DV girls lacrosse ends year with district championship

The Delaware Valley High School girls lacrosse team ended the season as district champions after defeating Hazelton Area High School at the District 2 AAA Tournament last month.

Head coach Bernadine Salak looked back on the season with pride, recognizing the team’s wins over Hazelton Area in the championships and during the regular season.

“Two distinct games that stand out are our two games against Hazleton Area,’’ Salak said. “During the regular season, we battled to an 8-7 win to earn the top seed in the District 2 AAA Tournament. In the championship game, we overcame a two goal deficit and held Hazleton Area scoreless in the fourth quarter to secure the win and the district championship.’’

There was leadership aplenty on the roster for the Warriors this spring.

“All of our seniors contributed in a positive manner,’’ Salak said. “Our three senior captains, Annabelle Kornmeyer, Jaida Palacios and Taylor Spears helped guide our team throughout the season.”

Salak noted Kornmeyers passion and reliability as a team player, Palacios ’s impressive goal tending (including her 500th career save against Wallenpaupack) and Spears’ excellent defensive play and sportsmanship.

“Ella Smith and Samantha Prisco were our other two seniors and really stood out as defensive players. They helped to guide our defensive strategy and would often mark up on the toughest opponents to help us succeed. Both Ella and Sammy would step up in the transition game and try to disrupt the offensive flow of our opponents. We are really going to miss all five our seniors next season,” Salak said.

Several student athletes on the team constantly improved as lacrosse players this year.

Salak acknowledged the efforts of the juniors on the team.

“We have a great group of juniors that emerged as strong lacrosse players throughout the season,’’ Salak said. “We scored most games by committee and had five players score 15 goals or more.”

The leading scorer for the season was Mackenzie Heath with 35 goals and 15 assists. Brooke Palmeri also emerged as an offensive threat with 31 goals and three assists.

Savannah Liz lead the midfield with 21 goals and eight assists with 31 ground balls, while Rhyanne Rettinger with 19 goals and 10 assists, along with 40 ground balls. Josie Lordi had 20 caused turnovers and 27 groundballs from her low defense position and Olivia Langelotti stepped up her game as a defensive middie.

Salak also highlighted the efforts of Alexis Allen, Lorelie Rabolli and Alyssa Smirman, who came on as key substitutes throughout the season.

Delaware Valley tallied eight solid wins with seven triumphs in the Wyoming Valley Conference (WVC).

“I am super optimistic for next season as we have a core group of juniors returning as seniors and a nice core of younger players with several sophomores earning letters this season,’’ Salak said. “Rhyann Morris, Bella Faust and Taya Lotito all emerged as contributors and we had a very successful JV team that showed tremendous growth throughout the season.

“I was so proud of how our seniors all worked together to create a team atmosphere and make their teammates feel valued and welcome. They set the tone for the rest of the squad to follow and each one contributed in such a positive way.’’

Individual Achievements Provided By Coach Salak:

Taylor Spears, Rhyanne Rettinger and Josie Lordi were selected PASLA Pennsylvania All-State Academic Team.

Samantha Prisco was Second Team WVC All Conference.

Ella Smith and Mackenzie Heath were Honorable Mention WVC All Conference.