Not the start but the finish as North Penn clinches share of SOL National title

NEWTOWN >> Four games into the season, a conference championship seemed the least likely thing coming for the North Penn girls lacrosse team.

The Knights started 0-4 and while a group of talented players, they hadn’t quite figured out how best to play as a team. Then, they got their first win, just kept winning and save for one bad game in SOL National play, knocked off everyone who came up against them in league play.

North Penn finished off its unlikely run to a conference title Wednesday afternoon, topping Council Rock North 15-7 to clinch at least a share of the National title and the program’s first title since 2011.

“We went from 0-4 to on a winning streak and our momentum just picked up after that,” Knights midfielder Grace Sacchetti said. “We’ve been playing really well but we still feel like we’re playing like underdogs.”

After the four losses to start the season, North Penn coach Heather Mellow said it would have been easy for her players to throw in the towel and stop working hard. Instead, they banded together, started to carve out roles and won the next five games on the schedule.

“They’ve worked really hard, figured out each other as player and each found a role on the team,” Mellow said. “I’m really proud of these girls for not just tossing in the towel. We really recovered and have done a great job. Our defense has really stepped up, our goalkeeper (Ashley Lambert) has really stepped up and it’s transitioned, I can’t just single out one person but I truly think it started with the defense.”

With Wednesday’s win, the Knights are 10-3 since that 0-4 start and were the No. 17 seed in the District 1-3A rankings prior to the day’s results. North Penn will share the SOL National title with CB West and CB East, but for a program that’s gone eight years since a title, the players didn’t mind too much.

“We knew this would be a huge win and we all wanted it so bad,” defender Shannon Haedrich said. “None of us on the team right now have seen a conference championship win, so it was really huge for us to get it even if it’s shared with two other teams.”

Mellow and Sacchetti felt the turning point for the season was the team’s 10-5 win over Pennridge, which came right in the middle of their winning streak. The offense, which needed players to step up as scorers and creators, had broken out in the prior two games but the team’s defense was the star against Pennridge.

Even with the same back four as last season, the Knights changed things up defensively by going with an aggressive backer defense that got things going the right way. Haedrich, who has the tough job as the backer, noted it still took a little time but once the defenders got it down and when goalie Ashley Lambert started to get comfortable, they saw the difference.

“I’m the one running around following the girl with the ball but once we figured it out and I wasn’t running around like a chicken with my head cut off, it worked out a lot better,” Haedrich said. “We have a quick defense, so we’re able to get there and block shots or knock down passes into the eight and we’re able to get a lot of turnovers, which gives the whole team a lot of energy.”

North Penn has players who can score like Lily Szilaygi, who led the team with six goals Wednesday, Brooke Millevoi, Kristen Varilla and Emily Varilla, but they didn’t really get going until they started working together. Sacchetti, who’s also a terrific midfielder for the girls soccer team, found her niche as an all-around catalyst and the offense responded.

On Wednesday, Sacchetti was responsible for 13 draw control wins, two goals, four assists and four ground balls. She missed the team’s game with Parkland in late April and Mellow said it showed as the Knights lost 15-10.

“When she’s going full steam, the rest of us are going,” Mellow said. “She and Shannon Haedrich weren’t at our game when we lost to Parkland and you notice the difference in the aggressiveness and speed when they’re missing.”

While the team didn’t go crazy celebrating on Wednesday, the conference title meant a lot to each player. Sacchetti said they were checking the East-West score with great interest Monday and when East knocked off West 10-9 to open the door, they knew they had a chance to get their share of the National crown.

 “Everyone kind of took their own jobs into their own hands and we’ve played really well,” Sacchetti said. “We have a lot of team chemistry and once we started working together offensively and defensively, we started playing much better.

“It’s all hard work and hustle. Everyone on this team has enormous heart and we all play our hearts out.”

The Knights have played about every type of game possible this spring, from high-scoring shootouts to one-goal nail-biters and contests where they’ve led but had to work hard to keep the ball. Regardless of what each outing provided, North Penn just kept pushing through.

“We started getting more excited before games, we do this little thing in the locker room where we talk about each game, do a chant and listen to the speech our coach gives,” Haedrich said. “We get into a circle, usually listen to music and all jump around so once we get that energy, it keeps us going through the entire game.”

North Penn finishes its regular season against Harriton, then await its final playoff seed and first-round opponent. Just looking at the teams around them in the standings, including Upper Dublin, Methacton and Souderton, Mellow felt any of that middle group of first-round matchups would present a really good playoff lacrosse game.

“The seniors have done a great job but it’s really been the team as a whole,” Mellow said. “I think it depends on the matchup, we’re in a good spot where it can be anybody’s game that day. I feel good about that.”

NORTH PENN 15, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 7
NORTH PENN 12 3 – 15
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3 4 – 7
Goals-Assists: NP – Lily Szilaygi 6-0, Grace Sacchetti 2-4, Emily Varilla 3-1, Kristin Varilla 1-1, Brooke Millevoi 1-0, Alli Lindsay 1-2, Riley Pickford 1-0; CRN – Breithaypt 2-2, Ondria 2-1, Vliet 1-1, Heubecte 1-0, McCaffery 1-1.