Mount hockey captures crown in AACA
by TOM UTESCHER
PHOTO CAPTION: In a pair of playoff games last week, Mount St. Joseph freshman Katie Reinprecht scored four goals and assisted on a fifth as the Magic captured the Catholic Academies championship. (Photo by Tom Utescher)
Swept along by the hot scoring hand of freshman Katie Reinprecht, Mount St. Joseph Academy won the field hockey championship in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies for the first time since 2000.
Reinprecht, a member of the United States Under-16 Team, scored three goals in Wednesday's playoff semifinal to help the Magic stop Sacred Heart, 5-1, then two days later the freshman shot the lone goal of the championship game as top-seeded MSJ took the title over number three Merion Mercy.
The 1-0 victory allowed the Mount to end its 2004 league campaign with a record of 13-1, and lifted the locals' overall mark to 19-1. The one loss came at the hands of defending champ Villa Maria (10-2-1 league), which was the second seed for the championship tournament but suffered a 2-1 upset in its semifinal against Merion, the 2002 champion.
About 11 minutes into Wednesday's semifinal at the Mount, Reinprecht assisted her older sister Sarah on the first scoring play of the afternoon, then Sacred Heart's Sam Dunn tied it up with four minutes left in the first half. Assisted by Katie Burke, Jess Mulhern moved the Magic ahead once more with 2:15 on the clock.
Sacred Heart rallied and appeared to score at the end of the half, but the ball entered the MSJ cage just after the whistle sounded. The count remained at 2-1, setting the stage for the second-half eruption by Reinprecht, who scored her goals with 13:49, 12:08, and 8:39 remaining in the game.
Thanks to the miracle of cellphone technology, the Mount players were still gathering up their gear after the match when they learned that Merion had beaten Villa Maria in the other semifinal.
Merion's Golden Bears had lost to the Magic by one goal in each of their regular season meetings (2-1, and 1-0), and the Mount went up by a goal once more just six-and-a-half minutes into Friday's championship match at Ursinus College. The teams played between the 25's for the first five minutes, then Mount St. Joe was awarded the first corner of the afternoon.
Because league rivals had grown used to seeing the Katie Burke-to-Sarah Reinprecht connection on Mount corner plays, the Magic have made some changes recently. Here they employed a variation of the give-and-go between Katie Reinprecht and Nina Ferrier. Reinprecht made the insertion, Ferrier received the ball high in the circle and clubbed it back down towards the near post, where Reinprecht was in place for the tap-in. It would prove to be the game's only goal.
The rest of the way, the Magic dominated in time of possession, and in statistical categories such as total corners (9-1) and shots (12-2). The locals were not able to add to their lead, however, and the MSJ crowd could not relax until the final whistle, knowing that just one successful rush by the Bears would level the score and give Merion momentum.
Three minutes after the Mount's goal, Merion's Nicole McCreight sent a dangerous cross through the circle from high on the right down to the left of the cage, but no one got a stick on the ball in front of the net. The Bears attacked again briefly in the final three minutes of the half, but the rest of the time the Magic were in control.
Early in the second half the Mount got the ball to Megan Maginnis in the middle of the circle, but she couldn't launch a good shot before the defense was on her. Merion goalie Mary Elizabeth Bullock kicked away a Sarah Reinprecht shot, and a belt by Ferrier went wide to the right.
Later the Bears survived other attempts by Ferrier, Laura Iacovetti, and Casey Pollock. With ten minutes left the Bears finally earned a corner hit, but Vicki Gordon did not strike the ball solidly on the shot attempt. The Mount called time-out with 8:25 remaining, then controlled play until Merion made a few desperate rushes in the last two minutes. The Bears got into the circle with 30 seconds to go and then took a long hit from along the right endline. MSJ's Ferrier smacked the ball back outside to quash the last serious threat.
It was the type of play that the Magic have come to expect from their senior co-captain.
"She does a lot to help us both defensively and offensively," said Mount co-coach Lois Weber. "She's an exceptional defender - extremely quick to the ball."
Fellow MSJ mentor Tina Reinprecht concurred, noting "Nina's not the glamour player scoring all the goals, but she's like that linebacker in football who's always there where they're supposed to be, making the big stop. She's aggressive and tenacious, and she's disciplined at the same time."
After Ferrier's clear, Merion tried to take the ball back inside, but was jammed up at the edge of the circle as the final whistle blew to anoint Mount St. Joe the 2004 AACA champion. The Magic's freshman goalkeeper, Keiran Sweeney, only needed to make one save to claim her 12th shutout of the season.
