Joe Koch's feature on the Shaler girls' lacrosse team:

"The WPIAL Division II girls lacrosse championship game was shaping up to be a rout this past Thursday as top-seeded Shaler Area appeared to have the game well in hand with a 12-5 lead against Chartiers Valley with 2:23 left in the first half at North Hills' Martorelli Stadium.

But Shaler coach Jennifer Perestock knew that a championship is determined by the effort displayed for a full game, and not just one half.

She didn't like the fact that Chartiers Valley scored nine consecutive goals over the course of the last 30 seconds of the first half and the first 11 minutes of the second to take a two-goal lead at 14-12. But she also wasn't surprised that her Titans would stem the tide and hold the Colts scoreless for the final 12:41 while scoring three unanswered goals to earn a 15-14 victory and the first WPIAL Division II girls lacrosse championship in school history. The victory concluded the Titans' season at 18-1."

(Photo: Neely Regan, battling North Hills' Emma Weaver for possession during a regular-season game, helped Shaler win the WPIAL Division II championship last Thursday.)

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It was a roster that featured three freshman and six sophomores. Their starting pitcher was a freshman. Overall it was one of the youngest teams veteran coach Skip Palmer has ever trotted out but at the end of the day this was a typical Shaler Area softball team.

The Titans finished the regular season 12-5 overall and in second place in Class AAAA Section 3. The fifth-seed Titans blasted Woodland Hills 11-0 in the first round but fell 4-1 to No. 4 Hempfield in the WPIAL quarterfinals.

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Playing one of the most demanding positions on the diamond and only a freshman, Lauren Hackett managed to start all 48 games this season for Robert Morris, the only player on the team to do so.

The 2012 Shaler Area graduate maintained a .989 fielding percentage. Offensively she batted .211 with 13 runs, eight doubles, 17 RBIs and one home run.

At Shaler, Hackett was the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Player of the Year after hitting .556 with 24 RBIs. She was also a two-time all-state selection.

Hackett was a four year starter at Shaler and she helped lead the Titans to the 2009 PIAA championship game and 2010 WPIAL championship game

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Craig Meyer's commentary on Shaler's Brianna Schwartz at states:

(Photo: Shaler's Brianna Schwartz runs to the Class AAA girls gold in the 1,600-meter run. Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette.)

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