CB West fell to Bishop Shanahan in Saturday’s District One quarterfinal round. The Bucks are one of four teams vying for the fifth and final state berth.
#10 BISHOP SHANAHAN 15, #15 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 6
“It’s such highs and such lows – it’s a roller coaster ride,” West junior Meghan Darcy said after the Bucks fell to Bishop Shanahan in Saturday’s quarterfinal round.
Forty-eight hours earlier, the Bucks were reveling in arguably the greatest triumph in program history– a 7-3 upset of second-seeded Springfield-Delco. On Saturday, it was the streaking Eagles – winners of 16 straight games – doing all the celebrating.
“The West I know just didn’t show up today,” coach Tara Schmucker said. “We were flat and not going for the ball, and the few possessions we did have mostly ended up in turnovers.
“I think coming off the emotional high from Thursday had something to do with it, but we were not executing the plan and we dug ourselves a hole that we simply couldn't pull out of today.”
There were early signs that this might not be the Bucks’ day. The Eagles won the opening draw, a trend that continued for the better part of the game.
“Some of the time we didn’t get a first step and we didn’t box out, and those are basic skills you need to do,” sophomore Maddie Maio said. “If you don’t do that, it’s difficult.
“You can’t just jump up and get it. You need to really work hard and use those skills to get the ball.”
Winning the draw set the stage for one lengthy possession after another for the Eagles, with many resulting goals. Alyssa Manley – who entered the game with a program record 70 goals – scored 50 seconds into the game, and she and her teammates were just getting started. When Manley, who finished with four goals, connected for her second goal, the Eagles led 3-0.
“I think they just really beat us on hustle and intensity today,” Darcy said.
The Bucks made it a 3-1 game when Maio found Bryn Boylan in front of the net for the score, capping a nice passing sequence. The Eagles won the ensuing draw, but the Bucks’ defense – sparked by several huge Lauren Devlin saves – held. A Shanahan takeaway set the stage for the first of five goals by sophomore Kaela Smith.
Boylan came up with the ball on the draw, and Casey Reichwein turned a Finley Ueland pass into a goal that made it a 4-2 game with 6:34 remaining. They did not score again until 17:11 remained in regulation. By that time, the Eagles – who led 7-2 at halftime – had a 10-2 lead on their way to the decisive win.
“Our communication and connections were just not clicking,” Schmucker said. “But that’s athletics, sometimes the highs are really high and the lows are really low.
“I was hoping we would have taken advantage of this opportunity, but today was not our day.
“Ultimately, these girls should still be so proud of all they have accomplished so far, and let’s remember – we are not finished. We can still play our way back into states, and win or lose, I know this team needs another game to prove that this was not West, and we will fight until the end.”
Central Bucks West (15-6, 9-1 SOL) will host 19th-seeded Merion Mercy in a playback game on Tuesday. Merion Mercy fell to Owen J Roberts 12-9 in a quarterfinal game.
“We just need to pick our heads up from this,” Maio said. “Obviously, we can do it because we did it Thursday.
“We need to go back to that game and see what we did and go from there – just work on aggression and fight and just come out strong from the first draw.”
EXTRA SHOTS: Darcy scored a pair of second-half goals and was the lone West player with more than one goal. Olivia Fitzgerald, Boylan and Maio each added single goals. Devlin was credited with 11 saves.
Central Bucks West 2-4 6
Bishop Shanahan 7-8 15
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