No more under the radar for OC

Tri-State Sports & News Service

Oakland Catholic may have been something of a surprise when it upset top-seeded Quaker Valley and made it all the way to the WPIAL Class 2A girls lacrosse championship match last year.

Or maybe the Eagles just flew under the radar.

“I honestly think that we’ve been a strong team the last two years and I think we might have been a little underrated heading into the playoffs last year,” first-year Oakland Catholic coach Karen O’Keefe said. “It definitely is a little bit different heading into the playoffs with a little bit of a target on our back. We lost a big senior class, but we have a lot of girls with experience.”

O’Keefe was an assistant coach for the team last year and saw firsthand what the potential was before she took the job. But it has been a little bit different being the person in charge, albeit with an enviable situation.

“It was really exciting. We have a lot of talented players on the team and it was a wonderful opportunity to work with the girls this year as the head coach,” O’Keefe said. “I have a really good group of players, it’s a wonderful school to work with and it’s been a great experience for me.”

It certainly helps that O’Keefe took over a program with three Division I players in the fold. Senior Sienna DeAngelo and juniors Natalie and Megan Cyterski have already committed to play at the next level, which gives the Eagles a skill set that is tough to match in Class 2A despite youth in several other areas.

If nothing else, Oakland Catholic will be primed for the WPIAL tournament once the brackets are announced next week. The Section 1 champion Eagles wrapped up their season with three playoff teams in Franklin Regional, Ellis School and defending champion Hampton.

“I think it’s nice to end our season with a challenge like that heading into the playoffs where we have that high level of competition,” O’Keefe said. “I think that will hopefully kind of springboard us and put us into a good place as we head into the playoffs.”

North Allegheny boys

North Allegheny is only two years removed from winning its previous WPIAL Class 3A boys lacrosse title, but this isn’t the same Tigers team that dominated the field for much of the past two seasons.

“We’re kind of young and, talent-wise we’re fine, but we’re only playing two or three seniors this year,” North Allegheny coach John Rullan said. “It’s going to depend on how well they can stand up the next two weeks.”

North Allegheny came into the week a surprising 8-6 after heading into the WPIAL playoffs as the No. 1 seed a year ago. The Tigers did clinch a share of the Section 3 title with Shady Side Academy and Fox Chapel, but lost a key non-section match to Mt. Lebanon, 139, on Monday immediately following a 9-8 win against Bethel Park in their previous outing.

“I think that was a good win, so for our kids to step up a little bit and play was good,” Rullan said. “I think that helped us and I think we have the talent — we might have more talent than we’ve had in years — but we’re starting two freshmen and four or five 10th graders and it’s not that they can’t do it, it’s the mental part.”