Check out the results for SOL field hockey teams in action Wednesday.
PENNRIDGE 3, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1
To say the Rams closed out their season on a high note would be an understatement.
Less than 24 hours after falling to North Penn 8-4 in a game the Knights led 8-1 before the Rams staged a late rally, the Rams pulled off a major upset, stunning the recently crowned National Conference champion Golden Hawks.
“I said to my girls, ‘I’m really proud of you, but why are we waiting until now?’” Pennridge coach Becky Spahr said. “I think we definitely caught Council Rock off guard.
“They went into overtime yesterday with Neshaminy and that was emotional for them.”
The Golden Hawks – 24 hours removed from a 2-1 overtime win over Neshaminy – took a 1-0 lead into halftime, thanks to a goal by Paige Schmid with an assist from Caroline McGovern just over five minutes into the game.
That 1-0 lead stood until Kellie Drugotch (Caitlyn Amsden assist) found the cage with the equalizer seven minutes into the second half. Just over a minute later, Amsden scored with a Sydney Borneman assist, putting the Rams on top 2-1. Midway through the half Borneman turned a pass from Amsden into a goal, and the Rams had a 3-1 lead that held until the final whistle.
“My girls did a really good job of following the game plan,” Spahr said. “We kind of held back and made sure we played really good strong defense.
“We double teamed (Caroline McGovern). I have 11 seniors, and from the girls that play every minute to the girls that don’t get much time, they knew this was their last Pennridge game, and they went all out.
“Once you see girls doing that, that feeds off to my underclassmen, and then they played well. Everything clicked finally. I wish it would have happened earlier, but if we had to be done, this was a good way to end our season.”
The Golden Hawks weren’t the first team the Rams had on the ropes this season. “We got up 4-1 on Souderton and we let them come back, and that just really blows our confidence,” Spahr said. “That’s kind of been our story all year.
“It was 1-0 at halftime, and they were winning, but we were right with them. We had a lot of chances to score, but we just weren’t putting the ball in the cage, and that was very eye opening to them – ‘Oh, we can play with them. Why don’t we go all out.’
“They definitely were panicked, and I think my girls really fed off of that, realizing they got these really good players in a spot they’re not used to being in, and they just went for it.”
Spahr pointed to the senior leadership of Kellie Drugotch and Abby Bruzas as significant.
“They’re phenomenal,” the Rams’ coach said. “Abby said before the game, ‘I want to talk to them, let me give them the pregame speech.’
“She basically told them, ‘Hey, this is it. Let’s come out with a win.’ My underclassmen respect their seniors so much. They love them, and they want to play hard for them. It’s not that we haven’t been playing hard, but there’s something special when it’s your last game. It was crazy.”
Goalie Mackenzie Bross did her part to keep the Rams in it, turning away 11 shots.
“She had an awesome game in goal,” Spahr said. “We have been working on Mac’s consistency and confidence. This should be a big-time confidence boost for her.”
Sabrina Masone was credited with 10 saves in goal for the Golden Hawks, who closed out the regular season with a 15-3 record (12-0 SOL).
Pennridge, which was 2-10 in conference play, finished its season with a 6-12 mark.
“What a way to go out,” Spahr said. “I am so proud of the fight, intensity and focus of our team.
“I cannot single out any player in particular. Our defense played with toughness and grit, our middies recovered defensively while starting our offensive attacks. And our forwards were creative in the circle and finished beautifully. It was a huge team win. This type of win shows how tough our conference is.”
Council Rock South 1-0 1
Pennridge 0-3 3
ABINGTON 5, BENSALEM 1
The Ghosts closed out their season with a win over the Owls. They got on the board when Kaila Brown turned a Samantha McGee pass into a goal, and McGee scored an unassisted goal of her own to send the Ghosts into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Junior Grace Terrizzi converted a pass from Brown into a goal just four minutes into the second half, and then it was Terrizzi assisting teammate Aileen Hughes on a goal and a 4-0 lead. McGee assisted Brown on her second goal before the Owls’ Erica Edwards scored an unassisted goal late in the half for the 5-1 final.
Abington closed out its season with a 6-12 record overall (4-8 SOL) while Bensalem (1-13-1, 0-10-1) will finish its season with a conference game at Neshaminy on Thursday.
Abington 2-3 5
Bensalem 0-1 1
NORTH PENN 8, HATBORO-HORSHAM 2
For the second time in as many outings, the Knights exploded for eight goals. Mikayla Barrow finished with the hat trick – scoring all three goals in the first half to propel the Knights to a 5-0 halftime lead.
It was Barrow breaking a scoreless tie at the 17:43 mark of the half, scoring on a penalty corner with an assist from Bri O’Donnell. Exactly one minute later, Barrow scored her second goal on a corner, this one with an Emily Crawford assist. O’Donnell – who had two goals and two assists – scored back-to-back unassisted goals to give the Knights a 4-0 lead, and Barrow completed her hat trick with an assist from Madison Stotler with 3:02 remaining in the first half.
Crawford scored midway through the second half with an O’Donnell assist, connecting for the third Knight goal on a penalty corner. The Hatters got on the scoreboard with back-to-back goals by Gabby Acker and Courtney Hewish (Acker assist), but the Knights answered with a two more goals in the final four minutes, the first by Tori Bickel and the second by Amber Blackshear.
Prior to the game, the Hatters honored seniors Gabby Acker, Mia Hallowell, Courtney Hewish, Victoria Mullen, Brenna Reilley, Mariella Spiezio, Heather Timm and Kaitlyn Wallace.
A bright spot in the loss for the Hatters was the 16-save effort of goalie Liz Wilburn. North Penn’s Brynne Schoppe was credited with three saves.
The Knights held an advantage in shots (25-6) and penalty corners (12-4).
North Penn closed out its regular season with an overall record of 12-6 (9-3 SOL), and Hatboro-Horsham was 6-11 overall (6-8 SOL).
North Penn 5-3 8
Hatboro-Horsham 0-2 2
GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 9, UPPER DUBLIN 0
Sammy Popper connected for a hat trick and also had two assists to lead the Patriots to the non-league win. The standout sophomore – a member of the U19 Women’s National Team – now has 44 goals with three regular season games and the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association playoffs still remaining on GA’s schedule. As a freshman, Popper broke the program’s single season record of 26 in the 13th game of the season and finished with 44 goals, giving her 88 in less than two full seasons.
Colleen Carrigan added two goals and two assists for the Patriots, who also received single goals from Catherine McFadden,Carli McCrossen, Maddie O’Hara and Maddie Cooper.
Upper Dublin closed out its regular season with an 11-6-1 record overall (11-3 SOL). Germantown Academy is 11-5 overall (3-3 Inter-Ac).
Germantown Academy 4-5 9
Upper Dublin 0-0 0
CONESTOGA 5, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
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