Jun 4, 2025 By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read

Mt. Lebanon’s PIAA Class 3A playoff game against New Oxford mirrored a boxing bout rather than a lacrosse match. The Colonials delivered plenty of blows, however, they could not deliver the knockout as Lebo survived the first round with a 13-12 triumph.

“We take a lot of punches but we keep going,” said Lebo’s head coach Brian Kattan. “It wasn’t our prettiest game but we won.

“Our hats are off to New Oxford. They played really, really hard. It’s not easy coming off a bus after four hours and then sitting around watching a boys game. They played their hearts out and did a nice job.”

The Colonials opened up a 2-0 lead in the game’s opening four minutes and the Lebo girls found themselves fighting back the entire match. They did not take their first lead until Grace Manning scored her third goals in a row between 11:08 in the second stanza and at the 8:51 mark in the third quarter.

McKenna Johnston answered with two of her four tallies within 11 seconds apart giving New Oxford the lead again before Ireland McFarland and Cali Green responded with two tallies each.

The back-to-back goals provided a three-goal cushion for the Blue Devils, 11-8, at the 4:56 mark in the third quarter.

“Cali is a warrior. She’s always out there. Very little rest,” Kattan said. “She takes draws on the circle and gets back on defense. She does a nice job and you can count on her for the big goal when it’s time.”

Kattan was equally pleased with McFarland, who transferred into the school district from Canon-McMillan. “Ireland has done a great job, too. We are happy to have her.”

The Blue Devils are delighted to have Lucy Pryor in the lineup as well. A junior attack, she scored two goals and added nine draw controls.

“Lucy is unbelievable,” Kattan said. “You can always count on her with the draw controls. She is so quick off the line and does a great job.”

Quinn Murdoch did the honors of putting the Colonials away. She scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal, off an assist from Kat Walters, with 4:03 remaining. Murdoch finished with a hat trick and an assist.

Nina Grago drew praise from Kattan for her goalkeeping.

“She made some great saves, especially at the end of the third quarter,” he noted. “That was a big one there.”

Vivi Warhola had the big play in the waning seconds after Johnston had pulled the Colonials within a goal of tying the match. Warhola’s effort was indicative of Lebo’s performance all year.

“Vivi lost the ball in the last 20 seconds but got it back. That’s what we have always done,” Kattan said. “We don’t hang our heads. We get the ball back.

“The girls never gave up. We’ve learned that about ourselves over the season. Our freshmen and sophomores have like 20 games under their belt, so they aren’t rookies anymore. They know what they are doing. They don’t give up on themselves. They don’t drop their heads. We just fight back.”

The Blue Devils battled to play another day. With the win, they improved to 16-3 overall and advanced to face Bishop Shanahan (20-3) in the quarterfinals. They will travel to Mechanicsburg on June 7 and play at 6 p.m. at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Park.

In other Class 3A girls lacrosse playoff games involving Almanac clubs, Upper St. Clair lost to Manheim Township, 11-8, and finished the season at 18-3 overall.

In Class 2A, Chartiers Valley defeated Conneaut, 18-6, at Meadville High School.

With the win, the Lady Colts improved to 16-4 overall and advanced to face off against Wyomissing (20-0) in the quarterfinals. The match was scheduled for 10 a.m. June 7 at Panzer Stadium on the Penn State University campus