Mount St. Joseph Academy, Gwynedd Mercy and Villa Maria have been going in circles as they vie for first place in Catholic Academies field hockey.
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Mount St. Joseph Academy, Gwynedd Mercy and Villa Maria have been going around in circles as they vie for first place in Catholic Academies field hockey. In their first encounters this season, the Mount beat Gwynedd, Gwynedd beat Villa, and Villa defeated Mount St. Joe's.
The atmosphere was more relaxed around the Mount's field last Thursday afternoon, when the Magic hosted a team that is definitely not in contention for the AACA championship, Villa Joseph Marie of Holland, Pa. Outstanding in soccer, Villa Joe is not as strong in the stick sports, hockey and lacrosse.
Last week the Magic already led the Jems 8-0 at halftime, and the hosts coasted to a 9-0 victory from there. The Mount improved to 4-1 in the league and 9-1 overall, while Villa Joe, which has a non-league victory over Plumstead Christian School to its credit, dipped to 0-6 in the AACA.
Senior Grace DeLeo had a hat trick for the winners and six other Mounties had single goals, while sophomore goalie Lexi Kelly logged six saves.
As the month of September came to an end, MSJ head coach Kyra Castano remarked, "I'm really happy with the hard work and dedication I've seen from every single team member. When I come down to practice, they're ready to learn, and they really look forward to game days. They have a nice positive attitude and it's showing on the field."
Last Thursday, sophomore Avery Lasky scored off of a penalty corner five minutes and 35 seconds into the match, giving the Magic all they would need for the victory. DeLeo's first goal followed less than a minute later, and sophomore Alexa Durand made it 3-0 with 4:40 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Magic's five-goal outburst in the second quarter included the two markers DeLeo would need to complete her hat trick, while the other goals came from freshman Tess Hankins, junior Jill Marcolina, and freshman Kaitlyn Comuso.
After leading 8-0 at halftime, Mount St. Joe played the third quarter exclusively with JV team members, then returned varsity athletes to the field for the final period. The Magic's last goal was scored by freshman Caitlin Paul.
As Coach Castano noted, "We've welcomed a few freshmen onto the varsity who are making an impact on our team and fitting in with our system."
