Mount works some nocturnal magic against Merion

Posted 9/17/18

Mount senior tri-captain Mari Kniezewski (right) takes the ball from a Merion Mercy opponent. (Photo by Tom Utescher) by Tom Utescher Mount St. Joseph Academy athletes got to play a field hockey …

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Mount works some nocturnal magic against Merion

Posted

Mount senior tri-captain Mari Kniezewski (right) takes the ball from a Merion Mercy opponent. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

Mount St. Joseph Academy athletes got to play a field hockey match on a big stage last Thursday evening, performing under the lights on Villanova University’s home field at the Proving Grounds in Conshohocken. The Magic took the opportunity to shine, taking a 3-0 lead over Catholic Academies rival Merion Mercy before the Golden Bears got on the board late in the second half for a 3-1 final.

In their first season under head coach Sue (Boyer) Wentzel, the Mount came into Thursday’s match with a 2-1 record, having opened play in the AACA with a victory over Villa Joseph Marie. Merion Mercy, which is coached by former Penn Charter star Margaretha Ehret (’05), arrived at the Proving Grounds with an overall mark of 2-0-1 that included league victories over St. Basil and Sacred Heart.

Those mid-August workouts in 90-degree heat apparently paid off for the Magic, who appeared to be a very fit franchise. Passing the ball well up and down the field, the Mounties began knocking on the goal of the Merion goal early on, although it would be some time before they found their way in.

Merion put together some nice sequences moving the ball through the midfield, but the Golden Bears were often stopped short of the MSJ circle, and senior goalie Claire Maguire was only called upon to make one save in the first half.

A lot of this was due to the stalwart play of the defenders in front of her. Senior center back Maddie Niekelski and junior left back Rory Williamson are both veteran varsity players, and head coach Sue Wentzel noted that sophomore Katie McCallum has upped her game to show that she’s ready to take over at right back.

Last Thursday, when the ball was in the midfield it was frequently on the stick of senior center mid Mari Kniezewski, the lynchpin in the Magic’s transition game.

Farther upfield, the offensive activity generated by the Mount bore fruit with 6:07 remaining in the first period, when junior Haley Cliggett guided the ball through the middle of the circle to score.

Preparing to defend a Merion Mercy penalty corner are Mount goalie Claire Maguire (left) and defenders Rory Williamson (standing at right) and Katie McCallum (crouching). (Photo by Tom Utescher)

It appeared that Mount St. Joe would go into the intermission holding a 1-0 advantage, but 20 seconds before the end of the period Ellie Maransky put away an insurance goal for the Magic after fellow senior tri-captain Julianna Kratz brought the ball into the circle high on the right.

As opposed to a 1-0 halftime tally, a 2-0 score lent a somewhat different tone to the dialog in the team huddles.

The Mount started strong once more as the second stanza began, but the Golden Bears soon asserted themselves on offense, attacking much deeper into the Mount’s end of the field than they had in the first half. Maeve McCarthy, who had taken over in the MSJ goal from her senior classmate Maguire, logged 11 saves in the second period.

Still, about halfway through (with 17:11 remaining), Mount St. Joseph was able to stick a third point on the board, this time through a sophomore collaboration between Megan Maransky (the scorer, and sister of Ellie) and Meghan McGinley.

Behind by three points now, Merion still did not let down, but instead redoubled its efforts and gave the Mount “D” a workout. On a corner play just over a minute after the MSJ goal, Merion received the insertion high on the right. After a deflection or two, the ball rolled toward an MMA stick closer to the goal on the left side, but on the resulting shot the Magic’s Niekelski got a piece of the ball and deflected it up over the cage.

With under a dozen minutes left, a hard Mount drive sent the ball into the Merion backboard, but the blow had been struck a little outside the circle.

The Golden Bears broke up the Mount St. Joe shutout with 5:01 remaining, thanks to sophomore Kate Ewing. A time-out was taken, and when play resumed the 3-1 count held up the rest of the way.

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