Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse having its best season

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, April 16, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse team dropped two tough matches April 11-12, but that hasn’t cast a shadow on what has been accomplished.

The Warriors are in the midst of their best season since the program began in 2016. They are 6-4 overall and 3-2 in Section 1 and are in the running for a possible berth in the WPIAL playoffs in Class 2A. They have six section games remaining.

“The most wins we had previous to this season was four,” first-year coach Rich Vislocky said. “We’re pretty excited. We have a young team that continues to get better.”

Even though the Warriors dropped back-to-back section games – falling at Plum and to Hampton — Vislocky expected two tough battles that his players would learn from.

The Plum game, which the Warriors lost 13-10, was a physical contest. The Warriors trailed 9-3 at halftime but battled back in the second half to make it a game.

Junior Sophia Green scored four goals and freshman Georgia Vislocky scored three times in the loss.

Against Hampton, which was a 13-8 defeat, Green tallied five times while sophomore Ayla Moffa, senior Maddie Luchs and Georgia Vislocky scored one each.

Green is the leading scorer with 37 goals and five assists. She scored nine goals in a 15-14 overtime victory against Oakland Catholic. In that contest, Penn-Trafford rallied from an early 7-1 deficit.

Georgia Vislosky has 17 goals, freshman Annabella Aquino 15 goals, Luchs 11 and Moffa eight.

“This is a tough part of our schedule,” Rich Vislocky said. “Hampton is very good, but we battled them.

“The girls are coming together. They are starting to understand the game, situations and flow of the game. What’s nice is we’re young and it’s exciting to think about the future if they progress.”

Vislocky said he’s counting on senior Kenna Mastine to be a leader.

“She’s great in the draw circle for us,” Vislocky said. “I rely on her leadership.”

He also likes how Aquino and Moffa are playing.

“If there is a ball on the ground, they are going to get it,” Vislocky said. “They get after it.”

But playing together as a team and having fun have been the biggest keys to the team’s success.

“They rely on the team aspect,” Vislocky said. “Their hard work is paying off. Our goal is to make the WPIAL playoffs. We just have to continue to work hard.”

After a nonsection game against Hempfield on April 14, the Warriors have a busy week. They are scheduled to play three section opponents: at Winchester Thurston on April 17, home to Greensburg Salem on April 20 and at Indiana on April 21.

They then will play at Franklin Regional on April 25, host to Greensburg Central Catholic on April 28 and visit Latrobe on May 2.

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