Carroll blanks Sacred Heart in hockey playoffs

Archbishop Carroll field hockey coach Suzy Gennaro was afraid. Thanks to its surprise elimination in the semifinals of the Catholic League playoffs, her team had not played a game in two weeks and was preparing to step on the field Tuesday against Sacred Heart in the opening round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs at Germantown.

"Could we keep the air in the balloon?" was the way Gennaro described her pregame concerns.

Would the team come back from a double-overtime loss to Archbishop Prendergast in the league semifinal that seemed so long ago? The Carroll Patriots had gone unbeaten in league play until that loss to the Pandas.

Gennaro got her answer in the first 2 minutes, 14 seconds of the game against the Sacred Heart Lions. At that point, Meg McKee put the Patriots on the scoreboard, and they went on to score a 3-0 victory.

The win puts Carroll, the lone District 12 team in Class AA, in a quarterfinal matchup Saturday against Selinsgrove, the District 4 champion, at a time and site to be determined.

"I don't care where we go," said a relieved Gennaro, whose team raised its record to 14-2 with the win. "Just as long as we're playing some where."

The Patriots got a pair of goals from McKee.

"We didn't know much about Sacred Heart, but we knew we'd have to play our hardest", McKee said.

Sophomore Maddy Lesher made things a little more comfortable for the Patriots when she scored with 16:08 left in the second half.

The Lions (12-11-1) were a surprise to some, finishing second to champion Villa Maria Academy in the District 1 playoffs to qualify for the state tourney.

"We didn't come to play," was the way Sacred Heart coach Suzanne Finley summed up the result.

Although she was disappointed at the outcome, Finley said she was pleased with how far the Lions had come this season.

"At the beginning of the season, no one would have picked us to come this far," Finley said. "It's hard to believe this is the last game of the season. I'm proud of the fact that we got this far.

"We lose only five seniors - three of them starters - but they will be some big shoes to fill."

Sacred Heart    0 0 - 0

Archbishop Carroll     1 2 - 3

Goals: AC-Meg McKee 2, Maddy Lesher.

Saves: SH-Taylor Brady 5. AC-Mia DePlato 1.