06/03/2026
Photos by Tim Weight
By Kenny Varner
BELLEFONTE - They will be back!
After punch ticket to their first ever PIAA girls lacrosse appearance, the Bellefonte squad was looking to capture its first State win as they went up against a tough juggernaut in Quaker Valley at the friendly confines of Rogers Stadium Tuesday.
The Lady Quakers came into the contest sporting a record of 16-3 and 9-1 in their conference, finishing second in their league. Two of those losses were to another legendary lacrosse team in Mars. The other was from another post season team in Upper St. Clair.
Bellefonte came in with a play in victory last week against Cathedral Prep, winning 9-5.
Bellefonte’s goalie Ava Hill finished the day with 12 hard earned saves.
Being the new kids on the block in PIAA State play, the Red Raiders were tough early on and battled throughout but the veteran Lady Quakers were too much on this night as they ended the feisty Bellefonte team’s season with a 19-5 victory.
They did play good team from the WPIAL tonight, obviously, they were thr number two team out there, at 16-3. �I get it. The big thing we wanted to work on today was our defense. We played good defense,” said Bellefonte coach Kerry O’Hara. �“We knew what they were going to bring. We knew they were going to play and hold it, hold it, hold it, and then run a play. We knew that we just got to learn from that and try to do better.”�“The best part about this whole experience is we lose one senior, so of a 19-girl roster, 18 are coming back. Hopefully get some new 8th graders up that are going to play. So, yeah, listen, I'm extremely proud of these girls. We were one and one in the postseason.”
In the first quarter, the opening possession went to Quaker Valley. They drove down and worked the ball around, trying to find a good shot.
Katharine Miller scored first for the Lady Quakers as she sent a shot through at 10:00. She would finish with five goals on the night to pace Quaker Valley.
Bellefonte battled right back on the following Red Raiders possession. Junior Zoe Wilson blazed her way downfield and into the heart of the Quarkers defense. He was shot was sent through traffic. She sent a screamer past, Quaker Valley’s goalie at 9:07.
After consecutive Quaker goals by Grace Keisel, the Red Raiders defense tightened up, keeping any attempt for easy pe*******on inside.
When the first quarter ended the Red Raiders trailed only 3-1.
Defense led the way for the Lady Raiders in the first holding Quaker Valley to just three goals.
However, in the second, the Lady Quakers got its transition game going into high gear.
After working ball around and driving, Miller was back at it hitting a goal at 9:56 to go up 4-1.
However, the Red Raiders went right back to work as well. Lila Dawson cut into the Quaker Valley lead. Dawson took a start up pass and went to heart of defense where she was fouled in the crease. Seconds later she finished with a goal at 9:43, 4-2.
Quaker Valley went on a 5-0 run to go ahead of the Lady Raiders 9-2.
Despite the run, Bellefonte continued to battle through.
At 2:51 left in the first half, the Lady Raiders scored to cut the lead to six at 9-3. Saydie Murphy went strong across the middle blistering a shot.
At the half, the Red Raiders found themselves trailing 11-3.
But that didn’t stop them from battling.
After a strong halftime talk between the coaches and players, the group continued to put everything out on the line and came out of the intermission with a quick goal.
Taylor Badger came out and took the opening possession and sent it through at 11:38, 11-4.
But the quick scoring Quakers again got strong up front play, scoring the next five goals, going into the fourth holding a 16-4 advantage.
Trailing 17-4 minutes into the final stanza, Bellefonte added another goal. Aubrey Barnard scored with 6:50 left to conclude the scoring for the Lady Raiders.
Despite the visitors added the next two goals, the Lady Raiders stood cheering on their teammates to the very end.
Though the game didn’t go as planned, nobody could take away the thrilling end of the season that saw them make team history with a play in win and a PIAA state berth. Something that next year’s team who only loses one senior can build upon for next season.
