Souderton defeated Methacton in non-league field hockey action on Wednesday. Photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE for the field hockey galleries.
SOUDERTON 3, METHACTON 1
Jenna Hunsicker saw a lot of familiar faces when she looked across the field on Wednesday, including one of her closest friends, Temple-bound goalie Molly Frey, who is also her teammate on the Souderton Strikers during the indoor season.
“She’s a phenomenal goalie, and going into it, I think a lot of our team was really intimidated by it,” Hunsicker said.
There isn’t a whole lot Hunsicker and her teammates don’t know about the standout goalie, and they knew it would take more than one shot to beat the senior standout. It was Hunsicker scoring a goal off the goalie’s pads during corner play (Anna Gwiazdzinski assist) that turned out to be the game-winner, giving the Indians a 2-0 lead early in the second half.
“That was actually my first goal of the season, and it was against one of my closest friends, so that was awesome,” Hunsicker said. “It was on a corner, and I have never played pads, so that was really cool.”
All told, the Indians took 17 shots, connecting on three, but it was the first one that swung momentum firmly to their side.
Alyssa Krady put the Indians on the scoreboard with an assist from Courtney Kenah during corner play after time had expired in the opening half. It sent the Indians – who were stonewalled by Frey on a penalty stroke – into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
“That was huge,” Hunsicker said. “It’s so deflating to the other team, and it’s a huge momentum shift, and if we wouldn’t have had that, it would have been a totally different game.”
Souderton coach Sue Casciato echoed a similar sentiment.
“That was huge because that usually happens against us – it’s usually deflating us because you play so well and then you give up a goal,” the first-year coach said. “We usually don’t have a lot of momentum heading into halftime so it was nice to have some momentum going into halftime.”
Hunsicker’s goal early in the second half put the Indians on top 2-0. Two minutes later, the Warriors cut that lead in half with a goal, but Randi Hess (Courtney Kenah assist) found the cage to close out the scoring.
“It wasn’t one person – everyone played great,” Casciato said. “I think it was just confidence.
“We kept talking yesterday at practice after not playing well on Monday (in a 2-1 overtime win over Pennridge) how we needed to get our confidence back, distribute the ball a little better, trust our teammates a little bit more. Everybody played with a sense of urgency, and it was really a team win. I can’t point to one person who played better than anybody else. They all worked so hard.”
According to Hunsicker, Wednesday’s victory was a bounce-back win of sorts for the Indians on the heels of their close call against Pennridge two days earlier.
“We went into that game too confident, which kind of shook us and made us play better in this game,” Hunsicker said. “Knowing the players – for me anyway – it made me play better.
“We lost the (CB) East game and when we were so close to Pennridge, we were kind of down on ourselves, and I think this was the win we needed.”
With the win, Souderton improved to 6-1 (4-1 SOL), two wins shy of last season’s win total when the Indians were 8-11.
“The team dynamic is really good this year,” Hunsicker said. “Our senior class – we grew up together. We had a freshman team and we all have stayed together. They’re my closest friends off the field too.”
Souderton – seeded sixth in the District One 4A power rankings after Wednesday’s win – will host Abington in a non-league game Friday.
Methacton (4-3) not only included familiar players but familiar coaches as well. Head coach Sarah Quintois and assistant Mary Ann Harris also have strong Souderton ties. Quintois – who excelled in both hockey and lacrosse at Souderton - is a member of her alma mater’s wall of fame, Harris was the head field hockey coach at Souderton from 1992-2011, leading the Indians to new heights.
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