Mount St. Joseph Academy's lacrosse team figuratively dove right in at the deep end of the pool last Friday afternoon, opening its 2024 season by hosting a perennial powerhouse from southern Delaware County, Garnet Valley High School.

The visiting Jaguars prevailed 16-7, but the outcome was not really surprising as the Mount Magic took on one of the toughest teams they're likely to face all season.

It appears that under their new head coach, the Magic will seek out challenges, not try to avoid them.

New Mount mentor Mary Kate Maloney already knows the school very well; she's a 2016 MSJ graduate who was a 100-goal scorer for the Mounties. She went on to play midfield for Old Dominion University.

After graduating from ODU in 2020, she became a coach with the Dynasty Elite Lacrosse Club but had not coached a school team before taking over the Mount program this spring. If there's one thing the Mount St. Joe franchise has lacked in the modern era, it's consistency at the head coach position, with a turnover at the top spot occurring every couple of years.

It's hoped Maloney will bring stability to the program going forward. She already has an assistant who's familiar to the players in Mary Dean, a former Germantown Academy head coach who's now in her third year on the Mount coaching staff. Guiding the JV team is a former Mount goalie, Maggie McDonald ('17).

The Magic's 2024 team captains will all continue to play in college. Maggie Rezza, a four-year starter, will head to Penn State, while Amelia Clair will play for Catholic University and Quinn Shields will join the squad at the University of Scranton.

These three, along with classmate Tatum Donohue, started for the Magic against Garnet Valley last Friday. Also starting out the contest were juniors Meg Holmes, Morgan Smith, and Katie Westmoreland and sophomores Gabby Clair, Ani Garcia, Emily Holmes, Madeline Maszczak, and goalie Sophia Settelen.

In reserve were seniors Taylor Delli Carpini and Caitlin Keough, junior Sara Burman, sophomores Sarah Elwell, Nora Feliciana, and Alyssa Foley, and freshmen Julia Elwell, Caitlin Paul, and Anna Saucier.

Last Friday the opening goal by Garnet Valley was matched by the Mount's Westmoreland, then the Jaguars notched back-to-back goals to take the lead for good. At the end of the quarter, Rezza scored on a restart at the buzzer, and the Magic only trailed 3-2.

Westmoreland would score again in the second period, but Garnet Valley fired in five goals of its own for an 8-3 advantage at the break. Later, the visitors took a 10-goal lead early in the fourth quarter (13-3) and the margin remained roughly the same the rest of the way. Amelia Clair would score twice in the fourth round. Her sister Gabby also scored, and Rezza put in her second goal before the game ended at 16-7.