CB South and CR North were the lone SOL field hockey teams who survived Wednesday’s District One AAA second round. To view photos of the CB South/Mount, CB West/D-town West and North Penn/D-town East games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
#2 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2, #18 MOUNT ST. JOSEPH 0
Forget the fact that the Titans held a 14-3 advantage in corners and an equally lopsided 15-5 edge in shots. Wednesday’s game, according to coach Brittany Grzywacz, felt a whole lot closer than that.
The first-year coach says she never felt as if the Mount – coached by Tina Reinprecht – was out of the game. Gryzwacz undoubtedly exhaled just a bit after Lexi Milanesi (Maggie Walsh assist) scored on a broken corner play with 7:17 remaining in regulation to give the Titans their final margin of victory, 2-0.
“Mount played with a lot of heart and a lot of emotion,” Grzywacz said. “You could tell they didn’t want to lose, and they weren’t giving up.
“I told my girls – I’m proud of how everybody on the field stepped up.”
The Titans broke a scoreless tie with nine seconds remaining in the opening half when Lauren Zakrewski scored, using an Ally McDonald assist.
“It was a broken corner play,” Grzywacz said. “We had a corner, and we didn’t get the shot off we wanted, but it ended up resulting in a goal.
“I think we came out pretty strong in the first half. We had a lot of the momentum going. Thankfully we were able to put a goal in at the end. As the game went on, it got a little bit more even.”
The Mount made a concerted effort to take senior center mid Corrine Kenney out of the game.
“They were man marking Corrine the entire game,” Grzywacz said. “They double teamed her a lot of the game, and when that happened, she wasn’t able to make the plays that she usually can, so a lot of the other girls on our team were stepping up.
“It’s great to see them doing that.”
The Titans’ coach went on to acknowledge the strong performance of several of her players.
“Steph Litzenberger had another good game at left forward,” Grzywacz said. “Lexi Milanesi had a great game, and she scored.
“I thought Erin Chioffe, a sophomore who plays right back, really stepped up in a high pressure game. The whole defense played well. Sam Bodo and Maggie Walsh played well in the back. They were really strong controlling Mount’s forwards, who were very quick and very talented.”
Playing in a steady rain on a cold and windy night, the Titans not only had to battle the Magic but had to overcame the elements as well.
“It definitely puts a little bit of a turn on the game, but it’s one of those things – it’s the same situation for both teams, and it’s something you have to work through,” Grzywacz said. “I have no idea how the game would have gone if it had been sunny and beautiful. I’m happy with the outcome.”
The Titans (17-2, 14-0 SOL) will host seventh-seeded Phoenixville in Friday’s district quarterfinal game at War Memorial Field (3 p.m.). The Phantoms edged Avon Grove 4-3 in Wednesday’s second round.
Mount St. Joseph 0-0 0
Central Bucks South 1-1 2
#6 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3, #11 WEST CHESTER EAST 0
Sophomore Anna Lehman’s goal at the 17:34 mark – with assists from Amrit Ahluwalia and Gigi Tutoni – ignited the Indians, who went on to earn a no-doubt-about-it win over the Vikings.
“Once we put in a goal, we usually get the nerves out and score a couple of more,” senior goalie Julia Singer said. “I definitely think we capitalized on a lot of the opportunities we had.
“(Scoring first) is definitely one of the most important things because it gives you the momentum at the beginning of the game you definitely need.”
The win propelled the Indians into the district quarterfinals, one of eight teams vying for six state berths.
“I definitely had high expectations this season,” Singer said. “Last year didn’t turn out the way we all expected, so I definitely thought we would be a whole different team.
“We’re even closer than ever. These girls are like my sisters. We’re all a team. We don’t only look to one player. Every person on our team has an assist or a goal.”
Coach Heather Whalin made a defensive adjustment that paid dividends.
“I put Theresa Delahanty on the left when their number three was on that side because she was getting a lot of penetration,” the Indians’ coach said of Lindsay Pratt, who had 23 regular season goals. “She can fly, out and out fly.
“Theresa is usually our defensive mid, but Gigi was holding down the center pretty well, so I switched (Delahanty) and Rachel Pomerantz. I put Rachel Pomerantz at the defensive mid and Theresa to the left, and she shut Pratt down in the second half.”
Lehman’s goal was all the scoring the Indians would need, but Jennica Jonovich added an insurance goal, connecting at the 13:48 mark to send the Indians into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
For good measure, Ahluwalia converted a penalty stroke at the 19:35 mark of the second half for the 3-0 final.
The win, according to Whalin, was a team effort.
“I can’t pick out one person because literally today they played a whole new level than I’ve ever seen them play at,” the Indians’ coach said. “It was beautiful. They had a passing sequence, and it almost ended up in a goal – I think every person on our team touched the ball before it got into the circle.
“They were just overlapping, and we were fast. Anna Lehman, Devon Mela and Claire Jarema were flying today. The passing was brilliant. They were not going to lose.
“West Chester East came on strong at the beginning, and I knew they did that a lot. They did that to Hatboro right in the beginning of the game, but we held our own. The minute we put the goal in it totally changed the whole premise of the game, and we just went.”
The Indians held a 9-4 advantage in shots and a 10-4 edge in corners.
Singer collected two saves for her 14th shutout of the season to tie the single season record established by Amanda Krauss in 2010.
“I know Jules loves to set goals for herself, and I said to her at the beginning of the year that the shutout record was 14,” Whalin said. “She would not be denied today.”
For her part, Singer credited Delahanty and her defense.
“Theresa shut down number three (Pratt), and she was a bullet,” the senior goalie said. “The defense helped a lot getting me the shutout.”
The Indians (18-2, 12-2 SOL) will travel to Perkiomen Valley on Friday for a quarterfinal game against the third-seeded Vikings, who shut out Ridley 4-0.
West Chester East 0-0 0
Council Rock North 2-1 3
#4 DOWNINGTOWN EAST 6, #12 NORTH PENN 0
Things looked promising for the Maidens when they took the ball down the field and drew an early corner. It was hardly an omen of things to come. The Cougars owned Wednesday’s contest from start to finish, scoring three goals in the first half and adding three more in the second. The Cougars drew 16 corners while the Maidens had four.
“We hadn’t played them before so we weren’t really knowing what to expect today,” senior Casey O’Donnell said. “We knew they were a good team, but we were hoping to stay with them.
“I think we never let down, but they had a better game.”
The Maidens closed out the year with a 13-7 record (10-4 SOL).
“This team worked hard from day one,” coach Shannon McCracken said. “They always gave their best effort.
“They were a fun team to be around, and they got along really well. They always did what we asked. I’m extremely proud. I’m just sorry this is the team’s last game. We did a lot in the season. We had a lot of great games. It’s a shame this was the end of the season.”
North Penn 0-0 0
Downingtown West 3-3 6
#5 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 3, #13 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST
The word ‘fast’ was used repeatedly when the Bucks talked about a Whippet squad that brought an end to their postseason on a windy, rainy Wednesday night.
“We knew they were going to be fast, and they are fast,” coach Courtney Hughes said. “Everything is fast.
“Really, they weren’t doing that much off their free hits. That’s what we were trying to block up a little better, and I think we did better toward the end. They stepped it up. They’re number (five) for a reason.”
The Whippets held a 10-5 advantage in corners and a 6-3 edge in shots.
“They didn’t earn a lot of shots, but they made those count,” Hughes.
The Whippets got on the scoreboard with 12:13 remaining in the first half when Becca Inzer connected. The Bucks had their best opportunity to get that goal back when they drew three consecutive corners – their only corners of the first half – in the final 1:42 of the half. They threatened but could not convert, and the Whippets took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Twelve minutes into the second half, senior Kim Hitchcock fired a shot that was turned away by goalie Jordan Amparo. The Whippets all but sealed the Bucks’ fate when Nikki Freeman connected on back-to-back goals in a three-minute span midway through the second half for the 3-0 final.
“We really did work hard the whole entire time, and I’m proud of my team for that,” junior captain Emily Halverson said. “We were very nervous coming into the year, but we worked our hardest, and I’m very, very proud of how much we accomplished.”
The Bucks closed out their season with a 14-5-1 record (10-4 SOL).
Central Bucks West 0-0 0
Downingtown West 1-2 3
#1 UNIONVILLE 2, #16 NESHAMINY
Unionville took a 2-0 lead into halftime, but the Redskins kept the high-powered Indians off the scoreboard in the second half. They never could find the back of the cage and closed their season with a 14-6 overall mark (12-2 SOL).
Neshaminy 0-0 0
Unionville 2-0 2
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