Carroll ponders positive after losing to Twin Valley in state playoffs – PA Prep Live

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE – Archbishop Carroll’s coach Christina Elisio decided to recall many good things that happened to the Patriots after they gathered in August for their first practice of the field hockey season.

Senior Grace O’Neill waited a few days off before continuing her basketball career.

Junior Courtland Schumacher decided to talk about the 2022 season, which he hopes will end as Carroll’s 2020 campaign did – with his team playing for the state championship.

It was only a few minutes after the last whistle marked the end of Carroll’s season on Saturday afternoon. The sun was setting at Methacton High after Twin Valley won the Patriots 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class 2A.

As the temperature dropped and tears began to flow from Carroll’s seniors, Elisio reflected on the good things he and his players and assistant coaches had the opportunity to share.

“I asked them to keep their heads up,” the seventh-year head coach said. “We are a young team, and we will lose six seniors who were in the state finals last year, won the (Catholic League) championship overtime this year and survived the overtime in the first round of the state tournament to get here today.

“We played a very strong first half against a very good team with a phenomenal player (Drexel committed to Natali Foster). The situation broke up a bit in the second half. But we have a lot to develop and we want our younger players to want to come back next season.”

In the first 15 minutes, Carroll goalkeeper Reilly McMenam dropped a great goal from Foster (one goal, one pass) and Cate McConaghy and O’Neill played key defensive games in the Pats on Twin Valley penalty corners.

The Raiders (25-2) made the best use of the corner game to break into the goal column at 3:49 before the end of the half. Foster collected the ball at the top of the scoring circle and pushed it toward Emma Winther (two goals, two assists), whose redirect avoided McMenamin and took the TV to a 1-0 lead.

The second set was the only one where Carroll (12-7) shot to the finish (three). The Patriots then had problems in the third set as they waived four penalty corners.

Freshman Adrianna Hall fed Winther in the corner game, and less than a minute after Pats’s Sienna Golden was expelled with a yellow card, Twin Valley sophomore Hadley Munn got the goal to finish the corner game. Hall to assist.

Before the end of the period, McMenamin stopped Winther’s penalty kick and the Raiders added their fourth goal, this Foster, assisted by Winther.

Winther decided to scorch for a long run, which McMenamin could not get from the front after seven minutes of play.

“Being with all my teammates has been so much fun on and off the field,” said O’Neill, who is on his way to Drexel to play basketball. “Team dinners and so many other things always come to mind.

“We knew what strong team we had to face today, but we stayed with them in the first half.”

Schumacher agreed with O’Neill about the experiences that all of Carroll’s players shared.

“The focus of the whole season has been on playing together and enjoying what we do,” Schumacher said. “Our theme was doing things together as a unit.

“I think we know there are things we need to work on before next time, and that should keep us motivated.”

Ever since Catholic League schools joined the PIAA a dozen years ago, Archbishop Carroll’s teams have won State Titles in boys ’and girls’ basketball and girls ’lacrosse.

“I think now you can see how Carroll field hockey has made a name for itself,” Elisio said.