The matchups: Emmaus vs. Pleasant Valley and Southern Lehigh vs. Central Catholic
Lehigh University’s Ulrich Sports Complex is once again the site of the District 11 lacrosse championships.
The girls’ championship doubleheader is scheduled for 5 p.m. (Class 2A) and 7 p.m. (Class 3A) Wednesday on the scenic South Mountain campus.
The lacrosse finals return to Lehigh after the spring sports season was canceled in 2020 due to COVID and last year’s championship contests were played at Northampton’s Al Erdosy Stadium and Easton Area High School.
Three of the four teams competing in this year’s finals did not qualify for the championship round a season ago.
Southern Lehigh, in Class 2A, is a defending champion.
Let’s take a closer look at Wednesday’s finals.
Class 2A final
Who: No. 1 Southern Lehigh vs. No. 2 Central Catholic
Where: Ulrich Sports Complex, Lehigh University
When: 5 p.m. Wednesday
At stake: Berth in PIAA first round (vs. District 12 runnerup)
SOUTHERN LEHIGH (17-2) Coach: Kevin Cain (fifth season) Top scorers: So. Reese MacIntosh (101 goals, 43 assists, 94 draw controls); Sr. Riley MacIntosh (62 goals, 40 assists); Sr. Iris Gluck (64 goals, 27 assists)
Goalie: Sr. Sophia Hoyer (110 saves) About the Spartans: They advanced to final with 18-6 win over Moravian Academy. They are defending District 2A champions. They defeated Saucon Valley
16-12 in last year’s final. … Reese MacIntosh is already the program’s No. 1 all-time goal scorer with 186. Riley MacIntosh has 100-plus career goals. She will play field hockey at Hofstra. Iris Gluck has 100-plus career goals. She will play lacrosse at Jefferson.
CENTRAL CATHOLIC (10-6) Coach:
Taylor Holko
(second season)
Top scorers: Jr. Lauren Nelson
(63 goals, 16 assists); So. Katie Seiler (44 goals, 6 assists); Fr. Kate Raymond (35 goals, 9 assists) Goalie: Sr. Riley Horoshko
(169 saves)
About the Vikings: They advanced to the final with 16-8 win over nemesis Saucon Valley. That was the program’s first-ever postseason victory —conference or district. They had been 0-4 in district playoff games. Saucon Valley eliminated them in last year’s semifinals, 13-10. … Nelson scored her 137th career goal in Monday’s game. She passed JV coach Kate Musselman, who totaled 131 in her career.
Final word: An enticing matchup, though Southern Lehigh enters as a clear-cut favorite. Spartans edged Central Catholic 12-11 on April 22. Vikings must keep high-scoring Reese MacIntosh under control and get another big game from Nelson, who scored eight times in Monday’s semifinals, to have any chance. Southern Lehigh 14-8.
Class 3A final
Who: No. 1 Emmaus vs. No. 3 Pleasant Valley Where: Ulrich Sports Complex, Lehigh University
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday At stake: Berth in PIAA first round (vs. District 1 No. 4 seed)
EMMAUS (18-3)
Coach: Roxann Betz (sixth season) Top scorers: Sr. Julia Cote (78 goals, 34 assists); Jr. Emily Hollinger (62 goals, 23 assists); So. Jordyn Poll (57 goals, 26 assists)
Goalie: So. Alani Shotwell
About the Green Hornets:
They advanced to final with 20-4 win over Parkland, their second mercy-rule win over Trojans this postseason. They are aiming for first District 11 title since 2011. They beat Nazareth 15-11 in final that season. … Cote eclipsed 200 career point milestone earlier this season and Hollinger scored 100th career goal. Poll has 100-plus career points and Shotwell has 100-plus career saves.
PLEASANT VALLEY (16-5)
Coach: Toni Bush (seventh season) Top scorers: Sr. Alexandra Bush (97 goals, 24 assists, 157 draw controls); Sr. Brielle McInaw (91 goals, 28 assists); Fr. Devon Bush (51 goals, 15 assists)
Goalie: Sr. Amanda Hayes (86 saves)
About the Bears: They are 4-0 in playoffs with wins over Easton (2), Emmaus, Delaware Valley (of District 2). They topped Emmaus 11-9 in
EPC championship game. That was program’s first-ever postseason title. … Alexandra Bush has 352 career points with 517 draw controls. McInaw has 280 career points with 158 draw controls. Both were
selected to EPC all-star first team.
Final word: Pleasant Valley is 2-0 vs. Emmaus this year, with a 15-10 win to go along with 11-9 triumph in EPC final. Bears, with their three playoff wins, are no longer a Cinderella story. (They did not win a playoff game prior to this season.) But, Green Hornets have enjoyed too good a season to not win a title. They’ll be on a mission. Emmaus 12-10.