WEST GOSHEN >> Despite being up at halftime, Bishop Shanahan girls lacrosse coach Kacy Small wasn’t shy about communicating his unhappiness with his team’s first-half performance. Message received.
Shanahan turned it on in the second half, holding West Chester East scoreless to end the regular season with an emphatic 15-4 Ches-Mont League National Division victory on Tuesday at Harold I. Zimmerman Stadium.
“The second half is how we’ve been wanting them to play all year,” said Small. “The first half we were doing what we’ve been doing, letting teams hang around when we felt like we could control the game, and at halftime, that was my point. Something clicked, and the second half we started flying and (doing) what they were supposed to do. It’s really good to see us finally take that step forward.”
“It definitely helps (motivate us) seeing him so frustrated because we know he cares so much,” added junior Stella D’Ambro. “I think it was a little bit of a spark. This ls our last half with our seniors in the regular season and being able to stick our foot in the ground (and) finish strong.”
Shanahan was tremendous on both ends of the field as they outscored the Vikings 9-0 over the last 24 minutes.
“I knew that in the first half, I was doing solid, but I wasn’t doing the best to help my team,” said freshman Fiona Duncheskie, who had a hat trick and an assist in the second half. “Then I started to play better, and it clicked.”
In the first half, both teams turned the ball over in their first possessions. Shanahan jumped on top as a cutting D’Ambro took a pass from Riley Murray and scored for a 1-0 lead with 7:35 left.
The Eagles made it 2-0 moments later as Ava Mullen bounced one in from in close past East goalie Madelyn Morris.
East got on the board as senior Ady Caton caught a deflected pass and fired in a shot from point-blank range to cut the deficit to 2-1. Shanahan restored the two-goal advantage as Gillian Greco scored on a free position while they were on a yellow card man up situation to end the quarter.
The Vikings started the second quarter quickly as Lucy Daley and freshman Monica Krause recorded goals to tie the score at 3-3.
The Eagles then scored three of the last four goals of the second quarter. D’Ambro started it off with 6:41 left by scoring over the right shoulder of Morris. Riley Murray scored off a feed from Greco, who dented the net to make it 6-3.
“I think that we found our open looks and were moving the ball,” said D’Ambro. “Having my teammates help me get the openings got me going.”
Krause notched her second of the half just before halftime to make it 6-4 at the break.
“We definitely felt good,” said East coach Suzanne Sheehan. “We had a game plan to come out and play aggressive against the type of defense we knew they would play. We tried to bring that into the third period. I think we got tired and little mistakes got the best of us in the second half.”
Shanahan got rolling in the second half by scoring while being short a player. Following a save on a free position, they hurried the ball up the field and cashed in as Elise Pezone tallied almost midway into the third.
They scored another shorthanded as Duncheskie rifled one in from distance as the Eagles started to take control. Ducnheskie quickly added a second. Emma McGlothlin and D’Ambro put a capper on the five-goal third to take a commanding 11-4 advantage.
The Eagles’ defense also made life hard for East, collapsing on their forwards whenever they had the ball in the 8-meter and causing numerous turnovers.
“Our defense has actually been playing great all year. That hasn’t been our problem,” said Small.
Greco added two goals in the fourth quarter to end up with a game-high four.
Shanahan finishes the regular season at 8-4 in the National and 11-7 overall. They now await their draw in the District 1 2A playoffs, beginning next Wednesday.
The loss damaged East’s attempt to make the 3A tournament. They were 27th in the District 1 rankings coming into the contest, and 24 teams make the 3A postseason. The Vikings wrap up the campaign in a must-win matchup with Great Valley.
“Tomorrow (Wednesday), we’ll talk about what we need to bring into the game and we’ll look forward and get ready for Great Valley,” said Sheehan.
Bishop Shanahan 15, West Chester East 4
Bishop Shanahan 3 3 5 4 — 15
West Chester East 1 3 0 0 — 4
Bishop Shanahan goals: Greco 4, D’Ambro 3, Duncheskie 3, Mullen, Pezone, Murray, Conroy, McGlothlin.
WC East goals: Krause 2, Caton, Daley.
Goalie saves: Sawicki (BS) 2, O’Brien (BS), 4; Morris (WCE) 9.
