What a turnaround it has been.
In much of the era since its inception in 2017, the Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse program has seen more challenging times than prosperous.
A lot of inexperienced players learning the game for the first time led to very few, if any, winning seasons. In that time, the program has gone from playing in Class 2A to 3A.
Recently, the program has come on strong and this year will be the fourth straight year the Warriors have made the playoffs.
In 2023, the Warriors lost in the first round as a No. 10 seed. They made it to the semifinals as a No. 4 seed in 2024, losing to eventual champion Mars, and last year, as a No. 7 seed, lost to Upper St. Clair in the quarterfinals.
What has made the most difference from those early dark times to consecutive playoff appearances was the implementation of a youth program to help get girls interested in the sport early and develop their skills physically and mentally to have the talent and experience to compete at the varsity level.
“Prior to me arriving, coaches had to deal with girls never knowing the sport, never seeing a stick or a ball before,” coach Rich Vislocky said. “The rise in our compete level had a lot to do with the youth program getting implemented.”
Vislocky, who is in his fourth season at the helm, started the youth program two years before he started coaching the varsity team, and he has been coaching this year’s seniors since they were in seventh grade.
Perhaps because it had the benefit of learning the game so young, this senior group is the winningest class in the program’s history, compiling a record of 55-22-1 with the Class 3A playoffs set to begin Tuesday as the fifth-seeded Warriors host No. 12 Shady Side Academy at 6 p.m.
“It’s been about the girls’ willingness to work outside of practice,” Vislocky said. “They’re willing to put in the work to increase their stick skills and lax IQ. They’ve started to embrace not just being a physical athlete, but they’ve been watching film on the opposition all year and have watched some college film to become a mental athlete as well.”
Senior captain and returning all-WPIAL player Annabelle Aquino has owned the midfield for the Warriors (14-3-1), and there isn’t a ground ball she’s not able to pick up or a draw control she won’t get.
“It’s rare if someone gets one on her,” Vislocky said. “She’s just an amazing athlete and has a sense for knowing where to be to either force a turnover or grab one of those ground balls.”
Madison Hagan, who will play at Bethany College next year, is a four-year starter in net and is approaching 400 saves for her career.
Georgia Vislocky is an attacker and is always around the net, becoming the program’s all-time points leader with 236 and counting. She will play lacrosse at Point Park in the fall.
“Madison is really locked in, can command the defense and she really starts our offense,” Vislocky said. “When she makes a save and the clear has started, that’s when our possession begins and she fully embraces that role. Georgia has learned to scout other teams and updates our scout notes to keep us locked in.”
Aquino and Georgia Vislocky are in a race to see who will end her career with the girls lacrosse all-time goals record, which is currently held by Sophia Green (166).
“The season isn’t over yet, so I don’t know where they’ll end up,” Coach Vislocky said. “All I know is they’ll be one and two when it’s all said and done.”
Abby Baughman has pulled in big numbers in terms of grabbing ground balls and has exploded this year for 30 goals and 10 assists.
Senior captain Adalyn Hawk was going to transition from defense to midfield this year, but an injury in the third game of the season derailed her year. She has seen some time in the Warriors’ last few games, and Vislocky is hopeful she can bounce back and help the team make a deep playoff run.
Junior Avery Bosack had her sophomore year cut short by injury, but she battled back this year. Missing only two or three games, she has 50 goals and adding 14 assists.
Another bright spot offensively has been freshman midfielder Lillian Hawk, who has also provided a scoring touch, burying 36 goals and dishing out 10 assists.
All that firepower has the Warriors averaging 13.6 goals.
Defensively, the Warriors have what Vislocky feels is the best unit he’s ever coached, and that includes his time with the Franklin Regional boys team from 2004-15. They have allowed 6.3 goals per game this season.
“This group has been so good. I was able to just tell them what we wanted to do from a concept standpoint and they were able to communicate and be on the same page,” said Vislocky. “If they give up a goal, there’s no yelling or pointing fingers. They regroup, say what each saw on the play and they adjust. It all starts with them being students of the game.”
Leading the way on defense is Sarah Ley, who came out for the team last year not having any knowledge of the game and earned a starting spot as a senior this year.
“She’s got an unbelievable work ethic and is a sponge for everything lacrosse,” Vislocky said. “She always wants to know what she needs to do, how to execute and the best way to keep the offense from scoring. She’s an absolute beast when it comes to defense.”
Joining Ley on the back end are juniors Mary Brobst and Mia Prosdocimo and sophomore Kylee Kennelly. Their stats are huge, not just on the defensive end, but helping out offensively as well.
Brobst leads the group in grabbing 30 ground balls, Kennelly has 25, Ley scooped up 10 and Prosdocimo has seven.
But it’s their ability to force turnovers that has made the real difference.
Brobst and Kennelly have each forced 13 turnovers, Ley eight and Prosdocimo four.
“Those numbers indicate that those girls stop the opposing attack and force them to put the ball on the ground,” Vislocky said. “When you look at our season, we need approximately three offensive possessions per goal. So, if we cause three turnovers, that probably equals a goal for us.”
The Warriors will look to keep that ratio going in their playoff matchup against Shady Side Academy, a team Vislocky said his teams have never faced in his time as coach.
“I’m very surprised that they’re the 12 seed and the sixth seed out of their section. They are so talented and athletic,” Vislocky said. “We will have our hands full for sure, but I’m looking forward to the matchup and our girls are pretty pumped and ready for the postseason.”