Carroll and Twin Valley ready for a new confrontation

Archbishop Carroll’s Sienna Golden, featured in last year’s PIAA Class 2A tournament, added primary faceoff duties to her responsibilities this season. (Mike Cabrey – MediaNews Group)

Archbishop Carroll’s seniors only know one way to finish a girls lacrosse season, and that’s as state champions.

A victory against highly regarded Twin Valley in the PIAA Class 2A championship game Saturday at Panzer Field in State College and the Patriots would earn legendary lacrosse status. It would be their fourth straight state title, unprecedented for a Keystone State women’s team, and the fifth championship in program history.

Carroll’s flirtation with immortality will be tested early and often by the Raiders, whom they defeated in the last two Class 2A state title games. The action begins with a 10 a.m. showdown between Carroll’s Sienna Golden and the Raiders’ Ellie Kaplan, two of the state’s top draw control specialists. It doesn’t take much imagination to visualize the match that sets the tone.

“I would say Golden and Twin Valley’s Ellie Kaplan are probably the two best I’ve seen,” said coach Keith Reidinger, whose Wyomissing team lost to both teams in the playoffs. “(Carroll) has several scorers, several points of attack and then really, frankly, they are excellent outside of a draw. This will be a good game after the draw…and Twin Valley just has a way of still being there towards the end.

Golden also has a way of being there at the end, whether on the lacrosse field, where she was a starting midfielder for the three-time defending champion Patriots (20-2), or on the hockey field on grass. Before Golden heads to Ohio State on a field hockey scholarship, he still has some unfinished business to take care of.

With 90 draw controls won, Golden is flirting with the century mark even though she only fulfilled this role late in her career.

“I wasn’t really the main girl the last three years, so it was nice to step up this year and take on that role,” Golden said. “We have a lot of leaders on defense and offense. Having a senior leader in midfield is very important to me and I know it is important to many of us.

Golden has a process she follows when entering raffles. This is much more scientific than simply growling at the opponent.

“Honestly, it takes patience and being able to adjust movements,” Golden said. “It all comes down to digging, pushing and the movement you have. If you don’t have a good motion, you won’t win it.

Golden was credited with one won draw, Chloe Bleckley four as the Patriots beat Bishop Shanahan, 4-1, in the semifinals. The Patriots scored three second-half goals in a 74-second span to pull away.

Opposite Golden will be Kaplan, a sophomore and daughter of coach Courtney Kaplan. Ellie won 12 draws and scored three goals in the semifinals to propel Twin Valley to a 10-9 victory over Villa Marie.

Like Lorraine Beers, her counterpart at Carroll, Courtney Kaplan is an expert at building a powerful program. The Raiders have won three straight District 3 titles. But they haven’t been able to beat the Patriots, who beat them 10-8 in the 2022 championship and 17-5 in the final last spring at Panzer Field.

In terms of common opponents, the Patriots this season beat Radnor, which faces Conestoga for the 3A state title, 11-10. Radnor defeated Twin Valley, 8-7, in the regular season.

That obviously won’t mean anything once Golden and Kaplan face off on Saturday morning.