Come playoff time, a strong goalie can take you far. And through the first two games of the PIAA District 1 playoffs, Kylee Mellot has taken Avon Grove on a wild ride.

The Johns Hopkins commit crossed 600 high school saves — no, that is not a typo — just over a week ago, and her play in net has been the driving force behind a pair of upsets that have kept Avon Grove’s season alive. On Tuesday night, Mellot turned aside 17 shots in an 8-6 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh, and with a win over Marple Newton in the next round, the Red Devils, who entered the PIAA District 1 tournament as the 20th of 24 seeds, would guarantee themselves a spot in the state championship tournament.

Mellot has agility unlike anything I have seen at the goalie position. She uses every part of her stick and at times her body to make a save, and there are moments where she resembles a hockey goalie in the way she uses her legs to stop low shots. She is not the biggest goalie in the net, but she has an exceptionally high lacrosse IQ and a fearlessness in the cage that is rarely seen at this level. She is not afraid to come out and cut off a pass to a cutter, and her outlet pass regularly sets up her offense in transition.

Johns Hopkins was all over Mellot the moment she could be recruited, and it is not hard to see why. The plays she is making in the District 1 playoffs right now will soon be made on a bigger stage and broadcast on ESPN.