In Vogue: Girls Lacrosse Team Hopes to Start Something Popular at Baldwin High School

They may wear masks, but members of ’s varsity girls lacrosse team are not trying to hide.

No, the Highlanders want you to know exactly who they are, and given their involvement in the Baldwin-Whitehall community—and how well they’ve played this year—chances are that the ladies will continue to be noticed.

Like most WPIAL teams, Baldwin (8-4 overall, 7-3 Division II Section 1) is hoping to earn a spot in the playoffs this year, but perhaps unlike many other squads, Baldwin’s girls have aspirations beyond their on-field performance.

“We preach to our players that we represent something bigger than ourselves,” said , a boys assistant soccer coach at Baldwin in the fall and the head girls lacrosse coach in the spring. Deemer also teaches social studies at the high school. He is in his third year leading the lacrosse squad.

“We represent our school and our community. We want to make a difference as a team.”

As such, Deemer said that his girls have been fundraising for Jaden Duttine, a 3-year-old boy from who is fighting cancer. To raise money, the Highlanders are getting sponsors to pay them for each goal that they score. The money will then be turned over to the Duttine family.

“We hope to have Jaden and his brother, Joey, join us at one of our games this year as team managers,” Deemer said. “Natale Sporting Goods has donated team T-shirts for the boys to wear.”

And although making the playoffs for the first time in school history is a large goal shared by Deemer and each of his team’s players, community-minded efforts like the one for Jaden and another aimed at building the sport of lacrosse in Baldwin-Whitehall are equally as important.

“We don’t even have a middle-school program like some of the best teams (do),” said junior defender Erin Flaherty, the varsity squad’s lone tri-captain who is not a senior.

“I’d like to see a middle-school program,” Flaherty said. “Right now, there’s a boys middle-school program (in Baldwin-Whitehall), but the girls middle-school program … There is one, but it’s not as popular. And that’s probably one of the reasons why we’re not as good at the high-school level as some of the other (top) schools.”

Still, girls lacrosse is becoming more popular at Baldwin High School.

“Last year,” Flaherty said, “we got a lot of sophomores, and even this year, there’s a lot of freshmen that joined in. Our jayvee team is humongous.

“It’s definitely becoming popular.”

In an effort to maintain that growth, the girls will be running a few free camps and clinics this summer to increase interest in the sport and to train younger players. This June, will act as the host for an informational meeting and as a sign-up spot for those camps.

Flaherty said that building interest in her sport takes time but that the Highlanders’ success this year could pique more interest and get younger and younger girls in the area interested.

Speaking of that success, the Highlanders have already set a program record for wins this year and still have seven games left in their regular season.

Baldwin is in third place in its section. The top four Section 1 teams make the WPIAL’s Division II postseason, where they will join the top four teams from Division II Section 2.

Though Baldwin went just 1-17 overall last season, it was competing at the much tougher Division I level, where it had to face the likes of and Mount Lebanon high schools, among other heavyweights. Flaherty was quick to point out that programs from those schools have well-established and developed middle-school teams below them, giving their rosters a leg up experience-wise by the time that those middle-schoolers reach high school.

Despite moving down a level to even the playing field, Baldwin’s won-lost record this year is still quite impressive, especially given that it lost its top scorer from a year ago to graduation—Manon Pilardi, who finished second in the WPIAL in goals. Moreover, the Highlanders can boast just two seniors on their roster this year in tri-captains Crista Rosborough and Hannah Dobos.

Flaherty maintained, though, that making the playoffs in 2011 was a goal from day one.

“We set a goal before the season even started to make the playoffs,” she said. “And now that we’re winning all of these games, we’re just trying to finish that goal.”

Should the Highlanders indeed realize that goal, they may even end up back in Division I next year with the area’s better programs. But Flaherty, who will be a senior next year and is perhaps not ready to suffer another one-win season, would like her team to remain right where it is.

“(We could) possibly (move to Division I), or we could just stay in Division II and try to dominate again next year,” she said. “I would like to stay in Division II so that I can have a successful year as a senior.”

Not that she’s looking that far ahead yet, even with 12 juniors and 11 sophomores ready to move up the program ranks in 2012.

“I’m definitely more focused on this year,” Flaherty said. “We actually have a chance to do good this year.”

Before Baldwin’s most recent game, a 14-8 section win at Yough High School on Wednesday, junior Tara Soukup was leading the Highlanders with 24 goals, followed closely behind by sophomore Alexa Stahl (20), Dobos (19) and junior Alexis Pietras (17). Freshman Carla Nicola was the other Highlander in double figures with 10 tallies.

Deemer cited another top offensive performer as sophomore Abby Stock, who has three goals this year. Still, he called out Rosborough as “the heart of the team.”

“(Rosborough’s) positive spirit can uplift the entire team when we’re down,” he said. “She is the emotional leader of the team. She’s battling knee problems, but her ability to work through physical problems has been inspirational.”

Junior Shannon Lafferty sees the bulk of the time at goalkeeper for Baldwin. Before Wednesday, Lafferty had played in all but one game for the 2011 Highlanders and registered a 9.10 goals-against average.

In front of Lafferty are whom Deemer calls the team’s top defensive players: juniors Sarah Jugovic, Lindsey Patton, Sarah Lauterbach and Kat Schmotzer, and sophomore Shannon Donnelly.

Along with Nicola, Deemer mentioned freshman Teresia James as another junior-varsity standout that has contributed to Baldwin at the varsity level already.

Baldwin trails only (10-1, 9-1 section) and The Ellis School (6-1, 6-1) in the Division II Section 1 standings, respectively. Behind Baldwin are Bethel Park High School, Greater Latrobe High School, Winchester Thurston School, Yough, Greensburg Salem High School and Greensburg Central Catholic High School, respectively.

The Highlanders scored an important win against Bethel Park (6-4, 6-3), 15-14, on April 18 and narrowly lost at Chartiers Valley, 11-10, on April 15.

Baldwin will celebrate Senior Day when it hosts Winchester Thurston on Friday at 6:30 p.m., but the final home game of the Highlanders’ regular season comes against Chartiers Valley on May 10 at 7:30 p.m.

“We only lost to Chartiers by one goal (on April 15),” Rosborough was eager to point out, “and we were down a couple of girls (who had received red cards).”

Baldwin’s regular-season finale comes as a road game at Bethel Park on May 13 at 7:30 p.m.