The three stars of the game for the Sewickley Academy girls lacrosse team April 28 against Freeport were Emma Eannarino, Sofia DiCicco and Charlotte Morton.
Eannarino, a junior midfielder and third-year starter, scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime to lift Sewickley to a thrilling 11-10 win over the Yellowjackets.
The three-sport athlete also was credited with two assists in the game.
“Emma had a great game against Freeport. She was the catalyst of our offense, having points on eight of our 10 goals,” Sewickley coach Mike Scerbo said. “Our lineup has changed a great deal over the season, but our midfield line of Emma Eannarino, Grace Jardini and Charlotte Morton is formidable and impacts both ends.”
Jardini, like Eannarino, is a junior midfielder and three-year starter.
“Emma and Grace are first-team all-section players,” Scerbo said.
DiCicco, a junior all-section goalkeeper, finished with six saves for the Panthers, including one in the first OT period.
“The season started out with some challenges,” DiCicco said. “We needed a bit of time to find our footing as a team, especially since we had so many young players, most of whom were relatively new to lacrosse.
“However, we adapted very well. We have been performing excellently lately, as seen with our recent win against Freeport. I am very proud of all our players.”
DiCicco is a third-year starter at the goalkeeper position.
“I think our season is going really well,” she said. “We may not be winning every game, but we have been building a team. This year, we are really emphasizing the concept of discipline and what it means to be a good teammate. I’m very proud of how well everyone has worked so far, and I look forward to the next season, as well.
“Even if most of us aren’t natural lacrosse players or destined for college athletics, we are all giving our full effort in our games for ourselves, but more importantly, for our teammates.”
Morton, a freshman attacker, clicked for three goals against Freeport.
“I was very proud of our effort as we saw outstanding performances on both ends of the field,” Scerbo said. “Freeport is a high-scoring team, and we were able to keep them under 10, which gave our offense a chance.
“They were able to capitalize on that opportunity and get it done in overtime.”
A major move made by the Panthers this season was switching junior midfielder Olivia Stefanik to defense to replace Brooke Bussatto, a 2025 graduate.
“Our team’s overall performance when just looking at the record doesn’t seem like we are doing well at all,” Stefanik said, “which, when looking at wins and losses, is true. We lost three vital seniors last year and gained so many freshmen, which has been taking some time to build a foundation.
“Of course, everyone wants to win, but I think we definitely needed a year to rebuild the foundation of our program and continue to build a bond so that the wins can come next year. Without a strong team culture, the winning will never come. But as the season has gone on, the teamwork and bond are definitely starting to show on and off the field.”
Along with Stefanik, other defensive players for Sewickley include senior Makenzie Dice, junior Victoria Sgard and freshman Athena Ameredes.
“We, for sure, had a rocky start,” Stefanik said. “We had a late start to our season, and we’ve had tons of conflicts with attendance due to other obligations, which caused us to be in a really bad place in the beginning.
“These last two weeks, I feel I have seen a lot of growth. Our team is starting to work together and execute plays that we’ve been practicing this season. Even though we didn’t have a strong start, I have a feeling this year was needed to build team chemistry and continue much-needed growth.”
The Panthers also defeated Knoch, 14-3, on April 30 as Eannarino netted four goals. Morton and Marin Edmunds, a senior attacker, added three apiece.
As of May 4, the Panthers were 3-6 in Section 2-2A and 6-7 overall, averaging close to 10 goals per game. Sewickley won six times in the month of April.