West Goshen – Radnor’s 18-7 loss to Conestoga in the PIAA Girls’ Lacrosse Championships Saturday morning gave the Red Raiders’ valiant post-season run a bittersweet ending.
After an improbable, stirring come-from-behind victory against defending state champion Garnet Valley in the PIAA state semifinals Tuesday, Radnor was looking to give Conestoga a close battle in the championship game at West Chester East’s Harold Zimmerman Stadium.
The Red Raiders were the only team to beat Conestoga this year, defeating the Pioneers 10-8 in the PIAA District One quarterfinals on the way to capturing the district championship.
As the Radnor players lined up on the Zimmerman Stadium sidelines to receive their PIAA state runner-up medals, some of the Red Raiders were fighting back tears, but holding their heads high.
The loss was particularly tough to take for the Radnor seniors.
Minutes after receiving her runner-up medal, Radnor senior midfielder/defender and co-captain Abby Lord said, “We worked so hard to get here. I’m definitely upset, I wish the [final] score had been closer, but you try to focus on the positives for the season. It took so much heart and dedication to get here.”
Radnor, which finished fifth in the Central League during the regular season, and was the No. 9 seed in the PIAA District One tournament, knocked off the Nos. 1, 4 and 6 seeds on the way to capturing its first district title since 2012.
Then, in the state semifinals last Tuesday, Radnor fell behind defending state champion Garnet Valley 8-2 with 10:54 left in the first half. The resilient Red Raiders kept chipping away at that lead, and with Lord helping the cause by controlling five of eight draws in the second half, came back to defeat Garnet Valley, 10-9, to advance to the state championship game against Conestoga.
Lord said, “Our team was like a family, and we’ve been wearing T-shirts that say on the back, ‘Family is not always blood.’ When we play together, we’re unstoppable.”
Radnor senior co-captain Katie Quinn, who gave the sizable Red Raider fan contingent in the Zimmerman Stadium bleachers something to cheer about when she tied the score at 2-2 with a goal early in the first half, pointed to the PIAA state runner-up trophy and said, “This season wasn’t about just one game. I’m so proud of our team. Mentally, this was such a hard game, and we knew all about Conestoga coming into this game. But, our team is such a [close-knit] family.”
