District 1 girls’ lacrosse: Murphy’s mad dash sets up Radnor win over Conestoga in title game
HAVERFORD – Anyone who braved the rain and a lengthy weather delay that pushed back the start of the District 1 Class 3A girls lacrosse championship game at Haverford High’s Cornog Field May 29 will long talk about nine seconds that changed Radnor’s season.
Conestoga’s Kiki Liebezeit had scored nine seconds before the third quarter ended to break the second tie of the second half. Radnor’s Taylor Murphy was determined that her team would not go into the final 12 minutes trailing. Grace Gordon, who earned the draw control following Liebezeit’s goal, moved the ball ahead to Murphy, who dashed through the Pioneers’ defense and got off a shot that slipped by goalkeeper Alex Lepore just before the horn sounded.
Murphy came back with a goal – her fifth of the game – in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, and Grayson Buono added on less than four minutes later as second-seeded Radnor earned a 9-7 decision over No. 4 Conestoga to claim the district title.
“This is a tribute to the way everyone played,” Radnor head coach Lis Zuern said. “We certainly didn’t want to be down like we were after the first period (5-2). But they all came back, offensively and defensively. We started getting some draws and took advantage of that. And we had key stops when we needed them.”
Senior goalie Arden Jansen turned away eight Conestoga scoring attempts. Senior Kate Gallagher, who chipped in a pair of goals, came up with the interception that spoiled the Pioneers’ last scoring chance in the final minute.
“I was so upset with myself because I had just lost the ball,” said Gallagher, who soon will be packing her lacrosse gear for the trip to United States Military Academy at West Point. “I told myself I had to get the ball back.
“I was guarding Kiki. I thought they would be trying to get the ball to her, so I went for it. It wouldn’t have been such a good play if I hadn’t come up with the ball.”
Because she did, her teammates on the sideline and the Raptors fans could count down the seconds as they ticked off the scoreboard clock before the celebration began.
Murphy wasn’t surprised that she was involved in the excitement of the final nine seconds of the third quarter.
“Grace Gordon was so good on the draws,” Murphy said. “She got the ball and just threw me a dime. I ran up there and shot it and was so glad that it went in. I wound up on the ground, but I did see the ball get through.
“This team has worked so hard for so long, and our seniors have been there to pick us up when we needed them. I was glad I got that goal, and now we can start thinking about what we need to do for states.”
Buono’s goal came with 7:51 to play and set the final score. It was the 100th career goal for the University of Delaware commit.
“The best thing was that it started with the defense before the ball came down to me,” Buono, a freshman when Radnor won the 2021 state championship, said. “I was just happy to be able to score then.”
Ellie Wisch, who came up with nine draw controls, and Keating Hopkins each had two goals and one assist for Conestoga in addition to two scores by Liebezeit. Chloe Brown had one goal and three draw controls.
“We started off so well with the draws and the goals,” said Conestoga coach Amy Orcutt, whose team did not score in the second and fourth periods. “Then we let up some and started turning the ball over and weren’t taking advantage of our opportunities. We’ll bounce back. There’s still two weeks of the season to go, and we want to be there at the end.”
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