Gwynedd lax unloads on Mount in rematch

by TOM UTESCHER

In an 11-10 loss during the first week of May, Mount St. Joseph Academy's lacrosse squad came within one goal of blemishing Gwynedd Mercy's unbeaten/untied season record.

When the MSJ Magic rolled out Sumneytown Pike last Wednesday for the scheduled rematch, the host Monarchs were determined to avoid another close contest. Gwynedd led the whole way in the game, charging to a 7-2 halftime lead and continuing on to win 15-4 as senior Lauren Morton amassed four goals and seven assists and junior Alex Malatesta recorded a hatrick.

Meg Bostwick, Jess Carfagno and MaryKate Farell added two goals apiece for the home side, and in all eight different Monarchs made their way into the scoring stats as GMA improved to 12-0 in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies and 15-0 overall.

While Gwynedd has played a relatively tame non-league schedule, Mount St. Joe has squared off against three teams from the Girls Inter-Ac (a fourth match, against Episcopal, was rained out), which is one of the strongest leagues in the area this spring. The Magic have struggled both in and out of the AACA in 2004, and the setback at Gwynedd dropped them to 3-8, 3-12.

Last Wednesday the Monarchs' prolific Morton was to content to dish out assists in the first half, and this she did very well, setting up five goals by her teammates. Farell broke the ice with 16:42 left in the first half, and Bostwick added another point before MSJ's Liz Nell came from behind the cage on the left to get the Mount on the board with 12:03 on the clock.

The hosts went up 4-1, then Kara Bolger drove in for the second Mount marker. Three goals in the last six minutes of the period left the Monarchs sitting on a comfortable 7-2 lead at the half.

The Magic's flicker of hope for a second-half rally was quickly stamped out by Gwynedd, which jacked its lead up to 11-2 in the first six minutes of the new period. Three of the four shots came from Morton.

With 15:05 and 14:21 remaining in the bout, the Mount struck back-to-back to complete its scoring for the afternoon. Nina Ferrier converted off of a pass from Sarah Reinprecht for the first of these goals, then Bolger went in unassisted. This was all too rare for the Mount, though; despite controlling 12 of 21 draws in the match and placing a decent possession game, the Magic just couldn't find the net most of the time.

The Monarchs didn't have this problem, and fired in four more goals in the last five-and-a-half minutes. Goalkeeper Bridget Matthews booked nine saves for the victory, and Mount goalie Melissa Foy made eight stops for the visitors.

UPDATE: Mount St. Joe ended its season on May 13 with a 7-5 league loss at Sacred Heart. Katie Burke scored a hat trick for the Magic, who pulled closer in the second period after trailing by four goals at halftime. MSJ's Ferrier and Nell supplied the other goals in the losing cause.