Town and Country Newspaper

Sports Article

Upper Perk Takes the Sting Out of Hornets

Written by Rachael Keeney, Correspondent
2013-05-08

Upper Perk's Aubrey Wilcox, center, is challenged from both sides as she scoops up the ball during play in Monday's home game against Emmaus. Wilcox found the goal three times in the game.

The Upper Perkiomen girls' lacrosse team dominated the Emmaus Hornets 17-5 on Tuesday. Top scorers included juniors Kayla Smith and Emily Leight with four goals apiece, followed by junior Maddie Fox and sophomore Aubrey Wilcox, each with a trio of goals.

Senior Captain Rachael Keeney also scored twice, while freshman Morgan Rynn had one.

Though only placing one shot in the goal cage, Rynn swiftly gained possession for the Tribe during the competition’s beginning minutes. Rynn’s total of five draw controls, or possessions after a draw, helped to set the competitive tone for the event.

By halftime, the score was 10-3, the Tribe having obtained a comfortable seven-point cushion. However, 25 crucial minutes remained - plenty of time for the Hornets to reassert their presence on the field.

“I expected us to play a full 50 minutes, which we did, and to win, which we did,” varsity Head Coach Melissa Furey recalled with a laugh. Players went "above and beyond [expectations]."

Senior Captain Devon Kriebel contributed five caused turnovers throughout the game, and with 15:07 left on the clock during the second half, the score became 15-5. The Tribe secured a running clock for the remainder of the game.

Furey remarked, “As a whole we played as a team and everyone stepped up and did what they needed to do. It was a team win. Everyone picked it up and kept [the momentum] going. Even when I subbed, the intensity didn’t settle and we didn’t lose that spark.”

The team is now 7-10. The girls have racked up two more wins than last year.

Just as was the case with Tuesday’s game, Furey had high hopes for the team this season.

“I wanted us to get to the PAC-10 Final Four. I definitely thought that that was doable, but unfortunately we did not meet that [goal].”

Regardless, “As any coach wants, I wanted the team that I started with to be better than the team that I ended with, and that’s definitely what we did. Everyone has improved across the board, varsity and JV players,” Furey noted.

Aside from improvements in fundamental skills, senior Carrie Nyce remarked how, “in the three years that I’ve played I feel as though the team has become increasingly close. This season everyone was just happy, and I liked helping lead the team as a senior.”

Kriebel added to Nyce’s observations, saying, “Considering we are such a young team I think we played really well together. The fact that we had to rely so much on the underclassmen made this year different than the others.”

Different in a positive light, some may say. In witnessing the promising talent undeniably contained within the team’s underclassmen, Furey is looking forward to the future.

“I have very high expectations for next year. We relied on two freshmen this year, and they did a great job. We relied on a lot of sophomores as well, and [next year] everyone will be a year older,” Furey said.

“Of course it is going to hurt to lose our five seniors, but I do believe we have people that can step into those roles and keep improving. I think that we are moving in the right direction.”

As the 2013 season draws to a close, Furey reflected. “In the words of Aubrey Wilcox, this was a ‘universal’ season,” Furey said smiling. “We had a little bit of everything. We had some ups, we had some downs, positive plays, negative plays. We came out better because of it.”

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