Shaler notebook: Girls lacrosse team gets back in playoff win column

Josh Rizzo TribLive Sun, May 17, 2026 • 11:01 AM

Carissa Komora celebrates after scoring a goal in the second half of the Shaler girls lacrosse team’s 12-9 section loss against Fox Chapel on May 5 at Biles Field. (Josh Rizzo | For TribLive)

Shaler girls lacrosse coach Katherine Hinsdale took her time talking to her team after a disappointing section home loss to Fox Chapel to wrap up the regular season.

The Titans hoped to try to create chaos in the section standings with a win. Instead, the Titans started slow and didn’t catch up in a loss that sent Shaler into fourth place.

But Hinsdale knew the Titans still had an opportunity because they had qualified for their first playoff game in 10 years.

Shaler delivered with a 10-5 home win over Norwin to open the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs May 12.

That earned the Titans a matchup with top-seeded Mt. Lebanon.

“I’m looking forward to watching these girls make history,” Hinsdale said after the loss to Fox Chapel. “I think the team that came out tonight is not the team that I know, and they’re going to have to bring it back together to be the team we’ve seen the rest of the season. Based on the standings and the outcomes of the games, I think every game is an opportunity.”

Shaler (11-3) once ruled the early days of WPIAL lacrosse. The Titans won the Division II championship in three consecutive seasons from 2013-2015.

Shaler’s win over Norwin was its first WPIAL playoff win since the WPIAL championship game in 2015. The Titans won the section title in 2016, but bowed out in the first round of the postseason.

During Shaler’s 12-9 loss to end the regular season, the Titans showed depth in their attack. Gabby DeLuca, Carissa Komora and Kortney Remley were among the goal scorers.

Hinsdale thinks her team has handled the pressure of being in a lot of competitive games.

“I think they’ve walked into every game with the thought that it’s anybody’s game,” Hinsdale said. “We can’t look at the standings or scores or outcomes of other people’s games and think, ‘Oh, they are going to beat us. We are going to beat them.’ We go into the game with the mindset that we are going to take control of this game and keep the pace.”

Softball marches on

The defending WPIAL champion Titans didn’t take any prisoners in opening their title defense. Shaler blew by Moon, 10-0, in the first round of the district playoffs. Indiana commit Bria Bosiljevac recorded 11 strikeouts and threw a no-hitter.

Addy Aleski smashed a two-run home run, while Alyssa Schaffold added four RBIs.

Boys lacrosse eliminated

The Titans were knocked out of the WPIAL playoffs in the first round by Indiana.