Owen J. Roberts gets over the hump, rolls over Great Valley in PIAA-3A quarterfinals

WEST GOSHEN >> The job remains unfinished, but for all intents and purposes, Owen J. Roberts is officially over the hump.

Before this Wildcats team rose to the national power it is now — ranked No. 14 in the country by USA Lacrosse — Owen J. Roberts fell on its shield in this moment the last three seasons, being bounced in the PIAA Class 3A girls lacrosse quarterfinals in each of the last three campaigns (2019, 2021, 2022).

But Saturday didn’t mark the end of the story. Just the next chapter.

Owen J. Roberts has found validating postseason wins — a Pioneer Athletic Conference championship to avenge last year’s loss before winning its first District 1-3A title — but against Ches-Mont champion Great Valley, that familiar feeling crept in again.

The Wildcats surged past the District 1 fifth-place Patriots, 12-2 to book their long awaited trip to the state semifinals at West Chester East’s Harold Zimmerman Stadium. With the win, Owen J. Roberts (25-1) will face Conestoga, a 13-6 winner over Radnor, in the PIAA-3A semifinals on Tuesday at a time and site to be determined.

“This one is huge because we’ve had this quarterfinal hump the last couple of years. Getting over that has been really big,” Wildcats defenseman Colby Wasson said. “Our goal this year has always been PAC, districts, states so we’re not done until we get through states. States has been our final goal.”

FINAL — Owen J. Roberts 12, Great Valley 2

Wildcats advance to the state semifinals and will take the winner between defending PIAA champion Conestoga and Radnor on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/KkiaV3G9Fc

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) June 10, 2023

Wasson, a Xavier commit, was a main cog for a defense that held the Patriots (18-4-1) scoreless through the first half, Owen J. Roberts leading 5-0 at the break.

University of Florida signee Gabbi Koury — the school’s all-time scoring leader — first put the Wildcats on the board with a goal on their third possession of the game at the 18:11 mark.

Another seven minutes of scoreless action followed, both teams playing stout defense with Great Valley controlling time of possession.

“We had good time of possession, which we wanted. We were pretty organized on D, we slowed their fastbreak which kept us alive,” Great Valley coach Kim Wenger said. “I would’ve liked to be on the board the first half obviously, but down five at the half, it wasn’t scary or insurmountable.”

Syracuse pledge Alexa Vogelman extended Owen J. Roberts’ lead, 2-0 with a top-shelf goal near the crease with 11:35 left in the first half. From there, Vogelman opened the floodgates.

The senior midfielder poured on another three goals within 3:14 to create the Wildcats’ five-goal cushion through the opening 25 minutes of play. Vogelman and Koury — both two-time All-Americans — split the bulk of scoring, netting five goals apiece. Koury had three assists, Vogelman aided two.

H1, 4:50 — Vogelman, hat trick.

The two-time All-American with an absolute rip to extend OJR’s lead, 4-0 over Great Valley. pic.twitter.com/YcuNMmTTjJ

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) June 10, 2023

Ava Clemson (Butler) and Blakely Doyle (Liberty) added a goal apiece in the second half. Owen J. Roberts took full advantage of five free positions and man-up opportunities, while securing 22 ground balls and causing seven turnovers.

But the tide turned by taking better shots.

“We use an old Villanova basketball coaching mantra of, ‘Good, better, best’ in terms of shots to take,” Owen J. Roberts coach David Schlesinger said. “I think our shot selection was what improved quite a bit.”

H2, 15:18 — Speechless.

Butler commit Ava Clemson scores a goal off a pass from Vogelman in midair.

OJR up 10-1 over Great Valley. pic.twitter.com/MzreDM121H

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) June 10, 2023

While the Patriots went the first half without scoring, it didn’t take long to find the back of the net in the second. Pitt pledge Kaitlyn Giandonato took a diving shot on an 8-meter to cut Great Valley’s deficit, 5-1.

Following another five goals from Owen J. Roberts, Samantha Lavin added another for the Patriots to cut it 10-2 with 12:25 remaining.

In between the pipes for the Patriots stood one of the most dominant goalies in Pennsylvania, Sydney Manning with a loaded résumé consisting of 2020 Under Armour Philadelphia Command team, Under Armor 150 Showcase selection, 2021 first team All-Ches-Mont League, 2021 All-Phillylacrosse.com first team, 2021 Under Armor Philadelphia highlight team and 2021 USA Lacrosse All-American.

A Penn State pledge and Ultimate Lacrosse product, Manning kept Great Valley in the game behind her defense, coming up with nine saves against an Owen J. Roberts senior class that consists of eight Division I recruits.

“They have a superb goalie,” David Schlesinger said on Manning. “She made some superb saves against really good shooters for us. We needed to adapt to that.”

The last time Great Valley reached the state quarterfinals was 2015, Wenger’s first year coaching the program. The Patriots won the District 1 final that year as well.

Great Valley graduated seven seniors in Grace Flynn, Noelle Abanese, Sophia Geibel, Mikenna Schneider, Mia Maslowski, Giandonato and Manning.

“We had a great group,” Wenger said. “They meshed well, there was no drama, nothing bogus and a great team culture, which I’m proud of and it was way more fun with it. It was fun having an extra six weeks after the regular season with them.”

Owen J. Roberts played defending PIAA champion Conestoga early in the season, taking a 9-4 win on the latter’s field on March 25, and again in the District 1 semifinals, a 7-4 win that was OJR’s closest contest since early April.

A rematch between the two giants will highlight a state Final Four that features all District 1 teams, Springfield-Delco and Penncrest being in the mix as well.

“You have to give credit to the other teams. The competition is so good that when you’re going against these better teams, they’re making you better,” Wasson said. “And when you’re winning, it gives you the confidence you need. But they’re all very good teams, and they’re all helping us get to where we are competitively.”

 

Owen J. Roberts 12, Great Valley 2

SCORING
Great Valley: Giandonato, Lavin.
Owen J. Roberts: Koury 5 goals, 3 assists; Vogelman 5 goals, 2 assists; Clemson 1 goal; Doyle 1 goal.