Warriors’ early goals a real drag for Patriots in loss
MARPLE » Archbishop Carroll was still hopeful in its PIAA Class 2A tournament field hockey game, just a goal down Tuesday when Mechanicsburg blindsided the Patriots with a drag-flick goal.
It was too much for Carroll goalie Arianna Hall, just as it is for most netminders, and it changed the way the Patriots defended the Warriors on the artificial turf at Cardinal O’Hara.
Anne Manning sent it into the cage, the first of her two goals and it gave the Warriors a two-goal lead in the first three minutes of a 5-1 decision that ended the Patriots’ season.
Senior Cate McConaghy got the only goal for Carroll (14-8), which was unable to bounce back from those first two goals off penalty corners.
Hall had two goals on the day for the Warriors (18-4-1), who advance to the 2A quarterfinals Saturday against the Crestwood-West Chester East survivor. Whatever team stays alive needs to limit the drag-flicks, which basically are shots where the stick is dragged across the turf to lift the ball off the turf and send it screaming on goal, sometimes knuckling, sometimes spinning. It’s a lot like a nasty wrist shot in ice hockey.
“The drack-flick goal, that was really good,” McConaghy said. “I thought our adrenaline was pretty high to begin with. We came out strong.
They got us on the corners. And we had to kind of switch up our defense and our perspective on the corners because we weren’t expecting a flick from the top and all that. You’ve got to talk honestly from inside the cage and communicate with the defenders in the back.”
The game was physical, yet full of skill. It left bruises that will show up Wednesday as much as highlights to attach to recruiting resumes.
The Patriots, seeded first in District 12, couldn’t generate enough momentum to get back into the contest after falling behind, 3-0, at the half. It was 5-0 before McConaghy scored on a rebound for the Patriots, who were outshot, 10-6.
“We came out strong out of the gate,” Patriots coach Christina Elisio said. “They scored on two corners right off the bat and that kind of took the wind out of our sails just a little bit. But I think we held in there. The play was really good. At times the play got a little hectic. Passing, skill, we have that. But today just wasn’t our day. I wouldn’t say that they dominated this game. I think it was a well-played game. We couldn’t get the ball in the cage. They’re a great team, but we’re a great team.”
The Warriors, seeded third in District 3, frustrated Patriots junior forward Sienna Golden, who set a school record with 48 goals this season. Golden has a drag-flick. Tight coverage kept her from turning it into a weapon.
“We have a good center group, and they obviously knew about her,” Warriors coach Tonja Brown said. “She’s very good at the 3D skills. She usually goes right to left and my team was ready for that. Today is the way we normally play. To be honest it was a little bit sloppier than we’re used to. I think (Carroll) is a little bit more physical than we’re used to. So, we had to adapt to that and not get pushed off the ball. But once we adapted to that I think we did all right.”
When the Patriots look back on the game, they’ll be disappointed. The same cannot be said of the six seniors, including Hall, who stopped four shots, when they look back on the season.
“We had a goalie situation at the beginning of the year where our goalie from last year decided not to play,” Elisio said. “We had a senior
player, Arianna Hall, and she stepped up. Never played goalie in her life before and she carried us through this whole season, just her. Winning the PCL is a huge accomplishment. She just did a great job. And it’s a great group of girls. They have really good relationships with each other. Everybody is going to miss playing with the seniors. We’ll miss them a lot. But it’s tough for everybody. You play since Aug. 16 with each other, you’re with each other every single day. You build a bond and once it’s done, it’s sad. But we had a great season and we’re looking forward to next season already.”
While McConaghy has spring lacrosse on her to do list, it figures to be difficult letting go of practices and games with fellow seniors Courtland Schumacher, Bridget Grazel, Megan Sheridan, Kendall Carson and Hall.
“I’m going to miss playing with them a lot,” McConaghy said. “It’s been a fun four years. We had a great season. It was so much fun.
It’s a tough loss. I’m sad for the seniors because it’s our last game. You don’t want to lose in the first round of the states.”