Mt. Lebanon girls win WPIAL title
Blue Devils embark on PIAA play
Mt. Lebanon continues its remarkable season in girls lacrosse when the Blue Devils embark on PIAA tournament play on June 4.
During the 2024 campaign, the Blue Devils captured a section banner with a perfect 8-0 record. On May 23, Lebo won a WPIAL title. After three consecutive runner-up performances, the Blue Devils claimed the Class 3A crown when they defeated Pine-Richland, 16-11, at Joe Walton Stadium on the Robert Morris University campus.
“I didn’t want to be the Buffalo Bills,” said Lebo skipper Brian Kattan. “No offense to Buffalo.”
None taken as Kattan is no Marv Levy, who coached that NFL franchise to four consecutive Super Bowls in the 19990s only to lose each one of them.
Kattan is one of the winningest coaches in the WPIAL. He entered the 200-victory club this season when the Blue Devils toppled rival Upper St. Clair, 11-10, during the regular season. He also guided Lebo to a non-section win against the Rams before the playoffs commenced.
Lebo entered the post season undefeated and as the top seed. In school history, there are six WPIAL titles to go along with the runner-up trophies from 2021 to 2023.
“Winning a section is always our goal. So that was great to do. Another great achievement was getting that No. 1 seed going into the playoffs,” Kattan said. “Winning a WPIAL title is a much bigger aspiration. We knew it wouldn’t be easy because there were a lot of very good teams out there. It was one of the deeper years for the WPIAL.”
After receiving a first-round bye in the tournament, Lebo defeated North Allegheny, 17-3, and Shady Side Academy, 13-10, to reach the championship match. It was a rematch of last year’s final where Lebo lost a heartbreaker to the Rams, 13-12.
Lebo again boasted one of the best players in the district in Addison Murdoch. The Pitt recruit scored her 200th career goal in the triumph over NA. She has scored more than 50 goals this season.
Murdoch is one of three sisters to have excelled at Lebo. Older sister, Reagan finished with 199 career goals. She plays at American University but was on the sidelines cheering on her siblings. Younger sister, Quinn, is a scoring machine as well for the Blue Devils. The sophomore is the team’s second-leading scorer.
“All three (Murdochs) were strong in their own way. Great leaders but different,” Kattan said. “Addy and Quinn are very good players and teams often try to shut them off but when that happens it opens up the field for others,” he continued.
Though Addison was held scoreless against the Rams, she dominated the face-offs while seven different players contributed to the scoring. Six of them tallied goals and one – Mollie Steingroewer – provided an assist.
“Balance has been the key for us,” Kattan said. “We knew they would shut off Addy because they did that the last time we played. They did not think the rest of our team could score goals but we have enough people who can score goals. We knew we could pick them apart with everybody else. It was tremendous.”
Quinn Murdoch exploded for five tallies and one assist.
Morgan Daniels, Sarah Hudak and Lucy Pryor each had hat tricks while Nora Austin and Grace Golsin provided single goals to the attack.
Lebo opened up a 3-0 advantage but the Rams tied the match with 4:26 left in the first frame. The game was also tied at 6 and 7 goals each before Lebo again managed a three-goal advantage twice before finishing off the game with three unanswered scores.
“They are a very good team,” Kattan conceded. “We knew we were not going to win this game by 10. No chance of that.
“We go with the ebb and flow of the game and make sure we stay in the moment,” he added. “We did not get too high or too low with what we did. They were very focused on what we needed to do, which was tremendous.”
According to Quinn Murdoch, the Blue Devils had worked hard for this championship all year. That single-minded approach paid off for Lebo.
“We tried to do our best,” she said. “It was a great game between us and Pine but we deserved it. We put a lot into this. It was awesome and really fun out there because we are a great team and it’s a team game. We played well as a team and that’s because it’s a very loving, team environment.
“This was such a meaningful accomplishment because of last year’s outcome. We all wanted to play hard, me included. So this was nice and awesome to be able to do for our coach and for the team.”
During the season and throughout the playoffs, Pryor and Cali Green joined the Murdochs in the midfield. A sophomore, Pryor also plays soccer in the fall. Green is a freshman.
“Those girls have learned from Addy and they are prepared for a bright future,” Kattan said. “To have such a strong and good midfield that is that young is pretty impressive.”
Hudak has been awe-inspiring after coming off a knee injury last year. She and Austin excel on the attack. Both are seniors. Hudak is bound for Clemson and Austin to Virginia upon graduation.
Additionally, Daniels and Steingroewer have played well on the attack. They, too, are seniors. Daniels is off to Penn State in the fall and Steingroewer has been accepted at Ohio State.
Defensively, the Blue Devils have been equally strong. The four starters include: Goslin, who will study at Yale in the fall; Olivia Maher, a senior who is bound for Elon; Chloe Shea, a sophomore, and Lilly Anderson. A senior, who plays field hockey in the fall, will compete at Allegheny College.
Madison Flynn anchored the defense. The senior goalkeeper will study art and history at Penn State University next semester. She faced 11 shots and had four saves against the Rams in the championship match.
“Madison has done a nice job all year for us. She works hard,” Kattan said.
“Next to balance, defense is another strength,” he continued. “That group has done a great job. They’ve stepped up all season. They are able to settle and get the ball back (on offense) quickly.”
Depth is another asset for Lebo.
The Blue Devils rely on the athleticism and versatility of Lilly Cramer and Shea McCarthy off the bench. Cramer is also a member of the track team while McCarthy is a member of the basketball team.
The team also depends upon Abby Baer, McKenna Wertz, Nina Crago, Vivi Warhola and Grace Manning.
“It’s good to have depth,” Kattan said. “It’s a good group of kids. A seasoned club that has kept on working. They’ve done a nice job so far this season.”
Mt. Lebanon embarks on PIAA tournament play on June 4. The Blue Devils take on the District 10 champion in the first round of competition. The state championships will be held at 2:30 p.m. June 15 at Panzer Stadium on the Penn State University campus.