Radnor, Owen J. Roberts advance to girls' lacrosse final
As the wheels on Radnor's bus crept 'round and 'round, the Raiders tried to stay poised as traffic delayed their arrival for the District 1 girls' lacrosse semifinals Tuesday at Downingtown West.
As the wheels on Radnor's bus crept 'round and 'round, the Raiders tried to stay poised as traffic delayed their arrival for the District 1 girls' lacrosse semifinals Tuesday at Downingtown West.
After Radnor's thrilling 7-6 victory Tuesday against defending state champion Garnet Valley, the 37-minute delayed start was well worth the wait.
Junior goaltender Alexa Solomon stonewalled three point-blank Jaguars attempts in the final two minutes to secure victory and give the Raiders back-to-back upsets, which started with a win over previously unbeaten Conestoga last week.
"We have nothing to lose," coach Brooke Fritz said. "We're the underdog and we've been here before."
On Thursday at West Chester East, the Raiders will meet Owen J. Roberts, an 8-7 winner over Bishop Shanahan.
Katie Quinn netted the decisive goal with 3 minutes, 42 seconds remaining. Quinn and fellow team captain Abigail Lord also delivered rousing speeches on the Raiders' delayed bus.
"Staying on the bus that long kind of makes you tired and cranky, but our captains gave us a speech and we were ready for the game," Solomon said. "Even though we didn't get off to a good start, I think we rallied to get the win."
The Raiders (16-6) fell behind, 2-0, before Emily Games tied the score with consecutive goals. Games finished with three tallies.
Solomon, who is in her first year as a starter, finished with seven saves, including three in the final two minutes of play.
"It was definitely really intense," Solomon said. "Garnet is one of our biggest rivals and they shoot well. It was nerve-racking but I'm glad we got the win."
Garnet Valley (16-5-1) rallied from two goals down in the second half on back-to-back goals by Michelle Koscinski and Regan Nealon.
After two confidence-building wins, Fritz hopes her team isn't finished yet.
"Honestly, I hope that they're still hungry," she said. "They have played better than today, so I think they're still striving and pushing to do better."
Radnor 4 3 0 0 - 7
Garnet Valley 4 2 0 0 - 6
R: Emily Games 3, Katie Quinn 2, Fallon Quinn, Hope Smith.
GV: Madi O'Brien 2, Riley Delaney, Kara Nakrasius, Michelle Koscinski, Regan Nealon.
Saves: R - Alexa Solomon 7; GV-- Lauren Kinnee 6
Owen J. Roberts 4 4 0 0 - 8
Bishop Shanahan 3 4 0 0 - 7
OJR: Maddie Gebert 4, Anna Dempsey, Frankie Carroll, Eloise Gebert, Anna Lavelle.
BS: Mary Theresa Corcoran 2, Kenzie Staska 3, Kaela Smith, Alyssa Manley.
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