With just a short time remaining in her high school lacrosse career, Wyomissing senior Alexia Polyak crossed something off her bucket list Thursday at West Lawn.
For the first time since May 1, 2009, the Spartans defeated Wilson, ending a streak of 18 straight losses.
“As an underclassmen losing my freshman year to COVID, I never would have expected that we could come back and beat Wilson any time in my career,” Polyak said after the 7-6 victory. “I just want to thank our team. Our coaches really helped us turn this into a program that’s amazing and continues to flourish.
“The girls’ mentality, as a collective, we all uplift each other. We support each other so much, and we just feed off of each other’s energy.”
Indeed, the energetic Spartans (7-1, 13-1) fed off of each other’s enthusiasm to hold on against the Bulldogs (7-1, 11-4-1). They were carried by a total team effort that included three goals from Polyak and a vocal bench delivering plenty of encouragement from the get-go.
“Getting 100% effort from everybody was critical,” Wyomissing coach Keith Reidinger said. “Our goaltender (Skylar Maggs) played great. I think we learned a lot from the Twin Valley game (a 9-6 loss) because we came in with confidence. That’s a heck of a team over there, so we’re just happy to get the win.
“It was a very big game and it’s good for us. And I think the girls got excited by being a part of a good game.”
A close game from start to finish came down to the wire as Wilson’s Jenna Facciolli scored her fifth goal of the game to cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to 7-6 with 2:26 remaining.
Though Wilson would win the ensuing draw and threaten numerous times in the final two minutes, the Spartans forced enough turnovers to hold on.
The Bulldogs’ best chance to tie it came when Mia Riccitelli failed to get a shot off following a restart from a penalty with 1:32 left.
“Composure was the biggest thing,” Wilson coach John Spleen said. “At the end of the game, we had a couple chances where they turned the ball over and in like the last 30 seconds we rushed things, lost our composure and kept throwing the ball back to them. The other thing, too, is we talked to the girls (about) not finishing on offense.
“We had a lot of chances on offense and we’re not finishing getting the ball in the net. So that was the big problem today, but moving forward, I told the girls, ‘You’re gonna face this team again in the county playoffs.’ So we have three weeks to get ready to come back and play ’em hard again the next time.”
In addition to Polyak’s three goals, Kacey Maggs had two goals and an assist while Audrey Hurleman had a goal and three assists for Wyomissing.
Maggs and Hurleman linked up on three goals as Hurleman assisted both of Maggs’ goals and Maggs assisted on Hurleman’s goal.
Maggs’ first goal broke a 1-1 tie with 14:53 remaining in the first half and Hurleman’s goal extended the lead to 3-1 with 9:29 left in the opening half. The Spartans led 4-3 at the half, and Maggs scored the first goal of the second half to make it 5-3 with 16:56 left.
Wyomissing dominated the first four minutes of the second half as it passed and kept possession in Wilson’s final third of the field for the entirety of that span. Kyla Carse, who finished with five saves for the Bulldogs, made a clutch save off a strong shot by Polyak with 17:33 to go to keep it at 4-3.
“We know each other very well and I think because of that we’re able to play well together on the field,” Polyak said. “They (Hurleman and Maggs) have a special connection and we can just read each other.”
Facciolli scored her third goal of the night with 14:21 remaining to cut it to 5-4.
Wilson played the final 13:52 without its leading scorer in Alexa Kairis, who picked up her second yellow after earning one with 1:58 left in the first half. Kairis scored with 8:16 left in the first half to cut it to 3-2.
Despite the loss of Kairis, the Bulldogs maintained pressure and tied it with 11:43 left on Facciolli’s fourth goal.
Abby Zechman broke the tie for Wyomissing on a low shot from deep with 7:25 to go, and Polyak closed the scoring for the Spartans with 4:54 to go to make it 7-5.
“She (Polyak) has fantastic energy, (is) a great goal scorer and just a really hard-nosed lacrosse player,” Reidinger said, “And today she showed it, hopefully we can continue to do great things.”
For Reidinger, the Spartans’ defensive efforts and ball control have propelled them to new heights. Wyomissing has allowed a league-low 58 goals this season, while Wilson has scored a league-high 192. Skylar Maggs made seven saves for the Spartans.
“We’ve been very fortunate; we have the fewest goals allowed and that’s because it’s a team defense,” Reidinger said. “We don’t necessarily have the deepest bench. So, in any sport, lacrosse especially, ball possession is everything. Lacrosse is a make-it-or-take-it sport and we were very fortunate that the girls did a lot of faceoff draw work and it really paid off.”
Polyak scored the first goal of the first half with 22:18 remaining as well as Wyomissing’s last goal of the first half with 4:08 left. Facciolli had two goals in the first half.
For Polyak, the win is a major boost as the Spartans, who are tied for first in the Berks League.
“It literally increases our confidence exponentially,” Polyak said. “I can’t say just how much, but I’m sure that team is feeling extra confident, exuberant and just amazing all around.”
Source: Berkshire mont