Natale, Merion Mercy deal Radnor rare loss

RADNOR — Tori Natale and her Merion Mercy teammates had heard plenty about their opposition Thursday.

They knew about the top seed carried by Radnor in the District 1 Class 2A field hockey tournament, of the Raiders’ 15-game winning streak. But knowing and fearing, they stressed, were very different things.

“We know how challenging this team is,” Natale said, “but we also have to think that we’re a challenging team, too.”

The Golden Bears proved it, controlling play and cashing in when freshman Mallory McHale tipped home a Natale cross early in the second half to upend the No. 1 seeded Raiders, 1-0, and send No. 8 Merion Mercy to the PIAA tournament.

MMA (12-7-1) takes on No. 4 Great Valley, a 7-0 winner over No. 5 Phoenixville, in the semifinals. Radnor (15-4) will vie for the district’s fifth and final states berth via playbacks against the Phantoms Tuesday.

The goal was within the run of play. Merion Mercy held edges in shots (8-6) and penalty corners (9-4), not intimidated by a Radnor team that had rampaged over opposition since early September.

“Maybe they’re better than us, but we might work harder,” said Natale, a Media native. “It’s not about who’s better; it’s about how hard we play and how good we work together.”

It paid dividends with 25:33 to play. Natale broke free down the right wing and swept a cross into the circle. McHale got her stick to the ball ahead of a defender and Radnor goalie Phoebe Proctor, tipping it home and rewarding Natale’s faith in playing a ball into a dangerous area.

“It was a pass through the middle, then a pass down to the sidelines, and I pulled right and lifted it over a defender,” she said. “I didn’t really know if anyone was there in the middle, because that’s what I usually do, I take it baseline then send it to the middle. And luckily Mallory was there to slam it in on post.”

Just a minute before the goal, Merion Mercy had nearly broken through, only to be repelled by a double save from Proctor. Off a corner, she kicked away shots by Alex Lavelle and Emily Hauck in quick succession. But as was the theme of the Golden Bears’ approach, the midfield made sure those saves didn’t translate to quick offense for Radnor.

“We kept them out of the circle, which is really good,” said Lavelle, a Radnor native who’s played with and against many players on the other side. “And our goalie did a really good job with the clears. We’ve been working on one-v-one defense and stopping the ball before it gets to the circle, and I think we did a really good job stopping and pressuring them before they got to the circle.”

It didn’t help Radnor’s case that Page Lowry had to exit the game with 12 minutes left with an injury, though she briefly returned. Or that fellow mid Barbara Civitella finished the game worse for wear after hitting the turf several times on tremendous hustle plays. The price was a bruised hand that made gripping the stick difficult.

Without Lowry’s guidance in the middle, Radnor’s younger players were forced to step up, and they couldn’t generate enough dangerous chances to sneak one by Kristen Rake, who made four saves. Making matters worse were a pair of flubbed corners in the final five minutes – one on a whiffed shot, another a botched feed – that dented the momentum of the comeback charge.

“You’ve got to check in to the game because sometimes you can check out when you’re watching (Lowry) play, or even when I have the ball, sometimes I’m checking out and focusing on what I need to do,” Civitella said. “Sometimes you need to focus more on the team aspect and what you can say to your teammates to let them know that everyone’s in it and that everyone’s there to work for each other.”

The missed opportunities, in the game and at least for now, for a states berth, provided a poignant symbolism for the post-game huddle. The Raiders’ season has been defined by how they channeled the disappointment of an 0-3 start into 15 straight wins. It’s been a while since they’ve had to regroup, but the continuation of their season now depends on brandishing that skill again.

Civitella is grateful for that opportunity.

“We needed this,” she said. “I hated for it to happen like this, but the fact that it was a 1-0 tells a lot about how much effort we put into that game. But it also was a great reality check. … It’s a perfect way to lose because we know what we need to do. We know that we could’ve beaten that team. We know what we can fix and I think it’s a good first step for us because we’ve had that winning streak.”

Class A

Goalie Gigi Backe came up with the save of the day as sixth-seeded Sacred Heart stunned second-seeded Jenkintown, 2-1, in the semifinals.

Backe used her stick to make a save on a penalty stroke with a little over four minutes to play to keep the Lions (8-11) in front.

“Our defense took control of the game for the last four minutes and just kept it away from them,” Sacred Heart coach Pat McNevin said. 

It was Sacred Heart’s second straight upset in the eight-team tournament. The Lions topped third-seeded Springfield-Montco, 1-0, Tuesday. The victory send the Lion into the district final Nov. 1 at Upper Moreland (3:30) against top-seeded New Hope-Solebury, which defeated Dock Mennonite, 8-0. The win also earned Sacred Heart its fourth trip to the PIAA tournament in program history and the first since 2009. The Lions also went to the state tournament in 2001 and 1999. 

Sacred Heart scored twice in the first 17 minutes and never trailed. Julia Flood and Dani Santora scored to give the Lions a 2-0 ead. After Cady Westkaemper cut the lead in half, Flood put home a perfect pass from Mary Lauren Franz off a corner with 15 minutes left to extend the lead to 3-1. 

Lauren Brockwell got NSH within one with eight minutes left, but Backe and a defense led by Sara Terzian, Amanda Heilmann and Lilly Flanagan did not let the home squad get the equalizer.