Support system helping Garnet Valley’s Brenner produce in playoffs
CONCORD — Liv Brenner is quick to deflect credit. The four goals she scored Saturday in the District 1 Class 3A quarterfinals against Downingtown East? All due to her Garnet Valley teammates finding her in the right spots, Brenner says.
Veiled in the statement, however, is a larger truth. Brenner has endured a difficult spring since her father Andrew passed away unexpectedly April 2. Throughout her journey, the support of her teammates and the extended Garnet Valley lacrosse family has been a rock of support.
“The girls have been so supportive,” Brenner said. “They made these shirts, they’ve been writing ‘AB’ on their wrists. They’ve been so supportive all season.”
While Brenner may not give herself credit for contributing to a 15-8 win over East that sends the Jaguars to the District 1 semifinals and a berth in the state tournament, she’s right in asserting her team’s big-picture role. Lacrosse has been her refuge, the space where she can get away, surrounded by friends unconditionally there for her. While blue t-shirts with her father’s initials “A.B.” are a constant reminder, Brenner’s teammates give her the chance to throw herself into competition for a couple of hours a day. Saturday, Brenner showed her gratitude by ensuring the Jaguars would get at least another week together.
“It’s kind of like an escape, just having my girls with me and working hard,” she said. “They’re just there for me.”
Brenner gets her fourth. Might be the dagger? 11-6 with 9:10 left pic.twitter.com/j96bBThi2o
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) May 18, 2019
Brenner’s four goals are a career-best. In her last three games, she has eight goals and four assists, making her a potent weapon as the sixth option in an attack averaging 15.9 goals per game.
“It’s her being a great teammate and everything,” midfielder Kathryn Toohey said. “It’s really awesome having her to rely on to get those goals. Whenever she’s there cutting, we know she’s going to catch it and she’s going to score.”
Just as the Jaguars (18-2) have myriad options in attack, they showed just how unstoppable they can be around the center circle. The Jags put on a clinic, grabbing all 11 draw controls in the first half and 20 of 24 for the game.
Yes, 6-1 Madi McKee had eight of them. But even when the rangy attacker didn’t get the control by popping it skyward, the Jags still persevered, with Toohey corralling eight DCs at lower altitudes.
“We have so many different things to do,” Toohey said. “We really work around it. Other teams, we don’t really know what they’re doing, but we have so many ideas to do. Whichever way, depending on where the ball goes, either I’m boxing out or I’m going to get the ball, we have a system where we work together.”
Kara Nealon makes the extra pass to Caroline Shaefer. Dagger of a goal with 1.4 seconds left. Halftime: Garnet Valley 7, Downingtown East 4 pic.twitter.com/FcO9YVI9Ph
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) May 18, 2019
The monopolization of the ball gave the Jags time to figure out East goalie Ava Irwin, who held them in check early. Irwin made 10 saves, including four in the half to keep the Cougars within 5-4 with less than two minutes to play after Hazel Gardner’s goal.
“I saw they usually shoot low. I came prepared,” Irwin said. “They like to shoot weak-side, so I practiced beforehand, we did a lot of shooting drills. I worked really hard, getting under it and getting under to get the ball.”
Garnet started to turn the tide late in the first. Brenner got her second of the game off a Regan Nealon feed, then Kara Nealon made the heady extra pass to Caroline Shaefer to score with 1.4 seconds left, making it a 7-4 game.
Caroline Brennan scored the first two goals of the second to get D-East to within 7-6, but Garnet Valley rattled off the next five, Brenner scoring twice in that stretch.
“I noticed the crease was open a lot, so I took those drives,” she said. “And the cuts off the crease were open, so we worked well with that.”
Garnet also found a way to clamp down on Downingtown East’s dangerous midfielder, Livi Lawton. The University of North Carolina commit scored the Cougars’ first two goals and finished with a hat trick and a helper, but quick slides and cohesive team defense limited her.
McKee and Toohey scored three goals each. Kara Nealon supplied three assists to go with a goal, Regan Nealon paired two goals with two assists and Shaefer tallied twice.
The seventh-seeded Cougars will have playbacks to navigate, hoping to nab one of the two remaining states berths when they take on Radnor Tuesday. East used playbacks to reach states last year.
Garnet Valley gets a second date with Conestoga at home Tuesday after a one-goal win in the regular season.
For Brenner, it’s another day to work with her teammates and give back to them on the field.
“It felt good,” she said. “It was all because of my teammates. We all worked well together, and that’s what brought us the win.”
