GREENVILLE — Ursuline’s lacrosse team hung with defending state champion Tatnall into the fourth quarter before the Hornets pulled away for a 14-9 victory.
It was the first game for new coach Stephanie Mark, and the Raiders wasted no time taking a lead. Claire Fowler won the opening draw and shortly thereafter beat Tatnall goalie Devin Chipman 12 seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead. The Hornets, however, controlled the next draw and leveled the score almost immediately on a tally by Jordan Bartels just 19 seconds later.
Following the tying goal, the possessions lengthened and the scoring slowed. Some of that was attributable to the goalies, Chipman, the veteran, and Ursuline’s Lucy Copeland, who was playing her first high school lacrosse game. The Hornets scored late in the quarter to lead, 3-2, after one, but only because Chipman stopped an 8-meter opportunity by Emma Anthony in the final minute.
Anthony got her revenge two minutes into the second, tying the game after a steal by Claire Fowler started a Raiders offensive rush. A draw control right after that resulted in Anthony finding Olivia O’Hara just 27 seconds later, giving Ursuline its second lead of the afternoon.
The teams were tied twice more in the first half, but Leighton Houston found the net with 1:21 to go to give Tatnall a one-goal lead at the break. It would have been two had Copeland not come up with a gem of a save at the buzzer.
The Hornets stretched the advantage to three with two goals in the first three and a half minutes, but after those, neither team could generate much in the way of chances for several minutes. O’Hara picked up her second goal of the day with 4:25 left in the third when she scooped up a rebound and hit an open net. Tatnall added two more, however, and they led, 10-7, heading into the final 12 minutes.
Bella Tesche converted an 8-meter opportunity just 36 seconds in, putting the Raiders within striking distance. Defensively, Ursuline kept Tatnall off the board for almost seven minutes, getting at least one more save from Copeland, but the Hornets put the game out of reach with three goals in a span of 2:27.
Sutton Matter had five goals, and Charlotte Wilkinson had four to lead the Hornets. Chipman stopped seven shots. Tatnall (1-0) will remain home for its next game, which is Saturday at noon against Avon Grove (Pa.).
For the Raiders, O’Hara had a hat trick, while Anthony and Fowler each had a pair. Copeland finished with nine saves. Ursuline (0-1) visits Archmere on Friday at 4 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
