Hernan hailed for leadership
Red-shirt junior goalkeeper Julia Hernan and the St. Francis women’s soccer team saw the season end with a 2-1 loss to top seed Central Connecticut in the Northeast Conference title game last Sunday in New Britain, Conn.
Hernan, from Collegeville and a graduate of The Hill School, had nine saves in the game. She ended up with an 8-7-3 for the 8-9-3 Red Flash. In 19 games and 1,588 minutes of action, Hernan gave up 19 goals (1.03 goals against average) with 100 saves (.845 save percentage). She had seven shutouts and earned NEC second-team honors.
“Julia is such a tremendous leader in our program,” coach Brenda van Stralen said. “She is a hard worker who was rewarded this season by becoming the program’s lead in career shutouts. Her passion for the game is unrivaled and she has a unique ability to handle anything that is thrown her way.”
Hernan was hit with a big setback when her mother passed away during the summer.
“That was tragic but she has dealt with it with tremendous maturity,” van Stralen said. “I am sure she has made her family proud with her play on the field this season.”
JOSH EHST (DANIEL BOONE) >> The true freshman quarterback led the Grove City football team to a big comefrom-behind 35-27 victory over Geneva in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game last Saturday in Beaver Falls. Geneva jumped out to a 20-0 first quarter lead but the Wolverines rallied with 21 points in the final quarter to pull the game out. That’s five straight victories with Ehst running the team. He was 18-for33 good for 204 yards with two touchdowns as the Wolverines moved to 6-3 on the season, the best mark over that stretch for the program since 1997. The 6-foot, 185-pounder didn’t play in the team’s first three games but has rallied the team by completing 71 out of 129 passes for 1,083 yards and 13 touchdowns. He carried the ball 10 times for 54 yards against Geneva and has 277 yards with a touchdown on 62 carries on the year.
MEGAN BERNOTAS (OWEN J. ROBERTS) >> The junior finished third out of 134 runners to help the Eastern women’s cross country team finish fourth at the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships on Oct. 27 in Stevenson, Md. Her 6,000 meter time was 23:24 and it earned her All-MAC honors. Her sophomore sister, Katelyn, earned All-MAC second team for finishing 11th in 23:59. Freshman Mary, another sister, finished 38th in 26:37.2 which was the sixth best finish among the freshmen entered in the race. JAXSON BURNS (DANIEL BOONE) >> The 5-foot-11, 145-pound senior scored at the 78:08 mark give the Millersville men’s soccer team a 1-1 tie with West Chester in the PSAC Championship game last Sunday in West Chester and the Marauders went on to win in a 4-2 shootout to earn a berth in the Division II Tournament. Burns has played in all 19 games with 18 starts and was second on the team in scoring with 21 points on nine goals and three assists. He led the team with five game-winners. Millersville will take a 10-3-6 record into the NCAAs.
LAUREN HALEY (BOYERTOWN) >> The sophomore forward was named to the MAC Commonwealth first team last Thursday after a standout season with the Albright women’s soccer team. Haley led the league with 13 goals, added four assists and finished with 30 points. Her five game-winners also leads the league. Four times during the season Haley was named the MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week. She’s the first Albright soccer player to do so. The Lions finished 11-4-2 after dropping a 3-0 decision to Arcadia in the league semifinals last Wednesday in Glenside.
NICOLE DORMAN (POPE JOHN PAUL II) >> The 5-foot11 senior outside hitter was named to the MAC Commonwealth first team for her play with the Widener women’s volleyball team, the Pride finishing 16-17 after dropping a 3-0 match to Messiah in the first round of the league playoffs on Oct. 29 in Grantham. Dorman, who played in all 33 matches and all 113 sets, led the team in kills (326) and points scored (391.5) and finished second in digs (282) and service aces (42) and third in total blocks (43). She finished her career second in kills with 1,464. SIMONE STEWART (SPRINGFORD) >> The Clarks Summit women’s soccer team finished 5-9 overall and 1-7 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference but the 4-foot-11 sophomore showed enough to be named to the CSAC first team last Thursday. She led the Defenders in goals with 14, was second in assists with five and first in total points with 33. Clarks Summit scored just 29 goals on the season. Stewart had four goals and an assist in an 8-1 victory over Penn State Schuylkill and all three goals in a 3-2 triumph over Penn College. JEFFREY KIRSHENBAUM (METHACTON) >> The junior finished 22nd out of 111 runners for the Lehigh men’s cross country team at the Patriot League Championships on Oct. 27 in Lewisburg. He was the second best finisher for the Mountain Hawks who finished fifth out of 10 teams. Kirshenbaum’s time was 26:48.4. He prepped for the league meet by finishing in a threeway tie for first (22:21) in the 4,000 meter run at the Bucknell Tune Up over the same course on Oct. 18. He has finished first or second for Lehigh in five out of his six races this fall.
LEXIE NUGENT (SPRINGFORD) >> The sophomore and the Miami (OH) women’s field hockey team earned a berth in the NCAA Division I Tournament with a 5-2 victory over Kent State in the Mid-American Conference title game last Saturday in Oxford, OH. Nugent played in all 21 games with 11 starts and has four goals for the Redhawks who will take a 15-6 record into the tournament. She played in 21 games with 12 starts last year as a freshman and had 17 points on seven goals and three assists. GABRIELLE VAGNOZZI (SPRING-FORD) >> The junior forward and the St. Joseph’s field hockey team dropped a 2-1 decision to Virginia Commonwealth in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference last Saturday in Dayton, OH. Vagnozzi played in all 21 games with 20 starts for the Hawks who finished 14-5-2, the second most victories in program history. She had two goals and six assist for 10 points this season and has 12 goals and 20 assists with two game-winners in 60 career games with 56 starts. MAHOGANY WILLIS (OWEN J. ROBERTS) >> The freshman was named to the PSAC third team last Wednesday after leading the Indiana women’s soccer team in scoring this season. Willis finished the season with 29 points in 18 starts with 14 goals, an assist and five game-winners. Her 14 goals are tied for second in both the PSAC and NCAA Division II and her 29 points are the most scored by a Crimson Hawk player since 2011. Indiana was beaten 4-0 by West Chester on Oct. 28 to end the season with a 9-8-1 record.