DOWNINGTOWN >> Any question as to who the best girls’ lacrosse team in the Ches-Mont League is, if not District 1, was answered quickly and emphatically Thursday.
Downingtown West started quickly and kept on going as they led in wire-to-wire fashion for an emphatic 15-4 Ches-Mont National Division victory over crosstown rival Downingtown East at DiSerafino Stadium on Thursday.
“We have a few tough games left, but hopefully, we keep it going to the end,” said Autumn Blair, who had a four-goal evening.
With Upper Dublin losing to Springfield (Montco) on Wednesday, the Whippets rose to the top of the District 1 rankings, and are the only unbeaten team in 3A at 13-0 overall, 7-0 in the National.
“I would say,” said West coach Emily Ernest when asked if this was their most complete game of the season. “Absoultely, when they came out, the energy was so high, they were more than prepared.”
The Whippets took control right from the start. They won the opening draw control and went right down the field. After a foul, Blair scored on a free position for a quick 1-0 lead.
They added another goal a minute later as Ava Findora unleashed a long range shot that got by goalie Addy Mulhern to make it 2-0.
The Cougars (8-1, 10-2) gained control and looked to get on the board, but Ally Flynn’s shot hit the post. West gained possession and raced downfield on a break, then Brinn Findora cashed in to make it 3-0.
Blair tallied her second with a sidearm shot with 5:27 left to complete the blistering start for a 4-0 lead.
East had a great opportunity to get on the board when they were given a man up situation, but before they could get settled, a turnover gave the ball back to the Whippets, and West proceeded to kill off the rest of the two-minute disadvantage.
“Our defense played an amazing game today,” added Ernest. “We were a man down twice in the first half and didn’t let anything in. We’ve really been working on those 50-50s and they came up big today. East is a great team and we knew it would be a fight.”
East broke the run and got on the board at the 2:08 mark. Jayne Michaels cut out front, caught a pass, and scored to cut the deficit to 4-1 after one quarter.
“We had so much energy,” said Blair. “Last year in the playoffs, we lost to them, so coming into this game, we wanted it so bad. Our energy level was up.”
Blair turned provider to kick off the second quarter. Sydney O’Donnell one-timed Blair’s pass into the net to restore the four-goal advantage.
Sofia Fanelli made it 5-2 before goals from Ava Findora, Brinn Findora and Blair kept West in the drivers seat as they took an 8-2 lead into the halftime break.
“She’s just very good at commanding everybody,” Ernest said of Blair. “It’s kind of fun to watch her because she will talk to people about how to cut and create opportunities.”
Ava Findora had a tremendous all-around game Thursday. She tallied three times and won six draw controls as West kept East from gaining possession, keeping the Cougars in a hole.
“My teammates helped me out so much,” Findora said. “We communicated well.”
“She’s so amazing,” Blair added. “We put in so much work on the draw, it’s great to see when it works on the field.”
Michaels started the second half for the Cougars with her second goal of the day to cut the deficit to 8-3, but Whippets potted the next three goals to push the lead to 11-3 late in the third.
Any thoughts of an epic comeback by East was dashed as West scored all four goals in the fourth, holding the ball for a majority of the quarter to put an exclamation on a convincing victory.
The Downingtown West offense has been unstoppable in its last two games, scoring a total of 32 goals against East and Villa Maria. Both teams are in the top five in the 3A and 2A rankings, respectively.
Downingtown West 15, Downingtown East 4
Downingtown West 4 4 3 4 — 15
Downingtown East 1 1 2 0 — 4
Downingtown West goals: B. Findora 5, Blair 5, A. Findora 3, O’Donnell, Bergey.
Downingtown East goals: J. Michaels 2, Fanelli, Conte.
Goalie saves: Bressi (DW) 2; Goodby (DW) 0; Mulhern (DE) 8.
