CHIPPEWA TWP. — Since 2012, the Blackhawk girls lacrosse team has never failed to reach the WPIAL quarterfinals, and 2018 will be no different.
The Cougars held off a strong push by Ellis School in the second half of their WPIAL Class 2A first-round playoff game, holding on for a 12-8 win Monday night at Blackhawk High School.
Despite that strong second-half push by Ellis, Blackhawk coach Kevin White said the win showed the Cougars deserved to be a part of the 12-team playoff bracket for another year after sneaking in as the fourth team in Section 2.
They featured a potent offense that had no problem charging up the field and attacking the Ellis goalkeeper in 1-on-1 situations. Seniors Carlee May and Elaina Pappan both scored multiple goals, with Pappan getting the scoring started for the Cougars. The senior winger netted two goals within the first 10 minutes of the game and scored four in the first half as the Cougars jumped out to a 9-1 lead.
“It was definitely a tale of two teams,” White said. “We had a great offensive explosion in the first half, and I don’t know if we fell apart as much as they started pressuring us. But all in all, it was a pretty good game.”
Ellis was the team that put the pressure on in the second half. After scoring their first goal with just 1:48 remaining in the first, they exploded for a seven-goal second half that was led by junior Katherine Ference, who scored five.
Helping keep Ellis at bay was a strong performance in the net by sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Young. She finished with 10 saves and made a number of critical stops in key situations. And when she did make those critical stops, she was able to jumpstart the offense with quick outlet passes, hitting her teammates in stride in the open field for easy counter-attacks.
“Taylor is always rock solid,” White said. “The greatest thing in the world is to have a good goalie, you can cover a lot of mistakes with a good goalie.”
Now that their place in the quarterfinals in secured, the Cougars can look ahead to a matchup with a familiar foe. For the past three seasons, White and the Cougars have matched up with Hampton in the playoffs.
In 2016, the two teams met in the semifinals and the Cougars came out on top 7-6, on their way to their first WPIAL championship. Last year it was Hampton who had the upper hand in their second meeting, winning 13-5 and denying the Cougars a second straight trip to the semifinals.
“They are a different team this year, and they are obviously of the better teams in the WPIAL,” White said of the Talbots. “But all we can do is go out and play our game and the rest will take care of itself.”
The two teams will face off on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Hampton High School.