Mathewson breaks Garnet Valley’s career goals mark in District 1 win over PW

CONCORD >> Her teammates rushing from everywhere to congratulate her, the Garnet Valley bench emptying onto the field in celebration, senior Emily Mathewson became the school’s all-time leading scorer on Thursday, her fifth and final goal of the afternoon helping to put the finishing touches on a resounding 20-4 District One Second Round Playoff victory over visiting Plymouth Whitemarsh.

“It feels awesome. I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” said Mathewson, whose 278 career goals surpassed the previous record of 277, set by Halley Barnes in 2012. “They helped so much. I was hoping to get (the record) in our last home game here, and once we got a big score and we got the lead up, my teammates knew about it too and they were trying to help me out, which I really appreciated.”

Mathewson’s heroics were the driving force on a day meant for offense, as the Jaguars’ finely-tuned attack excelled from start to finish, hitting all its marks on a sunny afternoon on the turf.

“We played Garnet Valley lacrosse, and that’s what we’ve really been focusing on,” said Mathewson, who is headed to Vanderbilt next year.

“We hit a little bit of a rough patch (earlier in the season),” the senior said of the two-time defending state champs, “and we’re getting it together at the right time.”

The win advances No. 4 Garnet Valley to a quarterfinal showdown on Saturday against No. 12 Unionville, an 11-10 upset winner in overtime over fifth-seeded Harriton.

That contest will be held at West Chester East High, at a time to be determined.

Mathewson’s scoring ability was complemented by her passing touch. Twice in the first half, as GV began to pull away, she set up teammates for scores — she found Camryn Faith cutting to the net for one goal, fed Michelle Koscinski for a tally moments later.

“Possession of the ball off draw control was crucial,” Colonials coach Ellen Reilly said. “(Garnet) got the majority of them, and when they get the possession and go down and score on you, it gets tough.

“They had quick passing, they moved the ball, they did a great job. We lost to a good team.”

Koscinski had a hat trick for GV, which also got two-goal efforts from Kara Nakrasius, Riley Delaney, Abby Kalish, Kamryn McNeal and Faith.

Sophomore Sophie Kolkka scored twice for a young Colonials team, which captured the Suburban One League American Conference title along the way to earning its first district playoff win since 2003.

“This season’s been great for them,” Reilly said. ““And we’re young. We have four seniors, and the rest of the kids are juniors, sophomores and freshmen, so our future’s bright. We can learn from this. It’s experience going into next year. Maybe we can compete against (GV) again.

“It’s awesome (to get the experience). It shows them,” Reilly said of her squad. “I’m sure they were nervous — it’s the first time they’ve been in a situation like this. I think they thought they could handle it, but you have to get into it to really understand it. They just have to learn from it and move forward. We had a great season, and that’s what we need to look at.”