This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Harriton Girls Lacrosse Makes History with First Defeat of Radnor

The Rams toppled the two-time defending state champs in OT.

They knew immediately how to react, even if it was over something they never did before. The Harriton girls’ lacrosse rushed out to centerfield, and hugged each other in a mass frenzy, acting as if they won the Super Bowl, World Series and World Cup all combined.

In a sense, the Rams did.

They made school history on Tuesday by doing something no other Harriton girls’ lacrosse ever did before—they beat two-time defending state champion Radnor, 14-13, in sudden death in a key Central League game for both teams.

Find out what's happening in Narberth-Bala Cynwydwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sophomore Caleigh Foust provided the game-winning goal just 13 seconds into the first three-minute overtime period, finishing with a game-high five goals, followed by four goals from teammate Carli Sukonik and three goals from Laura Walzer. The Rams improved to 13-2 overall and stayed in the running for the Central League title, at 6-2.

Radnor, meanwhile, fell to 10-3 overall and 7-1 in the league, and were buoyed by four goals from Taryn Deck, and two goals each from Lindsay Grossman, Shannon Quinn and Kristen Norden.

Find out what's happening in Narberth-Bala Cynwydwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Both goalies were exceptional, especially in the last minute of regulation, when Radnor’s Annie Woehling kept the game alive snaring a laser from Sukonik and Jaclyn Marshall stonewalled Radnor three attempts to keep it tied.

It was a game that lived up to its billing between two stellar state-wide programs. The tenor of the game had extreme shifting momentum swings. Harriton threw a stunning blow at Radnor t the outset, getting off to a 7-0 lead. Only to see Radnor dig out of that hole to score nine of the next 10 goals and lead 9-8 with 14:44 left in regulation.

Then Harriton came back to lead late, 13-12. Then Radnor answered to tie at 13-13. Finally, it was Foust, who’s missed a handful of games after having her tonsils removed, and is playing herself back into shape.

It was Foust’s bouncing shot that dribbled by the outstretched stick of Woehling that ignited a celebration that took some time coming.

“My heart was racing there in the end,” said Marshall, who’s headed to Widener to play lacrosse. “But I believed we could do this. Even after they came back, I still believed we could win. I think it was so emotional for the seniors because we never beat them before—ever. We knew that.”

It’s why some of the Harriton seniors, who won their 50th game in four years, shed tears afterward.

“There were a lot of tears in the past over close games we should have won,” said Sukonik, who’s headed to Lehigh for lacrosse and experienced more than her fair share of lopsided losses to Radnor through the years. “This year, we’re crying over big games we win. The seniors know what it was like when we lost big to teams like Radnor. It’s why this game was so big for us. It was about endless effort, and it showed what we can do when we play fully to our ability.”

A huge difference came on the draws. Harriton won the battle of ball control by taking 18 of the 27 draws in the game. The big game-changing factor was Foust, a speedy little sophomore who scooped up the sudden death draw, blew by four Radnor defenders and fired home the winning goal.

“I always wanted to beat Radnor, but not just for myself, for the seniors,” Foust said. “We’ve had games like this all year when we got up big, and then let down. This time we pushed through.”

And made history.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?