By Harry Chaykun
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/2/18
The countdown was on as the final seconds were played.
The Unionville coaches were hugging and crying. The players were headed across the field to congratulate goalie Madison Doucette, who turned in another sparkling effort with 12 saves, including nine in the second half.
Madison Doucette
The celebration followed Unionville’s 14-9 victory today over defending PIAA Class AAA champion Archbishop Carroll at Methacton High Saturday afternoon.
With the quarterfinal win, the Indians (22-2) qualified for a semifinal showdown against District 1 champion Garnet Valley Tuesday, which will be a busy day for coach Suzanne Sheehan’s seniors – who will go through graduation exercises that morning at the University of Delaware.
“Everyone was just so excited about playing (Carroll) again,” said Sheehan, whose team earned a one-goal decision over the Patriots at the Katie Samson Classic last month. “This is really special for all of our seniors.
“This is their first time getting to the semifinals in their four years. Whatever success this team has had has come from the leadership our seniors have provided.”
Doucette, who is headed to Northwestern University in August, played a big part in the win Saturday, shutting down any attempt Carroll (18-3) made to rally with a number of big saves as she blanked the Pats for the final 12:32 of the contest.
Senior Erin Garvey collected four goals and one assist while Hannah Close, another senior, also scored four goals, and senior midfielder Annie McDonough chipped in with three goals and one assist.
“I’ve played with and against some of their players,” said Doucette, who will compete in the Under Armor Senior All-American game and Vail Classic this summer.
“I can’t say enough about the way my defense played today. And that’s a very young group with two sophomores and a freshman. It was so much fun to be able to play a game like this against a team that was the defending state champion.”
Both teams scored twice in the first 9:40 before Carroll’s Shea Neary was sent off with a yellow card. During Neary’s two-minute penalty, McDonough got a pair of goals and Veronica Heineman and Close added scores to give Unionville a four-goal advantage.
“Once we started scoring, we just kept in going,” Sheehan said. “We changed some ideas as to how we were going to attack from the last time we played them.
“And Madison showed why she is the leader of our defense with the way she played today.”
Garvey, who is headed to Michigan, will be playing against Doucette next year.
“Each day at practice I face shooters who are going to Division I schools like Duke, Michigan, and Coastal Carolina,” Doucette said. “And we have sophomores who I know will be playing Division I. They’ve all helped me get better.”
Garvey said Unionville made the most of the subtle changes in the way it played against Carroll this time.
“The last time they scored first then we scored and we got ahead of them,” she said. “This time, we scored first and had that run to stay ahead of them. We knew that we couldn’t try to force things. If something happened and they scored, we still had the lead and would just get back into our game.
“It’s great knowing we’re going to keep playing. Hopefully, we’ll have the chance to play two more games.”
Amber Germer (four goals) and Katie Detwiler (three goals, one assist) led Carroll, which concluded another season in which it won its 18th straight Catholic League championship.
Unionville 14, Archbishop Carroll 9
Unionville 10-4-14
Archbishop Carroll 5-4-9
Unionville
Hannah Close 4 goals 2 DC
Emma Malone 2 goals 2 assists
Annie McDonough 3 goals 1 assist 6 DC
Erin Garvey 4 goals 1 assist 2 DC
Veronica Hineman 1 goal 4 DC
Taryn Burke 2 CTO
Madison Doucette 12 Saves
Archbishop Carroll
Amber Germer 4G, 1 DC
Katie Detwiler 3G 1A, 2 DC
Grace Gallagher 1G
Alex Cabahug-Almonte 1G
Madison Henry – 3 draw controls
Rachel Matey – 6 draw controls
Margeaux Pawelec – 1 assist
Julia Dellarata 6 saves
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