Abington Heights followed up the first girls lacrosse state tournament victory ever for the school by making history again Saturday.
The Lady Comets became the first team from District 2 to make the semifinals of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association lacrosse tournament when they wiped out a four-goal, halftime deficit and avenged last year’s season-ending loss with a 13-7 victory over Upper Moreland.
The victory in the afternoon state Class 2A quarterfinal at Emmaus sends the unbeaten Wyoming Valley Conference and District 2 champions into Tuesday’s 5 p.m. meeting with District 1 champion Strath Haven at the Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.
Freshman Morgan Davis led the way with five goals and four assists.
Abington Heights scored all nine of the second-half goals after Upper Moreland took a 7-4 halftime lead in the rematch of the Lady Comets state debut a year ago.
Allie Rothenberger added four goals while Sadie Gilbert scored three.
The Lady Comets fell behind early, but recovered to take a 4-3 lead after one quarter on a goal by Rothenberger with 18.5 seconds left in the first quarter.
Upper Moreland dominated the second quarter, outscoring Abington Heights 4-0 to take the three-goal lead.
The Bears applied pressure over the first three minutes of the second half, but could not add to the lead.
Sophia Santarsiero made a clutch save with 8:54 left in the third and Gilbert’s long run with possession flipped the field.
Upper Moreland tried to counter, but Abington Heights charged back in with Davis passing from the right wing to find Gilbert in the critical scoring area. Gilbert converted and the comeback was on.
Again, it took a key stop on the defensive end to create an opportunity for the offense.
LeAnna Walters stole a dangerous pass in front and less than 20 seconds later, Davis made a similarly difficult catch in front of the cage and converted it into a goal. The score cut the deficit to one before the midway point in the third quarter.
Davis won the ensuing draw, controlling possession and taking the ball right into the offensive end. After more possession time for the Lady Comets, Davis made a pass into traffic, finding Gilbert, who scored quickly for the tie with 5:14 left.
Abington Heights went ahead to stay with 3:39 left in the third quarter. Rothenberger made a sharp cut past three defenders to get to the right post where she received a Lauren Bartell pass and turned it into the game-winning goal.
The Lady Comets did not stop there. They went from outscoring Upper Moreland 4-0 in the third period to overwhelming the Bears 5-0 in the fourth.
Annalise Messina led Upper Moreland with five goals and four draw controls. Keira Hess had a goal and three assists.
The Bears, who were third in District 1, finished 15-9.
Abington Heights (22-0) faces Strath Haven, which is 17-7 and coming off a 17-9 victory over District 2’s other state tournament representative, Crestwood.
Abington Heights faced Crestwood twice, winning 19-8 during the regular season and 12-11 in an overtime district title game.
If Abington Heights can make it through the state semifinal, it will play for the PIAA title Saturday at 10 a.m. at Penn State’s Panzer Stadium. District 3 champion Wyomissing (21-0) and District 1 runner-up Villa Maria (15-9).
