McKee, McNeal help give Garnet Valley a jump start

NEWTOWN TWP. >> As remarkable as Garnet Valley’s sweep of the District 1 girls and boys lacrosse titles was, the two championship runs had little in common.

While the boys crafted a Cinderella story through the district as the No. 15 seed, the Jaguars’ girls had a bullseye on their backs the entire time.

They were favored to win. They were expected to win. And they didn’t disappoint.

Tuesday afternoon, the Jaguars started the PIAA Class 3A state tournament in a familiar position — the No. 1 seed out of District 1 and the de facto No. 1 seed in the state — and again withstood another team’s best shot, outlasting Downingtown East, 12-10.

Madi McKee and Kamryn McNeal led the Jaguars with four goals apiece, with McKee adding seven draw controls and McNeal contributing two assists. On the defensive end, Jags goalie Sam Hamalak stood tall with nine saves.

It’s the first step for the Jaguars toward their ultimate goal, which is claiming the team’s first state title since 2015 — hardly a drought, but long enough to re-ignite the thirst of a program that’s taken home the hardware four times already this decade.

“For my team, my grade, it would be the first (state title),” said McKee, a junior. “But all year long it’s been about ‘win the next game.’ First it was the Central League title, then we turned our focus to districts.

“Now, our last goal is winning here in states.”

The Jaguars started out on fire, scoring the game’s first four goals within seven minutes of the opening draw. McNeal led GV in the early going with a goal and two assists before Downingtown East’s Olivia Lawton got the Cougars on the board off a free position at 15:01.

From there, play evened out the rest of the way. D-East took advantage of Garnet Valley fouls, drawing within 5-4 behind free-position tallies from Emily Wurzel and Jess Myers, followed by a Caroline Brennan score off a scramble that started with a free position.

Only the performance of Hamalak (seven first-half saves) kept the Cougars from tying the contest in the final minute.

“We’re definitely going to need to start talking more, figuring things out before calls are made,” said McKee. “If we get that figured out, we can improve over the remainder of the season.”

Offensively, McKee was keeping the Jags going, closing out the half with the team’s final three scores, including an impressive coast-to-coast charge with 12 seconds remaining to make the halftime margin 6-4 in favor of GV.

Both teams struggled offensively in the opening minutes of the second half, but Garnet Valley was able to maintain control thanks to a tenacious defensive ride that forced Cougars goalie Ava Irwin to survey the field for about 90 seconds, unable to find an open teammate. Once she attempted a pass, Garnet Valley forced a quick turnover that turned into Regan Nealon’s second of the game at 17:39.

After Leah Hunter answered for Downingtown East, McKee added a fourth from in close to re-open the three-goal margin at 13:59.

The two sides continued exchanging goals for the balance of the half, East unable to draw closer than three goals thanks in large part to McKee’s work on draws.

With 3:55 remaining, East drew within two goals on Hunter’s third score of the game (another free position goal), but McNeal’s fourth iced it for Garnet Valley with 2:17 to play.

Garnet Valley advances to a quarterfinal matchup with Parkland, the District 11 champion and a winner over Perkiomen Valley Tuesday. Time and location will be announced Wednesday.

For Downingtown East, the season ends with a mark of 16-6. The Cougars opened the season with a 19-6 loss to the Jaguars, and the largely even play throughout Tuesday’s games speaks volumes to the squad’s improvement throughout the campaign.

Hunter led the Cougars with three goals on the day, with Lawton, Brennan, and Wurzel adding two a piece.
After losing a number of starters from last year’s state semifinalist squad, the Cougars battled adversity all year to make the return trip to states.

“This was a special group this year, a great group of seniors — and they worked hard enough to get to this point and put forth a great effort today,” said Downingtown East coach Christa Somits. “Just came up a little short today.”