Until last week, Penn Charter's lone league loss in girls lacrosse had been a 12-6 setback in the Quakers' Inter-Ac opener against Episcopal Academy on March 21. Episcopal, the undefeated league champion in 2023, slipped into a tie with PC for first place in the 2024 standings on April 18, when the Churchwomen were upset by Agnes Irwin School in triple overtime, 11-10.

In last Tuesday's rematch between Charter and EA, the visiting Quakers were taking on an EA squad looking to rebound from its first league loss since 2022. After the first quarter concluded with a 1-1 tie on the scoreboard, the Churchwomen rang up five straight goals in the first nine minutes of the second quarter.

Charter picked up two more goals before the half ended with a 7-3 tally, but the Quakers got no closer as Episcopal cruised to a 12-5 victory.

After EA's second-quarter outburst afforded the hosts a 6-1 lead, a lack of ball possession on Penn Charter's part made it impossible for the Quakers to put together a serious comeback attempt.

Comparing the contest to her team's first encounter with Episcopal, PC head coach Colleen Kelly reflected, "I'd say the first game was actually a little better for us; we competed a little bit more. The draws and ground balls were a little more 50/50. They [Episcopal] definitely dominated draws and ground balls today, and if you're behind in those categories it's very tough to win a game."

Sophomore Harbor Campbell, who tied the match for PC at 1-1 in the first period, finished the game with a hat trick, while the other two goals were provided by senior Grace Walter (who has signed with William & Mary) and sophomore Ana Buckley. Buckley deposited the lone Penn Charter goal of the fourth period after EA led 10-4 at the three-quarter mark.

The Quakers' goalie, sophomore Maeve Magarity, logged eight saves for the afternoon.

Juniors Maura Irish and Quinn Whitaker led the Episcopal offense with four and three goals, respectively. Both players have made verbal college commitments, Irish to Notre Dame and Whitaker to Boston College. Another 11th-grader, goalie Grace Holland (who'll join Whitaker at B.C.), made six saves.

Well aware of Penn Charter's leading scorer, senior Aditi Foster (Northwestern University), the Episcopal defense was able to shut her out during the recent contest. Foster made a number of long charges down the field, but in most cases she was eventually swarmed under by multiple defenders.

Coach Kelly pointed out that the Quakers have just four senior starters, two each on attack and defense.

"As a young team, we need to take care of the ball better, and learn how to be more of a threat against a very talented team like Episcopal," she said.

Kelly noted that her defense played well, considering Episcopal's daunting advantage in time of ball possession.

Penn Charter rebounded on Friday with a 19-9 romp over visiting Academy of Notre Dame, an Inter-Ac rival the Quakers had only beaten by one goal in the teams' first meeting at the beginning of April. The second time around, Foster and Walter scored five goals apiece, Campbell had a hat trick, and sophomore Molly Dougherty put in four goals. Magarity made nine stops in the goal cage.

The outcome raised PC's record to 5-2 in the league. Overall, the Quakers improved to 9-6 after starting the season by going 1-5 against strong rivals up and down the East Coast.