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South Western's Jess Kopenhaver watches as her teammate Alyx May, left, attempts to juke a Kennard-Dale defender during South Western's 12-7 victory Friday at South Western High School.

Katie Wherley had a few words of encouragement scrawled onto her right hand Friday.

"Friends don't let friends lose to Kennard-Dale."

The message, written by Wherley's counterpart, Carnie Fryfogle, the South Western boys' lacrosse team's leading scorer, helped the Lady Mustangs get their minds right.

And Wherley's four goals helped the Lady Mustangs hand the Lady Rams their first loss to a York County team since the program's inception.

"We've always wanted to beat Kennard-Dale. They've always been tough competition," Wherley said. "We just knew inside that we were the better team. We just tried to be confident, but not cocky, and try to get ahead of ourselves because we are undefeated now and they were undefeated too. We just thought that it would be a really good game and it was. It was tough."

The game, which pitted the top two teams from YAIAA Division I and YAIAA Division II against one another, didn't seem like it would live up to its billing at first.

Kennard-Dale took a 2-1 lead when an intended pass from Katie Fonte found its way past South Western goalie Becca Silver after it bounced off a Lady Mustang defender's stick.

But the own goal would wake up the Lady Mustangsp. They would go on a seven-goal run with two goals from Sydney Szparaga, two more from Jess Kopenhaver and scores from Kayla Latham, Callie Kavanaugh and Wherley to take an 8-2 lead late in the first half.

"When we went on that seven-goal run, they didn't have the ball on offense at all," South Western head coach James Kopenhaver said. "It was kind of like a make it, take it. And you keep rolling with it and you keep your momentum and it was really the difference in the game."

Fonte scored her second of the game when she beat Silver with two South Western defenders in her face. The Lady Rams got even closer on Carlie Scmitt's goal with just 47 seconds left in the first half.

At the start of the second, Fonte led the Lady Rams back with two quick goals to make the score 8-6.

"At the end of the first half, we didn't take care of the ball really well and gave them a couple of quick goals," Kopenhaver said.

But South Western would get them back.

Wherley scored twice and Cavanaugh and Latham each netted another goal while Kennard-Dale managed just one more score.

"We need to find our motivation and sometimes we just aren't smart," Kennard-Dale head coach Kelly Wetzel said. "We have enough ballhandlers that don't want to be selfish. They want to get everybody involved and sometimes you've just got to take it. And I think that's one thing we took from this todayl Just get the ball and go."

Silver stopped four of seven shots, a few of those from point blank range, in the second half to preserve the lead for South Western.

"She's an excellent goalie. I have full confidence in her," Wherley said of Silver. "If our defense can't stop it, I think she can.

tjohnson@eveningsun.com
   
SOUTH WESTERN 12, K-DALE 7
K-Dale -- 4  3 --   7
So. Western -- 8  4 -- 12

   Kennard-Dale goals -- Katie Fonte 4, Tori Sommer 2, Carlie Schmitt.
   Kennard-Dale assists -- Jord Vogt, Sommer, Scmitt.
   South Western goals -- Katie Wherley 4, Jess Kopenhaver 2, Kayla Latham 2, Callie Kavanaugh 2, Sydney Szparaga 2.
   South Western assists -- Jenell Doll.
   Shots On Goal -- KD 17; SW 19.
   Goalies -- KD, Kelly D'Alfonso (7 saves); SW, Becca Silver (10 saves).
   J.V. Score -- Kennard-Dale def. South Western, 16-4.