Mount Lacrosse Improves, Springside Suffers Setbacks

Mount junior Katie Burke, left, scored four goals
against Springside last week. (Photo by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

by TOM UTESCHER

After a 1-4 start to the lacrosse season, Mount St. Joseph Academy is working its way back towards the .500 mark. The Magic wrapped up last week’s action with a 17-9 defeat of visiting Nazareth Academy on Thursday afternoon. The positive outcome raised the team’s record to 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies.

Springside School suffered a major personnel loss on Tuesday morning, when it was learned that junior center Emery Maine has mononucleosis. One of the best all-around athletes in the Girls Inter-Ac League, Maine may miss the rest of the season. That afternoon, the Lions lost in overtime, 7-5, to visiting Episcopal Academy, and in road games on Wednesday and Friday Springside (1-2 league, 6-4 overall) succumbed to the Hill School, 16-9, and to Baldwin, 16-7.

At the Mount last Thursday, Charlotte Flynn converted a free-position shot for the icebreaker. Seizing the next two draws and racing downfield, the Magic got goals from Meredith Oakes and Katie Burke to take a 3-0 lead with just over three minutes elapsed. The visiting Pandas procured two of the next three goals scored in the bout to make it 4-2, then Mount St. Joe pulled away to a 10-5 halftime lead.

Nazareth’s Roe Wojnar, who would emerge as the high scorer in the game with five goals, helped her club pull back within four points of the leaders (11-7) with 16 minutes to go, but then the Mount rattled off five straight. Burke came away with four goals and Flynn and Amanda Jones (one assist) each had a hat trick for the winners, while Meg Maginnis and Katie Reinprecht (two assists) each put in a pair. Oakes, Nina Ferrier, and Carley Gardner (one assist) accounted for the other Mount markers, and Marissa Foy made eight saves in goal.

Springside started off its week against Episcopal, battling the Churchwomen to a 3-3 draw in the first half. Early in the second period senior Bunny O’Reilly, the Lions’ offensive leader, left the game with her second yellow card after putting Springside up 4-3. EA hit back-to-back goals to go up by a point, but Ali Mainka answered for Springside to send the game into overtime at 5-5.

The Lions did not score in OT, while the Churchwomen got the gamewinner from Callye Komlo and an insurance goal from Logan Greer. Maeve Koch booked 19 saves in goal for Springside.

Hill School surged ahead of Springside the following afternoon, but the Lions struck three times in the last nine minutes of the first half to cut their deficit to one goal (6-5) by halftime. Worn down by its OT outing the day before, Springside rested some of its starters in the second half, and Hill rifled in the first seven goals of the period and the Lions never got back in it. O’Reilly (two assists) and Ariane Lee each deposited four goals in the losing cause.

Baldwin, a team that had also lost to Episcopal in overtime, grabbed a 2-0 lead on Friday, but 11 minutes before halftime Springside was still hanging in, down 5-4. Baldwin opened it up to 9-5 at the interlude, and in the second half the Bears outscored the Lions 7-2.

“We just stopped winning the draws,” reported Springside coach Brooke Fritz, “and we let everybody and her sister run right in to goal.”

Baldwin’s Emma Hamm hung a double hat trick on the Lions, while the local squad received three goals and an assist from O’Reilly, two goals from Nora Langan, and one goal and two assists from Mainka.

Hill rifled in the first seven goals of the period and the Lions never got back in it. O’Reilly (two assists) and Ariane Lee each deposited four goals in the losing cause.

Baldwin, a team that had also lost to Episcopal in overtime, grabbed a 2-0 lead on Friday, but 11 minutes before halftime Springside was still hanging in, down 5-4. Baldwin opened it up to 9-5 at the interlude, and in the second half the Bears outscored the Lions 7-2.

“We just stopped winning the draws,” reported Springside coach Brooke Fritz, “and we let everybody and her sister run right in to goal.”

Baldwin’s Emma Hamm hung a double hat trick on the Lions, while the local squad received three goals and an assist from O’Reilly, two goals from Nora Langan, and one goal and two assists from Mainka.