Unionville

Up to this point, both Unionville and Oxford have had disapointing seasons. After last weekend's 12-6 loss to Sun Valley, Unionville dropped to 3-7 (2-3 in Del-Val League American Conference games), while the Hornets' 13-6 loss to Interboro dropped them to 4-6 (1-4 in American Conference games). But a win in tomorrow night's game (7:30 p.m. at Oxford) will do something to salve the wounds of a losing season and give the winners something to build on for next year. Unionville won last year's contest, 32-3, and has won four of the last five meetings between the two teams.

Unionville made it three in a row over Bishop Shanahan last night, defeating the Eagles, 57-38, to win the District 1 Class AAA girls' title at Downingtown. The top-seeded Indians (23-2) beat the Eagles (18-6) twice during the Southern Chester County League regular season and knew what to expect from their scrappy but overmatched opponents. "We're very familiar with them," Unionville forward Julie Anderson said. "By now we're calling each other by our first names. " Unionville lost in the finals last year to Gwynedd-Mercy, and Anderson and her teammates were determined to come away with a win this year.

Mike Milano, who has been an assistant football coach at Garnet Valley High for the last two seasons, has been named head coach at Unionville. A 1971 graduate of Downingtown High, where he played three sports, Milano succeeds Mike Duggan, who announced his retirement shortly after the end of last season. Duggan compiled a 64-69 record in 13 years at Unionville. Milano, 39, also served as an assistant coach at Coatesville and Downingtown before returning to West Chester University to earn a degree in health and physical education in 1991.

Former world champion Bruce Davidson rode Samuel Gwiffy to victory for the national championship in the windup of the Chesterland International Three-Day Equestrian Event yesterday at Unionville. Davidson of Unionville and Samuel Gwiffy went into first place in Friday's dressage with 56.6 penalties, remained first with faultless jumping in Saturday's 18-mile ordeal on cross country, steeplechase and roads and tracks courses, and sustained the lead in yesterday's stadium jumping over 15 fences.

Downingtown rode a five-goal outburst that began right after halftime to a 12-7 victory over Marple Newtown yesterday in a semifinal match of the PIAA District 1 girls' lacrosse playoffs. That victory, coupled with Unionville's win over Ridley in the other semifinal match at Perkiomen Valley, sets up a 3:30 p.m. final tomorrow at Upper Merion between the only two unbeaten teams in District 1. The all-Chester County League final will actually be a rematch between top- seeded Unionville (20-0-1)

The Unionville Indians entered their showdown match against Bishop Shanahan with something to prove. The Indians suffered their only loss of the season Sept. 22 at Shanahan, and the teams met at Unionville on Tuesday tied at 12-1 atop the Southern Chester County League. The Indians dominated play at the net and won, 15-10, 15-9. "We feel we've been treated as second-best by the press, and we wanted to show everyone that Unionville and not Shanahan was the real first-place team," said the Indians' Mary Kelly, who controlled play at the net. The Indians, 14-1 in league play, would win the championship for the second straight year if they defeat West Chester East tonight at home.

Unionville coach Mike Duggan and Oxford's Dennis Baumgardner say they disregard season records when their teams meet. That may be a good idea for the Hornets, who have struggled all season and dropped to 2-3 in the Del-Val League's American Conference (3-5-1 overall) after last week's 14-13 loss to Academy Park. Unionville, meanwhile, is atop the American Conference with a 4-0 record (5-4 overall) after Friday's 23-0 win over Sun Valley. In Duggan's nine years at Unionville, the Indians have lost only once to Oxford - 14-0 in 1986.

As the Southern Chester County League moves into the second half of play Wednesday, Unionville, as predicted in most preseason observations, is leading the way, but the unbeaten Indians (7-0) face a strong test in visiting Kennett this afternoon. Unionville, which lost to Bishop Shanahan in the fifth game last season, is riding an 18-game league winning streak. Coach Rob Conti-D'Antonio is working overtime to keep his team focused. On Thursday, the Indians defeated a fast- improving West Chester East, 15-12, 18-16, and D'Antonio saw some signs of distraction.

Mike Duggan, Unionville's first-year softball coach, said he learned something Thursday in a game against visiting Octorara. His team had beaten the Braves, 19-3, the first time the teams met this season, and Duggan - who has coached the Unionville football team for the last 11 years - said, "I thought today I'd be able to play some different kids. "But every time we took a big lead, (Octorara) wouldn't quit," Duggan said. "I've learned my lesson. " Unionville won the seesaw Pioneer Conference battle, 14-13.

Sun Valley made three do-or-die comebacks in the same Ches-Mont League softball game Friday, and held on to first place in the American Division standings with a 5-4 win over visiting Unionville. Trailing by 1-0, the Vanguards came up with a run in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. After Unionville scored twice in the top of the eighth, Sun Valley answered with back-to-back home runs by Alie Alkins and Amanda Lewis to keep the game going. Unionville went ahead again in the 10th inning, and the Vanguards finally won the game when Alkins delivered a two-run double in the bottom of the inning.

Octorara rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and walked off with an 8-7 win over visiting Unionville in a Ches-Mont League baseball game on Wednesday. Unionville had entered the last inning with an apparently comfortable 7-4 lead. Doug Fisher capped the comeback with a game-winning, one-out single. He finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs. J.R. McArdle went 2 for 4 with a pair of runs scored and two RBIs. In other Ches-Mont action, Bill Vandergrift struck out 12 in a complete game as Sun Valley blanked visiting Kennett, 3-0. Anthony Okoorian went 2 for 2 with an RBI. Suburban One. Kris Carr scored the winning run on an error and Abington edged visiting Council Rock North, 4-3. Carr reached third base on a sacrifice bunt after he singled and stole second.

Six years and three hockey championships later, West Chester Rustin already is in a tie as the most-decorated program in Class A Flyers Cup history. Making its fourth title-game appearance in the last five years, top-seeded Rustin won its third Cup, downing No. 3 Springfield (Delco), 4-1, at Ice Line in West Chester on Monday night. Rustin also beat Springfield in the 2010 final, when it won its second straight Cup. This year's championship ties the Golden Knights (15-2-2)

IT TOOK SERIOUS bargaining, some schmoozing and a few cups of Colombian coffee, but the Union finally landed its man. The People's Paper first reported on Jan. 23 that the Union hoped to land forward Lionard Pajoy from Colombian first-division club Itagui Diataires. But a visa situation, along with what Union chief scout Diego Gutierrez described "having to corral a player in demand," made yesterday's announcement a bit later than anticipated. "He's a player in demand, he's a guy that scored a ton of goals in the Colombian league," Gutierrez said from the Union's preseason camp in Deltona, Fla. "He stands out from the smaller, quicker [Colombian]

Marquize Speight's shot from midcourt at the buzzer gave Overbrook a 65-64 win at West Philadelphia in the basketball championship of the West Side Winter Classic on Wednesday afternoon. Before Speight stunned the Speedboys with his long-distance three, the hosts had taken a two-point lead with 2.3 seconds left on Cameron Estrada's putback. Speight finished with seven points, while teammate James Harrison had a game-high 18 points and was named the tournament's MVP. Donte Watkins and Estrada both finished with 16 to lead West Philly.

Two years ago, Owen J. Roberts reached the championship game of the District 1 Class AAA field hockey playoffs for the first time in the school's then-51-year history. The Wildcats suffered a heartbreaking, 1-0 loss to Central Bucks South. That was on the minds of several of the veteran Wildcats Saturday night when they met surprising Unionville in the final of this season's district playoffs. The Wildcats were the No. 7 seed coming in. Unionville (19-1-2) was the 16th. One of those thinking about the 2009 result was Heather Morris, the Wildcats' leading scorer.

There was less than a minute left in the Public League field hockey championship on Wednesday at Germantown when Northeast was awarded a penalty corner. The Vikings worked a play off the corner that put the ball on Emilie Thompson's stick, and she knocked in the goal that made Northeast (14-2-1) a 1-0 winner over defending champ Washington. Thompson, whose only other goal came in one of Northeast's two regular-season shutout wins over the Eagles (9-5), converted a pass from Chloe Richardson with 54 seconds to play.

Two years ago, the Owen J. Roberts field hockey team reached the PIAA District 1 Class AAA championship game for the first time in school history only to lose to Central Bucks South, 1-0, on Maddie Harding's goal. The Wildcats hope to make up for that outcome Saturday when they meet surprising Unionville for this season's district crown. Owen J. Roberts earned the finals berth with a 3-0 victory over North Penn on Wednesday at Central Bucks West. Haley D'Orsaneo, who was a sophomore in 2009, collected a pair of goals for the fifth-seeded Wildcats as they improved to an impressive 22-2.

There was less than a minute left in the Public League field hockey championship on Wednesday at Germantown when Northeast was awarded a penalty corner. The Vikings worked a play off the corner that put the ball on Emilie Thompson's stick, and she knocked in the goal that made Northeast (14-2-1) a 1-0 winner over defending champ Washington. Thompson, whose only other goal came in one of Northeast's two regular-season shutout wins over the Eagles (9-5), converted a pass from Chloe Richardson with 54 seconds to play.

Two years ago, the Owen J. Roberts field hockey team reached the PIAA District 1 Class AAA championship game for the first time in school history only to lose to Central Bucks South, 1-0, on Maddie Harding's goal. The Wildcats hope to make up for that outcome Saturday when they meet surprising Unionville for this season's district crown. Owen J. Roberts earned the finals berth with a 3-0 victory over North Penn on Wednesday at Central Bucks West. Haley D'Orsaneo, who was a sophomore in 2009, collected a pair of goals for the fifth-seeded Wildcats as they improved to an impressive 22-2.