GMA tops Mount in quarters

Holland makes the difference for Monarchs in district playoffs

LOWER GWYNEDD » Sarah Holland got Tyrone the Elephant. The Gwynedd Mercy girls lacrosse team got another trip to the PIAA tournament.

Tyrone is the Monarchs’ stuffed animal mascot given to as GMA’s top player of the game. Friday afternoon, the honor went to Holland, as the junior goalkeeper anchored a defense that frustrated 12th-seeded Mount Saint Joseph throughout their District 1-2A quarterfinal matchup, helping No. 4 Gwynedd Mercy earn an 7-4 victory GMA 7, Mount St. Joe’s 4 Up next: The Monarchs will visit No. 1 seed Villa Maria on Tuesday. over its Catholic Academies rival.

“I love it. It’s really exciting for me,” Holland said. “I felt I didn’t play my best game but, the fact that my teammates saw I played my best game.”

Holland — in just her first season in the net — collected six saves, stopping pair of stops on 8-meter shots in the second half as the Monarchs (17-2) used a three-goal spurt to take a 7-3 lead with 3:31 left and go on to claim their 15th straight win.

“We shut them down. I thought a couple times they really could of taken that one more step on us and they didn’t,” GMA coach Deb Lawlor said. “It’s probably because we made them feel uncomfortable and that’s what we’re suppose to do as a defense. Best defense never has to check. We weren’t checking too much in there, which means we were doing the right stuff. That means you hook a sister up because you’re picking up on your slide, you’re picking up on your second

GENE WALSH — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Mount St. Joe’s Krista Kushnerick reaches for a loose ball near Gwynedd Mercy’s Elizabeth Ferguson Friday.