Lacrosse: Phoenixville Grabs Division Lead With Win Over Pottsgrove

Phoenixville head coach Jen Foresta must feel like an exotic car owner who just got her favorite Lamborghini back from the shop as she watched her Phantoms squad leave opponents in the dust the last two days.

Following the return of said Lamborghini, a.k.a. Britney Rohall and a 13-7 win over Owen J. Roberts on Wednesday, Phoenixville bolted to a 13-2 first half lead on the way to a 16-8 pounding of visiting Pottsgrove.

“It’s great having Britney back,” said Foresta. “She Marlee [Farbstein] and Shannan [McErlean] are the mechanism that makes our offense go. To have one of those cogs missing really prevents our offense from running smoothly.” 

The trio of Rohall (4 goals, 2 assists), McErlean (2 goals, assist) and Farbstein scored seven goals in the first 15 minutes of playing time to post the Phantoms to 7-1 lead, which they never came close to relinquishing.

“We have some momentum going right now,” said Farbstein, who had four goals and two assists. “Getting Brit back is great. We really have been able to possess the ball much better in the last two games. This game is about confidence and ours is growing every game.”

Phoenixville (5-4 league), which took over sole possession of first place in the Frontier Division with the victory, pressured the Falcons into turnovers and mistakes the entire first half on two consecutive trips down the turf at CAT Pickering. They picked off an errant pass and were able to cash in on long feeds down deep in the Pottsgrove zone.

“It’s great to be able to play,” said Rohall who re-entered the line up yesterday following the effects of a concussion. “We really need to focus and make sure we take advantage of every scoring chance we have, especially with the games we have coming up. “

Phantoms goaltender Karen Hayde kept the Falcons off the board early and often as she stoned Becca Doleuti (three goals overall) on two occasions in the first half at point-blank range to keep the momentum going the purple and black’s way.

“Karen is so strong in net,” said Farbstein. “She never gets rattled and always appears calm no matter where the ball is, which really helps us stay relaxed as a team.”

“It's all a cycle in high school,” added Foresta. “We have been fortunate to have Karen back there for the last three years. We will have to replace her at the end of the year which will not be easy. Hopefully one of our young kids will step up. It doesn’t just start with her though. The defense has kicked up its game in the last week.”

With everybody in the game for Phoenixville but the coaching staff, Pottsgrove managed to post six second-half goals, but the outcome had long been determined as the Phantoms led at one point by a 14-3 margin.

“This was a big win for us like they all are,” said Rohall. “We are still coming together and can build on these last two games going forward. It was great to give Karen, who has been there for us when don’t score, some goals to work with today.”

Pottsgrove                    2            6            -8

Phoenixville                 13          3           -16

Becca Doleuti   3 goals

Liz Cassel    goal, assist

Rachelle Mewshaw     2 goals, assist

Ally Schurr            goal

Libs Sitko            assist

Lauren Eamun       assist

Britney Rohall               4 goals, 2 assists

Marlee Farbstein            4goals, 2 assists

Shannan McErlean            2goals, assits

Casey Luzins                goal

Sarah Lombardi            goal, assist

Bailey Stover                goal

Jess Tague                    goal, assist

Meghan Fortmann            goal, assist