Conestoga defeats Wilson in first round of PIAA Class 3A girls lacrosse playoffs

Conestoga scored early and often on Thursday night against Wilson.

Nine players scored for the Pioneers, who cruised to a 17-7 win over the Bulldogs in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A girls lacrosse playoffs at West Lawn.

“We had a total team effort out there,” Conestoga coach Amy Orcutt said. “We’ve just been really jelling, really meshing and I think a lot of people are gaining confidence that may not have had some before.”

The defending champion Pioneers took a 4-0 lead early in the first half and remained in control the rest of the game. They led 6-1 at the half.

“We tried to slow the game down,” Wilson coach John Spleen said. “Conestoga’s just a great team. You play a team like that, you can’t afford to have anything go wrong. We had a couple of missed shots, a couple of posts were hit.”

Each team scored three goals in the opening minutes of the second half, and the Pioneers led 9-4 with 20 minutes remaining. Senior Kate Galicia, a Virginia commit, scored twice in the early part of the second half and finished with four goals.

“We really want this title again,” Galicia said. “Every single minute we’re playing, we don’t want it to be our last. We’re playing our hardest.”

The fourth-place team from District 1, Conestoga (17-7) extended its lead to 15-5 late in the second half, which put the running-clock mercy rule into effect. Junior Ellie Wisch scored the 100th goal of her career in the second half, and finished with four goals.

“It was good,” Wisch said about reaching the milestone. “I didn’t really expect it.”

The District 3 runner-up Bulldogs (16-7-1) were led by junior Alexa Kairis, a Penn State commit, who finished with three goals and one assist. Senior Jenna Facciolli had two goals.

“I was happy that they fought all the way to the end,” Spleen said. “They did play hard.”

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Wilson’s Alexa Kairis is pressured by Conestoga’s Kate Galica, left, and Brooke Braslow in a PIAA Class 3A first-round game Thursday at West Lawn. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)