After playing a few scrimmages and going 1-1 in a pair of non-league games, Mount St. Joseph Academy's lacrosse squad opened its Athletic Association of Catholic Academies season last Tuesday at Gwynedd Mercy Academy.

The visiting Magic led the whole way after putting up a single goal in the opening quarter. They scored five times in the second period to earn a 6-2 halftime lead, but the host Monarchs (2-1) rallied later on, cutting the lead to a single point twice in the fourth quarter before the Mount wrapped up an 8-6 victory.

A 2016 Mount graduate, MK Maloney, is back for her second season as head coach, along with assistant Mary Dean.

In last Tuesday's league opener, Gwynedd's Jenna Wachs hit the crossbar of the Mount goal in the second minute of the game. The Magic transitioned to offense, and senior Katie Westmoreland penetrated through the left side of the arc to score with 9:36 remaining in the first period.

Westmoreland will continue her lacrosse career at Gettysburg College, while her classmate Megan Holmes will play at Davidson College. They are team captains this season, along with fellow senior Sara Burman.

After some more Mount attacks following the opening goal, the momentum switched to the Monarchs, who had three free position shots saved by MSJ by freshman goalie Maeve Shields. The first quarter concluded with the score still 1-0.

Just 73 seconds into the second period, MSJ junior Emily Holmes scored after dodging through a Monarch double-team. Next came back-to-back strikes by junior Gabby Clair with 9:02 and 7:34 left in the second quarter. Both came off of free positions at the center hashmark, and Gwynedd called time-out facing a 4-0 deficit.

Less than a minute later, Gwynedd got on the board as Chloe Folk slanted from high left to low right to get off a successful shot. The Mount notched a fifth goal off a free position for freshman Anna Geib, but the hosts quickly responded with a sharply angled shot from the left of the goal by Honor Borek.

The Magic had the final word in the half with 2:15 on the clock. Junior Nora Feliciani approached from out in the left flat and placed a low shot into the cage to make it 6-2 at the intermission.

The Mounties would not be able to just cruise to victory, though. Gwynedd goals by Folk and Maddie McFadden closed up the score to 6-4 with under six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Near the end of the period, Monarchs goalie Maddy Binsfeld stopped a shot by MSJ freshman Neely Lesovitz, and Westmoreland fired a ball that struck a post.

It was the Mount keeper, Shields, who stepped up early in the fourth quarter to deny an attempt by Gwynedd's Jenna Wachs. At the other end of the field, Clair had a shot hit the Gwynedd crossbar and a hard shot by Westmoreland zipped over the top of the cage.

Following a save on another Magic shot by GMA's Binsfeld with five minutes left in the game, the hosts made nice connections in their offensive transition. The sequence ended on a score from the edge of the crease by Malley Connor, making it a one-goal game (6-5) with 4:42 on the ticker.

With 3:56 to go, the Magic finally scored a seventh goal, as Mads Maszczak came from behind the cage to sling a shot into the net. The clock showed 3:10 when Gwynedd closed within a single goal again, this time thanks to McFadden.

The Mounties called time-out, and then they were awarded possession in a scramble off of the center draw. The Magic moved the ball up on offense, but after a few passes they turned it over. The ball came loose again as Gwynedd tried to go up on the attack, and the Mount's Westmoreland recovered it with a little over a minute remaining.

The visitors took better care of the ball this time, and when a foul was committed with 2.4 seconds on the board, a Mount free position was converted by Feliciani for the 8-6 final.

While athletes at many area schools have headed away for their spring break, the Mounties (whose break doesn't begin until April 14) are keeping busy in local action. Sprinkled in with a bunch of non-league games is an AACA meeting with Merion Mercy Academy this Tuesday.