ND must be stingy on defense against L’ville
The opening game of the girls lacrosse Mercer County Tournament semifinals features the two programs that have won the last five county titles in Lawrenceville and Notre Dame.
The Big Red are the three-time defending champion and the Irish won two straight before this latest Lawrenceville run.
The first draw control is set for 4 p.m. and the semifinals will be played at Allentown.
The second game at 6 p.m. pits No. 3 Princeton facing No. 2 Allentown.
Top-seeded Lawrenceville (8-4) comes into the game having won five of the last six and possibly playing its best lacrosse of the season.
No. 4 Notre Dame (6-6) has been hit hard by the injuries on the attack and has learned to rely on solid defense and patience.
One of the top freshmen in the county, Lexie Koch leads the Big Red with 29 goals and seven assists and her sister, senior Bella, leads in assists with 17 and she also has 25 goals and a team high 26 draw controls.
But, there is much more than just two players on the Big Red.
Chloe Babich has 25 goals, Jaylyn Bennett chimes in with 23 and 11 helpers and Maddie Brogan has 18 goals and 13 assists.
The Lawrenceville defense is led by Melissa Josephson in the goal with 100 saves and a 6.07 goals against average.
“I think one of our best strengths is that while we have a number of kids who
can score, we have a lot of players putting up points which indicated our depth which is nice to have,” said Lawrenceville coach Lisa Ewanchyna. “On the other end of the field we have a lot of players who can play multiple positions — our low defense…many of them used to play midfield, so we have great flexibility in matching our talents to opponents.”
When the Irish won the MCT in 2015 and 2016, they faced Lawrenceville in the final in ’15 and in the semifinals in ’16, so these two are not strangers.
This game should have the same intensity and focus.
“Lawrenceville again is the complete package,” said ND coach Bryan Fisher. “We will have to find a way to control tempo and bring great belief to the semifinals to knock off the defending champs.”
The Irish, who are 2-3 in the last five games, rebounded with a quality 9-8 win over Hun in the quarters.
When leading scorer Sammy Renda went down with an injury, juniors Alyssa Lienhard and Naomi Kahney picked up the slack. Lienhard has 27 goals and Kahney 22 with 11 assists.
“I don’t know much about them but I know Bryan (Fisher) will have coached them up well,” said Ewanchyna. “I think the benefit of not knowing a lot will help us focus on our strengths and our game.”
Defense, though, is the hallmark of Notre Dame.
“Defense is in our DNA at Notre Dame,” stated Fisher. “Stella Scudillo and Emily Brady spearheaded a total team effort on defense.”
While the up and downs have been difficult at times for the Irish they have hung tough and will be ready for the Big Red.
“Through your struggles you build your strength,” said Fisher. “Girls showed a ton of mental toughness. They continue to give their very best day in and day out and it paid off for us when it mattered most.”