Inter-Ac hockey title goes to PC, tourney to GA

by TOM UTESCHER

How close in ability were the top four field hockey teams in the Girls Inter-Ac League this fall? Consider the fact that Penn Charter and Notre Dame Academy repeated as the league co-champions, but neither reached the finals of the Inter-Ac postseason tournament held earlier this month. Germantown Academy officially finished fourth in the 2004 campaign, but the Patriots got a big-time morale pump from the tourney, where they upset top-seeded Charter, 1-0, on Nov. 5, then scratched out a 3-2 victory over number three Episcopal in the finals on Nov. 6.

The Girls Inter-Ac championship is still bestowed upon the team with the best win/loss record in the single round of regular-season matches, and the outcome was decided in a spate of make-up games during the first week of November. On Nov. 1, senior Marie McKenna set up a goal by sophomore Marghi Walters to give Penn Charter a 1-0 victory at Notre Dame and at least a share of the title with a 6-1 final record in league play.

The following day, Notre Dame blasted Baldwin, 6-0, to also finish at 6-1. Episcopal, the team responsible for Charter's lone loss, had a chance to finish with that same mark, but the Churchwomen didn't take care of business in another Tuesday tilt. Goals by Chelsea Calio and Jane Gartland gave EA a 2-0 lead at Springside, but Rachel Estepa and Emery Maine countered for the host Lions (1-3-3) and the bout ended in a 2-2 draw. As in 2003, Penn Charter and Notre Dame wound up as co-champions, while Episcopal finished third at 5-1-1 and GA fourth at 3-3-1.

Rain on Nov. 4 nixed plans to play the tournament semifinal games on campus fields at Penn Charter and Notre Dame, but fortunately St. Joseph's University allowed the Inter-Ac to use its artificial turf for a Friday night doubleheader.

In the first game, two goals by NDA's Melissa Latiff were answered by Episcopal's Gartland and Calio to send the bout into overtime. With 6:01 elapsed in a sudden-victory session, Calio struck again to move the Churchwomen into the finals and avenge EA's regular-season loss to the Irish. Eager to get into action on this chilly evening, GA and Charter now took the field.

The aggressive Patriots thrived on the St. Joe's turf during the first half, generally outhustling the Quakers and earning the first five penalty corners of the game before Charter enjoyed back-to-back corners with just under three minutes left in the period. Quick Caitlin McGovern led a number of rushes for the Pats, and GA camped out on the Quakers' doorstep several times to get off multiple shots. A determined effort by PC's sophomore keeper, Annie McKenna, kept Germantown off the board, though, and the count was still 0-0 at halftime.

Realizing that they would almost certainly lose if they let GA keep them back on their heels, the Quakers pushed up on offense early in the second stanza. PC senior Margaretha Ehret drove the ball across the circle from high right to low left to create an excellent opportunity, but nobody got a touch on the ball before it rolled out-of-bounds.

Surviving this initial onslaught, GA came back up the field, and from just inside the circle on the right side, junior Katie Barba belted the ball towards the cage and it thudded against the PC backboard to signal the lone goal of the game. With 24:17 still on the clock, Charter had plenty of time to tie it up, and now it was the turn of Patriots goalie Meredith Dean (also a junior) to fend off a series of furious assaults.

PC's Ehret had two shots saved, hit the outside of the cage on another, and sent a drive into the backboard from beyond the circle without a teammate getting a touch on the ball inside the loop. Walters also took a couple of cracks at Dean, and Quakers senior Allie Pearce led several breakaways that were hair-raising but ultimately fruitless. Charter's efforts made the final penalty corner totals closer (9-7 in GA's favor), but didn't alter the reading on the scoreboard.

The Patriots returned to St. Joseph's on Nov. 6 for the tournament final, hoping to pay back Episcopal for a 2-1 defeat during the regular season. McGovern, a junior who could really put her speed to use on the green carpet, staked the Pats to a 2-0 lead, scoring unassisted nine minutes and 14 seconds into the match, and getting an assist from senior Emily Goodwin for a second goal with 15:28 left in the half. The period ended at 2-1 after Madeleine Lurio got the Churchwomen on the board with five-and-a-half minutes to go.

With just under ten minutes left in the second half the Patriots stretched the score to 3-1 on a penalty corner. Off of the insertion by junior Jackie Connard, Barba banged in her second gamewinning goal of the tournament. With 8:13 left to play Calio scored to get EA back within one, but although the Churchwomen applied steady pressure in the remaining minutes, they couldn't get another shot past GA's Dean, who finished with seven saves.