Lord heeds call, helps Radnor to state semis
NEWTOWN SQUARE >> Abby Lord heeded the advice of Radnor coach Brooke Fritz prior to Saturday’s PIAA tournament quarterfinal against Bishop Shanahan.
Fritz implored Lord, an All-American midfielder/defender, to attack the net.
“I actually said to her, ‘You have one of the highest shooting percentages on the team, I need you to go to goal today,’” Fritz said. “Because we switched
the defense and had Nicole (Massimino) as the backer, I didn’t want Nicole running as much … so I sent Abby over a little bit more, especially in the beginning. That gave her a few chances.
“Honestly, any of our core — Fallon (Quinn), Abby, Nicole, Allison (Lanzone) — those middies are all true defenders, but their stick work’s great and they’re all gaining confidence on the offensive end. It’s great because you never know which one is going to be the one to step up.”
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Lord was next in line Saturday, netting a pair of goals — one in each half — to help Radnor defeat Bishop Shanahan, 11-9.
The Raiders (19-6) will play Garnet Valley in the state semifinal round Tuesday at a time and location to be determined. Radnor downed Garnet Valley in the District One semifinals last month.
Lord was happy she could make an impact on the scoreboard.
“It’s awesome and it’s definitely different than what I’m used to doing,” said Lord, a Richmond recruit. “You don’t get a whole lot of praise when you get a turnover or a knockdown on defense. But you get a lot of hugs and recognition when you score on offense, so it’s a lot of fun to be able to do something else.”
Lord’s first tally put Radnor ahead, 3-2, midway through the first half. She received a pass from Katie Quinn and recorded Radnor’s first tally after halftime to make it 7-2.
“Our team is so close and we are working so hard to play for each other at this point,” Lord said. “It’s late in the season, everyone is struggling to stay healthy, but we’re all sticking through it. It’s our grit and our hustle that is getting us this far right now.”
Radnor led by five goals twice in the second half, but the Eagles (18-7) never quit. Shanahan’s Kenzie Staska scored with four minutes to go to trim Radnor’s lead to 10-8. But in the latter stages, Katie Quinn won a key draw control and moments later scored off a free position to extend Radnor’s advantage to 11-8.
Emily Games and Katie Quinn paced the Raiders with three goals apiece, while goalie Alexa Solomon made nine saves.
Alyssa Manley registered a hat trick and Mary Theresa Corcoran added two goals and an assist for Shanahan.
“We knew what we’re capable of and we knew we are a great team when we come together,” said Corcoran, whose career will continue in college at Loyola. “Radnor is an extremely well-talented team. With a team like this, with such great chemistry, we come together when we need to and good things start happening. It came to a point where we came to the huddle, realizing we were down by only two goals, and something clicked. We knew that this could be our last game … and we just had to give it our all. We’re a hard-working team, we were prepared for this, and all of us were determined to give it our best.”
