Unionville continues hot streak, drops Downingtown West

EAST MARLBOUROUGH >> Downingtown West slowed down the Unionville girls lacrosse train on Tuesday evening. But, all that meant was the Indians were going at 60 miles per hour instead of the 100 they usually go.
Unionville forged a lead at halftime and survived a gutsy performance from the Whippets in the second half to post an 11-9 Ches-Mont League victory as Erin Garvey notched four goals, while Hannah Close and Annie McDonough added two each.
The Indians (6-0, 10-1) won for the 10th straight time. After being held to six goals in a season-opening loss to Garnet Valley, they have not failed to reach double-digits on the scoreboard, outscoring their opponents, 114-35 during that stretch. They remain unbeaten in the league and tighten their grip on first place.
“We knew it would be tough for us, Downingtown West are gamers,” said Unionville coach Suzanne Sheehan. “ It took us a little longer to find our groove than it has in the past. But, we hung together and played well as a team.”
Unionville took advantage of winning the first four draws to build a 3-1 lead in the first portion of the opening half. The Whippets (4-3, 5-3), though, got a foothold onto the game as consecutive finishes from Peyton Mottice and Tabitha Rodriguez leveled the score at 3-3 with 8:58 left.
The Indians outscored the Whippets, 4-1, the rest of the way to build a 7-4 advantage at the break.
“I don’t think they realize how good they are,” said West coach Brittney Cozentino. “It took a few minutes for them to get a hang on how good they are. Once they are calm and collected, they usually do much better in the second half.”
West came out much better in the second half, with Mottice leading the way. She recorded two straight goals to cut the deficit to 8-7 with 11:45 left. Following a goal from McDonough, She tallied again — her fourth of the half and fifth on the evening — with the Whippets up a player, to trail 9-8 with 8:34 left.
“We had more turnovers, specifically in the first half, than we wanted,” said Cozentino. “Peyton is a threat everywhere and she did a very nice job.”
Following a foul call on the Whippets, the Indians received a free position shot. McDonough then beat Sophia Phillips for the score to restore a two-goal cushion.
The Whippets, however, capitalized on a Unionville miscue with Corinne Bednarik cutting into the middle and beating Madison Doucette to make it a one-goal contest again.
But, Unionville applied to back-breaking marker after winning the faceoff. Garvey whistled in a shot to bump the margin to 11-9 with 2:08 left.
One more face-off win as Veronica Hineman collected a loose ball and the Indians ran the clock out and were able to exhale and escape with the victory.
“Everybody needed to take a deep breath, we were a little jittery,” said Garvey. “I think this gives us a reality check that not all teams are going to be less competitive.”
The Indians head into a key non-league match against Archbishop Carroll on Saturday at the Katie Samson Festival. The Whippets will host Sun Valley in a league contest Thursday.
“Pretty much what we expected of them,” said Sheehan on Garvey and McDonough. “They’re very good at using their speed from the midfield to get a quick goal.”