The end of the 2025 season found the Chartiers Valley girls lacrosse program facing a lot of changes.
After a second consecutive season in which the Colts finished second in their section and lost in the Class 2A championship game to Mars, the roster took a major hit. Twelve seniors graduated, including nearly the entire starting lineup, and coach Melissa Moran stepped down to move back home to New York.
With plenty of players coming up from eighth grade to replace the seniors lost, the school embarked on finding a new coach to lead what would be a young team through the 2026 campaign and beyond.
Enter first-year coach Anna Bradley, who played four years of high school lacrosse at South Fayette and three years collegiately at Waynesburg University before graduating in 2025. Bradley had taught private lessons but had no previous head coaching experience.
Thus, expectations coming into the season were low for a program in a bit of a rebuild.
“There were whispers that we wouldn’t see the same success as teams under Coach Moran’s guidance,” said Bradley.
There aren’t very many negative whispers now after the Colts finished their season 7-8 overall and 5-5 in Section 2-2A and made it to the playoffs, where they advanced into the second round.
“I am very proud of the team because they genuinely made the impossible possible,” said Bradley. “I don’t think any of them gave less than 100 percent on any day this season, whether at practice or in a game.”
After being hired in November of 2025, there was very little time to get prepared for the season for Bradley, who also works as a nurse.
The team participated in a lot of activities designed to get to know each other and Bradley. It took about two weeks for everyone to get settled and comfortable with one another, Bradley said.
The Colts didn’t have a true preseason and found it hard to get time on the field or in the gym, but they came out working hard day one on March 2.
“I don’t know if was just this group of girls or if it’s becoming more common, but I found them very open to coaching and eager to learn,” said Bradley. “It made it a lot easier because I was by myself. I knew I was coming into a program with a history of success, and I wanted to keep that same standard and keep it higher if I could”
The season started with a bang, as the Colts beat Plum in a scrimmage. After that confidence boost, they went on to beat Seton LaSalle, 13-8, in their first official game.
“It gave them more motivation to keep going, to push themselves,” Bradley said.
The team eventually pushed themselves to accomplish the three goals they set at the start of the season: to come together as a unit, win 50 percent of their games and to make the playoffs.
In the past, the team struggled with working together, working with the younger players because the older players were so used to playing with each other year over year.
“We knew it was going to be a tough, challenging obstacle for us to overcome,” said Bradley. “They jumped through hoops quicker than I thought they would.”
The incoming freshmen came in and stood out so much that Bradley was able to find a balance in the usage of her veteran and younger players.
“I told that young group they were given opportunities they might never see again,” said Bradley. “If they wanted to play, they had to show me they were willing to put in the work and they did.”
Senior midfielder Kylie Miller led the team in both scoring and ground balls. Fellow senior Jenna Sexton was second on the team in ground balls. The pair, along with senior defenseman Valerie Suter, were the captains.
“All three were instrumental in guiding the underclassmen and encouraged the team enough that when the playoffs came around, no one was nervous,” said Bradley.
Suter scored the first three goals of her career in a game against Ambridge. Suter had been wanting to play on the attack for years, but was never given the opportunity. In a year where the team really had nothing to lose, Bradley gave her senior the chance she had always wanted.
Following Miller in total points were freshman Samantha Durisko, junior Calle Milliken and sophomore Charlee Kinnee.
Milliken only played sparingly last year but came on this season to rack up 60 career goals.
Durisko provided a huge spark for the Colts in their 6-4 first-round playoff win over Indiana by scoring the first two goals of the game. The Colts also collected a season-high 40 ground balls in the contest.
“The biggest high out of that win was that the team were able to leave it all on the field and they came out stronger than ever as a unit,” said Bradley.
The top five ground ball retrievers for the Colts were Miller, Sexton, freshmen Ellie Weagraff and Hallie Morrison and sophomore Hope Hertzler.
Morrison finished the year with 80 ground balls and Hertzler grabbed 70, a career high.
Morrison, Hertler, sophomore Bellah Kellner and freshman Giann Hastings were the starting defense for the Colts.
“They were beyond comparable,” said Bradley. “For a team that never played together a lot, they picked it up quicker than I would have ever expected.”
In net, the Colts started freshman Haley Hineck, who played lacrosse for one season as an attacker in middle school. With no prior experience as a goalie, Hineck led the team success time and time again, finishing the season with 114 saves.
“There aren’t many college goalies who reach that number in a season,” said Bradley. “She’s probably the only goalie I’ve seen with a solid mindset every day. The biggest thing for goalies are the thoughts of ‘I’m failing the team, failing my coach, failing myself,’ but she’s never been down in the dumps. She’s an absolutely amazing player.”
Chartiers Valley’s season came to an end in a 10-5 defeat at the hands of Hampton in the second round of the playoffs, but the experience this young group gained will serve them well next year and in seasons to come.
“I learned that these girls want to work,” said Bradley. “Before our end-of-the-season banquet, I was receiving texts from them about getting started on preseason for next year.
“Our motto all year was effort beats talent. We not might have been the most talented team on the field, but these girls had heart and determination, which gave us a season we can be proud of and call home about.”