Thursday night’s Pioneer Athletic Conference girls’ lacrosse championship game presents a fascinating matchup that pits one of the league’s most accomplished programs against one on the rise and seeking respect after reaching the title game for the first time in a decade.
Second-seeded Owen J. Roberts — the defending PAC, District 1 and PIAA Class 3A champions — will meet top-seeded Phoenixville at Upper Merion in Thursday night’s championship game, slated to begin at 7 p.m.
Phoenixville is in the championship round for the first time since 2014, when the Phantoms fell to Boyertown 17-6. The school is seeking its first league title since 1988, and third overall.
Meanwhile, not only did OJR win the PAC last year, but the Wildcats have either played in or won the championship every year since 2015 (there was no season in 2020 due to the pandemic). Owen J. Roberts is seeking its 10th PAC title, and its nine championships rank second in league history to Boyertown’s 19.
Breaking down the matchup:
Records: Phoenixville: 10-0 PAC Frontier, 12-1 PAC, 15-4 overall, No. 17 in District 1-3A rankings; Owen J. Roberts: 9-1 PAC Liberty, 11-2 PAC, 13-6 overall, No. 16 in District 1-3A rankings.
Road to the final: In Tuesday night’s semifinals, Phoenixville twice rallied from three-goal deficits against No. 4 Spring-Ford to claim a 13-10 victory. Erin Reedy and Maggie Rost each scored five times, and the Phantoms didn’t lead for the first time until late in the third quarter before winning the final period 5-1, taking advantage of the Rams being forced to play with one less player over the final 15 minutes of the game … Owen J. Roberts jumped out to a 4-0 lead and used a balanced offensive attack along with swarming defensive pressure and strong goalie play to knock off Boyertown 9-5.
Last Meeting: Phoenixville claimed a thrilling 8-7 overtime win at OJR on April 17, one of only two PAC losses for the Wildcats this season.
Owen J. Roberts at a glance: This year’s iteration of the Wildcats looks different than the one that won 27 of 28 games a season ago, thanks to a graduation exodus of perhaps the most talented roster the area has ever constructed. The 2024 team exceeded last year’s loss total by the season’s third game but got stronger as the personnel adapted to one another on the field, entering Thursday night having won seven consecutive games. First-year head coach Joe Youngblood has stepped in admirably after previously serving as an OJR assistant coach.
In Tuesday’s semifinal win over Boyertown, the Wildcats left little doubt to the outcome. Seven different players accounted for the team’s nine goals, with Natalie Chin and Keira Clemson leading the team with two apiece. Morgan Karas, Laina Grimm, Sierra Milano and Pippi Waldman all scored on Tuesday, as did reserve defender Brooke Cano, so there are offensive threats all over the field.
OJR also played asphyxiating defense all over the field against Boyertown, causing 16 turnovers while dominating the possession and 50-50 ball battles. Seniors Marley Danielsson and Lari Schell, junior Ashly White and sophomores Sophia Franklin and Erin Bolger, to name a few, give up very little, whether it is in front of the net or in more open spaces across the field. Senior goalie Korrigan Sweeney made 12 saves and plays with a quiet confidence and steady hand in the cage.
“Right now, our team is really thriving,” Danielsson said. “We take our practices and warmups very seriously, and I think we came out with a lot of energy. It’s obviously really great to be back in this position, and we will definitely be prepared. We’ve been watching film and know what we have to do depending on who we play. I know we’re ready and really excited to see where we go as a team.”
The Wildcats stuck around for much of the Phoenixville vs. Spring-Ford game, though they departed before they knew for sure who Thursday’s opponent would be. That said, Danielsson said the team had talked about both opponent scenarios the previous day in practice, referring to a potential rematch with Phoenixville as “our revenge tour.”
Milano recalled her experience playing in the championship game two seasons ago, when Methacton upended OJR 8-5 in 2022, rather than last year’s win.
“We know what that feels like to lose and watch the other team celebrate,” Milano said. “It was horrible and we never want to feel that again, so we need to come out with the energy on Thursday, no matter who we play.”
Phoenixville at a glance: Phoenixville has won the PAC Frontier Division the last three seasons, so it’s not as if the Phantoms got here out of nowhere. But compared to OJR’s litany of championships and big-game experience, the team is at somewhat of a disadvantage as it appears in the title game for the first time in 10 years and is seeking its first girls’ lacrosse league title in 36 years.
On Tuesday, that mattered very little, as the Phantoms focused solely on the task at hand: beat Spring-Ford by any means necessary. The team took the scenic route to get there, falling behind 3-0 in the first quarter and 7-4 in the second frame before rallying in the second half.
Erin Reedy and Maggie Rost accounted for 10 of Phoenixville’s 13 goals, but Claire New also scored twice (the other goal came from Danielle Eliasson), so this team has plenty of offensive weapons at its disposal. And while it certainly helped to play with an extra player on the field for nearly one-third of the game, saying that was the sole reason the Phantoms won would be disingenuous. This team is smart, fast, explosive and confident, and it knows it can beat Owen J. Roberts because that’s a result that has already happened this season.
But what will the keys to another victory look like this time around?
“From the start we have to try to win the ball as much as we can,” Reedy said. “We did lack winning possessions in the first half (against Spring-Ford), so I think in the first half against OJR we just need to possess the ball more and not fall behind early again.”
“The draws need to be ours, and we have to hold possession,” Rost added. “We can’t be throwing it away on offense. They have a ton of talent, and so do we. We need to be scrappy and get every single ground ball, cause turnovers and take advantage of all our possessions.”
The Phantoms allowed a league-low 108 goals, with sophomore goalie Samantha Schwartz yielding an average of less than six goals per game. Defenders Mackenzie Hickman, Addison Graver and Ava Demutis, among others, are all capable of getting the job done.
Prediction: In the end, this one is about as even as even gets. In fact, in the most recent District 1-3A rankings, OJR was ranked 17th with 172.21 power points, while Phoenixville was 18th with 170.37.
Phoenixville escaped the regular-season meeting by a single overtime goal, and while the Phantoms struggled at times against Spring-Ford on Tuesday, they still were the PAC’s most consistent team in 2024. After a 2-4 start to the season, Phoenixville has won 13 straight games, and 10 of those victories were by more than three goals. While the Phantoms don’t have the same number of championships as their Thursday opponent, the belief is at an all-time high.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats are as locked in as they have been all season. While some of the key personnel didn’t play as much on last year’s historic team, they certainly know what it takes to prepare for and win these pressure cooker games. They are deep, tough, fast and smart.
Phoenixville is here to stay, with only three seniors on this year’s roster, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to start seeing the Phantoms in more championship games next season and beyond. That being said, OJR’s championship DNA and big-game experience will be the factor that tips the scales ever so slightly. Overtime won’t be needed for this one, but another one-goal result is in the cards. … Owen J. Roberts 9, Phoenixville 8
