2A Girls: Villa Maria faces tough test, edges Penncrest

Based on the results, Penncrest was a decided underdog in in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class 2A girls lacrosse tournament.

Villa Maria Academy, Penncrest’s opponent, rolled through the District 1 tournament, winning its four games by an average of 10.5 goals per game. The Hurricanes continued that trend in the first round of the state tournament with a 12-goal victory over Wyomissing.

Yet Villa Maria’s dominance did not appear to bother Penncrest Saturday. The Hurricanes had to withstand a late charge to hold on for a 9-8 triumph over the Lions.

The win sends Villa Maria (21-2) into Tuesday’s semifinals against twotime defending state champ Radnor at a site and time to be determined.

Hanna Young and Abby Walheim led the Hurricanes with two goals and one assist apiece. Sara Delaney and Caroline Antell chipped in with two goals each.

Grace Harding had two goals and one assist, and Carly Baillis and Juliana George added two goals apiece for the Lions.

The teams battled to a 4-4 deadlock in the first half. Villa tallied the first two goal of the second half before Logan O’Donnell found the back of the next to cut that deficit in half.

The Hurricanes countered with three goals, the last by Abby Walheim, her second of the game, to take a 9-5 lead with 13:34 to play.

Penncrest, though, did not go away quietly. Harding tallied her second goal with 10:41 remaining to cut the deficit to three goals. Baillis found the back of the net for the second time with 4:31 to play to make it a two-goal deficit. George trimmed Villa Maria’s lead to 9-8 with 2:24 remaining.

The Lions kept the pressure on, but could not get the equalizer.