Raech’s defense a plus for Strath Haven

NETHER PROVIDENCE — McKenzie Raech sure is happy that she and her family made the decision to return to Strath Haven after her sophomore year.

Raech was a standout in field hockey and lacrosse as a freshman at Strath Haven during the 2017-18 school year. But she spent her sophomore year at Cardinal O’Hara with her older sister, Emily, who was a junior at the time.

Back at Strath Haven, McKenzie Raech is a defensive star for the No. 2 Panthers, who advanced to the District 1 Class 2A final with a 17-10 victory over third-seeded Mount St. Joseph Tuesday evening. Raech scooped up three ground balls and caused a turnover, but she did plenty of other things that don’t necessarily show up in the scorebook.

Raech now has the opportunity to capture a District 1 title alongside friends she grew up with in the Wallingford School District. The Panthers, who’ve already clinched a berth in the PIAA tournament, will take on No. 1 Bishop Shanahan in Thursday’s final.

“I knew it was right to come back and I’m really glad I did because this season has honestly been the best,” she said.

Panthers coach Pigeon Graham is glad Raech decided to come home.

“Kenz wasn’t here sophomore year and came back to us last year, when of course we didn’t have a season. So, she’s just the missing link that we needed down on defense,” Graham said. “She’s got the hustle, she’s got the confidence with her stick skills, bringing the ball out of our defensive end. And talk about never-say-die attitude, she fights for everything and she’s very tough. She’s cleaned up her defense, too. She used to be a very physical player and would get fouls a lot, but now she’s kind of still physical but she’s found a way to play straight-up and it’s really turned it around for her.”

Raech, Olivia Fox and Annie Atsaves led a spectacular defensive effort by the Panthers, who received solid goalkeeping from Erin Spaulding (five saves). The Mount’s Devon McGarvey was a handful, but Haven’s defense kept her quiet for most of the night, especially after McGarvey netted back-to-back goals to give the Magic a brief 2-1 lead.

“In the beginning we knew we had to watch out for her but then once we saw that she was kind of their top player, we had to make adjustments and I think we did well with that,” Raech said.

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