Gebert sisters lift Owen J. Roberts into district championship

DOWNINGTOWN >> Much like her entire team, she’s made plenty of strides since the beginning of the season.

On Tuesday night, freshman Eloise Gebert and the Owen J. Roberts girls lacrosse team took it a step further.

Gebert, the kid sister of standout senior midfielder Maddie Gebert, pulled two defenders out of position, then found her older sister for the game-winner with just under five minutes to go as Owen J. Roberts defeated Bishop Shanahan, 8-7 in the District 1 semifinals at Downingtown West High School.

“She did most of the work on that one,” Eloise said of the goal afterward. “When I got the ball and the defense came after me, I knew I could trust her. All I had to do was get her the ball, I knew she could do the rest.”

The Gebert connection came just over a minute after Bishop Shanahan took its first lead at 7-6 on Kenzie Staska’s goal.

The result sends No. 6 Owen J. Roberts to the District 1 Championship Thursday at West Chester East High School where they will take on No. 9 Radnor – 7-6 winners over Garnet Valley in the other semifinal.

Owen J. Roberts was just able to hang on in the final moments. Shanahan forced a turnover and secured possession with a shade under 30 seconds remaining and charged toward goal. Sophomore Kaela Smith took a pass and sent it toward the net, only to have it clink off the left post with four seconds left.

After their late push came up just short, No. 10 Bishop Shanahan heads into the third place playback where the Eagles will face No. 4 Garnet Valley on Thursday.

Eloise Gebert’s assist wasn’t her only hand in helping the Wildcats past Shanahan. The freshman took over the draw midway through the first when OJR was trailing 6-1 in draw controls and went 6-4 the rest of the way. She also added a goal on a free position with 10 minutes left in regulation.

Maddie Gebert scored a game-high four goals while Anna Dempsey scored once and assisted Anna Lavelle’s game-tying goal with 5:17 left. Frankie Carroll added a solo tally while Claire Hampton had four saves.

Eloise Gebert’s role this season hasn’t exactly been clear-cut. Seeing some time early on, her role has now become exponentially more important following an injury to key midfielder Kerry Huzzard in the second round of districts.

“Lou (Eloise) came through tonight,” said Owen J. Roberts head coach Joe Tornetta. “She’s got a presence on the field and she’s been learning a lot throughout the season. She’s done a good job filling in for Kerry.”

Despite being the older sister by three years, Maddie Gebert says she’s learned plenty this season just watching her younger sister on the field.

“I see things she does well,” said Maddie, “and I know I can do that too. But then I see her do something wrong, and it helps me learn from it. I learn more from her than I think she learns from me.”

Tuesday serves as Bishop Shanahan’s first loss since mid-April against Great Valley. The Eagles entered the district semifinal in the midst of a school-record 16-game winning streak even after starting the season 1-4.

“It came down to possessions,” said Shanahan head coach Laura Capuano afterward. “We let Owen J. control the possession a lot. I thought our defense did a really strong job of controlling them, and as usual our goalie was amazing.”

Freshman keeper Jessica Gorr finished with 11 saves, three of which came on free position shots from OJR. Staska scored a hat trick while senior Mary Theresa Corcoran scored twice. Smith and the team’s leading scorer, Alyssa Manley each scored once.

Though it serves as their first loss in quite a while, Capuano vows that the Eagles — who secured the first state berth in school history ­— have what it takes to bounce back.

“We’re not used to losing,” she said with a laugh, “but I think this can serve as a good gut-check for states. Hopefully this will give us a renewed focus for what’s ahead.”