District 1-3A Lacrosse: Koury, Vogelman rally Owen J. Roberts past Penncrest
BUCKTOWN >> Penncrest had its moment Thursday night.
It just didn’t last long.
The No. 13 Lions scored first in their District 1-3A playoff game against No. 4 Owen J. Roberts before the Wildcats reeled off eight straight goals to pull away in a 16-5 win.
Sophomores Alexa Vogelman (six goals, assist) and Gabbi Koury (four goals, seven assists) led the charge for OJR, which advanced to host No. 5 Unionville — an 18-2 winner over Methacton — on Saturday.
“As a team, whenever we get down like that, we’re even more motivated to come back and show them everything we have,” Vogelman said.
“Them scoring the first goal, I think it made us play harder from then on out,” Koury said.
2021 District 1-3A Girls Lacrosse Playoff Bracket
Gabbi Koury beats just about everybody as she makes her way to the goal for No. 4. 13-4 OJR with 11:09 left. pic.twitter.com/XDhDGX8O2d
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) May 21, 2021
Gabbi Koury scoops a ground ball into an assist to Gracyn Smith for her second of the game. 9-2 OJR with 6:25 left in first. pic.twitter.com/lFOLc22h5R
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) May 21, 2021
Junior Gracyn Smith added four goals for Owen J. Roberts (17-0). Senior Maggie Kilgallon and sophomore Ava Clemson both scored as well.
Penncrest (13-7) senior Mia George tallied a hat trick and freshman Kate Stanton and senior Amber Wolfe added goals to round out the Lions’ scoring. Junior Sophie Pasnack saved 10 shots.
Though Smith and others certainly had a few highlights of their own, OJR’s sensational sophomore duo stole the show in their playoff debut.
“It was definitely more intense than regular PAC games because we knew there was so much more on the line, but we’ve been in those situations before in other sports so it was definitely fun,” said Koury, a three-sport athlete who also plays soccer and basketball.
After George opened the game’s scoring moments in, Koury and Vogelman connected twice in the span of 30 seconds to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead at the 23:06 mark of the first half.
Vogelman netted OJR’s first five goals (three assisted by Koury). Koury added two of her own to go along with five first-half assists as the Wildcats jumped out to a 10-2 lead at the break.
“We’ve been playing together since third grade, best friends since second grade,” Vogelman said. “We kind of have that connection both on and off the field and because we’ve been playing together so long it doesn’t really take much for us to know what we’re doing. It just kind of takes eye contact.”
Penncrest strikes first but Alexa Vogelman tallies four straight goals to put OJR up 4-1 with 15:13 left in first half. pic.twitter.com/bN5XjSgE8I
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) May 21, 2021
Gracyn Smith tallies the hat trick as she falls to the ground. 12-3 OJR with 20:16 left. pic.twitter.com/9dcAP9FVso
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) May 21, 2021
The Lions (13-7) fell into a 7-0 hole before rallying from behind in their win against Upper Merion in the opening round of districts Tuesday.
Undefeated OJR (17-0) presented a much stiffer challenge Thursday night.
Like in the first half, Penncrest struck early in the second when Wolfe found the back of the net. But Koury and Smith answered with goals of their own to ensure the Lions never mounted any serious threat.
“If I could be honest with you, the officiating really worked against us,” Penncrest coach Caitlin Morgan said. “Usually in a playoff game, they allow us to play with a little more contact. Tonight, they weren’t letting it at all, so we got a lot of calls and I think it got to our heads.
“We did capitalize on every opportunity that we got, but we needed the ball more.”
Penncrest seniors George, Wolfe, Meg Gress, Sam Lyon, Jocelyn Macnamara, Lexi Ranieri, Abby Speer, Sophia Talone, Cionni Warrington and Kaylee Woodhull saw the program advance to the District 1-2A semifinals as freshmen in 2018. Thursday’s loss capped the end of their careers with two district playoff appearance and three district wins in three seasons.
“It was really exciting for them,” Morgan said. “We were just talking to them about how they’re paving the way for the culture of Penncrest lacrosse and how we’re expecting from now on to at least make it this far and for this to just be what we do. We thanked them for setting that bar since their freshman year.”
The Wildcats advanced to the district quarterfinals in 2018 and 2019, but haven’t been to the semifinal round since 2017.
A win against Unionville on Saturday would send OJR to the District 1 semis for the first time in four years and clinch a PIAA playoff berth.
“I really think this group of girls is good enough to be state champs, and I really want to prove it to everyone,” Smith said.
“We have a lot to prove,” Vogelman added.
NOTES >> OJR’s sophomores weren’t the only ones excited for their district playoff debuts Thursday. The Wildcats upperclassmen were also excited to take the field in an elimination game with their younger teammates. “I was very excited to play with this group the grade under me,” Smith said. “I think since we’re all so close in age, we really came together this year and we’re showing it in playoffs.”
