There’s no question that has a very good lacrosse team this season. Now it’s becoming more and more apparent just how good the Lady Rams are, and where they could be headed in June. Harriton stomped on a solid West Chester East team on Saturday, 21-10, and drove its record to an imposing 7-0 start this year.
It was competitive for about the first three minutes, and West Chester East even scored the first goal of the game. Then Harriton’s tsunami offense hit—scoring the next nine goals and never looking back.
Harriton was led by Carli Sukonik, the Lehigh-bound senior who topped all scorers with nine goals (equaling a personal best), five goals from Jess Schwab and four from Caleigh Foust. West Chester East scored three goals each from Morgan Gallagher and Julia Falcone, with additional goals from Taylor Clark, Hailey Tomlinson, Meryle Leathers and Shavon Burke.
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The Rams led 15-6 at halftime and were up by as much as 14-4 and 15-5 halfway through the opening half. Harriton came at West Chester East in waves, and the Vikings had no answers. It is beginning to look like few teams will be able to answer what Harriton has this season.
“I think this game showed how much depth we have,” Sukonik said. “Most teams have their one or two stars that can score, we have the depth and numbers that anyone can score on this team. This is reassuring. The more games we win like this is reassuring. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves, and we know we have so much potential to do some good things. We know we’re pretty good. It goes back to confidence.”
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Schwab feels the trust between the team is a big factor. There was a time, not long ago, that having 12 or 13 players that can throw and catch was an issue. Not anymore. “As a team, we trust everyone,” Schwab said. “I’m not afraid to throw the ball back to anyone on defense, because I know they’ll catch it and take care of it. We’re playing the types of teams that are helping us get better. We know that even if we’re down by one goal, we know we can come back.”
Defense has been playing a large role in Harriton’s success, too, Rams’ coach George Dick said. Junior midfielder Ally McLaughlin and senior Megan Rubenstein bring an aggressive, fiery brand of play in the middle of the field, able to anticipate passes, and their aggressiveness has forced turnovers.
“We have the kind of good defensive players that can force teams into doing some things they might not want to do,” Dick said. “Ally and Megan do a ton of the dirty work, the kinds of jobs that go unnoticed, but are important for any team to win. We have great players in front of Jackie Marshall, our goalie, who also does a great job.”
Right now, Harriton looks like a team that has 14 to 15 players that are all doing great jobs. But a few more tests are coming. The Conestoga squad is a good one. And on May 3, two-time defending state champion Radnor visits the Rams.
There may be some surprised looks during those contests—because the Harriton team they were used to seeing isn’t the same one they’ll face this season. It goes back to confidence.
