Owen J. Roberts overpowers Pennridge in District 1-3A second round

BUCKTOWN >> It’s the beginning of the end for the Owen J. Roberts girls lacrosse team.

It will be a long goodbye if Thursday night is any indication.

The Wildcats were a destructive force from start to finish in their District 1 Class 3A second round meeting with Pennridge, a 20-0 shutout that sent No. 2 seeded Owen J Roberts into the quarterfinals.

Owen J. Roberts will meet No. 7 seed Downingtown West in the quarters on Tuesday, May 23 at 4 p.m. The Whippets topped Pennsbury 15-8 Thursday.

OJR marked its 20th win of the season (20-1 overall) with a 20-goal performance led by seniors Gabbi Koury, Alexa Vogelman and Colby Wasson. Midfield and draw dynamo Koury had four goals and five assists to accompany her 12 draw controls while Vogelman also contributed on nine scores, seven goals and two assists.
Wasson was on her game with two assists and four goals, including an outstanding catch-and-shoot to beat the halftime buzzer and stake the Wildcats a 14-0 lead at the break.

“I think we came out strong. We knew coming in that they were going to be good and athletic so I think we were all about energy, coming out strong and not giving them confidence,” said Wasson.

Halftime: Owen J Roberts 14, Pennridge 0, District 1 3A girls lacrosse

A superb catch and shoot right at the buzzer from Colby Wasson to punctuate an outstanding half from the PAC champs pic.twitter.com/i24NOKQ6XW

— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) May 18, 2023

While OJR may just be beginning, the loss marked the end of Pennridge’s campaign, the Rams finishing 12-8.

The feel-good factor was gone quickly on Wildcat North and the Rams were left overwhelmed.

“They are super-fast. On their cuts, their transitions, they were a step ahead of us everywhere,” said Pennridge coach Karen Feher. “We got scared and couldn’t hang. We tried to change up our game plan in the middle and it helped a little, but when you’re playing a team this caliber, you either rise to the occasion or you fall flat. And I think we fell a little flat.”

Pennridge was coming off a satisfying 13-6 first-round victory over Methacton, returning the favor to a Warrior program that bounced it from the postseason a year prior.

“I’m proud of my team for not giving up. At no point did they throw in the towel,” said Feher. “Tuesday when we played Methacton, that summed up our season for me. We have been knocked out by Methacton in playoffs in the past, so to beat them by 13-6 was a huge team victory. We were trying to use that momentum tonight but (OJR) are just a really good team.”

After earning a measure of redemption by reclaiming the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship last week, Thursday marked the start of a new mission for the Wildcats.

“We have way higher goals than PACs. PACs is over and done; we’re not even celebrating that anymore,” said Wasson. “We’re looking ahead toward our bigger goals, which is what we’ve had since the beginning of the year.”

It showed in the two-way dominance displayed Thursday. OJR’s offense dominance has jumped off the page this season – the team’s average margin of victory is 15 goals – and Ava Clemson (2), Blakely Doyle (2) and Brooke Cano also got on the scoresheet. But the aggressive defending and pressure in transition only allowed the Rams into their offensive third around five times all night. Rachel Sbei and Wasson caused two turnovers each and senior defender Cailin Harrington shined in transition.

The battles at practice have primed the Wildcats.

“Everyone at practice is so good, so we get to challenge ourselves,” Harrington said. “Being a defender, I get to play against the top midfielders and attackers in the country. We really benefit from that.”

In the last hurrah for a group that features eight senior starters destined for NCAA Division I lacrosse (also connected as club teammates with NXT 2023 Black), prolonging their time as teammates is part of the plan.

“I think we always keep the same mindset of doing it for our teammates,” said Harrington. “This could be the last game and we have to show out and try our best so we can play the next game and keep going. We want to do it for each other.”

“It’s a motivator. This is our last chance to all play together. We’ll all be playing against each other (in college),” Wasson said. “We need to make the most of this. We don’t want to be the team that won a PAC or two, we want to – everyone says our group is so strong and now we get to work together and prove it.”

Owen J. Roberts 20, Pennridge 0

SCORING
OJR:
Alexa Vogelman 7G, 2A
Gabbi Koury 4G, 5A
Colby Wasson 4G, 2A
Ava Clemson 2G
Blakely Doyle 2G
Brooke Cano 1G
Sierra Milano 1A
Kalli Mullen 1A
Natalie Chin 1A