Plum girls lacrosse exceeds expectations, qualifies for postseason

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, May 18, 2018 | 11:00 PM

For being only a second-year member in the WPIAL, the Plum girls lacrosse team set lofty goals at the start of the season, and they met every one of them and then some.

The Mustangs finished with a winning record at 9-6, they did better in Section 1-AA play than anticipated and they reached their ultimate benchmark by qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in program history.

Plum's season came to an end last week with a 13-3 loss to No. 6 Quaker Valley in the first round, but it didn't diminish the accomplishments that encompassed the season.

“We told them we didn't care what the end result is as long as they played with their all of their heart,” said first-year Plum coach Kayla Platt, who was nominated for Section 1-AA Coach of the Year by the WPIAL. “I told the kids on the bus ride home that I was proud of them, and that they made school history.

“We were thinking at the beginning of the year we could get fourth place (in the section), and we got third, so that really helped us out. I couldn't have asked for a better year. We couldn't have had the season we had without the help of my assistant coaches (Dom Barnabie and Leah Pace).”

Plum went into the match with Quaker Valley missing three starters, including all-section attacker and leading scorer Samantha Casile. Starters also out were Amari Bunch and Alexander Ralph. It made the task against the Quakers, a three-time WPIAL champion, even taller.

“If we had those starters in, it would've been a bit of a different game,” Platt said. “Quaker Valley quickly took a lead in the second half, and we just couldn't control play to get back into it.”

Plum was hovering around a playoff spot at the midpoint of the season but went on a tear in its final six games. It started with a much better showing in its second meeting with Oakland Catholic, where they lost 16-10 after falling 21-4 the first time. The Mustangs went on to win their next four games, including a 13-9 victory over Ellis School, a team they lost to 12-9 the first go-round of section play.

It was a victory that solidified their spot in the postseason and bumped them up to third place in the standings.

“We sat down with the team before the game and pretty much laid it all out there for them,” Platt said. “We told them that they controlled their own destiny, and when they step on the field they need to prove how far they had come this year. We knew that they could beat them, and they went out there and had the game of their life.”

The Mustangs faced some adversity early on in the match against Ellis School when Kristin MacConnell was struck in the face by a shot and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. MacConnell ended up being OK, but at the time it was a scary situation. Platt said the team rallied around MacConnell.

“After it happened, they all got together and said that they needed to play for her,” Platt said. “Then they went out there and put everything aside and controlled the game from the start until the end.”

Plum graduates 10 seniors, including captains Victoria Turchick and Tifani McElhose, who is a Chatham recruit.

The Mustangs return two of their top scorers in Casile and Alexa Seigh.

Platt, who was hired in October, will use the offseason to continue constructing the roots of the program.

“It'll be another building year to replace the 10 seniors that we lost, but my goal is to build a strong program,” Platt said. “I truthfully believe that begins with a feeder program and getting involved with the middle school and the youth.

“We have a few girls coming up, I'm not exactly sure of the number, but we're working on getting depth in the team.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

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