District 1 Class 3A Girls Lacrosse: ‘Batman' rises for Ridley in win over Penncrest

RIDLEY TWP. – Ridley goalie Olive Kertis has a nickname that suits her quite well.

"We call her Batman down there," senior Nadia Henkel said, "because she's always there to save us."

Kertis came through with some huge stops Tuesday night as ninth-seeded Ridley defeated No. 24 Penncrest, 11-5, in the first round of the District 1 Class 3A tournament. The Green Raiders move on to face No. 8 Radnor on Thursday at 5 p.m.

The junior embraces the nickname. It helps her maintain focus and a competitive mindset at all times on the field, even when the action her way is a tad slow.

"I am easily distracted," she said.

And there's something about rainy games, in particular, that make her feel superhero-like. There was no wet weather Tuesday, but she still looked the part in the cage.

"When it's raining, it just fuels me," she said. "I like when the raindrops come down off my helmet. I feel like Batman and I got this."

She definitely had it against Penncrest.

With Ridley clinging to a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter, Kertis made back-to-back point-blank saves. The second stop quickly turned into offense as Tori Maurone buried a transition chance off a feed from Henkel to stretch the advantage to 5-2.

Penncrest's Grace Steffan scored with 3:34 left in the half, then Leah Childs converted a free-position shot during a man-up opportunity to make it 5-4 with 1:15 remaining. Kertis was challenged.

But like the Dark Knight, Kertis rose to the occasion, saving a shot from Childs in the waning seconds of the first half to preserve Ridley's one-goal lead heading into the break.

"She's done so well. I always tell her, ‘You got my back down here, and I'll have your back up there,'" Henkel said. "She's really stepped up the last couple of games, and I'm really proud of her."

Penncrest scored 68 seconds into the game when Madelyn Krail finished off a pass from Campbell O'Neill. Henkel answered quickly and took over from there.

The Saint Joseph's commit scored three of Ridley's next four goals, helping the Green Raiders seize control in the opening period. Callie Bryan scored nine seconds after Henkel's third tally to make it 4-2. As is often the case, the Henkel and Bryan were too good to handle.

Ridley's offense exploded after halftime. Henkel scored just 61 seconds into the third quarter during a man-up chance, then sliced through the defense moments later for another goal that made it 7-4. Bryan added a free-position goal with 7:26 left in the quarter to extend the lead to four.

Ridley never let Penncrest back into it. Henkel closed out her six-goal night in style, weaving through defenders before ripping home the final goal with 2:23 remaining. Ridley outscored Penncrest 6-1 in the second half.

The Green Raiders also beat Penncrest 17-4 back on April 30, but Henkel said there was no chance they'd overlook the Lions this time around.

"We knew that it's hard to beat a team twice. … If you lose you're out, if you win you keep going," Henkel said. "I feel like we had fire under us, knowing that we could come out strong and beat this team again. We were going to keep playing for each other."

Henkel dominated on draw controls. Maurone and Bryan caused turnovers with their speed and active sticks, while Keira Small turned in a strong all-around effort on defense.

Chloe Extor added a cool finish late in the third quarter, scoring while falling to the turf to put Ridley ahead 9-5. Gabby DiGiacomo joined the fun in the fourth off a pass from Bryan.

"Our draw controls were great tonight. My circle helps me a lot – Callie and Gabby," Henkel said. "And then our defense really stepped up. Our offense did a good job always looking up when moving the ball, passing and just having solid possessions. We condition after every practice, so to be able to run on teams and to stay mentally and physically present in the fourth quarter, that really helped us get it done tonight."

Ridley (14-5) gets another crack at Radnor after dropping an 11-6 decision to the Raptors on April 25. Kertis remembers it well.

"I just know that I didn't play good that game and I know I need to show up," Kertis said. "I think we beat ourselves, and I'm ready to go at them again."

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