Mount still unbeaten at PC's expense

by TOM UTESCHER

PHOTO CAPTION:  Freshman goalie Keiran Sweeney has recorded seven shut-outs for the Mount St. Joseph Academy field hockey team this fall (with two more whitewashes in scrimmages). In the Magic's first nine games, the Ancillae Academy graduate gave up just one goal from the field, and one on a penalty stroke  (Photo by Tom Utescher)

Last Friday defending co-champion Penn Charter became the third Girls Inter-Ac League field hockey team to suffer a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Mount St. Joseph Academy. A three-goal outburst after halftime assured that the host Magic would extend their undefeated record to 9-0, while PC's previously unbeaten Quakers slipped to 5-1.

Due to a gap in their schedule last week and a rain-out of a match with Wissahickon High on September 18, the Quakers had not seen game action since the previous Friday. The Mount, on the other hand, was playing its fourth game in five days.

On Monday, the Magic knocked off defending Athletic Association of Catholic Academies champ Villa Maria, 2-0, on goals by Casey Pollack and Sarah Reinprecht (both assisted by Katie Reinprecht). Two easier AACA matches followed, as Mount St. Joe received goals from six different players to take out Sacred Heart 6-0 on Tuesday, and then had Meg Maginnis and Katie Reinprecht score two goals apiece in a 7-0 romp over St. Basil's on Thursday.

"It was tough because we had to travel for two of the games, and three of them were in the league, and it's been a warm week," MSJ co-coach Tina Reinprecht noted on Friday. "But despite all that, the kids are playing really, really well."

Although the hosts did not break the ice until late in the first half, they had several chances earlier. Jess Mulhern tipped a ball just wide of the left post, and PC's sophomore keeper Annie McKenna turned aside a solid shot by Sarah Reinprecht. McKenna's sister Marie, a senior, blocked another shot by Reinprecht and she and junior Steph Ragg each disrupted a Magic corner play. PC missed a chance at the other end when a shot by soph Marghi Walters strayed outside of the right post.

On the last MSJ corner of the half, the Magic did not get off its initial shot as planned, but the ball stayed in the circle, and from the right side Nina Ferrier sent a hard drive towards the goal. Stationed at the near post, Maginnis redirected the ball into the cage with 1:55 on the clock.

At halftime, Coach Reinprecht related, "We made some adjustments in terms of shooting in the circle. We passed the ball a few times when we should've shot. In the second half we recognized those opportunities and took advantage of them."

Charter's rookie head coach, Erin Harrington, commented "We didn't come out as strong as we should've in the second half. We missed some opportunities, and there wasn't a lot of possession, which we'd hoped for more of in the second half."

Five minutes into the period, Sarah Reinprecht passed the ball from left to right in the circle and found Ferrier, who had more of a straight-on shot than on her first-half whack. She banged it in to give the Magic a 2-0 lead, and less than five minutes later Mulhern made it 3-0, firing a 15-footer from the left side of the loop.

Charging up the left wing again later on, Mulhern outran all of her teammates and found herself in a one-on-four with PC defenders. The Quakers fouled her in the circle and she went down hard on her left arm and had to leave the field (an elbow sprain; X-Rays revealed no fractures).

Surehanded Sarah Reinprecht took the resulting penalty stroke, depositing the ball on the right side to put the final score on the board with 13:33 left in the game. Charter earned a corner with two minutes to go, and in the ensuing scramble the ball got behind MSJ keeper Keiran Sweeney (four saves). Defender Sydney Slater swept in to clear the ball off of the goal line, helping Sweeney record her seventh shut-out of the season. PC's McKenna also registered four saves for the afternoon.

"This was a good lesson; playing challenging teams shows you what you have to work on," said Charter's Harrington. "At the same time, I saw the girls do a number of good things which are keeping me optimistic."