With Foust, Harriton field hockey team staying over .500

It's safe to say that Harriton has not been a field hockey power over the years. The Rams, who recently returned to the Central League after spending several years in the DelVal League, are currently 8-6 overall, 4-6 in the Central.

Playing in the Central League against strong programs like Conestoga, Haverford, and Radnor, Harriton has had to fight hard to reach the .500 mark. But it does boast a player, Caleigh Foust, who's creating some buzz with her scoring.

The junior forward has 31 goals with two games to go before the postseason starts. The 31 goals rank her among the nation's top goal-scorers. According to the website Top of the Circle, Lexi Smith of Florence (N.J.) is tops in the country with 46 goals. She is trailed by Owen J. Roberts sophomore Heather Morris with 33.

The 5-foot-4 Foust began playing field hockey in eighth grade after starting her athletic career as a soccer player. She recently visited Virginia and plans to play there after graduation from Harriton.

Foust plays field hockey for the W.C. Eagles, one of the major club programs in the area.

While many of Harriton's opponents have a number of players on club teams, only one of Foust's Harriton teammates plays club ball.

"It's frustrating at times," said Foust, "when my teammates aren't used to playing at the level I am. But I know they are always trying. They don't give up, and I respect them very much for that.

"Even in our loss Friday [4-0 to Haverford], we didn't give up."

Asked to rate her own stick skills on a scale of one to 10, Foust gave herself a modest eight.

At Virginia, Foust is looking forward to playing with a former opponent, Kelsey LeBlanc, a 2011 Haverford High grad.

"She's a great player," Foust said.

Pioneers eye prize. Karen Gately wasn't sure what to expect from her Conestoga field hockey team at the beginning of the season. The Pioneers had finished second behind Haverford in the Central League race in 2010, but 15 members of that team were now gone.

"We had some young, talented players coming, but we had a lot of holes to fill," said Gately.

The 2010 team lost the league title when Haverford scored a goal in the last 30 seconds of their only league meeting last year. The Fords also beat Conestoga in the District 1 Class AAAA playoffs.

But the arrival this season of Olivier Everts, a freshman who had grown up playing field hockey in his native Holland, and the play of Claire McDugall, Britta Hjelm, Blake Hamblett, and Meghan Connor has put the Pioneers where they are today. With a win over Garnet Valley Tuesday, Conestoga will clinch the league championship with a perfect 11-0 record.

The Pioneers handed Haverford (9-1) its only league loss to date, 1-0. The Fords play Strath Haven in their league finale on Tuesday.

Gately calls McDugall one of the best midfielders in the league. The senior has committed to American University to play field hockey

"She's poised and skilled," Gately noted.

Hjelm, a senior who plans to play lacrosse for Yale, adds strength in the middle with McDugall and Connor.

"Meghan was a forward, but she needed to be a midfielder," the coach said. "So I moved her."

Everts has scored 17 goals to date in his first season.

Gately says without hesitation that it's the best team she's had in her eight seasons at Conestoga. The Pioneers won a league championship in 2005 under Gately.

"They are a very cohesive team," she said. "They like each other, and there's no drama. It's hard to predict what will happen, but I'm looking forward to a great postseason with them."

Down to the wire? There are a couple of league races that could be decided by key games this week.

Although the Inter-Academic League regular season goes into November, Tuesday's matchup pitting Notre Dame at Episcopal Academy could determine the eventual league winner. Episcopal enters the game with a 5-0-1 mark while Notre Dame is 4-0-1. The Irish and Churchmen played to a 1-1 tie in their league opener on Sept. 20.

In the Catholic League, it will be Cardinal O'Hara and Archbishop Carroll meeting Wednesday in the last regular-season game for both teams. Carroll is 8-0 in league play while O'Hara is 7-0 with a game set for Monday against Conwell-Egan before meeting Carroll.

Villa Maria Academy made things interesting in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies race by handing Mount St. Joseph its first league loss, 3-1, on Saturday. Both teams are 13-1 in league play with one game left to play.

Villa hosts Nazareth Academy on Tuesday while the Mount visits Gwynedd Mercy Academy that same afternoon.