Mt. Lebanon builds on lacrosse success

Despite hat tricks from Alyssa Battaglia and Allena Holzworth, Mt. Lebanon’s dream season ended in defeat, 20-7, to Garnet Valley in the semifinals of the PIAA girls’ lacrosse tournament.
While the loss hurt because it was the Lebo ladies’ first of the 2014 campaign, the setback did not negate the achievements of this year’s club. The Blue Devils compiled a 22-1 record that included its fourth WPIAL title. The season also featured the program’s first triumphs in PIAA competition.
Lebo opened state tournament action with wins against Cumberland Valley, 15-7, and Quaker Valley, 12-8.
After playing Garnet Valley, however, the Lebo ladies have an idea of what it takes to win a state banner as the Jaguars (25-2) went on to beat Springfield Delco, 13-9, in the PIAA final played June 7 at Hersheypark Stadium. It was Garnet Valley’s third state title in four years.
While the Jaguars featured nine seniors, all of whom will play in college, Lebo boasted only six seniors. Three of them were starters, including Battaglia, who plans to play club soccer at Penn State. Battaglia finished as Lebo’s leading scorer.
Battaglia led Lebo’s attack along with sophomore Anna Albers, Megan Gibbons and Alexa Turkovich.
Holzworth anchored the midfield along with Becca Welsh and Sophia Klaber.
In goal, Carina Barnes anchored a defense comprised of Amanda Riesmeyer, Molly Shure, Molly Collins and Liz Donley.
Key components to Lebo’s success also included the talents of Sabrina Gurtner, Maddie Webber, Hannah Linn, Emma Schoonmaker, Britainy Schmid, Lauren Linkowski, Lainey Lipinski, Caroline McCabe, Laura Pryor, Claire Kuhn, Anna Dorr and Estelle Reich.