Tornado win big
BUTLER TWP — Eliza Drohan weaved her way through the Knoch defense, lined up her shot and fired.
Goal.
It was a familiar scene for the senior midfielder on the Butler girls lacrosse team.
She wasn't alone as the Golden Tornado notched their first win of the season with a 20-2 victory over Knoch Wednesday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.
Drohan scored six goals and Katelyn Miller added five as Butler had five players score multiple times in the win.
“It's going to be sad to see (Drohan and Miller) leaving,” said first-year coach Bob Conklin. “They're seniors.”
Butler (1-2) wasted little time getting started.
Evelynn Vissari scored the first of her three goals just 20 second into the match and Butler built a 7-0 lead with just seven minutes off the clock.
The Golden Tornado led 11-1 at the half.
“We started out pretty strong,” Conklin said. “We're kind of a little weak on the ground balls. We're going to work on that. It's the beginning of the season so we have a lot of time to fix that problem.”
Kate Quinlan and Taryn Thompson also scored three goals for Butler.
Knoch (1-1) was coming off a 21-7 win over Freeport, but struggled to mount much of an offensive threat against Butler.
Jadyn Brown scored at the 15-minute mark to put the Knights on the board and Kennedy Eurich added Knoch's only other goal.
It was a rough return to Butler for first-year Knights' coach Megan Crawford, who starred for the Golden Tornado during her playing career.
She graduated in 2014.
“I'm excited to be a part of the Knoch program,” Crawford said. “The girls are working really well. We have lots of new players, but we're working hard in practice every day.”
Crawford acknowledged that with a young and thin roster, the progress may need to be measured in baby steps.
But she said she and the team is up to the challenge.
“The ultimate goal for the girls to have fun, work together, build new friendships and learn the game.
“I'm just trying to teach the girls the fundamentals, the basics, everything they need to know,” Crawford added.
Conklin has a more experienced team in his first season at Butler after spending the last three as the Freeport coach.
But he, too, realizes there is work to do.
“Our first two games were against teams that went to states,” Conklin said. “We played Erie McDowell and we only lost by two there. It was 17-6 at halftime. We came back in the second half and I thought they were going to pull it out.
“They're passing better, which is what I like to see,” Conklin add. “Lacrosse isn't just a running game. It's a passing game and they were doing really well passing today.”
