Shaler girls lacrosse hopes to build on 2019 season

By: Josh Rizzo
Thursday, May 9, 2019 | 7:14 PM

The Shaler Area girls lacrosse team started to turn a corner by the end of the season.

While it won’t be enough to send the Titans to the WPIAL Class AAA postseason, it provided a strong foundation for the team to build on heading into next season.

Shaler finished 6-10 and won three of its last four games before losing 8-7 to Pine-Richland in section play. During the three games preceding the loss to the Rams, Shaler beat Freeport, Indiana and Moon by a combined score of 49-5.

The Titans finished in eighth place in Section 2-AAA, two games behind Seneca Valley for the final postseason spot. The Titans lost to the Raiders, 7-6.

“I think throughout the season we worked hard to become a team,” said junior Ashlyn Wightman, who finished third on the team with 27 goals. “We worked to pass the ball more to each other and looked to help each other. That’s what we were missing last year.”

Shaler had five players finish with double figures in goals. Rylee Wilson led with 41, followed by Jasey Reiser (28), Wightman, Mackenzie Romac (17) and Ava Kozej (10).

Wightman had to bounce back after missing two weeks with a knee injury. While getting back into condition was a challenge, she soon found her groove.

Wightman hopes the offensive prowess everyone displayed will lay a foundation for next season.

“I think we need to work on our shooting skills,” Wightman said. “We need to take more shots on goal instead of shying away.”

Shaler was only three or four goals short of finishing .500 for the season. The Titans lost four one-goal games: Blackhawk, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley and Seton-La Salle.

Defensively, Wilson and Reiser tied for the team lead with four interceptions. Lacey Muto saw a majority of the time in goal and turned away 106 shots.

Shaler hopes some adjustments will help guide them back to the playoffs after missing for the past two years.

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