By Dan McCarty • Posted November 8, 2023

Teamwork and quick movement of the ball helped the Archbishop Carroll Patriots girls’ field hockey team defeat the Bonner & Prendergast Pandas in a 5-0 win in the District 12 2A championship game on Thursday, Nov. 2 at Cardinal O’Hara High School.

“We were not playing like ourselves in the first quarter,” said Sienna Golden. “We started to pick it up with the intensity.”

Claiming the Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) championship for yet another year gave Carroll plenty of motivation going into this crucial game. The Patriots have come a long way this season growing as a team.

“We’re just seeing everything as a big picture and seeing everyone as a unit,” said Sam Hewitt.

This marked the first time in six years that Prendie made it to the District 12 2A title match. The Pandas previously played in this match after winning the PCL in a victory over Carroll in 2017. With this result, they dropped their overall record to 8-12.

“I think that our defense was playing really strong,” said head coach Jordan Monaghan. “Offense was running in to their line. We weren’t getting anything wide open.”

Although this was a tough outcome for Prendie, it was a marked improvement from falling, 9-0, in the PCL opener this season.

“It was a much more competitive game than last time,” said Monaghan.

It was a strong defensive first half. After most of the half went into the book with a score of 0-0, Golden registered a goal with 4:21 to play in the stanza giving the Patriots what turned out to be a permanent advantage.

Hewitt found the net with 9:40 remaining in the third quarter off an assist by Morgan Wood. Five minutes later, Cate Schumacher scored with Golden assisting.

The competition was still not over. Golden tallied yet another goal with 1:13 in regulation and Carroll was able to celebrate its victory as it earned the District 12 2A championship trophy.

“We definitely improved throughout the season,” said Golden. “I think that with our confidence and intensity now we look like a whole different team.”

Carroll’s defense did not have a lot to work with on the afternoon, but goalkeeper Fiona Conboy made a save with defending teammates backing her up.

“It was a lot of anticipation,” said Conboy. “They could see the ball coming and they ran off to cut it.”

Goalkeeper Meredith Shallow registered nine saves for Prendie. She could not have done it without the support of defenders Leah Walker, Jess Horan, Saniyah Southerland, and Lola Mariani.

“They stop everything,” said Shallow. “They are so much fun to play with. They are reliable. They are the best people to have back there with me. Defense is just my favorite, favorite part of the team. I really wouldn’t want to have it any other way.”