With District One playoff berths at stake, games are looming large as the regular season comes down the home stretch. This notebook takes a look at the power rankings that are in place this year.
By Mary Jane Souder
There’s no such thing as a ho-hum non-league game these days. Not that there ever was, but non-league games are taking on a whole new meaning with the newly instituted power rankings.
Witness only some of the recent battles. Both North Penn and Quakertown extended Mount Saint Joseph to overtime before falling. Council Rock South ended a three-year losing streak at the hands of Central Bucks West with last Thursday’s 1-1 tie.
“A tie, in my opinion, is good today,” Rock South coach Lisa Belz said. “We’ve always struggled when we crossed over (to the Continental Conference).
“At the end of the season, we’re having more competitive games, and the girls feel that intensity. I’m happy. They played hard.”
There’s a sense of urgency for teams to pick up points wherever they can.
“We broke it down for our kids on Tuesday at practice, trying to explain how districts work and how our conference works,” West coach Courtney Hughes said. “We told them how the importance of this game is amplified with the power rankings. In a normal non-league game, you’re not going to expend yourself all the time as much, and those kids gave everything they had in that overtime. Both sides did.”
The players, according to Rock South senior Anna Sternberg, understand the importance of every game.
“When we were in our huddle, we were saying, ‘Even though this is a non-league game, it means a lot for us to win this,’” she said. “Of course, winning would have been better, but we’re very happy about the outcome and how it went. We really stayed in the game.”
Power rankings – There has been some confusion about exactly how the power ranking system works. Do teams receive credit for ties? Is there still incentive to play tough non-league games? The formula is explained on the PIAA District One web site as follows:
Win points – 5 points for each win
Tie points – 2.5 points for each tie
Schedule points – Winning percentage of all opponents on your schedule x 5
All of the schools on a team’s schedule are now included in the calculation, including not just PIAA schools.
The power ranking is determined by dividing the sum of all the win points, tie points, schedule points, and bonus points by the number of games played.
A maximum of 28 teams will receive bids in the Class AAA tournament with 24 playing on the first day and four receiving byes. In Class AA competition, a maximum of 12 teams will receive berths with the top four receiving byes on the first day.
If the seeding meeting had been held Oct. 6, ten SOL teams would have earned berths. A lot has happened since then, but as of Oct. 6, the following teams would have been invited:
3. Council Rock North
5. Central Bucks South
10. Central Bucks West
13. Plymouth Whitemarsh
14. North Penn
21. Hatboro-Horsham
22. Quakertown
23. Council Rock South
26. Neshaminy
27. Wissahickon
In Class AA competition, two SOL teams would be included in the bracket of 12:
7. Upper Moreland
8. Springfield (Montco)
How does that compare to last year? It’s exactly the same number (12) although the configuration is slightly different with one Class AA team and 11 Class AAA teams last year.
One difference is the number of top 10 teams – last year, the SOL had five of the top 10 in Class AAA. This year only three are ranked in the top 10 with that subject to change.
On the outside looking in on Oct. 6 were Pennsbury (31), Upper Dublin (32), Central Bucks East (33) and Souderton (35).
Rising stars – Last week’s Council Rock South-Central Bucks West non-league contest featured two of the league’s bright young stars in West sophomore Bryn Boylan and Rock South sophomore Caroline McGovern.
As a freshman, McGovern earned second team all-league recognition, serving notice that she would be a force to contend with for four years.
“She’s probably the most skilled player I’ve ever coached,” Rock South coach Lisa Belz said. “She’s been playing hockey since she was five years old.
“She’s really involved with Mystx, Futures, Junior Olympics, so some of the things she can do are above and beyond what I would even teach to high school girls. They’re college level skills. The good thing about her is she’s very patient and open to teaching younger players all these skills. She’s really well liked and a good leader.”
Mention McGovern to teammate Anna Sternberg, and the senior goalie has an immediate response.
“She’s just amazing,” Sternberg said. “She just keeps getting better and better. We never thought it was possible for her to get better because she’s so good already. She’s young, but she motivates us, she helps us. She’s a hard worker, and it’s really good to see her grow.”
On the other side of the field, Boylan is quietly emerging as a force as well.
“You know what’s really funny about Bryn – I don’t think she realizes how big of a part she is on this team,” West coach Courtney Hughes said. “She's almost one of those unsung heroes on our team because we have so many bright spots.
“I think sometimes we lose track of what she does day in and day out. She is our central midfielder. She controls the midfield, and man, when she is on and rocking, the things she can do with the ball.
“She’s very intense, she’s a leader, but she’s also very fun. The kids enjoy being around her. I think that’s what is so neat about these young kids coming up. They don’t just live, sleep, dream field hockey – they love it, and you can see when she plays how much she enjoys it.”
Much-needed wins – Wins have been few and far between for Bensalem and Harry S Truman in National Conference play. Both teams got much-needed non-league wins recently. Last Thursday, the Owls earned their second win of the season when they edged Little Flower 2-1 in overtime, thanks to Madison Kubik’s game winner at the 12:23 mark of OT. The Owls trailed 1-0 at halftime, but Kubik scored the equalizer with 11:19 remaining in regulation, using an Autumn McBride assist.
“Communication and teamwork helped Bensalem pull through for the win,” Owls’ coach Amanda Tu said. “They played with ease and confidence from start to finish. The girls have been playing hard each game, and it is nice to get another win.”
Truman, meanwhile, shut out Morrisville in a non-league game on Friday. Anne Estrella (Olivia Jenkins assist) put the Tigers on the scoreboard nine minutes into the first half. The Tigers took that 1-0 lead into halftime.
Eight minutes into the second half, Mikaela Pacheco turned a pass from Madalyn Pacheco into a goal, and Daeja Moore closed out the scoring, using a Mikaela Pacheco assist for the 3-0 final.
About the Author
