Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Galica notches 100th career goal in Conestoga’s win
The Pioneers multisport star, Kate Galica, tallied the 100th goal of her high school career Tuesday afternoon at Teemer Field. The milestone goal was one of two on the day for Galica, as top-seeded Conestoga (19-1) punched its ticket to Saturday’s District 1, Class 3A Field Hockey Championship Finals with a convincing 4-1 victory over No. 4 Great Valley (18-3).
Conestoga advances to the championship finale for the second straight season, and will be looking to defend its District 1 crown against second-seeded Downingtown West, a winner over No. 18 Spring-Ford Tuesday evening.
“Getting back to District finals and winning it was a goal of ours from day one,” said Pioneers’ head coach Regan Marscher. “These girls have all worked so hard, they deserve everything they get.”
Great Valley battled to a standstill over the course of the first period, with the Pioneers holding a slight edge in penalty corners, 2-1.
Five minutes into the second period, ’Stoga was awarded a penalty corner. In the middle of a crowd, Keating Hopkins grabbed ahold of a ball, and slipped it behind the Patriot goalie Katie Hanlon for the 1-0 lead. Galica was credited with an assist on the score.
The score lit a fire under the Pioneers, as they began to assert a ton of pressure inside the circle, and forced corner after corner. Conestoga held a 7-0 edge in corners just over the course of the second period.
Awarded a corner with a minute left in the half, Galica put the ball in play and moved over to the post. Shae Wozniak let loose with a rocket of a shot, which Hanlon deftly handled, but Galica took the rebound and slammed it home for her milestone goal and a 2-0 lead the Pioneers would take into the break at halftime.
“I actually didn’t know that was number 100,” said Galica, who will attend the University of Virginia next fall for lacrosse. “One of the coaches told me I was close, but I wasn’t sure how today was going to go, because we have so many differ
ent girls who can score. We are all connecting so well right now, especially in the midfield. It’s an accomplishment I’m proud of, but getting the win is the most important thing.”
According to Marscher, knowing her days playing field hockey are numbered has been a motivator for Galica.
“We always tell all the kids to play every game and every play like it’s your last,” said Marscher. “Since Kate is not playing field hockey in college, she is really taking that to heart, and playing with a lot of emotion. She’s such an incredible leader for this team.”
Wozniak had her turn next, scoring unassisted midway through the third, then Galica rounded out the Conestoga scoring with her second goal of the day four minutes into the fourth.
Down 4-0, Great Valley got on the board three minutes after the Galica goal, with Kaitlin Giandonato finding the back of the cage for the Patriots. But the ‘Stoga defense made sure that there would be no further damage, and the game ended 4-1.
“They are such a good team, there is a lot we can learn from this as we move onto states,” said Great Valley coach Brenda Haley. “We’ve played three strong teams with three different styles of play, and I think that is only going to help moving forward. Sometimes a loss can be a good thing, as it forces you to refocus on getting back on the winning track.”
Conestoga, meanwhile, is firing on all cylinders. In three postseason games, the Pioneers have outscored the opposition 10-1.
“We have such great connections back in the defense,” said captain Lily Norton. “We knew they had some really great players, and we’d have to double them. We were in a similar situation against Episcopal a couple weeks ago, so we were comfortable we could do it again today.”