Sweet Revenge as Quaker Valley Beats Mt. Lebanon in Girls D-I Lax Finals

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, May 22, 2015 | 12:33 AM

“It’s been a long ride for the senior class, we’ve been waiting 365 days for this,” said Quaker Valley senior attack Kayla Foster after scoring 3 goals and adding 3 assists in the Quakers 11-9 win over Mt. Lebanon at Highmark Stadium in Station Square. Not only did the victory give Quaker Valley its first ever WPIAL Division 1 Girls Lacrosse title, it also avenged last year’s final in which the Quakers lost to the Blue Devils 9-7. The title is the third overall championship for the Quakers, who captured the first two Division 2 titles in 2009 and 2010.

It didn’t take Quaker Valley long to jump on top, as senior Emily Kraus converted a Foster assist: 42 into the game for a 1-0 lead. Mt. Lebanon would net the next three goals, the first two by midfielder Amanda Riesmeyer. The midfielder put the Blue Devils on the board with a free position goal at (5:01) and then gave Mt. Lebanon a 2-1 lead 4 minutes later picking up the rebound of an Anna Albers free position and beating QV goalie Aubrey Tarris. Riesmeyer assisted on Alenna Holzworth’s first goal of the night to put the Blue Devils up 3-1 before Foster would answer, taking a pass from Kraus down low on a free position to beat Mt. Lebanon senior Carina Barnes to pull the Quakers within a goal. Mt. Lebanon took a 4-2 lead before the Quakers scored 5 unanswered goals to take a lead they would never give up.

Foster scored her second goal at (22:44) and senior Annie Henry scored her first of three goals on the night less than a minute later to make the score 4-4 at halftime. Foster completed the hat trick off an assist from Aubrey Bouchard just: 52 in to the second half and Henry netted her second off a Kraus assist: 33 after that. Bouchard picked up her first tally of the night just: 36 later and just over two minutes into the half, the Quakers led 7-4. Mt. Lebanon head coach Brian Kattan took a timeout and that worked as Albers scored twice on free position goals to make the score 7-6. But Bouchard (7:20) and Kraus (11:26) each picked up their second goals and the Quakers were back up by three goals. Holzworth scored her second for Mt. Lebanon and when junior midfielder Sophia Klaber found the net with a man-up goal at (15:09), the Blue Devils were back within a goal. But Quaker Valley, which scored a pair of shorthanded goals in their semifinal win over Chartiers Valley, answered with another special teams tally. Foster fed Henry who beat Barnes: 37 later and the Quakers were back up by two goals. Bouchard completed her hat trick for QV at (19:36) and Holzworth rounded out the scoring with her third goal of the night to make the final score 11-9.

Kraus finished with 2 goals and 3 assists for second seeded Quaker Valley. Bouchard added 2 assists to go with her hat trick for the Quakers who improved to (16-1) on the season. Riesmeyer added two assists with her two goals in the loss for #1 Mt. Lebanon. The Blue Devils suffered their first loss of the season and now stand at (18-1) and the loss was the first for Mt. Lebanon dating back to a 9-7 semifinal match against Shady Side Academy in 2013, a span of 36 games. Both teams have qualified for the state playoffs and will start their PIAA tournament slates next Wednesday May 27^th.

Scoring Summary:

Mt. Lebanon:     4 – 5 = 9

Quaker Valley:   4 – 7 = 11

1st Half Scoring:

QV: Emily Kraus – Kayla Foster                         (:42)                 

Mt. L: Amanda Riesmeyer – Free Position          (5:01)

Mt. L: Riesmeyer (2) – Anna Albers                     (9:01)

Mt. L: Allena Holzworth – Riesmeyer                   (13:32)

QV: Foster – Kraus                                            (16:56)

Mt. L: Megan Gibbons                                       (18:23)

QV: Foster (2) – Kraus                                       (22:44)

QV: Annie Henry – Foster                                  (23:42)

2nd Half Scoring:

QV: Foster (3) –Aubrey Bouchard                       (:52)

QV: Henry (2) – Kraus                                        (1:25)

QV: Bouchard – Unassisted                                (2:01)

Mt. L: Anna Albers – Free Position                     (3:22)

Mt. L: Albers – Free Position                              (4:22)

QV: Bouchard (2) – Unassisted                           (7:20)

QV: Kraus (2) – Bouchard                                  (11:26)

Mt. L: Holzworth (2) – Unassisted                       (14:55)

Mt. L: Sophia Klaber – Riesmeyer                      (15:09) Man-Up

QV: Henry (3) – Foster                                       (15:46) SHG

QV: Bouchard (3) – Unassisted                          (19:36)

Mt. L: Holzworth (3) – Unassisted                       (20:19)

Goalkeepers

Quaker Valley – Aubrie Tarris – 7 Saves

Mt. Lebanon – Carina Barnes – 2 Saves