Stellar Season for Harriton Girls Lacrosse Ends

Having rebounded from a one-goal loss to Springfield in the district semi-finals with back-to-back wins, Coach George Dick and his talented Harriton Rams lacrosse squad entered the uncharted waters of the PIAA state tournament with a renewed swagger.

Rightly so, as Harriton, whose only losses of the season have come at the hands of Central League foes, entered play Wednesday night ranked No. 10 in the state by MaxPreps.

Unfortunately for the Rams, their opponent was another Central League team: the Garnet Valley squad with whom they shared the league title, ranked No. 9 in the state. The Jaguars defeated the Rams, 18-10, at West Chester East High School, ending their season and their first foray into the state playoffs.

“It sucks,” said senior netminder Jackie Marshall, who made three sensational saves at the start of the second half to keep the Rams within striking of distance. “Our program has come so far in my four years here and in a couple of days I will probably look back and think about how great our year has been. To get to states, which was something that we probably had not thought possible a couple of years ago, is great, but right now it sucks, because I didn’t want the season to end yet.”

“I am so proud of the way the girls have battled all year,” said coach George Dick, who had previously expressed concerns about playing a division foe in a playoff situation. “It’s tough playing a team that knows us so well in a playoff, but that’s what happens sometimes. This team has really stepped it up when they have had to all season and today was no different.

“Making states says just how far we have come in a very short period of time.”

Harriton tied the game at two with 23:03 left in the first half on goals by Carli Sukonik and Jessica Schwab, offensive standouts all season. The battle had all the making of a shootout, which was feared by both coaches.

“We talked about it yesterday and today,” said Garnet Valley head coach Kate Henwood. “The last thing we wanted to do was get into a shootout with them. They score goals in streaks and have a player in Sukonik that can put a team on her back and score 10 goals by herself.”

The Jaguars employed a shadowing defense on Sukonik, utilizing the defensive skills of Coley Ricci to cover the Rams sniper. Sukonik was held to four goals.

Meanwhile, they scored six goals in five minutes before intermission, and though the Rams battled back in the second half, the margin was too great to overcome.