Courtney everywhere again as Conestoga ousts O’Hara in girls soccer

PHILADELPHIA — Your eyes aren’t deceiving you when trying to track Calista Courtney on the field.

Yes, that’s really the Conestoga senior lined up at center back to start. And that red-haired streak bombing up the left flank, that’s her, too. Also the girl in the box turning a defender inside out.

One of coach Ben Wilson’s best weapons is deploying the captain in a variety of roles, as situations and matchups dictate.

“My moving around just helps all the girls get into the position they want to be in,” Courtney said. “I’m fine moving around if everyone else is comfortable where they are. Even on my club team, I’ve been moving around. So there’s never been a locked position I’ve been in.”

Wherever she is, Courtney can impact a game, as she showed in the Pioneers’ 7-0 win over Cardinal O’Hara in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A tournament Tuesday night at Ramp Playground.

Courtney scored Conestoga’s second goal, a marauding run down the wing in which she put a shot past O’Hara goalie Julia Mirarchi on the short side. She set up the fourth goal, scored by Caitlin Donovan, with a delicate slip pass. And she assisted on No. 6, a corner kick that Kristi DiRico redirected home.

That’s a lot of involvement for Courtney, who can play in central defense or as a free-range wingback around a back 3. Tuesday, with the District 1 third-place Pioneers not needing reinforcement at the back while controlling the ball, Courtney got free rein to dash forward.

Despite hosting honors for District 12 champion O’Hara, the game was lopsided from the start, pitting the Central League champion against a team that finished ninth in the Catholic League and made states by virtue of the helter-skelter seeding of teams in District 12 and a gutsy win over Franklin Towne Charter in the district final. It’s the Lions’ first appearance in states.

Only Mirarchi, who made nine saves, kept the game from getting out of control early. It took Conestoga 19 minutes to get on the board via a howitzer from McKenzie Coleman.

“I was nervous, but Jules is such a good goalie,” O’Hara midfielder Marisa Lobb said. “I think she should’ve gotten PCL (All-Catholic first team) if you ask me. Those goals weren’t her fault. It’s just miscommunication.”

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The Conestoga trio of, from left, Calista Courtney, Kristi DiRico and Caitlin Donovan accounted for five of the goals in a 7-0 win over Cardinal O’Hara in the PIAA Class 4A first round Tuesday. (DFM File)