Central Bucks West advanced to Wednesday’s District 1 3A semifinal with a 2-1 win over Downingtown West. Photos provided courtesy of Kadi Schenk. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f435525856
CLASS 3A
#1-3 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2, #1-11 DOWNINGTOWN EAST 1
Kendra Pitts is one very cool customer.
The sophomore goalie literally saved the day for the Bucks, delivering her final and biggest save with time expired in regulation and the Bucks clinging to a one-goal lead - this one a dazzling glove save on a high corner shot that went out of bounds off her glove, bringing a welcome end to the game for the Bucks..
“I definitely enjoy the pressure – I work well under pressure, which works well for a keeper, but it’s, of course, scary because we’ve had some scary incidents in overtime, giving up corners late in the game,” Pitts said. “I’m glad we were able to push through that.”
It was Downingtown East’s second of two corners with time expired in regulation, allowing the Cougars to bring their entire team to the circle. On both, Pitts came up big.
“Just staying confident and knowing I can do this and my team has my back is really important for me to understand and believe in myself,” Pitts said.
The significance of Pitts’ 12-save performance was not lost on the Bucks.
“Oh my gosh, it’s amazing,” senior captain Lucy Damsker said. “She really saves us a lot.”
“She did an excellent job,” said West coach Lori Ierubino, who is filling in for coach Dave DeAngelis. “She’s a sophomore and she just did not look fazed. She looked solid and ready to play.”
Clutch saves are often the difference between winning and losing in the postseason, and Pitts – who has played the position for seven years - certainly was clutch.
“My sister initially started in goal, and I was like – ‘I’m never going to be in goal, that’s not exciting,’ but as soon as I started playing, I just felt a draw to playing goalkeeper,” Pitts said. “it’s not really explainable – it’s a draw there.”
If Pitts and her teammates were looking for excitement, the Cougars certainly gave it to them on the sweltering hot day.
“We haven’t really been used to it because we’ve been playing at night – practicing at night, playing games at night,” senior Lucy Damsker said. “The last time we played in this heat was in August, so it’s been like two months since we played in this weather.”
Damsker is a key part of West’s corner defense that was tested repeatedly in Saturday’s game, never more than in the fourth quarter when the Cougars drew half of their 13 penalty corners.
“They kept going to the same player, so we would step up to that girl,” Damsker said. “We just stepped to her because she was going to get it every time.
“I was like – ‘This is states right here. This corner is states.’”
And as a result of the win, the Bucks assured themselves a coveted state tournament berth and also advanced to the district semifinals. In Saturday’s win, they not only overcame a talented Cougar squad, they also overcame the oppressive heat that forced several regulars to come out throughout the game.
“It was really hard,” Damsker said. “We kept having a lot of breaks, drinking water and having these (cold) towels and having ice. That definitely helped.
“I felt light-headed. It’s not that we were out of shape – it was just the heat was so hard.”
Fortunately for the Bucks, they came out of the starting gate with a hot hand and midway through the first quarter got on the scoreboard when Ella Dougherty scored with an assist from Nina Mayro. The play began with Mimi Duffy carrying the ball down the left side of the field and passing to Mayro, whose shot was deflected into the cage by Dougherty.
In the second quarter, Duffy came up with an interception and turned it into a goal and a 2-0 lead.
“It was just quick passing patterns and just finishing,” Ierubino said of her team’s fast start. “I think we only had one or two corners the whole game.
“You talk to most coaches, and they’ll say – getting that early lead is pivotal, and it was.”
Those goals loomed large in a second half that saw the Cougars mount a serious comeback.
“I think we got outplayed the second half,” Ierubino said. “We started well, but we had some kids (struggling with the heat). We’re trying to make adjustments on the fly because you only have one timeout, but the girls stepped up big when they needed to.
“We went to states last year, and they wanted to go back again. This was the easiest way in – win today, and you locked your berth.”
The Cougars’ comeback did not surprise the Bucks’ coach.
“We knew they were going to be tough because they knocked off North Penn, and they were a very good team,” Ierubino said. “We didn’t come into this looking past them.
“They found the grit to get it done – I’ll give them credit for that. They did what they needed to do.”
Central Bucks West (18-2, 14-2 SOL) will travel to #2 Downingtown West for Wednesday’s District 1 3A semifinal contest at 7 p.m.
Downingtown East 0-0-0-1 1
Central Bucks West 1-1-0-0 2
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