In hopes to advance to the semifinals in the PIAA playoffs, the Pandas field hockey team came ready to play Saturday, November 12 vs. Merion Mercy Academy.  This is the first time in program history that the girls field hockey team made it this far in the PIAA tournament. Unfortunately, the Pandas lost in a tough battle against Merion.

 In the first half of the game, the Pandas came out strong defensively.  The Pandas were missing a key defender and All-Catholic player, Casey Rafferty, but they stepped up their game. There were 10 beautiful saves by goalkeeper Chelsea Rafferty to keep the Pandas in the game. One of the saves included a penalty stroke against the Pandas. There were also key stops defensively by Bryce Johnson, Kyle Dougherty, Kaitlin Martin, Meghan Sullivan, and Riley Dolan.  The defense prevented scoring from many corners made by Merion.  However, Merion’s Caroline Steller scored a goal to make the score 1-0.  Offensively, the Pandas had many opportunities to score.  Unfortunately, they were unable to score against Merion’s defense. The Pandas had three good corners from Meghan Sullivan that caused the Pandas to come close to scoring. There were also good passes and opportunities made by Carly Brosious, Riley Dolan, and Allison Martin.

 In the second half of the game, the Pandas were in hopes to score against Merion to tie, or take the lead in the game. However, they were unable to put it in the back of the net. Chelsea Rafferty made 4 saves this half.  There was also another penalty stroke made by Merion’s Jamie Natale, but Rafferty was unable to make the save on this one.  Jamie Natale also scored on a play previous to the penalty stroke, making the score 3-0 Merion.  After the 2 goals were scored, the Pandas made an effort to get the ball down the field.  Kerri Quinn and Molly McNulty both had a breakaway run down the field, but the Merion defenders got back fast enough to stop them.  There were also great defensive stops made by Kyle Dougherty and Kaitlin Martin. Carly Brosious also had a great offensive play and crossed the ball to the middle, but the Pandas could not get their sticks on the ball to put it in the back of the net. Towards the end of the half, Merion’s Margo Carlin was able to score another goal on the Pandas making the final score 4-0.

Although it was a tough loss, the Panda’s field hockey team had a wonderful season! They won the District 12 championship, and made it to the quarterfinals of the PIAA tournament.  They had 5 players that made the All Catholic Honoree. Riley Dolan was named MVP of the Catholic League! Riley Dolan, Carly Brosious and Casey Rafferty made 1st Team All Catholic, Kyle Dougherty made 2nd Team All Catholic, and Molly McNulty was Honorable Mention for the Catholic League! The Pandas are looking forward to their next upcoming season, and hope to be even stronger next year!