Whippets’ trio overwhelms Rustin en route to District 1 semis

DOWNINGTOWN — With around six minutes left in the first half, Downingtown West’s Peyton Mottice streaked down the right flank and fired a shot on goal.

The attempt was stifled by West Chester Rustin’s Katie Riccutti, but the ricochet came right back to Mottice, who redeemed herself with her fifth goal of the game.

“I knew I had to get it in the net,” Mottice said with a grin. “I had a wide open goal.”

It was that kind of day for the No. 4 Whippets, who shook off the rarest moments of adversity with relative ease in a 17-6 win at DiSerafino Stadium in the District 1-3A girls lacrosse quarterfinals against No. 12 Rustin.

The Whippets punched their ticket to states with a trip to the semifinals, and they will play top-seeded Harriton, Tuesday, after flipping the script on Rustin, Saturday.

Three weeks prior, it was the Golden Knights who jumped out to a 4-0 lead in an 11-8 win by West, but the rematch was not as tense.

The trio of Mottice, Corrine Bednarik and Emily Feeney terrorized the Rustin defense, sparking a 5-0 lead early and then 11-2 by halftime.

Bednarik’s speed on the fast breaks and activity behind the net created all kinds of openings for Feeney, who scored three of the first five goals, and Mottice, who netted four straight late in the first.

“We’ve played together for a long time and we know our chemistry and know how to play together,” Mottice said. “(Bednarik) is a great assister and we know how to play around that.”

Bednarik had a game-high five assists, including a smooth bounce pass to Regan Rightmire in the second half, and kept Rustin off balance all game.

“They won all the draws and were able to hit a lot of streakers to get easy goals,” Rustin coach Mike St. Clair said. “It’s hard to come back against a team like that. … It’s hard to keep up with their speed.”

Emily Supplee scored both of Rustin’s first-half goals and Ashley Chisholm tallied all four in the second half, but West was never in danger.

“We really focused on everyone touching the ball,” West assistant coach Emily Ernest said. “We started doing that halfway through the last game and we knew it was key for us to do that from the start. They used each other well and made smart decisions. They were smart attacking and they were patient when necessary.”

Feeney had a hat trick in both halves, and Aliza Thir and Grace Lim joined Rightmire as second-half goal-scorers for West, as they coasted into the final four. 

The Whippets have scored 32 goals in two playoff games and look to continue their hot streak against Harriton, who has given up 11 goals in both of its games.

“We’re excited to be underdogs and go out strong,” Mottice said.

Rustin needs to win its playback game, Tuesday, to qualify as a top-six finisher to the state tournament.

“We have to go back to the drawing board Monday,” St. Clair said. “We have a resilient group and hopefully we’ll bounce back.”

Downingtown West 17, West Chester Rustin 6

West Chester Rustin 2 4 — 6

Downingtown West 11 6 — 17

Rustin goals: Chisholm 4, Supplee 2

Downingtown West goals: Feeney 6, Mottice 5, Bednarik 3, Thir, Rightmire, Lim

Goalie saves: WCR — Riccutti 7; DW — Clemson 6