DePetris did a lot of thinking about her future.

"It was big school against small school," she said. "I thought about if I couldn't play lacrosse again and wondered what would there be for me to do at each school.

"I was at a football game when I went to Syracuse. Because it's a bigger school, I felt there would be a lot more I could do there. And I figured my sister would never speak to me again if I turned down Syracuse."

DePetris recently made a verbal commitment to accept a scholarship offer from Syracuse. Today, she will play field hockey in a Carroll uniform for the last time as she and the Patriots take on Cardinal O'Hara in the Catholic League playoff final.

Game time at La Salle University is 2:30 p.m.

"I've been playing field hockey since I was in fourth grade," said DePetris, a product of St. Katharine of Siena School in Wayne. "It's so hard to believe this will be my last game. Maybe when I get back home after I finish college, I can play for a club team."

Today, she and her teammates will try to give Carroll its first playoff championship since the Pats defeated O'Hara, 1-0, in the 2001 final. Jill DePetris scored the winning goal in that game.

Jackie DePetris probably won't be scoring any goals in today's game. Earlier in the season, Carroll head coach Suzie Gennaro moved her from the forward line to defense. "We lost some nonleague games and some of us got a little scared," DePetris said. "We made a lot of changes before our Catholic League games and said we couldn't lose again.

"We didn't even make it to the finals last year, and we couldn't have our last season (at Carroll) end the way last year ended."

Becca Gennaro, the coach's daughter, and Cara Filippelli, Kate's sister, have been Carroll's scoring leaders. Last spring, Filippelli and DePetris both watched the Patriots win their fifth consecutive lacrosse playoff title from the sideline because of injuries.

Filippelli banged up a knee on the turf at Saint Joseph's University in a semifinal lacrosse contest. DePetris, who thought she had shin splints, discovered she had been playing with a stress fracture in a leg.

"Cara got back before I did last summer," said DePetris, who is trying to decide between a career in special education or physical therapy. "I went through a lot with my own therapy, but if I hadn't stopped playing when I did, I might still not be playing.

"As it is, my speed isn't what it was and I get exhausted out there sometimes. I think we're all pretty excited to be playing in the championship game and to be playing O'Hara." When her hockey season concludes Sunday with the All-Catholic game at Carroll, she will turn her attention to helping Carroll defend its playoff lacrosse title as she prepares for the challenges of Division I lacrosse. "All of us on the team are very close," said DePetris, who pointed out that Carroll has nine seniors on its roster. "(Sunday) we were in the diabetes walk on the Mighty McDevitts team. One of our teammates (sophomore Megan McDevitt) and her little brother have diabetes. Their family had a team in the walk and we went down and were part of their team."

Some of the Carroll seniors were part of the Patriots' 2001 championship effort, and DePetris has played for three of Carroll's five championship lacrosse teams. Last spring, she scored 44 goals in 19 games before her injuries forced her to stop playing.

"I really want this to be a game we'll remember," said DePetris, whose younger sister Jamie should be in a Carroll uniform at this time next fall.

O'Hara seniors hope to finish with flourish

By HARRY CHAYKUN

hchaykun@delcotimes.com

MARPLE - Cardinal O'Hara has six seniors on its field hockey roster - Katie Kelly, Mary Hagenbach, Kara Gatto, Danielle Fichter, Jamie Schmucker and Jackie McHugh.

"Katie Kelly might be the only one from our team or (Archbishop Carroll) who played much the last time we played them for the championship," said O'Hara head coach Nicole Nelson, whose Lions take on the Patriots at La Salle University this afternoon (2:30) in the Catholic League playoff final.

Kelly, Katie George and Gatto have been among O'Hara's scoring leaders as the defending champion Lions put together an 8-1 league record to finish second behind Carroll in the Catholic League standings. Hagenbach and Schmucker are key defenders and McHugh has made contributions coming off the bench.

Fichter and and Kelly both have sisters who are sophomores on the team - defender Stephanie Fichter and forward/midfielder Beth Kelly. The Fichters played CYO hockey for St. Pius X School in Broomall, as did McHugh, who lives in Upper Chichester and whose mother, Lois, is a math teacher at St. Pius.

"I didn't know a whole lot about O'Hara's (hockey) program until I got here," Danielle Fichter said. "I don't know if I'll keep playing hockey in college (Villanova, Penn State and Saint Joseph's are among her choices to study elementary education), but if I don't I'd like to play for a club team."

Fichter, Schmucker and McHugh were members of the O'Hara junior varsity team in 2002, the year the Lions defeated Carroll, 1-0, in the playoff final.

"I remember how exciting it was watching that game and sprinting on the field when it was over," Fichter said. "I know it's been fun being on the same team with my sister. It's going to be exciting playing Carroll again."

Schmucker, who also is an outstanding softball pitcher, didn't play field hockey until she was a ninth-grader. "I went to (Our Lady of Fatima in Secane) and they didn't have hockey," Schmucker said. "My cousin, Ashley Bryan, who went to Strath Haven, taught me how to play because I wanted to play a fall sport."

Schmucker has been the leader of the O'Hara defense this season. She's been getting solid support from Stephanie Fichter after Fichter moved from the front line to the back line.

"That balanced things out back there nicely," said Schmucker, who is looking at Immaculata, Philadelphia University, Cabrini and Widener to study fashion marketing and play softball. "It doesn't all depend on me now."

McHugh, who is a catcher for the O'Hara softball team, caught on well to her job as a reserve forward.

"I've learned that I can still do things even if I don't start," said McHugh, who is looking at Lock Haven University to study physical therapy and play softball. "We have one more game left, and it would be perfect if we finished our season with a win."

The Game

Archbishop Carroll vs. Cardinal O'Hara,

La Salle University, 2:30 p.m.

THE GAME

* The defending playoff champion Lions, who are seeded second, take on the top-seeded Patriots in the Catholic League championship match. The teams last met for the title in 2002 in a game won by O'Hara, 1-0.

Carroll has put together an 12-game unbeaten streak, including nine consecutive victories in the Catholic League. Two goals by Becca Gennaro and goals by Cara Filippelli and Kelly Bosco helped the Pats to a 4-2 win over the Lions four weeks ago. Carroll rolled into the final with a 5-0 win over Conwell-Egan last week.

O'Hara got goals from Kara Gatto and Katie George in its loss at Carroll. Senior Katie Kelly scored in the second overtime period to lift the Lions past Kennedy-Kenrick, 1-0, in a semifinal contest last week. Kelly also scored in the 2004 overtime title win over Kennedy-Kenrick.

Goalies Marissa Berardocco, who had 10 saves in O'Hara's win over Kennedy-Kenrick last week, and Maggie Gallagher of Carroll may have a big impact on the outcome of the game.

"We have become a complete team," said O'Hara head coach Nicole Nelson. "The fact that we're playing Carroll and we have such a rivalry with them has made things interesting preparing for this game."