D-East in drivers’ seat in Ches-Mont standings after victory vs. Whippets

Downingtown >> Downingtown East remained in the drivers’ seat in the Ches-Mont League girls’ lacrosse standings after its 12-7 win against Downingtown West at DiSerafino Stadium Thursday evening.
The Cougars (13-1) remain undefeated in the Ches-Mont League, with one league game remaining (against Kennett). Every other Ches-Mont squad has at least one league loss.
Leading the way for the Cougars was University of North Carolina-bound senior Livi Lawton, who scored five goals (including her 200th career goal) and won seven draw controls.
“The big thing tonight was making sure that we came up with the draw, with Livi and then [sophomore attack] Caroline Brennan in the second half,” said D-East head coach Christa Somits. “West does a really good job on their attack. They move the ball really well, and they’re really strong in the midfield. So our plan was to try to dominate the draw control.”
“It means a lot to beat West – they’ve always been a big rival of ours,” said Brennan, who scored four goals. “I really had confidence in our team tonight to keep winning the draw. The key for us tonight was definitely teamwork – whenever someone dropped the ball, we always had each other’s backs; whenever we needed a crucial save, Ava [Irwin] came in, clutch. We were doing really well in the 50-50s, and that really helped us.”
The Whippets, who came into the game with an 11-2 record and one Ches-Mont League defeat (to Bishop Shanahan), hung tough with D-East in the first half, and after senior midfielders Corrine Bednarik and Peyton Mottice each scored a couple of goals, trailed the Cougars by one goal (5-4) with 5:52 left before halftime.
D-East came right back with a nice run at the end of the first half to go ahead 8-4 at halftime.
It began when Brennan, in a crowd in front of the goal, scooped up a loose ball and flipped it in the net to give East a 6-4 lead with 5:30 to go before halftime. Just 19 seconds later, Lawton scored her third goal of the first half to make it 7-4.
With two minutes to go before halftime, the Cougars got possession and passed the ball behind the goal until 21 seconds were left in the half. With five seconds left before the buzzer, Cougar junior midfielder Olivia Fanelli fired home her second goal of the half to give D-East an 8-4 lead.
The Whippets closed the gap to 8-7 shortly after halftime. Bednarik scored on an 8-meter shot with 20:01 left; senior Emily Feeney tallied after a short run less than a minute later; and following a D-East turnover, D-West moved the ball quickly downfield, capped by a Mottice score with 17:37 left.
Two minutes later, the momentum shifted as Lawton scored her 200th career goal to give the Cougars a 9-7 lead. The feat was announced over the PA system, the Cougars sideline briefly held up a “200” sign that the squad had made before the game, and the contest quickly resumed.
“That 200th goal was such an amazing milestone, and Livi’s been working so hard,” said Brennan. “She’s always working so hard at practice, always working hard during games.”
“My [200th] goal had a lot to do with my teammates,” said Lawton. “We were setting up in a play that allowed me to drive. Coach Somits does a really good job of setting up plays. It’s a play that we have where two of us go out, and we’re passing it, passing it, and when the double comes, one of us drives, and the rest of us spread out and let the one person drive. If the pass is there, we pass it, but if the drive is there, we shoot, and, hopefully, score.”
Not one to rest on her laurels, Lawton scored again a minute later to give D-East a 10-7 lead.
“This game is how Livi’s been playing all season for us,” said Somits. “She’s really stepped up and continues to be a huge asset on the field, very focused and is critical for us all over the field. She makes a lot of good decisions defensively and offensively. She’s our workhorse.”
Defensively, D-East did not allow a goal by the Whippets for the final 17 1/2 minutes. Cougar junior goalie Ava Irwin collected eight saves, stopping many potent shots by D-West.
“Ava came up huge for us tonight,” said Somits. “And [junior defender] Lauren Carey came up with crucial ground balls on the defensive end.”
“Our defense played really well,” said Lawton. “We knew when to go out of a defense and into a new one to [adjust] to their offense – we did a good job of switching when we needed to.”
Brennan said, “Ava’s saves were so important, and our defense was playing so well, staying on the cutters, getting sticks in front of the shots.”
Midway through the second half, Brennan scored twice to push the Cougars’ lead to 12-7 with 8:07 left, and that ended the scoring for the night.
“I’m really proud of our team,” said Somits. “They key word for us this year has been ‘relentless.’ Just really making sure that we continue to work hard and hopefully that continues through the rest of the season (smiles).”
For D-West, Bednarik and Mottice each had a hat trick.
“We knew that East had a lot of scorers, so crashing early on defense was important for us,” said D-West head coach Brittney Conzentino. “Attackwise, we knew that D-East played a zone defense, so we had a plan for that. Minimizing turnovers and possessing the ball was our game plan today, but we didn’t really execute our game plan tonight. After the game, I told our players that, no matter how high the pressure is, to stick to what we know is going to work – if they stick to that the rest of the season, then they’re going to do great. “East is a tough team, they’re always impressive. They’re very selfless – they do a very good job of possessing the ball and putting the team first. They’re an all-around great team – aggressive, very quick to the ball, fast – there’s a lot of good things about East.”

NOTES: Before the game, both teams wore T-shirts for Lax-4-Life, Inc., a national lacrosse campaign that provides support to programs geared toward adolescent and young adult suicide prevention awareness. Lax-4-Life, Inc, began with the women’s lacrosse coaches in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in 2009. For more information about Lax-4-Life, Inc., visit www.lax-for-life.org.

Downingtown East 12, Downingtown West 7
Downingtown East 8 4 – 12
Downingtown West 4 3 – 7
Downingtown East goals: Lawton 5, Brennan 4, Fannelli 2, Webb.
Downingtown West goals: Bednarik 3, Mottice 3, Feeney.
Goalie saves: Irwin (DE) 8, Clemson (DW) 6.