By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/6/18
Unionville senior Erin Garvey said losing to Springfield-Delco in the District 1 Class AAA semifinals changed the path of the Indians’ 2018 season.
Erin Garvey
“Losing to Springfield in districts was a good reality check,” said Garvey. “It made us realize that every game counts and we can’t start to get lazy. Having to accept defeat also made us realize how badly we wanted to win as the season went on.
“We learned a lot about our team that game, which gave us things to work on and tweak before the State Tournament.”
Unionville and Garvey learned so much that the Indians not only won the rest of their games, they did it convincingly. And with Garvey leading the way, Unionville rolled to its first state championship, defeating Manheim Township, 11-6, for the PIAA Class AAA title on June 9 at West Chester East.
Garvey, a US Lacrosse All-American, had five goals, seven draw controls and four groundballs in that game and was electric in a shocking 14-4 rout of Garnet Valley in the semifinals. She closed the year with 90 goals, 37 assists, 85 draw controls, 52 groundballs and 40 caused turnovers. For her efforts, she has been named the Phillylacrosse.com Co-Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Agnes Irwin’s Maria Pansini.
Garvey said the Indians set high goals for 2018.
“Before the season started the seniors got together and brainstormed a little motto that we would refer to during the season and put on our shooting shirts,” she said. “Hannah Close came up with ‘Our Turn,’ which truly did represent our outlook on the season.
“We believed that this year we could go far, but we just had to have the right mindset. This motto helped motivate our team especially in the playoffs and reminded everyone that this year it truly was ‘our turn.'”
It was indeed’s Unionville’s turn, especially in the state tourney.
“Our team had so much talent this year, but what made us most successful was probably the chemistry we had off the field as well,” Garvey said. “Our senior class is super close, but the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors fit right in with us. We all were playing for each other and knew we had to stay focused to be successful.”
Unionville coach Suzanne Sheehan said Garvey is both extremely skillful and intelligent as a lacrosse player.
“Other than her skills, she is very good at adapting and making changes needed,” Sheehan said. “In that (Garnet Valley) game she made suggestions for her teammates that were so important.
“She was such an amazing teammate; her positivity and the way she carried herself. Everyone looked up to her, along with co-captains Madison (Doucette) and Veronica (Hineman). They were all great leaders and competitors and inspiring to the younger players.”
In Unionville’s opener, it fell to Garnet Valley, 7-6. Garvey said getting a good start was key; in the rematch, the Indians raced to a 13-2 lead.
“My two goals in the beginning of the year were were to beat Garnet Valley and make it to states,” said Garvey. “Once we made it to states, we wanted to go all the way. When we saw them play pressure defense, we knew we had to spread out and run our plays, and play smart. That’s what we did.”
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