Draw domination, McNeely’s energy help Haven survive O’Hara challenge

NEWTOWN SQUARE — Danielle McNeely apologizes, warning that she might be a little out of breath.

For most of the last 12½ minutes of concentrated essence of lacrosse insanity, the Strath Haven senior midfielder had been in perpetual motion, the only stillness in the instant when the ball balanced between her stick and that of a Cardinal O’Hara player on the draw.

It took a pile of Panthers to get her to finally stop … or merely pause on the run to Saturday’s PIAA final.McNeely capped an outstanding individual performance by setting up the game-winning goal from Kaitlin Nieczpiel with 92 seconds left, finally resolving a 12-11 decision for Strath Haven in a Class 2A state semifinal girls lacrosse classic after a 24-hour suspension and resumption at Marple Newtown.

McNeely scored four goals Tuesday in the first three quarters of the game, suspended due to inclement weather with Strath Haven up 9-7 and 12:28 remaining. She tallied six assists, setting up freshman Grace Kelly to restore Haven to the lead with 6:12 left, then feeding Nieczpiel for the game-winner.

“Before the game, we had a real big talk about the game and about trust,” McNeely said. “We knew what to do and how to win the game. We just went out and did it.”

Most importantly, McNeely, Nieczpiel and Devon Maillet had five draw controls each, including three for McNeely Wednesday. Haven (19-5-1) controlled all seven draws in the resumption, a crucial factor in withstanding O’Hara’s surge. It’s also what turned the tide Tuesday, when O’Hara led 7-3 and Haven rallied. In all, the Panthers held a 16-8 edge in draw controls, including 13 straight to end the game.

“Yesterday, it was starting to win the draw,” Nieczpiel said. “At first, we were starting off slow. But then we were able to kick off with Danielle and Devon being on the draw circle. I trust both of them very much on the draw, and Danielle and Devon have contributed so much to the game.”

The timing of Tuesday’s suspension favored O’Hara, which had surrendered six straight goals. They made good on the chance to regroup, and no one benefited more than Rachel Familetti.

Haven held possession and a two-goal lead at the restart, but a Mackenzie Hand save got the ball back for Mia Scarduzio to pot her fourth goal. Hand’s ninth denial of the game, on a McNeely free-position shot, led to Familetti tying the score with 6:39 left.

For the senior Pitt signee, Tuesday was a struggle. She was held scoreless, a rarity this season, with a yellow card and a ringing of the crossbar. But that was out of mind when she lined up from eight meters.

“My teammates are always there to cheer me up,” Familetti said. “They’re always like, Rachel, just get out of your head, you’ve got it. And today was exactly that day. They told me right before I had that eight-meter shot, ‘Rachel this is you.’ Because yesterday I missed two of them and I thought about it and I had to focus on it and they’re like, ‘Rachel you’ve got it, this is your shot, you can do it.’ And that’s exactly what I did.”

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