After narrowly missing out on section title, Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse turns attention to playoffs

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, May 12, 2024 | 11:01 AM

One of the goals for the Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse team this season was to win a section title.

The Warriors came up just one goal and one win short of achieving that.

Now the Warriors’ focus is on the WPIAL playoffs, winning a game and advancing to the PIAA tournament, which would be the ultimate goal.

Penn-Trafford dropped a 6-5 decision to Indiana on May 2 as the Warriors looked to win the Section 1-2A title. They finished 10-1 in section play (15-2 overall), a game back of Indiana, 11-0 (13-2).

After the disappointing loss, the team put together impressive wins against Winchester Thurston and Greensburg Central Catholic.

Penn-Trafford qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for the first time in 2023, but lost to Hampton in the first round. Now the Warriors look to win their first playoff game.

“Based on last year, I was expecting a fourth seed,” Penn-Trafford coach Rich Vislocky said. “Indiana played a great game and scored one more goal. The girls were disappointed, but we still have the playoffs ahead of us, and we’re excited to get after it.”

Penn-Trafford drew a first-round bye and will play host to the winner of the Blackhawk/Oakland Catholic game in the quarterfinals Thursday (May 16).

“We’re raising the stakes, and getting the first-round bye is big,” Vislocky said. “We beat Oakland Catholic, and we know that Blackhawk is very good. They’re both tough opponents.”

Vislocky said he will develop a scouting report about the next opponent by attending the game on May 14 or watching video.

“I’m not sure yet what I’ll do,” Vislocky said. “We’ll watch matchups, defenses and tendencies.

“Even though we won’t be raising a section banner, we can still hang a WPIAL banner. I told the team that is a possibility. We have to get back to work and rise the compete level in practice. If we do that we can compete for a title.”

The top three teams in Class 2A qualify for the PIAA playoffs.

“Making the state playoff is another milestone we can achieve, the first team to make the state playoffs,” Vislocky said.

The Warriors are led offensively by senior attacker Sophie Green, who has 150 career goals, and sophomore attacker Georgia Vislocky, who has scored more than 100 points in her career.

Other key contributors are sophomore midfielder Annabella Aquino, junior midfielder Ayla Moffa, freshman midfielder Lily Crenshaw and freshman midfielder Avery Bosack.

“The freshmen are good at getting the ground balls, and they bring intensity,” Vislocky said.

Sophomore goalkeeper Madison Hagan has improved her game.

“She’s doing a great job in the cage,” Vislocky said. “She’s excelling in the clear game.

“Our whole squad is doing a fantastic job defensively. We’re second in goals allowed in Class 2A.”

Hagan gets a lot of help from her defense, which includes juniors Gianna Botti, Maura Spadone and Cecillia Doughty, sophomore Adalyn Hawk and freshman Mary Brobst.

“I think making the playoffs last year will help quite a bit,” Vislocky said. “We know what it took to get to the playoffs.

“Now the level of preparation, focus and energy level has to increase. We have to elevate that intensity level in a game and at practices.”

If they do that, Penn-Trafford will continue to make history.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Penn-Trafford