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FLOURTOWN >> Last season Mount Saint Joseph Academy entered the District 1-2A playoffs as the No. 7 seed. The Magic snuck through the first round with a one-goal win to start a run to the first district championship in program history.
The Mount is the seventh seed once again, but this year the defending champs left no doubt in the first round, defeating No. 10 Chichester, 20-5, in the district opener at Mount Saint Joseph Academy Wednesday evening.
“Right now we’re definitely coming into districts with high spirits and high positivity,” Mount senior Maggie Rezza said. “I think coming from the season – we had four losses in the beginning and then we went on an eight-game winning streak – coming into districts we’re looking to go far, looking to do what we did last year and get a second title.
“We realize we can do it again, no matter what seed we are. Being the seven seed again makes us want to do it even more. I think we’re ready.”
The Magic (12-6) wasted little time jumping out to a comfortable lead. They scored four goals in a 42-second stretch to build a 4-0 lead in the first 140 seconds of the game.
“Coming off the draw and having some fast breaks, it’s just energy the whole game and having fun,” Rezza, who scored two goals during the opening sequence, said. “Starting with four goals in a really short span of time gets us all really excited for the rest of the game and keeps us going.”
Rezza led the Mount with five goals. Katie Westmoreland and Madeline Maszczak each added four and Gabrielle Clair had three. Nora Feliciani, Amelia Clair, Anna Saucier and Anaisabel Garcia each scored once.
Mount Saint Joseph Academy’s lead grew to 9-1 late in the first quarter and it was a 9-2 game after 12 minutes. The Magic won the second quarter, 6-0, to take a 15-2 lead into the half and scored the first five goals after the break to make it 20-2.
“Possession is a strong suit, winning the draws and working together on attack,” Rezza, who recorder her 300th draw control earlier this season, pointed to for the offensive success. “We like to be patient with it, but definitely keeping it fast and keeping it going, which is something we’ve been working on all season – keeping the tempo up no matter what the score is.”
The Magic’s title defense continues in the quarterfinals Tuesday with a matchup against the winner of No. 2 Springfield Township and No. 15 Lower Moreland. If the favored Spartans advance, the Mount knows its in for a tough matchup.
“I play with a couple (Springfield players) on my club team,” Rezza said, “so I know a bit about them. We played them last year in a really bad weather game. It went into double overtime and they ended up beating us, 6-5. I think coming into this next game, we’re coming for a good win this year.”
Megan Murray scored three goals for the Eagles (10-6) and Natalia Willoughby added two.
Chichester’s season ends with the loss. Despite the defeat, head coach Jenn McClure is proud of what her team accomplished.
“We went 8-0 in (the Del Val League),” McClure said. “First time they won Del Val since 2017, second time since 1998. We started off a little rough and our girls really grew. We had a lot of new girls coming out, hadn’t played before. They weren’t in our starting lineup to start, but they’re in our starting lineup now and play usually the whole game. Our season – they’ve improved every game they’ve played. They’ve just brought a lot to the table.
“We just have the Delco in us. They just have that Delco pride. They work as a team, they stay together as a team, they root each other on all the time. They’re the most coachable team I’ve been around. Positive, resilient, they just bring it out and put their heart on the field every time we play.”
Mount Saint Joseph Academy 20, Chichester 5
Chichester 2 0 1 2 – 5
Mount Saint Joseph 9 6 5 0 – 20
Goals: C: Megan Murray 3, Natalia Willoughby 2. MSJ: Maggie Rezza 5, Katie Westmoreland 4, Madeline Maszczak 4, Nora Feliciani, Gabrielle Clair 3, Amelia Clair, Anna Saucier, Anaisabel Garcia.
