Episcopal leaves no doubt
LOWER MERION — It’s a league where tradition takes a backseat to nothing, and because of it, the Inter- Academic League has always had its fair share of longstanding rivalries.
One of the rivalries right near the top is Episcopal Academy’s girls teams and Agnes Irwin. The Churchmen and Owls have been tussling for bragging rights for, well, pretty much forever, and the annual EA- AIS Day adds even more spice to those battles.
But when it comes to field hockey, there’s little doubt as to the identity of the Churchmen’s No. 1 rival. The Academy of Notre Dame and EA are generally the top contenders for the league championship, as evidenced by this year’s split of the Inter- Ac crown, and that means that whenever the two teams get together like they did Wednesday in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association tournament final, everything cranks up a notch.
No one knows that better than EA freshman Margaux Paolino. Paolino attended ND as an eighth grader a year ago before transferring to EA, and she made the Irish wonder what could have been when she set up Lexie Curry for a goal and buried a penalty stroke to help the Churchmen knock off ND, 3- 1, to claim their first PAISAA championship.
“I used to go there, so I do love Notre Dame,” said Paolino, who pushed her season total to 30 points. “But I love EA just as much.”
Paolino showed off the skills that has made No. 1 EA love her back. With the Churchmen ( 23- 20) holding a 1- 0 edge thanks to a goal from All- Delco Alana Dumas just 2: 30 into the game, Paolino got to work. She took a long feed from Dumas and crossed it over to Curry, who had a yawning cage to poke the ball into. A little more than six minutes later, EA earned a penalty stroke after Nora McCallion stopped the ball in the circle with her foot. With the chance to ice the game — and a piece of school history on the line — Paolino ripped a shot that went past ND goalie Gabby Carlini ( four saves) and inside the post for a commanding 3- 0 lead. Not exactly a typical freshman. “There’s always a little pressure,” Paolino said. “I felt with my teammates’ support, I could do it. Usually I have a spot, but the feeling came to me to go left. I got a little nervous, but I knew it was going to go in.”
As good as EA’s offensive outburst was — the Churchmen became the first team to score three goals on the Irish ( 21- 2- 0) this year — its defensive performance was even better. Led by the likes of Tori Sarmiento and Claire Kneizys, the Churchmen’s defense never rested and was often tested by the likes of two- time All- Delco Moira Putsch and All- Delco running mate Emily Faught. ND’s dynamic duo finally broke through with 7: 52 to go when Putsch set up Faught’s 20th goal of the season. By then, however, the outcome was hardly in doubt.
In the 52 minutes prior to that, the EA defense was able to hold Putsch mostly in check, though the Irish sniper still found a way to break through for a few good chances that Gianna Pileggi was able to turn aside. Pileggi’s best, and perhaps her most important save, came early in the second half when Putsch cranked a hard shot from in tight that Pileggi did away with on her way to a five- save effort, and redemption for EA from last year’s PAISAA game when ND won 2- 0.
“Last year, we lost 2- 0 in the final of the PAISAA, and our last game against Notre Dame, we lost, 2- 1,” said Pileggi, who finished the season with an 87.4 percent save percentage, best in Delco among starters. “So we were really, really fired up, and we really had a lot of determination to beat them. I’m just really proud of my team- mates, especially my defense. We played really well with a common goal and we didn’t want to let each other down.”
It’s safe to say that beating the Irish, especially a year after entering the inaugural PAISAA tournament as the top seed and falling to No. 2 ND, made things a little bit sweeter for EA. The Churchmen had to play three games in five days, including a pair of battles with AIS, to merely book a rubber match with the Irish, but they never looked tired or sluggish. Rivalries like the one the two teams have tends to dish out a jolt of energy, and Pileggi admitted that beating ND with so much on the line made things so much sweeter.
“Oh my gosh, of course, it really does,” Pileggi said. “It’s great to have such a rivalry with Notre Dame especially. It definitely adds to it because they’re our rivals out of PAISAA as well.”
“We were talking about how we were runnersup last year,” Dumas said, “and this is our year. It’s our last year playing as a full team — or at least my last year playing with all of these girls — and we wanted to come in and prove ourselves, and we really did.”
That’s a statement heard loud and clear.