It was the tale of two halves for the girls’ lacrosse team at Bishop McDevitt High School as they welcomed the Warriors of Gettysburg on April 1 for a match up at Rocco Ortenzio Stadium.
Searching for their first win on the young season, the Crusaders seemed poised to give the Warriors a run in the opening half, in which they trailed 2-1. Gettysburg scored in the opening minute, but the Crusaders held their own with the first of Sami Wolfgang’s three goals on the night to tie the game early. The Warriors went ahead after a McDevitt turnover with less than 3:00 minutes to play before the break, but the game was well within the Crusaders’ reach as they found themselves within one.
The second half unraveled into a different story for Bishop McDevitt, though, as the sun set over their home turf. Trailing 5-3 and still within reach of the Warriors after Wolfgang’s second and third tallies, defensive sloppiness and six penalties on the night put the Crusaders into a hole they couldn’t climb out of. McDevitt spent the majority of the fourth quarter defending their own goal from a Warrior onslaught; Gettysburg would notch four goals in the final stanza to seal the victory, 11-3.
In postgame comments, McDevitt’s first-year head coach Olivia Pratt told The Witness she’s finding positives for her team to build upon.
“The last couple days, we spent a lot of time figuring out our team atmosphere,” Pratt said. “I came in as a new coach this year and the program is rebuilding. Our practices have included a lot of team bonding here in the early going; I have to figure out what makes them click.”
“In the first half today, we saw results. They were clicking and getting it,” she said.
“But they got a little sloppy in the defensive end. They were letting their sticks hang and had a lot of fouls that we need to tighten up on.”
Pratt comes to Bishop McDevitt with years of local lacrosse program experience and a playing career that includes Central Dauphin High School, Millersville University and Lebanon Valley College.
“We have 25 girls and we’re only a varsity team. I love that they love each other. Working on team atmosphere is important to me and important to them; it’s vital that they can pass to each other and trust each other on plays, and then we can build on that. The team mindset is a priority first, and after that I can coach an athlete on developing fundamentals.”
“With this being my first year as a head coach and my first year coaching, it’s been a learning curve for them and for me,” she added, “but as we move further into the season we’re going to see more connections, more goals and have more improvements to build on.”
(Photos by Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
