D-West’s tough 2nd-half defense stops Kennett in district playoff

Downingtown >> Fourth seed Downingtown West displayed a tough defense in the second half of its 15-6 win in the second round of the PIAA 3A District 1 girls lacrosse playoffs Thursday at DiSerafino Stadium.

The Whippets held Kennett scoreless for 23 minutes, and allowed the No. 20 seed Blue Demons only one goal after halftime.

Kennett hung tough with Whippets in the first half, trailing D-West by only 7-5 with 3:12 left before halftime. Blue Demon junior attack Emma Schwarz had two of the goals.

The Whippets then held Kennett scoreless for the next 23 minutes while building a 14-5 lead.

Whippet junior defender Ellie Klapac said, “The key for us was early sliding. To shut them down, we had to crash earlier and stop our fouls, because the refs were calling [many fouls].

“We were expecting Kennett to come out on fire, and that’s what they did in the first half. Our defense and transition really stepped up in the second half, and we were patient on attack.”

It’s been an exciting week for the Whippets, as head coach Brittney Conzentino gave birth to a son (Anthony James) at 4 a.m. on Mother’s Day.

“I think the key today was the girls’ composure across the board,” said D-West assistant coach Emily Ernest, who has filled in for Conzentino during the latter’s absence. “They just remained calm and played well together, all of them, from the transition all the way up the field until we nailed it in goal and brought it back to center.”

With the score 7-5, Whippet senior Peyton Mottice scored after a long run 2:59 before halftime, then assisted on a goal by Emily Feeney one minute later to make it 9-5 going into halftime.

Mottice, who won 10 draw controls Thursday, started the second-half scoring just two minutes after halftime, then Corrine Bednarik, who had four first-half goals, made a nice turnaround move to score four minutes later.

Following a couple of great saves by junior goalie Emily Clemson, Mottice scored with an assist from Bednarik to make it 12-5 with 11:44 to go, then Mottice fired home an 8-meter shot to give the hosts a 13-5 lead with 7:58 to play.

Mottice, Feeney and Bednarik combined for 13 of the Whippets’ 15 goals.

D-West was controlling the ball in the second half, thanks to Mottice’s 10 draw controls. In addition, the Whippets were corralling the loose balls, led by sophomore midfielder Aliza Thir, who collected six ground balls.

In the net, goalies Clemson and freshman Libby Straus combined for seven saves.

Kennett senior attack Claire Borman broke the Blue Demons’ second-half scoring drought with a shot into the net with 5:16 left to play.

With the victory, Downingtown West will host the winner of Thursday’s Abington-West Chester Rustin game Saturday at 11 a.m.

For Kennett, it was the end to an encouraging season. Tuesday, the Blue Demons knocked off No. 13 seed Spring-Ford, 13-11 in the district tourney opener to advance to the second round against Downingtown West.

“This is the first time that Kennett has made it into the second round of Districts in a very, very long time, so this is an accomplishment for us,” said Kennett head coach Lisa Dougherty. “I told the team after today’s game, ‘You have nothing to upset about, you played hard, you did your best.’ Before the game I told them that this is an honor to be on the field today and just play with all your heart, and that’s what they did.

“We had seven seniors on this year’s team who played with controlled aggression all season, and a strong junior class. We played Downingtown West a week ago, and I think our defense did a much better job today pulling on their cutters and reading the play.”

 

Downingtown West 15, Kennett 6

Kennett            5              1              –               6

Downingtown West   9             6              –               15

Kennett goals: Schwarz 2, Sandusky, Chiomento, Testa, Borman.

Downingtown West goals: Bednarik 5, Mottice 5, Feeney 3, DiGiorgio, Rochon.

Goalie saves: DW – Clemson 4, Straus 3; K – Heimann 6.