Quakertown & Neshaminy won in PKs. Souderton, Pennsbury & CR South were also winners in Thursday’s District One 4A second round. CR South/CB East photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery…CLICK HERE to go directly to the GIRLS' SOCCER GALLERY.
Quakertown 0, Pennridge 0 (Quakertown 4-3 in PKs)
Panthers coach Mike Koch wasn't hesitant to call it the biggest result in program history.
The No. 17 seed went to the No. 1 seed, a team it had lost to 5-0 during the regular season and pulled off the upset of the postseason so far. In a lot of ways, Quakertown's advancement over Pennridge can be traced back to that first meeting.
"I think that loss is a lot of what forged us and remade ourselves into a different team," Koch said. "That was the goal, to remake ourselves into a team that could compete against the best teams in the district. We're probably not as pretty a team as we were in the beginning of the season, I'll take the word probably out of there, but we're difficult to play against."
The match wasn't as even as the 0-0 score, with Koch saying his team did a lot more defending than Pennridge and the Rams having a lot more possession, but Quakertown was confident in itself. The Panthers did create some chances, so they weren't being bombarded for 110 minutes, but neither team could solve the puzzle.
Koch and Rams coach Audrey Anderson are friends and Koch had nothing but praise for the quality of Pennridge's players and the match overall.
"They were coming at us, their legs were fresher than ours from our having to defend and chase more," Koch said. "I think that being the No. 17 seed and not having that pressure on us was helpful. I'd think them having the No. 1 seed and getting later in the game was harder. I've been in the same situation and it does get a little bit hard when you feel that pressure."
Quakertown learned a valuable lesson last postseason when, as the No. 8 seed, it lost to Downingtown West in penalty kicks in the second round. Koch felt his team didn't represent itself well in the shootout after a great performance to get there and his players learned from it.
Koch was also glad his team had to play on Tuesday.
"I have been a believer that the bye is not necessarily the best thing," Koch said. "We were in a playoff game while they had a bye and went a long time without playing. We got it at the No. 8 last year and when it was tight, I was hoping for the No. 9 to be honest."
Asking his team to sacrifice some of its open style, creativity and opportunities to score goals was a tough sell, but the players gave in and with each positive result, invested more. There's not a lot of incentive for a forward to make a 30-yard run back on defense if they know they're not going to see the ball as much, but Quakertown's players put in the work required.
"It's been a learned process, they did it because I asked them to do it and they're great kids," Koch said. "I'm not sure they bought into it being the best idea in the beginning. It's hard to ask good players to do the non-glamorous things but now we're 100 percent bought-in and that's why we're successful."
The Panthers have been playing for each other and have tremendous belief in one another. In his many years of coaching, Koch said he hadn't seen a team as happy over a result and pointed to the group's closeness as the reason why.
"We talk about how we're playing to just practice another day," Koch said. "I think they love each other so much. That may sound like hokey stuff, but I think it matters at least a little bit."
Normally, with a keeper like Morgan Small, Quakertown would favor itself in a shootout. Not so on Thursday, when the Panthers went up against Pennridge's Mary Kate Levush.
"It's a tough way to decide a match after all those minutes, I knew we had Morgan and was excited about that but I know how good MK is too," Koch said. "I said to one of my assistants, 'we just became spectators.' There's nothing left we can do as coaches, it's two good keepers."
Small did her part, stopping the first PK attempt of the shootout and the Panthers handed things over to Haley Pursel, who found the net with her shot.
"In my opinion, she's my strongest PK taker and it's my belief you put your best one first," Koch said. "Getting a lead in those things is huge. Some people like to save their better takers but I believe when you get a lead, it's huge."
Pennridge hit its next three, but so did Quakertown on shots that Koch said wouldn't have been stoppable for any goalkeeper. When the Rams' fifth attempt was a clean miss, it gave Quakertown the victory and sent them on to the final eight.
The Panthers didn't use many subs on Thursday but Koch said every player who got minutes was integral and a lot of the effort was put into work that doesn't show up on a scoresheet.
"Our outside backs Cori Pursel and Brenna Foster were fantastic, but it was a real team effort," Koch said. "Maddy Spadafora came off the bench for us and played way more minutes than she usually does because she was so effective. She had her finest game of the season."
Spadafora, a forward, was a constant source of pressure on Pennridge's midfield and back line.
"The reason we were so successful against a team as good as Pennridge was the back pressure the forwards put on their midfielders," Koch said. "Ashley Gluck was incredible too, that's my goal-scoring forward who ran all over the place tonight. She ran all over, pressuring everything up top."
Becah Fox, Maddie Smith and Sam Barkholz, along with Cori Pursel and Foster, took turns defending Abby Groff, the Pennridge forward who had closed out the regular season in fine form. Melina Jagiello had her teammates' backs at center back.
"She's the one there to clean up when things go wrong," Koch said. "She cleaned up a lot of stuff."
Quakertown (15-5, 11-3 SOL) will travel to No. 9 Spring-Ford, a 3-2 winner over CB South, on Saturday.
"Our confidence is really high and all we've talked about is the next game," Koch said. "The nice thing is we gain at least two more games and we get a chance to keep the season going."
QUAKERTOWN 0 0 0 0 – 0 (4)
PENNRIDGE 0 0 0 0 – 0 (3)
Souderton 1, Upper Dublin 0
For all the accomplishments Souderton had made in coach Chris Felber's first three seasons, the first round of the playoffs remained a hurdle for the Indians.
So Felber decided to find a way around it. The Indians finished with the No. 7 seed, so they avoided a first round game. Thursday, they got a long-awaited playoff win.
"It was big to get over that hump, we kind of cheated because I said we can't win that first round, so let's just skip it," Felber said. "To win is huge. We're aiming for states and we're a win away from it, so it's a huge, huge thing for us."
It was Souderton's first postseason win since 2009, back when girls' soccer was a spring sport.
Allie Trick scored the lone goal in the second half, capping off a very Trick-like game where she just kept going at the Cardinals' stout defense.
"Scoring first is big for us, the last two-and-a-half years, we've only lost because we haven't scored," Felber said. "We know if we score, it's going to be hard for us to lose."
Souderton felt it was unlucky to not have scored earlier. Felber said the Indians had a scoring chance in the first two minutes and a number of other opportunities go to waste.
"We had two breakaways that Allie missed, we just missed off the line on a corner kick, Tori (Dowd) had a shot deflected by a defender that was otherwise going in, so we were right there the whole time," Felber said. "The first half was a bit more even, they were giving us more problems."
In the first half, Souderton stuck Bre DiRenzi on UD's Tina Haig, and Felber said it was actually hurting his team because DiRenzi couldn't get involved offensively. At the break, the Indians decided to mark Haig by committee and the approach worked out.
"It allowed us to keep the pressure on and make sure we got one," Felber said. "We had to hold (Haig) down. They had two good shots from her, one off a corner she volleyed in and another from distance, she was definitely their most dangerous player and we had to try and keep our midfielders on her. We didn't do a good job of sharing that in the first half."
Forwards react differently to missed chances. With Trick, Felber knows he never has to worry.
"She misses, she's laughing, she's having fun, she's not getting down about it," Felber said. "You know she's going to get another chance. She's that type of player who won't put her head down. She just keeps working, keeps getting chances and just enjoys playing. She always knows she can get one."
Felber noted the play of center backs Hannah Kramer and Kailee Harwick who marked UD forward Emily Booth.
Dowd picked up her play in the second half, a team-wide theme for the match.
"She really turned it up and put a lot of pressure on them, she hustled back defensively too," Felber said. "Sometimes we overplay to Allie's side but we have to get Tori busy too because when she's busy and Allie's busy, it really stretches the other team. It was another thing we were doing better in the second half, playing both sides of the field."
Souderton (15-4, 8-4 SOL) travels to No. 2 Owen J Roberts on Saturday, just one win away from the state tournament. At the very least, they get two more games and it's something Felber isn't taking for granted.
"I really want to make states and get another week after that," Felber said. "A win Saturday would hit all the boxes and give us a full calendar for the season. I just want to extend the season as long as we can."
SOUDERTON 0 1 – 1
UPPER DUBLIN 0 0 – 0
CR South 1, CB East 0
Paige Mikula may be in her first season with the Golden Hawks after transferring from the George School, but she's fit right into what they've done this season.
“Paige Mikula – the girl's a workhorse," CR South coach Nick Heim said. "No matter where in the field we put her, she works."
As CB East has shown time and again, it isn't going to give up goals easily so it usually someone as determined as Mikula to put one away. With time ticking down in regulation and naught to show for her efforts to that point, she had one chance on a ball hit to a tough spot.
"With 50 seconds left, that was our last opportunity,” Mikula said. “I just want to go all the way this year. This is my first year here and the fit has been amazing. I love all the girls and the experience. This has been best group of girls I’ve played with in high school ball. I think we can take it all the way if we play with the heart we did today. We never gave up."
Mikula was able to take a cross from Allie Jones at her hip, knock it down and unleash a shot to the upper 90 to send the Hawks through to the quarterfinals. After being ousted in the postseason by CB East by the same score in last year's first round, the Hawks survived Thursday.
“East historically doesn’t give up opportunities, so we know that we’ve got to take advantage of anything that we get. We lucked out – we stole one today," Heim said. "They came out and they played very, very well. Paul (Eisold) had them prepared. They gave us some trouble. They’re so organized defensively.”
The season ends for a Patriots side that didn't go down without a fight.
"We were the better team today. They had the first 10 minutes. For those soccer purists that believe possession wins game – well, guess what – it doesn’t win games if you don’t finish," East coach Paul Eisold said. "When you don’t take advantage of opportunities, it always comes back to haunt you, and it haunted us today.”
The story, as it often is, was about East's defense and someone trying to beat it.
"Our defense was outstanding. They’re amazing," Eisold said. “Delaney Kennedy is the smallest girl on the field, and she was everywhere."
Even the Hawks conceded how tough the task was.
“Katie Bloom is a stud playing defense for them, and 24, Delaney Kennedy – you look at her and she doesn’t look like a physically imposing player. She’s a physically imposing player," Heim said. "At halftime, I told my girls – we have to make sure she doesn’t win anymore head balls. She was winning head balls all over the field.”
“(East’s defensive style) makes it difficult for us to find our forwards because it has to be a perfect ball to the feet," Mikula said. "The second it goes over the top – they play that stopper sweeper, and that sweeper is going right in for the ball, and they’re kicking it right out.”
CR South captain Callie Deola knew what kind of effort East was bringing.
“They make it difficult. They really drive the ball forward," Deola said.
South soared through the regular season, where it shared the National title with Pennsbury, due in large part to selfless play of leaders like Deola.
"That’s why she’s a captain – she doesn’t care about individual accomplishments at all. It’s what can I do for the team, and that’s what our whole senior class is like," Heim said. "We’re really lucky. She’s the third Deola to come through here, and both her older sisters have district titles to their names, so I think she sees what the older sisters have done.”
When South needed something to go its way late in regulation, it didn't panic. It just did what it's done all season.
“It’s something we’ve been working on all year. We know we have talented players on the outside. We’re trying to let them be as free as possible," Heim said. Allie Jones missed half the season with an injury. We gave her a few minutes against Neshaminy just so the first game wasn’t playoffs. She did what we’ve been preaching, and that’s – get the ball at your feet and make something happen for us, and she did."
The Hawks (16-2-1, 10-1-1 SOL) travel to Pennsbury on Saturday for their third meeting with the Falcons this season. Again the stakes are high, with the winner guaranteed a state playoff bid.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 1 – 1
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 0 – 0
Goals: CRS – Paige Mikula
Neshaminy 1, Conestoga 1 (Neshaminy 3-0 in PKs)
Neshaminy and late October soccer are meant for each other.
On the road against a very good Conestoga team, Neshaminy used a spectacular performance by keeper Riley Spingler to keep its season going. Spingler made two amazing saves in the shootout as the Redskins advanced to the quarterfinal.
"It was an intense 110 minutes of soccer plus PKs but they were confident the whole time and were committed to leaving everything on the field," Neshaminy coach Chelsea Lovelace said.
Goalkeepers are at a decided disadvantage on penalty kicks, so any save is a huge boost to their team. When they can deliver multiple saves like Spingler did, it's a game-changer.
"It gave our shooters a lot more confidence knowing she had made those saves," Lovelace said. "Both were kicked on the ground and she reacted super-quick and dove to both, getting her body in front of the ball before it crossed the goal line."
Neshaminy scored early when Deanna Lebotesis converted a Jackie Ziegler corner in the fifth minute. Kristin Curley was also a force offensively for Neshaminy.
The host Pioneers knotted it up late in the first half when Nia Scott finished off a corner in the 37th minute. Not wanting to allow Conestoga to feed on the momentum, Neshaminy went back at the host side.
"We wanted every ball played forward so we could push to find another goal," Lovelace said.
With Spingler, who made seven saves prior to PKs and the defense playing tough, the Redskins were confident.
"Our back four – Hannah Stonkus, Nicole Palmer, Genna Obringer and Alex Ziegler – did an amazing job handling any type of ball they tried to put through the back line," Lovelace said. "Whether it was in the air or on the ground, they were always working for each other."
Few teams have the postseason experience of Neshaminy and the thought of overtime didn't rattle the No. 12 seed, even in a road environment.
"We try to treat overtime like any other part of the game. Of course, there's a sense of urgency to score, but we also try not to play with a panic to the point where we are doing the things we don't normally do," Lovelace said. "We had a bunch of chances in the OT periods, one hitting the crossbar off a header on a corner, so we knew it was coming."
NESHAMINY 1 0 0 0 – 1 (3)
CONESTOGA 1 0 0 0 – 1 (0)
Pennsbury 1, Downingtown East 0
Staying sharp with a first-round bye isn’t the easiest task in the world, but the Falcons got a big-time assist this week during their extra days off from the Pennsbury boys’ team.
While Pennsbury’s boys didn't make the postseason, a handful of players helped out the girls' team by filling out sides to scrimmage this week.
"I can give a shout-out to the boys program, quite a few of their team came out to our practice on Tuesday and scrimmaged with our girls to keep them focused on the next game," Pennsbury coach Kaitlyn Battiste said. "The boys were obviously disappointed they didn't have the opportunity to play in the playoffs, and instead of moping around, they've been supporting our girls throughout this experience, both at practice and at games."
Pennsbury certainly earned its extra rest, but it's always a challenge facing an opponent that's already survived one postseason game.
"That bye can be a double-edged sword. The first win is often the hardest to grab in a playoff environment, and credit to our girls for staying mentally prepared," Battiste said.
Thursday, it was vintage Pennsbury in that the defense and midfield led the charge to shutting down a quality opponent. Sure, the Falcons wanted to score a few more, but they got the one they needed thanks to their defending.
"There was a level of confidence in them today that I think comes from preparation. Riley Young had a phenomenal game shutting down East's talented goal-scorer, Taylor Platt," Battiste said. "Our defenders had a great practice yesterday and had themselves mentally prepared to apply that to today's game. They were prepared and didn't let any moments overwhelm them."
Any good defensive performance usually starts with a great midfield performance and that was true for Pennsbury. It's much easier to defend when the opposition is fighting to even get the ball through the middle of the field.
"Our midfielders did a great job of possessing the ball today, limiting East's offensive opportunities and earning 13 corners in our own offensive third," Battiste said. "When you get into the playoffs, every team is going to have a threatening opportunity and a one-goal lead can quickly fade regardless of your possession. East had two of those chances in the second half and Kerry Phillips came up huge to keep them off the board."
Wingers Dani Cady and Jenna Peters did their usual work for Pennsbury, taking on defenders and winning corner kicks. Peters provided the fateful ball that turned into the lone goal. Christina Cataldo-Smith was able to hunt down the service and boot it into the net.
Getting the ball wide started with strong play in the middle.
"Lizzy Kirk did a great job today of hunting down the ball and set the pace for the team," Battiste said. "Lizzy's movement and urgency allowed Gabby Zalot the time and space to distribute great attacking balls in behind East's defense. From there, Jenna and Dani took over and gave us great opportunities in the final third."
Pennsbury (16-1-2, 10-1-1 SOL) will host CR South in Saturday's quarterfinal as the SOL National co-champs clash for the third time this season.
PENNSBURY – 1
DOWNINGTOWN EAST – 0
Goals: P – Christina Cataldo-Smith
Spring-Ford 3, CB South 2
The Titans saw their season come to an end at the hands of a very good Rams team out of the Pioneer Athletic Conference. It snaps a two-year streak of state tournament appearances for CB South, which graduates a talented and accomplished senior class.
About the Author
