Mt. Lebanon beats Chartiers Valley to reach lacrosse finals
For the third time this season, Mt. Lebanon battled Chartiers Valley in girls’ lacrosse. But the stakes were highest May 19 at Moon Stadium because a berth in the WPIAL Division I championship game was on the line.
“Yes,” said Lebo head coach Brian Kattan, “it’s definitely difficult to play and beat a team three times in one year.”
The Lebo ladies, however, made it look easy. They exploded for five goals, three in the first five minutes of play, and coasted to victory, 15-7.
“The game plan was to go out hard at the start,” said Kattan. “We played well in the beginning. We controlled the ball and played good defense.”
As a result, the Blue Devils now have the opportunity to defend their title. They won the 2014 championship with a two-goal triumph over their opponent this Thursday. In a rematch of last year’s final, Lebo battles Quaker Valley at 8 p.m. May 21 at Highmark Stadium.
“We are just happy to be in the championship. I’m glad for these girls,” said Kattan. “They’ve made it two in a row. Quaker Valley is a great opportunity for us.”
Megan Gibbons, in part, gave the Blue Devils that chance. Lebo’s leading scorer racked up four goals against Char Valley. She also dished up an assist for the Blue Devils, who led, 8-2, at halftime.
Sophia Klaber recorded a hat trick and supplied a pair of assists to stake Lebo to a 12-5 advantage with 12:08 to play.
Allena Holzworth, Amanda Riesmeyer and Anna Albers each registered two tallies while Estelle Reich and Alexa Turkovich completed the goal-scoring for the Blue Devils.
Albers finished with two assists. Riesmeyer also managed an assist.
For the Colts, who had a run of Division II runner-up titles before moving up this season, Margo Mason picked up a hat trick. Erin Collins collected two goals while Rachel Chidlow and Shyanne Toomer completed CV’s scoring. Chidlow’s tally with 19:18 to play cut Lebo’s advantage in half, 8-4.