Mt. Lebanon wins WPIAL girls’ lacrosse title
Mt. Lebanon flashes winning smiles after beating Chartiers Valley, 14-9, and winning the WPIAL Division I girls’ lacrosse championship.
Chartiers Valley seniors Alivia Cangelier and Maria Stamerra leave the field after the lacrosse title game.
Chartiers Valley’s Annie Pacella (No. 20) and Lauren Ellis (No. 10) attempt to stop Anna Albers (No. 10) but the Mt. Lebanon attack scored four goals and garnered five assists in leading her team to victory, 14-9, and to the WPIAL Division I title in girls’ lacrosse.
Sophia Klaber and Molly Collins compare gold medals
Defense was a key to Mt. Lebanon’s success against Chartiers Valley.
Chartiers Valley poses for a photo with the WPIAL runner-up trophy.
Whether the temperatures rise as they did to well into the 80s on May 26 or whether the competition applies added pressure as Chartiers Valley did in the final five minutes of the WPIAL Division I girls’ lacrosse championship match at Highmark Stadium, the Mt. Lebanon ladies keep their cool. As a result, they are champions once again. The Blue Devils defeated the Colts, 14-9, for their second district crown in three years.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” said Anna Albers of victory.
Even when the Colts trimmed Lebo’s lead to 12-9 with 4:46 to play on back-to-back goals from Margo Mason, Albers never wavered emotionally. She felt if the team did not panic, then success was inevitable.
“We knew if we kept our composure and if we played like we always have, then there would be no problems,” said the senior, who racked up four goals in the victory.”
Coach Brian Kattan agreed. “We are a very composed group,” he said of his squad, which features nine seniors, six of them starters. “We don’t yell at each other. We play very calmly and if we weathered that stretch I knew we would be okay.”
Thanks to the Klabers, the Lebo ladies, indeed, were okay. Ali and Sophia Klaber scored within two minutes of each other at 4:04 and 2:03 and sealed the title for Lebo. Albers garnered an assist on the first tally.
The Klabers joined Albers with a multi-goal game. Sophia, too, registered four tallies while Ali accrued two. Alexis and Megan Gibbons scored once each while Kate Sramac and Cora Broadhurst also provided single goals.
Albers, however, engineers the attack.
“Anna is a tremendous player,” Kattan said. “She has worked real hard for four years.
She controls the pace of the offense. She knows when to rush the net and when not to and pull it out.”
While Albers, who also picked up four assists, is Lebo’s go-to girl, she deflects praise to her teammates. She cites them for her success.
“We work as a team to find the open player,” she said. “It’s not an individual effort at all. It’s 100 percent a team thing. We are all about team. That’s the best part.”
Senior leadership was another contributing factor to Lebo’s success. The roster boasts nine seniors, six of them starters. In addition to Albers, Laura Pryor, Katie Trombetta, Molly Collins, Maria Krakora, Erin Cowell, Megan Gibons, Kelly Haggrty and Renee Cline will graduate.
“All of the seniors have been fantastic team leaders,” Kattan said. “We are a balanced team but the seniors have done a great job showing the younger players how to play and do their job every day.”
And, June 1 is another day for Mt. Lebanon (17-2). The Blue Devils embark on their bid for a state championship when they play Exeter Township at 1 p.m. at Hempfield.
“We thought winning a WPIAL title and being competitive at the state level would be two of our goals,” Kattan said. “We have one part of the job done. Can’t wait to see what comes next.”
NOTES: Maria Stamerra scored six times for Char Valley. Mason recorded the other three tallies for the Lady Colts. CV also advanced to the PIAA tournament. The Colts, who are 12-3 overall with all three of their losses coming against Lebo, will play State College at p.m. June 1 at Lock Haven in their first-round game.