Central Bucks East advanced to the District One 3A semifinal with its win over Haverford. North Penn and Central Bucks South will meet in a showdown for a state berth.
#5 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2, #4 HAVERFORD 1 (OT)
Riley Donnelly doesn’t want to see her final high school season end anytime soon. On the heels of a five-goal effort in the Patriots’ second round rout of Perk Valley, the senior captain delivered again, this time connecting for the game winner with 10:35 remaining in overtime.
“Riley once again had the will to win – she rocketed her shot, and it was hard to stop,” coach Michelle Finegan said. “It was a good game.”
Donnelly’s game winner came on a laser shot that deflected off the flyer’s stick and into the cage. Cailey Lever’s insert pass started the play. The win ensured the Patriots a spot in the upcoming PIAA 3A Tournament.
“This definitely means a lot because we know we’re going to be in a better position in states and hopefully take it further now that we have a better seed,” Donnelly said.
The Fords actually had a 1-0 lead for the better part of regulation. They got on the board three minutes into the contest when Kasey Knapp connected on a corner shot. The Patriots threatened but couldn’t find the cage until Mackenzie Boyle (Riley Donnelly assist) scored the equalizer on a penalty corner to knot the score with 4:34 remaining in regulation
“I feel the game was definitely very hectic for a period of time, but I think we felt towards the end that we had the momentum,” Donnelly said. “We knew we were going to put one away, we just didn’t know what time it was going to be, so we just kept going and going until we got that one in.”
“I was most pleased with the resiliency of the team because they never gave up,” Finegan said. “We were a little choppy – we were doing a lot of things we don’t do normally.
“In the end, we got our act together and started to get into a groove. The whole second half we dominated, the whole overtime we dominated, but we just weren’t able to get the ball into the cage. Credit to Haverford’s defense on the corners.”
The Patriots’ dominance is underscored by their decided advantage in shots (25-8) and corners (15-5).
Emily Bullard turned away five shots in goal in a winning effort in goal.
“Isobel Mannino on defense and Emma Donnelly on offense were very strong today as well as goalkeeper Emily Bullard,” Finegan said.
Central Bucks East (17-3, 11-1 SOL) will travel to Downingtown West for Tuesday’s semifinal game against the top-seeded Whippets.
“It’s very exciting,” Donnelly said. “It’s definitely been a goal of ours, and to keep going towards that goal, it shows that our hard work is paying off.
“We’re going into it looking at it as – losing is not an option, and we’re going to do whatever we can to prevent that.
The two teams met earlier this season with the Whippets – who have not lost this season – earning a 2-0 win.
Central Bucks East 0-1-1 2
Haverford 1-0-0 1
#7 OWEN J ROBERTS 2, #15 CENTRAL BUCK SOUTH 1 (OT)
“None of us is as strong as all of us.”
The quote is a favorite of coach Pat Toner, and it pretty much sums up this year’s Titan squad.
“I have a lot of really talented athletes playing hockey, not so many hockey players,” the Titans’ coach said. “I have a world class equestrian rider (Mel Dunton), Kasey Dietzel is going to Navy for lacrosse, and I have a phenomenal snowboarder (Ally Fitts).
“They’re all really good athletes, and I feel like we got every bit out of them and then some. I love them. I absolutely love this group of kids. They care about each other, and we’re playing as a team, so it is the truth – none of us is as strong as all of us. We are playing as a team, and sometimes crazy things happen. I still can’t get over that Methacton game.”
The Methacton game – a 2-1 win in overtime over a Warrior squad that was seeded second and 20-0 heading into Wednesday’s second round game – will go down as one of the program’s biggest upsets.
“Out of the 40 years I’ve been coaching, that’s one of my top five best games that I’ve had the pleasure to coach,” Toner said. “They just did it.”
Although the Titans didn’t win in Friday’s quarterfinal round, they gave the seventh-seeded Wildcats all they could handle.
“Today I was really concerned about a letdown because I thought, ‘How are they going to possibly match that energy level from Wednesday?’” Toner said. “We had two people that didn’t feel well today. There’s a little bug going around – I was concerned about that, but they battled through the first half.
“Owen J. Roberts is very good, and they scored on a very nicely executed corner.”
The Wildcats got on the board at the 17:16 mark when Bridget Guinan turned a Julia Lamb pass into a goal. They took that 1-0 lead into halftime.
“The kids again played bend but don’t break defense,” Toner said. “At halftime, I said, ‘If you want to, you can turn this around,’ and they did.
“We made a couple of adjustments on the field, which gave us a lot more space coming up the middle.”
The Titans knotted the score with 13:58 remaining in regulation when Megan Gillard scored during corner play with an assist from Dunton.
“It was a perfectly-executed corner, and I don’t usually say that about corners,” Toner said. “I don’t think Owen J. Roberts realized it was in the cage until it was.
“Mel Dunton gave the ball to Meg Gillard, and Meg Gillard ripped it into the cage. It was beautiful.”
The Wildcats drew a corner with no time showing on the clock in regulation.
“They pulled everybody up, and we tried to get it out and we gave up another corner,” Toner said. “There’s five of us back there with their whole team up, and we still got it out.
“I felt we dominated the overtime. We had the opportunity to score – there were two people draped on Casey Reilly and the goalie stepped out. Casey ripped a shot that hit the post. Maybe a couple inches in the other direction and that would have been the end of the game.”
With 3:27 remaining, the Wildcats won it when Riley Hanson found the cage with the game winner during corner play after an unusual sequence.
“They had it in our defensive circle, and one of my kids went to clear the ball out,” Toner said. “As she cleared the ball out, the ref was in the way, so the ball hit the ground, hit the ref’s skirt, bounced off her skirt right back to the stroke mark.
“As I understand it, the ref is part of the field, so I thought play would continue, but instead, it was a corner. It was just an unfortunate event.
“While I am sad that we lost, I am absolutely thrilled with the way this team is playing. I can’t ask more of them. They’re just giving their heart and soul every game. They are truly playing as a team.”
Although the score would suggest otherwise, the Wildcats had a decided advantage in shots (18-3) and corners (12-3).
Titan goalie Jillian Heilig was once again on top of her game, turning away 16 shots.
Central Bucks South (12-8-1, 6-5-1 SOL) will travel to North Penn for a playback game on Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. The winner will earn a state playoff berth, and the season will end for the loser.
Central Bucks South 0-1-0 1
Owen J. Roberts 1-0-1 2
#3 CONESTOGA 5, #11 NORTH PENN 1
The Pioneers looked every bit the part of the defending district champions they are, opening up a 2-0 halftime lead and never looking back. University of North Carolina commit Charlotte deVries, a native of Belgium, connected for the hat trick, which included both first-half goals.
“North Penn played a tough game today against a very talented Conestoga team,” coach Shannon McCracken said. “Charlotte deVries is a tough kid to play against as she is an extremely gifted player.”
The Pioneers held an advantage in shots (30-7) and corners (12-5). Senior goalie Anissa Gardizy recorded 20 saves in a strong outing.
“Leading the effort for (us) today was senior forward Bri O’Donnell and goalkeeper Anissa Gardizy,” McCracken said. “Anissa had 20 saves in goal and came up with some unbelievable saves.”
North Penn (14-6-1, 9-2-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks South in a District One 3A playback game on Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. with the winner earning a state berth and the loser going home.
North Penn 0-1 1
Conestoga 2-3 5
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