John Paul II adjusting to turf and a new league

For Andrea Carr and her former Kennedy-Kenrick field hockey players, it's a whole new experience playing in the Pioneer Athletic Conference, and they're enjoying it.

Carr became coach of the new Pope John Paul II squad when the school replaced Kennedy-Kenrick and St. Pius X, which closed at the end of the last school year. She had been the coach at Kennedy-Kenrick, a member of the Catholic League. St. Pius was part of the PAC-10.

"We've got some new girls, too," Carr said, noting that not all of her players come from Kennedy-Kenrick or St. Pius.

"All these fields are different," added Carr, referring to the number of artificial-surface fields in the PAC-10. "Only Archbishop Prendergast had a turf field in the Catholic League, although Cardinal O'Hara has one now. We've had to make some adjustments."

The Golden Panthers are 3-3 in league play and 4-4 overall. They are coming off one of their biggest wins, a 2-0 triumph Wednesday over perennial league power Owen J. Roberts.

Senior Maria Mastrocola, a former Kennedy-Kenrick player, scored one of the goals on a penalty stroke. Lex Versak, who played for Pius, scored the other one off a penalty corner.

"I was lucky I put it in the bottom left-hand corner of the net," Mastrocola said. "It's been great playing with the new girls. We've been playing together very well."

For senior Ally Burns, the win over the Wildcats came after a long wait. She's another player from St. Pius.

"In my four years, we've never been able to beat Owen J. until now," she said. "We all worked together for this one."

Streak halted. All good things must end, the saying goes. That's just what happened to high-flying Strath Haven on Friday against Avon Grove in a nonleague game.

The Panthers (5-3) lost their first two games of the season to Downingtown East, ranked ninth in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, and Unionville. They then went on a five-game winning streak. All the victories were shutouts by goalie Kylie deGrouchy. High-scoring Alex Duckenfield has been leading the offense.

"It took us a while to get our lineup situated," coach Amanda Lawson said of the opening losses.

The winning - and shutout - streak ended when Avon Grove blanked the Panthers, 2-0.

During the five-game streak, the Panthers scored 19 goals. Duckenfield has 11 goals in seven games. She missed one of the losses because she was on an official visit to Vanderbilt, where she plans to play lacrosse.

"Kylie was on fire," Duckenfield said of deGrouchy's goaltending during the streak. "Now we'll have to start a new streak."

The Panthers will play Archbishop Carroll in a nonleague game Monday before returning to Central League play Tuesday against Marple Newtown. Their big league tests appear to be on Oct. 7 and 12, when they will face fourth-ranked Conestoga (5-0) and Radnor (6-2).

American showdown. Upper Dublin (7-2), which just made it into The Inquirer's Top 10 for the first time, will face a stiff Suburban One League American Conference test Tuesday when it plays No. 5 Wissahickon at home.

The Cardinals' losses have been to Cape Henlopen, one of the top teams in Delaware, and Methacton, ranked No. 8 by The Inquirer.

"We've been doing well, playing with confidence," said coach Heather Boyer, who ran a half-marathon in Philadelphia to help inspire the team. She also plans to run one next month.

Senior Emily Hitchings has been an inspiration on the field. The American Conference's leading scorer last season, she has nine goals in 2010.