Moving Forward, GV Begins Quest For State Title

One of the popular phrases in today's vernacular is "moving forward."

That is exactly what the Great Valley girls lacrosse team will be doing this week as the Patriots enter the PIAA State AAAA tournament, attempting to start anew their quest for a Pennsylvania title.

Great Valley (19-3 ) will be one of seven teams—two from the Ches-Mont League—that start state play on Wednesday. This is the final portion of the a season that started March 25 when the Pats hosted Phoenixville.

They went through the league, losing only one game to the Ches-Mont and eventual District 1 champion Downingtown. They navigated the regular season with no nonleague losses, finishing fourth out of 32 entries in the recently completed district tournament. On Wednesday, Great Valley travels to Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg for a 5 p.m. contest.

Their opponent: Lancaster-Lebanon League and District 3 champion Manheim Township, who currently has a record of 23-0.

Known as the Blue Streaks, Manheim has dominated its way through every level this season. In the District 3 playoffs alone, they defeated Dallastown, 22-0; Wilson West Lawn, 25-6, Penn Manor, 15-6; and finally Cocalico, 18-6, for the title.

Manheim has made life miserable for Lancaster County goaltenders with 443 goals while allowing 125. In 12 games during the season, including districts, the Blue Streaks scored 20 or more goals in a game.

The Patriots are paced by junior Ali Karwoski, one of the best players in this portion of the state. Throughout the year, her talents have drawn double and even triple team defenses. The Pats have scored 349 goals and allowed 184, according to MaxPreps.com.

Playing a top-notch nonleague schedule, the Pats lone bad night came April 7 in a 9-7 loss to the Cougars, one that head coach Joe Tornetta "still has nightmares" about. Prior to that, GV had won five straight than after, put together 11 straight wins to end the regular season, including beating Downingtown West, West Chester Henderson, Conestoga and Menlo, Calif., while on a spring trip to Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The Pats had no trouble with Cheltenham in the first District 1 game, winning 17-2, then toppling Strath Haven in the second round, 15-8. Round three came against Boyertown, a nonleague victim as well, and the Pats led 14-6 with 17:09 to play. The Bears scored six straight goals to get within 14-12, then to 16-15 before Caitlin Kratzer iced the 17-15 win with a goal at 1:18.

In the semi-finals, Great Valley led 7-5 Garnet Valley at the half but the Jaguars pulled away in the second half, 15-10, thanks to a streak of five consecutive goals. That sent the Patriots into the third place game, where they lost to Springfield Delco, 15-9 and now find themselves headed to face Manheim Township.

A win on Wednesday would allow the Patriots to advance to the second round of states where they would face the winner of Springfield Delco and Emmaus on Saturday.

Directions to Cumberland Valley High School

Take the Pennsylvania Turnpike west to the Carlisle Exit (Exit 16). After exiting, take Route 11 North. Go about five miles to a traffic light at the Cumberland Valley main entrance and turn left into the complex.