High School Lacrosse: Shawnee's Defense Slows Down Washington Township Tuesday, May 30, 2006 By Joyce Sagerty SJSports Special Correspondent It was a match up between two good girl's lacrosse teams that have demonstrated their abilities at scoring goals at will. Good speed, nice passing and individual effort could be found on the lacrosse field at Shawnee High School. The second seeded Lady Renegades were hosting Washington Township who were positioned in the third seed of the South Jersey Group A girls' semifinals. This game was a bit different than the rest as goalie Allie Shropshire for Shawnee was able to stop all but three shots that headed her way. The Renegades, behind Becca Perkins seven goal performance built a lead that put this game away early. With Shawnee's 12-3 victory, they will now travel to Moorestown to take on the number one seeded Quakers. The Renegades wasted little time setting the tone of this game with their intensity that could not be matched. It appeared that every draw went Shawnee’s way and that only set up the game plan of finding any openings to take the shot. After watch their opponent build up a 4-0 lead, Washington Township would gain possession of the ball and move into their attack mode. But even when they positioned themselves in close, Perkins was standing in their way of getting on the scoreboard. It wouldn’t be until the final moments of the first half that Nicole Muracco gave the Minutemaids their first goal of the game. Trailing by an 8-1 margin to start the second half, Washington Township was looking to pick up their intensity and that’s when Kelley Rand responded with a goal. Quickly Shawnee responded with the next two goals, the last by Allie Monticollo, and the Minutemaids would continue to look to find ways to get back into this game. When the momentum seemed to have swung in Township’s favor, Perkins was ready to take on any challenge that was put in her way. That performance will be needed when the top two seeds of the Group A bracket meet on Friday in order to avoid any lopsided game against Moorestown. The Quakers rolled past Cherry Hill East by a 20-1 score. Photos by Art Redd