Gwynedd-Mercy's 3-1 victory Friday over Mount St. Joseph in field hockey was somewhat bittersweet for Gwynedd coach Sue Persichetti.
The first-year head coach has run summer field hockey camps for middle schoolers the past several years and has been influential in the development of both Mount and Gwynedd players.
"When I play against this team, it's a weird feeling," Persichetti said, "because half of them I begged to come here [instead of Mount]."
But it didn't matter Friday on Persichetti's new home turf, as the Monarchs (3-3-2 overall, 1-1-2 Catholic Academies) overcame Mount St. Joseph (8-2, 4-2) for the first time in at least 12 years.
"No one knows - that's how long it's been," Persichetti said of the last time Gwynedd had beaten Mount, but a former player remembered losses going back as far as 2000.
The game's first goal didn't come until midway through a clean first half, as Nicole Catalino drove the ball into the back of the cage from the middle right of the circle.
Corinne Persichetti, the coach's sophomore daughter, dribbled the ball down the field through traffic to set up Catalino's score.
"I think after the first goal came, they were like, 'We can do this,' " Sue Persichetti said. "It's a confidence thing."
While Gwynedd-Mercy was going into halftime with a 1-0 lead and a bit of cautionary confidence, the Monarchs were struggling to create scoring chances and getting crowded in the circle.
The game opened up a bit in the second half, however, and Gwynedd's Cassie O'Brien put a perfectly placed cross into the cage with a little more than 20 minutes to play.
Five minutes later, Corinne Persichetti got a goal of her own, hit from the top of the circle, to put the Monarchs up, 3-0.
It was all Gwynedd needed to clinch the win, but Mount St. Joseph played strong through the end, and Ann Burgoyne scored off a penalty corner with a little less than 10 minutes remaining.
In the final minutes, the Magic had even more scoring opportunities with corner after corner, but couldn't convert.
After falling, 5-4, to Mount earlier this season, Persichetti summed up the difference maker in one word: "Heart."
Mount St. Joseph 0 1 – 1
Gwynedd-Mercy 1 2 – 3
Goals: MSJ-Ann Burgoyne; GM-Nicole Catalino, Cassie O'Brien, Corinne Persichetti.
Saves: MSJ-Christina Black 11; GM-Ava Rosati 6.
Contact Megan Soisson at msoisson@philly.com.
