PC pounds Springside sticksters

by TOM UTESCHER

Since both lacrosse teams lost by three goals to league leader Germantown Academy last month, many observers thought that Penn Charter and Springside School would prove to be evenly matched squads when they met last Tuesday.

They thought wrong. The host Quakers had eight goals on the board before Springside scored its first, and Charter continued on from a 12-4 halftime lead to win, 21-6. PC got even in the Girls Inter-Ac with a 3-3 mark and improved to 12-5 overall, while Springside slipped to 1-5 in the league and leveled out at 7-7 overall.

With a double hat trick, Quakers senior Marie McKenna (two assists) matched the entire output of the visiting Lions, and the victors also received five goals from Kerry McLernan, three goals and an assist from Marghi Walters, and two goals and one assist from Margaretha Ehret. Single goals from Allie Pearce (four assists), Kelsey McDowell, Annie McKenna, and Virginia McMunigal rounded out the scoring for Charter, which had Robin McDowell make a dozen saves in goal.

Springside keeper Maeve Koch stopped 17 shots, and on offense the Lions netted a hat trick and an assist from Bunny O’Reilly, two goals from Jane Gray, and one from Arianne Lee.

PC led from the start, as Marie McKenna claimed the opening draw and went down the field to score with just 13 seconds gone. Over the next 15 minutes McLernan scored twice and five other Quakers ruffled the net to create an 8-0 cushion. The Lions got on the board with 9:20 to go in the first half, when a pass from O’Reilly found Gray cutting to the cage.

O’Reilly went on to record a natural hat trick for Springside, but the Quakers continued to produce points, and were up by eight at the half. Charter controlled the draw at the start of the second period, and proceeded to reel off five straight goals. Springside made consecutive strikes in the middle of the trailing half, but the hosts came back for four more, with Walters capping it off with 3.6 seconds remaining.

UPDATE: On Friday afternoon, a hat trick by Marie McKenna helped Penn Charter defeat Baldwin, 9-7, and claim the last available playoff berth in the Girls Inter-Ac postseason tournament. Both teams finished with 4-3 records in the league, but PC captured the tourney bid by virtue of its head-to-head victory over the Bears.

Baldwin was ahead 5-3 at halftime, but the Quakers drew even in the second period and then jumped ahead 9-6 before the Bears scored the final goal of the day.

Springside’s O’Reilly finished the week with a bang, recording seven goals and two assists on Friday as the Lions sank Shipley, 10-7, and then funneling in nine goals the next day to carry visiting Springside past Delaware’s Tower Hill School in overtime, 13-10. The Shipley win gave the locals a final record of 2-5 in the Girls Inter-Ac.