by Matt Koll
The PAC women’s lacrosse is already underway and four teams remain for a shot at the title and for the opportunity to knock off the three-time defending champions. Let’s look at the matchups from here…
#1 WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON PRESIDENTS vs. #4 CHATHAM COUGARS
Photo courtesy of W&J Athletics.
The Presidents put together a perfect PAC regular season record and kept the train rolling from the previous three seasons in which they emerged as champions.
W&J brings the top offense in the conference to the matchup in terms of goals per game. Aisa Uhler is coming off a week in which she was named the PAC Player of the Week and ranks third in the conference in goals. Sofia Jenkins also brings the goods offensively as she finished as the top assists per game player in the conference and finished third in points per game.
Each team is special in their own way. This group, in particular, is led by a group of seniors who overcame a lot of adversity during the pandemic and experienced a very abnormal start to their collegiate careers,” said W&J head coach Alison Valerio. “They learned a lot from our 2023 class and collectively bonded so well over the last four years that it’s attributed to a winning culture. They’re a fun group to coach, get along well off the field, and are also very talented in their own right.”
Chatham is coming off a thrilling quarterfinal match against Thiel on Tuesday night. The Cougars built leads of 5-1 in the first quarter and 6-2 at halftime, but the Tomcats fought back to tie the game at 8 apiece with just under five minutes to play. But the tie lasted less than a minute as the Cougars scored on their next possession and held on for the final 4:04 to win it 9-8.
Felicia Hutter scored four goals in the winning effort, including the game winner. She finished the regular season 8th in goals per game and 9th in points per game. In net, Sam Barrett and her conference-leading .587 save percentage and 4.72 goals against average presents a real challenge for the Presidents’ high flying offense.
In the regular season matchup, the Cougars hung around but ultimately fell by a 20-13 final score. Hutter scored three goals in that game for Chatham while Anna Kloehn buried six and Sofia Jenkins and Emily Heck each scored four.
The Presidents have the target on their back, but they’re used to it by now.
“We work toward playing in May all season long; that’s the goal,” said Valerio. “Nevertheless, one of our mantra is to be present, or play in the moment. So the pressure isn’t to be perfect, but rather focus on playing to our potential and growing from our mistakes one game at a time. It’s a privilege to be in this position and, knowing the stakes, we focus on what it takes to get here and not take it for granted. That’s what gives us confidence.”
#2 ALLEGHENY GATORS vs. #3 GROVE CITY WOLVERINES
Photo courtesy of Allegheny College Athlertics.
Allegheny’s lone hiccup in PAC play came in a one-goal loss against W&J, but they finished the season on an 8-game winning streak that included strong victories over two other semifinal teams Chatham (13-5) and Grove City (14-8). The Gators led the conference in shots and shots on goal per game, remaining aggressive in creating offensive opportunities for themselves.
“The style of play on this team really relies on the girls working to each other’s strengths and playing with confidence,” Allegheny interim head coach Georgie Volna. “To play as a team is to help each other out and that’s exactly what they’ve been doing each game.”
Lauren Petarca leads the way offensively, cracking the PAC top 10 in goals per game (4th), points per game (7th) and shots per game (2nd).
Meanwhile, Grove City is a high-powered and dangerous team. They’ll be riding the momentum of a blowout 17-5 win against Westminster in their quarterfinal match on Tuesday. The Wolverines built up a 10-0 lead and never looked back. Taylor Blythe racked up 10 points, five goals and five assists and tied her own single game program record for points.
This is an offense that scored more than any other team in the PAC during the regular season and finished 2nd in goals per game. And their quarterfinal performance proved that they can be tough defensively, too.
Blythe (2nd), Madison Nazigian (5th) and Lucy Martin (8th) all finished as Top 10 scorers in terms of points per game.
Coach Volna believes this Allegheny squad has played through some tougher times this year and has grown tremendously along the way, figuring out how to play as a team. In the regular season matchup, the Gators got out to a 7-2 lead that became an 8-4 lead at halftime. They never relinquished control of the game despite the pushback from Grove City and won the game 14-8.
Oh, and if the Gatos meet W&J again in the finals after suffering that 12-11 loss to them earlier this season?
“What I’ve taken away from not only our game against W&J but every game we’ve played is that every day is a new day,” said Volna. “The conditions of a rematch will be different but we are also both different teams now than we were then. We played them first in the conference so it will be interesting to hopefully see them in the championship game again.”
