime to keep its shot at District-1-AAA playoff appearance alive.
“After a goal I called the girls in, I called a timeout and I told them this is going to affect our playoff spot and I told them to turn it on,” Wissahickon coach Patricia Kovacs said.
Through the first three-quarters of the game, the teams played through a contrast in styles. Wissahickon (10-5, 7-2 conference) played a ball-control offense with a lot of set pieces in the half field with methodical possessions. The Bears (8-9, 4-5) were getting out and running finding much success hitting the Trojans in transition.
While trying the run the clock out, Upper Moreland slowed the pace down and matched possessions with the Trojans. Some miscues by the Bears and some good defensive plays from Wissahickon resulted in 10 second-half turnovers for the Bears, which the Trojans cashed in on.
“We had the lead and we were tired so we were trying to be smart with the ball,” Upper Moreland coach Pam Remmey said. “We were making turnovers and not being smart with the ball. We did have a few just ‘go to goal’ and it didn’t work so then we called it off.”
Wissahickon midfielder Emily Vervlied willed the Trojans to victory as she had the ball in her stick nearly &mdahs; if not every possession — down the stretch. The junior finished the day with five goals and four assists, tallying a goal and three assists in the Trojans’ final four goals, including the game-winning assist to Carolyn Wilde.
Although on the score sheet the loss for the Bears might look like a bad collapse, all players left the field with their heads held high as the game proved how much progress the team has made in recent years, going toe to toe with Wissahickon and finishing with a 4-5 conference record.
“I’m happy that I got to experience (my 200th goal) with this great team and to see where we’ve come,” Smith said. “Compared to (my) freshman year you would have never thought we would ever go into double over time with a Wissahickon team.”
The Trojans will play one last regular season game against Perkiomen Valley Thursday before presumptively hitting the district playoffs.
