Villa Maria cruises past Gwynedd Mercy and into Class 2A title game
MALVERN >> A few minutes after top seed Villa Maria Academy’s 21-9 win against Gwynedd Mercy Academy in the District 1 Class 2A girls lacrosse semifinal Tuesday, Hurricane head coach Allie Sweeney noted her team’s offensive improvement.
“All season long, we’ve been defense-oriented, while we’ve been working on our attack; but today we had good connections on attack,” said Sweeney. “We were patient, our players were looking for passes and keeping their heads up, not forcing anything.”
Fifteen of Villa Maria’s 21 goals were assisted, and the Hurricanes had 10 different goal scorers. The Hurricanes won 26 of 32 draw controls, and Abby Walheim got 14 of them.
Villa Maria (18-2) will face Radnor in the District 1 Class 2A championship Thursday, at a site and time to be determined.
Tuesday afternoon, fourth-seeded Gwynedd Mercy (19-3) led the Hurricanes, 4-2, midway through the first half, but then Villa Maria went on an 8-0 run, scoring four times in the last two minutes before halftime to take a 10-4 lead at the break.
The hosts kept up the pressure after halftime, scoring four times in the first six minutes of the second half and taking a 14-5 lead with 18:56 to play.
Villa Maria freshman Margie Carden led all scorers with four goals, and teammates Bridget Finley and Paige deMutis each had a hat trick. Hannah Young, Sarah Delaney, Caroline Antell and Lizzy Walhiem each scored two goals; and Erin Finley, Abby Walheim and Adele Iacobucci each tallied once.
Hurricane senior goalie Maddie Medve had her usual sharp game, recording seven saves.
This victory marked the third time Villa Maria has defeated Gwynedd Mercy this season. The Hurricanes won 15-4 on March 27 and defeated G-M 12-4 April 18.
For Gwynedd Mercy, Elizabeth Ferguson had a hat trick, Nicole Conwell and Peyton Palazzo scored two goals each. Kendall Siefert and Courtney Narkoff each tallied once.
Gwynedd Mercy head coach Deborah Lawlor said, “Villa Maria totally commanded the draw today. We learned the [necessity] of continual motion. I thought in the second half we played good defense.”
Villa Maria Academy 21, Gwynedd Mercy 9
Gwynedd Mercy 4 5 – 9
Villa Maria Academy 10 11 – 21
Gwynedd Mercy goals: Ferguson 3, Narkoff, Siefert, Conwell 2, Palazzo 2.
Villa Maria goals: Carden 4, Young 2, B. Finley 3, Delaney 2, DeMutis 3, Antell 2, A. Walheim, L. Walheim 2, E. Finley, Iacobucci.
Goalie saves: Holland (GMA) 6, Medve (VMA) 7.
