CB South fell to top-seeded Unionville 3-1 in Saturday’s District One AAA title game.
L
OWER GWYNEDD – They were a somber group as they lined up to accept their silver medals, although a few players allowed themselves smiles, and while disappointed to come out on the short end of a 3-1 score in Saturday’s District One AAA title game against top-seeded Unionville, there also was the realization that their team had come further than most would have projected when the season began.
For the third time in three years – an accomplishment no other District One field hockey team can lay claim to, Central Bucks South played for a district crown.
“Coming from a new team, this is a great accomplishment,” senior co-captain Corrine Kenney said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t win, but it still is something to be proud of.
“I’m proud of all the girls because some of them are new to the starting varsity lineup.”
“I think a lot of people are surprised how far we have come,” senior co-captain Emily Cliggett said. “I don’t know if we expected to come this far, but we’re definitely happy, and we don’t expect anything less from our program.”
The outcome of Saturday’s game at Wissahickon High School was determined in a 53-second span late in the first half that began with Logan Perkins scoring on the rebound of a goalie save. Fifty-three seconds later, it was freshman phenom Erin Matson – the youngest member ever of the U.S. Women’s National Indoor Team – scoring to give the Indians a 2-0 edge.
“The first goal definitely got their momentum up,” Kenney said. “It was a fluke ball that went up in the air and rebounded off the goalie. It was a bad rebound.
“That first goal really determined something between the two teams. From there, they got their momentum.”
“I think it was the second goal that changed the game because it was right after (the first),” Cliggett said. “I think our team stays very composed, and I think the second goal really caught us on our heels. It was right after another.
“The first goal – maybe we can come back, ‘keep your heads in it, girls.’ The second goal really put us in the dirt, and we were digging ourselves out of a hole the whole time.”
Although she scored just one goal, Matson was a difference maker for the Indians.
“(She’s a) very talented girl,” coach Brittany Grzywacz said. “She’s a player whenever she has the ball she can generate something – either a corner or shot on goal.
“She’s a very dangerous player. She’ll get those shots off from the backhand, she’ll get them from the forehand, so we really just tried to contain and keep her wide and keep her outside of the circle as best you can.”
The Indians took a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
“I think we started a little bit slow, and that is something we’ve struggled with throughout the year,” Grzywacz said. “It’s not really coming out our hardest and looking to get those goals early, and they really capitalized on that.
“I think they caught us on our heels a little bit with their quickness and their intensity, stepping to every ball. In the latter part of the second half, we were playing at that intensity, we were playing at that pace. With that, we’re generating the corners and things were going more our way, but that needs to come from minute one of every game we play.”
The Titans certainly had the better of play in the second half, drawing eight corners to just three for Unionville, but it was the Indians tacking on an insurance goal by Izzy McDonough for a 3-0 lead with 13 minutes remaining.
At the 10:33 mark, Kenney turned Cliggett’s insert pass during corner play into her team’s only goal, firing a rocket into the cage. That 3-1 lead stood until the final whistle.
The loss snapped a 17-game winning streak for the Titans (19-3, 14-0 SOL).
“It’s tough,” Cliggett said. “It’s not a feeling that you’re used to, and you obviously don’t like the feeling, but you just have to come out harder for states, and that’s what we want to do.”
The Titanes will open state tournament play Tuesday with a game against District 11’s second place squad, Stroudsburg. Stroudsburg went into the district tournament as the top seed but fell to second-seeded Emmaus 2-0 in Saturday’s title game.
#5 DOWNINGTOWN EAST 2, #6 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1
The Cougars rebounded from their setback in Wednesday’s district semifinal to top-seeded Unionville to defeat the Indians in Thursday’s battle for seeding entering next week’s state tournament. Downingtown East took a 1-0 lead late in the opening half and went on top 2-0 just over 10 minutes into the second half, twice connecting during corner play.
“They were good,” Rock North coach Heather Whalin said. “Their number four (Claire Webb) is fantastic. She’s down on offense, and then I turn around, and she’s all the way back on defense.
“I knew they were going to be strong. I knew they beat Downingtown West, which was the only team to beat Unionville. They distributed the ball well, and their first corner was beautiful that they scored on. It was the same corner (Central Bucks) South scored on us. It was really nice.”
The Indians broke up the Cougars’ shutout bid with a goal by Devon Mela with 11:48 remaining in regulation.
“I told them, ‘This game is just to place us,’” Whalin said. “It doesn’t really mean anything.
“I was really pleased with the way we played in the last 20 minutes of this game. They looked really good. We came out strong and then had a lull in the middle. I was proud they put a goal in the cage. We’ve only been shut out once, and that was by (Central Bucks) South. I told them if we played that way the entire game, it would have been a different story.”
On Tuesday, the Indians will hit the road for an opening round state tournament game against District 2 champion Wyoming Valley West.
Council Rock North 0-1 1
Downingtown East 1-1 2
About the Author
