Strong team effort leads Upper Dublin past Plymouth Whitemarsh

UPPER DUBLIN >> It was just the type of game Upper Dublin had been waiting for.

After a gauntlet of nonleague games to open the season and a COVID protocol shutdown, the Cardinals girls lacrosse team is eyeing up a finishing slate full of SOL American games. Those games usually mean some close games against quality opponents that aren’t decided until the final few possessions.

That’s just what UD got on Wednesday but the Cardinals showed their mettle in getting past Plymouth Whitemarsh 13-10 to stay unbeaten in the conference.

“PW is always a really big deal for us, no matter how well either of us is doing,” UD senior goalie Riley Brady said. “We knew we needed this to stay undefeated in our conference and as a big momentum game. We have everyone back on the field and I felt like every single person really contributed.”

Befitting a conference clash, Wednesday’s tilt was back-and-forth most of the way through but a crucial run by the Cardinals (5-4, 4-0 SOL American) in the middle section of the second half would be the difference. After falling behind 7-6 with 18:27 to play, Upper Dublin ripped off the next four goals to take a 10-7 lead with 12 minutes remaining.

Jenn McCarry, a senior midfielder, led the Cards with four goals and an assist and staked her team to a 2-0 lead before the Colonials came back. PW (5-7, 5-2 SOL American) scored the next four goals, the last three coming from freshman Meghan Wendler, to take a 4-2 lead with 7:29 to play before the half.

A yellow card on the Colonials put UD up a player and the hosts capitalized, scoring three in a row to regain the lead in a see-saw opening half.

“We were really dialed in,” McCarry, a UMass-Lowell recruit, said. “We really wanted this game and we got everything together at halftime and put it all out there. Our attack did a really good job controlling the tempo too, we had possession longer than them and that’s the difference.”

UD coach Dee Cross said her team started the year as one without a lot of varsity experience but at this point, that no longer works as an excuse. She credited her defense and midfield, where most of the team’s experience resides, for making adjustments in the game that paid off in the second half.

“We needed to be in this kind of tight game just for their confidence,” Cross said. “A yellow card in high school is a big deal, because it doesn’t release so taking advantage of that was key. Still, give credit to PW because they never gave up but once we found that passing game, you could see the confidence.”

PW senior Max Leszczynski, who gave the Colonials a 16-8 advantage on draw controls, got her first goal of the game to stem the UD run and tie the game 5-5, but the Cardinals responded when Tess Reardon scored in the final minute for a 6-5 edge at the break.

Lezczynski, who finished with three goals and a helper, tied the game early in the second half before PW’s Fiona Gooneratne put her team up 7-6 a minute later. The Cardinals knew they couldn’t afford to go back-and-forth with a Colonials attack that can score in a hurry, so the defense locked up over the next seven minutes.

“Max is amazing and super-hard to guard and they have great players around her so we’ve been focusing on defending her, the picks and her isolation plays and I thought our defense really adjusted to that by the end of the first half,” Brady, who made eight saves, said. “Our defense knows how to talk really well and we always know what the next move is for each player. When we’re trying to clear or hold the ball, we’re in constant communication.”

Reardon kicked off the go-ahead run when she collected a ground ball and scored on the rebound after PW goalie Clancy Lynch turned away a shot by McCarry. After Kelly Senior knotted the score, Maisie Hanson gave UD the lead for good on a strong take to the goal before freshman Aditi Foster made a great feed to McCarry to give the hosts a 10-7 lead.

“We just started moving more,” McCarry said. “That was a focus for us at halftime, we just had to move and settle down. We’re younger on attack this year, so the more we spread out, it opens up more opportunities and more cuts so that made a difference for us.”

Wendler, who led PW with four goals, scored off a feed from Gooneratne to break the Upper Dublin run with 11:15 left but the teams would only trade goals down the stretch and the Colonials never got closer than two scores. It wasn’t for a lack of effort, with Leszczynski winning a draw and charging right down the field for a goal that cut the lead to 11-9, but the Cardinals answered with back-to-back goals.

While UD’s attack cashed in when needed in the final stretch of the game, it didn’t have to be perfect thanks to the defense. McCarry, who plays plenty of both ends of the floor, said she always has plenty of trust in the defensive unit to get a stop or ground ball when most needed.

“Erin Eby and Sarah Brightcliffe played so well for us, they got two crucial ground balls and let us our attack get in transition and settle it,” McCarry said. “Our defense has been solid for us, even in our hardest games. That’s important for us, being able to get momentum back when we don’t have possession.”

Cross said she’s most excited about the way the defense has come together as a unit with Brady as the anchor and players like Eby, Brightcliffe and Allison Gay covering for each other in front of the senior goalie.

UD hosts Abington on Friday and visits Wissahickon next Wednesday in a pair of games that could have a big say in the SOL American. McCarry and Brady felt Wednesday’s win was an important one for the Cardinals, because they saw how to win a close game with a familiar opponent.

“That always feels so good, especially when it’s in league to know we worked so hard and we did it,” Brady said. “Everything we went over, we did, so that always feels good. As a team, we’re starting to flow with each other now. Everyone knows their positions, we knew each other’s moves, our transition has improved so much and I’m excited to finish out the season with these girls.”

UPPER DUBLIN 13, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 10
UPPER DUBLIN 6 7 – 13
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 5 5 -10
Goals-Assists: UD – Jenn McCarry 4-1, Aditi Foster 3-2, Kelly Senior 3-2, Tess Reardon 2-0, Maisie Hanson 1-0; PW – Meghan Wendler 4-0, Max Leszczynski 3-1, Fiona Gooneratne 1-1, Brianna Austin 2-0. Saves: UD – Riley Brady 8, PW – Clancy Lynch 5.