At 4’10” tall, CHC’s Jackie Nevius (#3) isn’t destined to win many head balls, but that doesn’t stop the scrappy senior from trying. Here, she takes some punishment from East Stroudsburg’s Marissa Spitler.

After launching their 2009 soccer season with an 8-0 victory at Lincoln University last Thursday, the Chestnut Hill College women wound up on the other end of a lopsided score on Sunday afternoon, dropping their home opener to the Warriors of East Stroudsburg University, 5-0.

The host Griffins hung with their guests for about the first quarter of Sunday’s game, but the visitors gained a 2-0 foothold by halftime, then dispelled any thoughts of a CHC comeback by pounding in a pair of goals in the first minute of the second period. Now 1-1 overall, Chestnut Hill hopes to rebound in this week’s Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opener against nearby Philadelphia University.

Jumping out to a 5-0 halftime lead at Lincoln on Thursday, the Griffins ended the day with five goals from Lauren Riiff, while fellow junior Tara Morey posted a goal and an assist. Senior Julie Treen and freshman Alyssa Radetich furnished the other two goals. In the nets, two freshmen each served a shift, with starter Jessica Veazey collecting one save, and Kelsey Feret coming in to make two stops.

Veazey went the distance in Sunday’s match against East Stroudsburg, chalking up a dozen saves as her club was outshot by the Warriors, 26-5 for the afternoon. The two keepers employed by the visitors recorded one save between them.

Springside soccer team captains for 2009: (from left) junior Riley Tarver and seniors Courtney Caputo and Nicole Lombardo.

Heading into the 2009 season, the Springside School soccer team has undergone a realignment, but not a total makeover. Losses through graduation and attrition were not insignificant, but they were spaced evenly up and down the field, without a devastating impact in one particular area.

Goalie Tori Baggio, defender Mary Trocky, and midfielder Lauren Voye have all moved on to college, and forward Larissa Sfedu, currently a senior, has been sidelined with a knee injury. Lions head coach Jerry Hartey, back for his second season along with assistant Patrick Trainor, is confident that his returning players can form a solid franchise.

GFS coaches abound as hockey team tunes up
by Tom Utescher

The new head coach for GFS field hockey, Maribeth Wicoff.

Last Wednesday’s field hockey scrimmage at the Philadelphia High School for Girls doubled as an informal coaches’ reunion for the visiting squad from Germantown Friends.

The new head coach for the GFS Tigers, Maribeth Wicoff, is being assisted this season by Dana Griffin, who was the head coach of the Germantown team during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Griffin helped officiate Wednesday’s trial run along with a GFS institution, Pam Lutz, who has served as hockey coach, athletic director, and just about everything else during her long tenure at the school. Lutz is now leading a simpler life, focusing primarily on teaching Physical Education.

There were even GFS connections on the Girls High sideline; their second-year head coach, Jackie Metz, mentored the Tigers from 2001-2005.

Last fall, Katie Bergstrom was at the helm of the hockey program, while also serving as Girls Athletic Director at Germantown Friends. This year she has become the A.D. for both the girls’ and the boys’ athletic programs, and her increased responsibilities didn’t leave her enough time to head up the hockey program as well.

“Before They Were Stars” - Mount St. Joseph Academy senior captain Emily Gimpel, in a photo from her eighth-grade season at Springside School. (Photo by Lene White)

The complexities of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association playoff system for golf makes it necessary for high school linksters to begin playing league matches in August, and by the end of last week Mount St. Joseph Academy was already off to a 3-0 start within the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies.

The Magic have won six straight AACA championship tournaments, and had won the league two times before the tourney was initiated in 2003. They were the PIAA state runner-up last fall, and state champion in 2006 and 2007.

From the looks of last week’s early results, Mount St. Joe is ready to make another run deep into the state playoffs. Last Tuesday the Magic launched their season on the road at Spring Mill Golf Club, where they defeated Villa Joseph Marie, 203 – 284. The following afternoon, Mount St. Joe played the host at Manufacturer’s Golf and Country Club, putting up a score of 204 (the top five rounds of the eight official participants for each team are counted towards the team’s total score). This gave the Mounties a comfortable margin over the two visiting outfits, Nazareth Academy (253) and Merion Mercy (271).