Junior Anna Murphy handles the ball on offense for Mount St. Joseph while being marked by St. Basil’s Carie Fiedler. (Photo by Tom Utescher)[/caption]

by Tom Utescher

Members of Mount St. Joseph Academy’s lacrosse team dispersed for the Easter weekend on a high note, rolling to a 17-2 victory over visiting St. Basil Academy on Wednesday afternoon.

St. Basil is one of several schools in the league which have very few players who entered high school with any lacrosse experience at all, and despite the lopsided score of last week’s contest, the Mount Magic actually took a number of measures to try and hold the score down.

A dozen different players found the net as the Mount raised its overall record to 8-3, with only one of the team’s losses occurring in Athletic Association of Catholic Academies competition.

“I’m super proud of these girls,” first-year head coach Dipi Bhaya remarked. “They’ve worked hard and they’ve accepted a new coaching style and new expectations. They improve every day, from their basic skills to their knowledge of the game, and they’re learning to win the kind of close games that they didn’t win in past years.”

On April 11, the Magic prevailed 14-12 in a pitched battle with traditional rival Gwynedd Mercy Academy. Sophomore Devon McGarvey poured in a total of six goals against the Monarchs, including four of her team’s eight goals during the pivotal second half.

Without an experienced netminder, the Magic had been casting about for a full-time goaltender. In the Gwynedd game, junior Kristen O’Conner took over the position and has now made it hers, according to Coach Bhaya.

Magic sophomore Margaret Kuffner shoots for a goal against visiting St. Basil’s. (Photo by Tom Utescher)[/caption]

The Mount’s new mentor said that the coaching transition has been made easier by the leadership shown by the Magic’s three senior captains: Liz Meister, Erica Brocato and Krista Kushnerick.

“We’ve got Liz on attack, Erica in the midfield and Krista on defense,” Bhaya noted, “and it’s great to have the captains spread out along the field like that.”

In the recent encounter with the Panthers of St. Basil, Meister, McGarvey and junior Brooke Blanche all scored in the opening minute, and by the time the game was 11 minutes old, the Mount had a 10-0 lead. After Carie Fiedler scored to get the visitors on the board, sophomore Katie McCallum countered for the Magic to make it 11-1, and the running-clock mercy rule remained in effect the rest of the way.

McGarvey recorded a hat trick, and two goals apiece came from Meister, Blanche and sophomore Danielle Dodaro. There were single goals by Kushnerick, junior Anna Murphy and McCallum, and fellow sophomores Margaret Kuffner, Katelyn O’Connor and Maggie Wooley. Freshmen Molly Amons and Lauren Maher also appeared in the scoring column.

Only one save in goal was recorded for Mount St. Joseph, and that was made late in the game by freshman Emily Riethmiller when she subbed in for Katelyn O’Connor. Both Reithmiller and Wooley are Norwood Fontbonne Academy graduates.

“These girls are such nice kids,” Coach Bhaya commented. “They’re respectful and they have good attitudes. Our goal the rest of the season is to keep raising our level, no matter who we play. We want to do all the simple things right consistently.”