SV girls lacrosse eliminated by SSA
FOX CHAPEL — Felicia Tissenbaum and Gabby Harchleroad were thorns in Seneca Valley's side all game long.
The Shady Side Academy girls lacrosse stars both played huge roles in ending the Raiders' season Friday night.
Tissenbaum scored six of her team's 11 goals and Harchleroad stopped 10 of 14 shots as the Indians prevailed on their home field, 11-4, in a WPIAL Division I quarterfinal playoff.
Shady Side led at halftime by a modest 3-2 score and when SV's Morgan Midkiff scored the second of her three goals just 2:26 into the second half, the Raiders had tied the game at 3-3.
But Tissenbaum, who entered the game with a team-leading 43 goals, found the cage twice in the span of less than three minutes. Teammates Annie Pooley and Charlotte Redican followed with goals for a 7-3 lead with 11:25 left in the game.
“She's a big threat,” said Indians coach Emily Schaknowski of Tissenbaum. “She gets double-teamed and face-guarded all the time. She is great one-on-one.”
Midkiff scored her last goal with 9:13 remaining, cutting the Indians' edge to 7-4, but SV would get no closer.
“We made a lot of poor choices,” said SV coach Dina McCaskey. “The girls didn't seem to be focused like they should have been.”
Shady Side's defense stifled many of the Raiders' scoring chances throughout the game.
“We're able to play a high-pressure defense because we are so athletic,” said Schaknowski. “The girls are tenacious and we have a lot of leadership out there.”
When the Raiders (11-5) were able to break through Shady Side's defenders, they had Harchleroad to contend with.
Not only is Harchleroad just a freshman, she was planning on spending her spring behind the plate as the catcher for the Indians' softball team.
“She has a lot of friends on the lacrosse team and they talked her into playing,” said Schaknowski. “She became a starter a fourth of the way into the season. She was very good tonight. It's a huge accomplishment for her.”
The first half saw both teams struggle offensively as only two goals were scored in the final 10:35 — Seneca's Lindsey Leddon at 10:00 and Tissenbaum for the Indians (12-2) with 5:55 left before halftime.
SV goalie Hailie Sandor came up with five of her six saves in the first 25 minutes.
“She played well in the first half,” said McCaskey.
The Raiders will graduate five seniors — Caroline Baker, Kelly Cundiff, Kelly Kress, Audrey Semel and Midkiff.
“It's a close-knit group,” said McCaskey, “but we'll have a lot coming back next year.”
