By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

A few Holy Cross players were bleeding by the end, but the Tartans came away with a 12-6 win over Elizabeth Seton in their quarterfinal game Monday.

Seton received eight yellow cards during the physical game. Still, Holy Cross was able to shake off the pain, producing one of its finest games of the season.

The Tartans (8-8, 6-2), who are looking to reach the WCAC finals again this season, had eight different scorers. They were lead by Grace Dinn, who had three goals, and Katie Dulaney, who notched two goals and an assist.

Holy Cross lead 6-4 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.

“I love it when the girls play together,” Holy Cross coach Susan Decker said. “They played very much like a team. They all played together. … It was a very tough game, but it was good.”

Holy Cross will next play second-seeded Bishop Ireton at 4:15 in Alexandria on Thursday. The Cardinals beat the Tartans, 11-10 on April 24.

“I think we’re in a great position for these playoffs mentally and I think physically I think the girls are ready,” Decker said. “I’m excited and I think we’ll do well.”


No. 1 Good Counsel 15, No. 8 St. John’s 0

Good Counsel got goals from 10 different players in a 15-0 win over St. John’s in Monday’s quarterfinal. It was an emphatic first step for the Falcons, who are attempting to repeat as WCAC champions.

Shannon Lechner and Kristen Oakey each notched three goals while senior Mary Swarthout added two. They were the only players to score multiple goals. Swarthout also had two assists and Kelsey Conway notched three assists. Good Counsel (13-6, 8-0) has outscored its opponents 119-25 this season.


No. 2 Bishop Ireton 17, St. Mary's Ryken 3

Led by senior Julianne Tela's 200th career point, Bishop Ireton defeated St Mary Ryken 17-3 in yesterday's WCAC quarterfinal in Alexandria. The No. 2-seeded Cardinals used a balanced offensive attack to overcome the Knights in a physical contest.
 
Ireton (15-3, 7-1) opened the game with two quick goals, but Ryken countered on the first of two Lauren Fensahrens' goals on the day to close the score to 2-1. But the Cardinals rolled off seven straight goals to take a 10-2 halftime lead.

Tela chipped in three goals and two assists to reach the 200-point milestone in the second half. Junior Ashton Hellmuth led Ireton with five goals and an assist, while Maria Bowman added three goals and two assists. Junior Allie Fife added a pair of goals for Ireton.
 
"Despite the score, I think St Mary's Ryken is a much, much better team today than when we played them earlier in the season," Ireton coach Cara Lee Hurrin said. "They are aggressive, physical, and hard-nosed, definitely a team on the rise."


No. 4 O’Connell 9, No. 5 Paul VI 8

About three-and-a-half minutes earlier, O’Connell had a four-goal lead and looked to be easily walking away with a quarterfinals win over Paul VI.

But with 29 seconds remaining in Monday’s game, PVI’s Lydia Miller brought the Panthers to within one goal. Needing to win the next faceoff, O’Connell pulled through and was able to run out the rest of the time on the clock for a 9-8 victory.

The fourth-seeded O’Connell (9-5, 5-3) won the regular season matchup between the two teams, 9-6, but Paul VI (7-10, 3-5) was up to the challenge Monday. The game was tied 3-3 at halftime.

O’Connell will now face Good Counsel, whom they lost to, 15-7 on April 28, in the WCAC semifinals.