A pair of SOL Continental Conference squads – Pennridge and Souderton – advanced to Tuesday’s PIAA 3A semifinals. Both teams won in PKs. (Pennridge/Parkland photos provided courtesy of Sharin Harbeck/Pennridge soccer)
#1-3 PENNRIDGE 2, #11-1 PARKLAND 2 (4-2 PKs)
Just minutes after Holly Harbeck’s penalty kick put the finishing touches on a heart-stopping 4-2 win in PKs, senior Ashley Groeber tried to put into words the raw emotions of that magical moment. That moment when – with a win in the books – the reality that the Rams were heading to the PIAA 6A semifinals began to hit home.
“I wanted to cry, but no tears came out because I was so happy,” the senior captain said. “This is a dream.
“When I was a sophomore, I was on the varsity team trying to make this happen. We lost my sophomore year in this game. It’s breathtaking.”
“It’s absolutely amazing,” senior Sarah Williams said. “I couldn’t ask for a more amazing team to accomplish this with.
“Postseason games are nothing like regular seasons games. You’re playing with each other to keep going as far as you can. I can’t believe this happened today. It’s just surreal.”
“I was just so proud of this team – that was the first thing I thought,” senior goalkeeper Mary Kate Levush said. “Because we’ve come so far in just a matter of the season.
“So many girls – we put so much time and effort into this. It just felt amazing when (Holly Harbeck) put the ball in the back of the net. It was just amazing. I’m so happy.”
It was a happy ending that seemed improbable when – on a blustery, cold fall afternoon at Upper Perk High School – the Rams found themselves staring at a 2-0 deficit 15 minutes into the contest. Improbable perhaps only to those who didn’t understand the will to win of this Ram squad.
“They scored two really quick goals, and we just told each other – ‘If they can score two goals in 10 minutes, we can score three or four,’” Williams said. “We just never give up. We did everything to fight with each other to play another game together. It came down to – we just wanted it more than they did. We put everything on the line today, and it worked out in our favor today.”
The Rams still trailed by that 2-0 score at the intermission. Scoring first-half goals for the Trojans – who had the wind at their backs – were Ava Schaller and Madi Warminsky.
“After the first half, we talked to each other – we wanted this,” Levush said. “We wanted this game so bad, and we knew if we put in the work we were going to get it.
“We just came out and played our game. We did have the wind (in the second half), but honestly, I felt that even without the wind, I think we would have come back because that’s just who we are. We play strong and we just play as a unit.”
The Rams came out of halftime on the attack and had some opportunities but still trailed 2-0 with time winding down. With just under 15 minutes, the Rams were awarded a penalty kick when Abby Groff was pulled down in the box. Groeber buried the PK, and just like that, everything changed.
“Definitely 2-0 is the most dangerous lead to have,” Groeber said. “To score that first goal, we get back into the game.
“We’re not out of it, our confidence increases, we start playing with more intensity and getting numbers forward.”
The players weren’t the only ones who received a confidence boost with Groeber’s goal.
“When it was 2-1, I had girls warming up, and I said, ‘Keep yourself loose, we’re going to need you for overtime,’” coach Audrey Anderson said. “We felt more confident.
“It’s about getting these girls to believe in themselves as much as everybody else here cheering them on believes in them. We have great leadership. We have eight great seniors, and they weren’t going down without a fight, and we knew if we could get one, we would be able to get another.”
With just under five minutes remaining, a shot by Groff missed by inches, but the Rams kept battling, and with 3:10 remaining, a direct kick by Lauren McIntyre deflected off the fingertips of goalie Teresa Gonzalez and into the back of the net, knotting the score and setting the stage for overtime.
“I was hoping to not go into overtime, but nothing’s easy for us, not the path we’ve taken so far in playoffs, and it makes us better for it,” Anderson said. “We scored two goals in not a lot of time. Parkland is fast, smart, and they’re well coached. I was so impressed with our composure on the field and just our ability to not quit.”
Two minutes into the first overtime, a shot by Groff ricocheted off the crossbar. Later in OT, Levush challenged – and won a battle with a breaking Ava Schaller. The Rams had other opportunities as well, but the first 15-minute OT period could not determine a winner. Neither could the second, and penalty kicks would decide the winner.
No one is under more pressure in PKs than the respective goalies.
“I definitely was very nervous going into them because PKs aren’t supposed to be in the goalie’s favor,” Levush said. “We’ve been practicing PKs a lot, and that helps a lot, but you never know going into PKs.”
Groeber took the first PK for the Rams – her shot deflected off the left post and into the net.
“We have confidence going into PKs because we’ve been practicing them for so long, but obviously, you get those nerves because you’re walking up to the spot, and that’s a long walk all the way up to the spot,” Groeber said. “Ultimately, you have to be confident at the spot and know that you’re going to put it in, no matter what.”
Parkland’s Lindsay Reightler buried her PK, knotting the score 1-1. Williams followed suit, finding the net with a PK that put the Rams on top 2-1.
According to the senior captain, it’s hard to put into words what it’s like to step up to the spot with your season hanging in the balance.
“Emotions are all over the place – you’re anxious, you’re nervous, you’re excited,” Williams said. “Everything is on the line.
“We’ve been practicing PKs every practice since the postseason started, and I feel we were very prepared for them.”
Parkland captain Ava Hanna’s kick sailed over the net, and after two rounds, the Rams led 2-1. The Rams misfired on their next PK, and Parkland’s Louise Gottwald connected on the equalizer. Chance Hendricks converted her penalty kick, and then Levush delivered a diving save on the post to give the Rams the edge.
“It’s just a guessing game with PKs,” Levush said. “I kind of noticed a pattern that they were going to that one side, so I just took a chance. I extended, and luckily, I was able to get a hand on it.”
“MK is a phenomenal keeper,” Anderson said. “She and Meghan Kriney work on PKs every day.
“For MK to come up with that save and just hold onto the ball – it was like she didn’t want to leave the ball go. If I could have kept it, I would have given it to her.”
All that stood between the Rams and a trip to the state semifinals was a Harbeck PK, and the senior defender delivered.
“Holly has a very, very sweet PK,” Anderson said. “We practice them almost every day.
“The greatest thing about this program is we don’t quit. It’s not necessarily about who wants it more – everybody wants it. It’s who’s going to go out and work for it the hardest. We had every excuse to quit, but it’s not our way, not this group. They’re not going to go down without a fight.”
Groeber echoed a similar sentiment.
“I think it definitely came down to who wanted it more and the persistence and the never-give-up attitude,” she said. “Our team wanted this since the beginning.
“Going all the way was our goal since preseason, and ultimately, we fought, we fought together, we never gave up, and that’s a big key to our success today.”
Anderson has been down this road before. She was an assistant in 2011 when the Rams advanced to the state title game, and she coached the Rams in the final game since then head coach Jorge Rodriguez had gotten married a day earlier and was not at the game.
“As a coach who filled in and then took over the program after him, this means a lot for me as a confidence builder for me as a coach that I can get here with a group of girls,” the Rams’ coach said. “And then just being part of the program since it started as a player and to be able to get back there.
“Souderton is still in it, and that speaks volumes for our conference.”
Pennridge (20-3-1, 9-2-1 SOL) will face Ephrata, the third place team out of District III, in a semifinal game on Tuesday night. Ephrata edged Penncrest 1-0 in a quarterfinal game.
Parkland 2-0-0-0 2
Pennridge 0-2-0-0 2
#1-2 SOUDERTON 1, #7-1 SENECA VALLEY 1 (4-3 PKs)
Under most circumstances, a breakaway is of supreme advantage to the offensive player.
Souderton goalkeeper Lindsey Pazdziorko however, doesn't mind facing breakaways. All season, the senior has come up with massive stops in key moments against an attacking player trying to take her on.
So, it was natural that scenario faced Pazdziorko in the first overtime Saturday.
“I saw her get through to the ball so I knew if I came out and got in her face a little bit, she’d make a mistake,” Pazdziorko said. “I got out and was able to get a hand on it.”
In a second half and pair of overtimes dominated by Souderton, Ashley Rea's breakaway chance was a real threat for Seneca Valley to steal a win. Pazdziorko made that save, one of eight she had on the day, but her offense wasn't able to crack through on a winner.
It didn't matter too much to Souderton, because they had Averie Doughty. One of the Indians' core of sophomore strikers, Doughty not only supplied the regulation equalizer but also the shootout icing spot kick.
"We talked about having to step it up, connect, settle in and calm down," Doughty said. "We weren't connecting passes, it was a little crazy all over the place, so we had to find a way to settle down."
Getting to the shootout was an adventure in itself. After a two-and-a-half hour bus ride to Chambersburg, and with strong winds swirling around the field all match, the Indians didn't look like the team that had won seven of its last eight games.
Souderton coach Lindsy Jones agreed the best word to describe her team's first half effort was reactive. The forwards weren't moving off the ball or if they did, they got a late start. The midfield was getting hammered in terms of 50/50 ball wins and even the defense was making some poor choices with passes into pressure.
"The wind was definitely a factor, I felt the team that had the wind with them dominated the field," Jones said. "We needed to come out and work harder. We weren't putting 100 percent of our effort in, they were beating us to the ball and winning the ball, so we had to step up on our end and start doing it."
Seneca Valley, which played with the wind at its back in the first half, kept itself organized in the back and used restarts as its main weapon offensively. Junior Breana Valentovish, on top of keeping a tight mark on Souderton's Sara Readinger, provided pressure with her long throw-ins.
One of them led to the Raiders goal late in the first half. Valentovish hurled the ball right into the box, where Norah Seibel flicked home the header to put the WPIAL champions up 1-0 with about nine minutes left in the half.
The Indians retreated into the half knowing they weren't out of the game, but also they had to get things together in the second half.
“We just said the game’s not over,” Pazdziorko said. “We still had a chance, there were 40 minutes left and we can score multiple goals in a half. We talked about it, we knew we weren’t playing the way we could have played and we changed it.”
Souderton tweaked its formation to be a little more attack-minded and the payoff was immediate. Once the forwards – Doughty, Taylor Yoder, Leah Mowery, Hannah Alderfer and Erin O'Keefe – started to knife through the Seneca Valley back line, things opened up.
"It's what we talked about at halftime, I was kind of intense, we weren't being dynamic at all," Jones said. "We were very reactive today, but we addressed that and I felt we really improved on that in the second half as well."
O'Keefe, the lone senior on the front line, created the equalizer with a sharp run up the right side, slipping by a couple defenders before putting a cross right on Doughty's plate in front of goal.
Doughty did a nice job herself, seeing midfielder Campbell Power going to fill the other flank and O'Keefe cutting outside and then making an inside run to just the right spot.
"It felt pretty good to score that goal," Doughty said.
From there, the keepers took over. Seneca Valley's Morgan Sinan was fantastic, making 16 saves including more than a handful of absolute robberies. The Raiders keeper denied Readinger with a diving save in regulation and made perhaps the save of the game early in the second overtime, snaring a curling shot by O'Keefe out of the air.
Pazdziorko, aside from her saves, worked the box well and again credited the play of her defenders in front. Center backs Miranda Kullman and Kailee Harwick didn't put a foot wrong after halftime while outside backs Darby Kramer, Gianna Natale and Peyton Carroll were solid getting upfield and recovering on defense.
Souderton's been used to overtimes this fall, but Saturday marked the Indians first foray into the shootout.
"It was definitely a little emotional, but I came over and got my head together with the rest of the team," Pazdziorko said. "We talked it out, they believed in me, it translated into me believing in myself and I knew we could do it."
Souderton and Seneca Valley both made their first two kicks. After Souderton's third attempt sailed over, the Raiders took a 3-2 lead.
The Indians caught a break when the next Raiders shooter struck the crossbar trying to shoot over a leaping Pazdziorko and Readinger was able to tie it up 3-3. Sinan, who had done more than enough to get her team to that point, also hit the bar taking SV's fifth kick.
So, it came down to Doughty, who admitted she had really hoped it didn’t.
"I was waiting for all the other girls to make it so hopefully I didn’t have to,” Doughty said. “I was really pretty nervous. But I just looked at my spot and I placed it.”
The sophomore tucked her take inside the left post, turned and ran into a mob of teammates with her arms out. Pazdziorko wasn't too far behind, stopping to give Sinan a few words of encouragement before joining her teammates.
Souderton (15-3,-6, 5-2-5 SOL) will face Peters Township, the WPIAL runner-up, on Tuesday in the semifinals.
SOUDERTON 0 1 0 0 – 1 (4)
SENECA VALLEY 1 0 0 0 – 1 (3)
Goals: S – Averie Doughty, SV – Norah Seibel
Souderton 1, Seneca Valley 1 (Souderton advances of PKs 4-3)
(Article submitted by Souderton girls’ soccer)
Souderton met Seneca Valley on a cold, windy day Saturday afternoon at Chambersburg High School. The wind would prove to be a factor in a match that would go the distance to determine who would advance to the semifinals.
Souderton started the game with an early chance for sophomore Averie Doughty, who got in behind the defense and sent her shot over the goalkeeper but just wide of the post. Seneca Valley responded well and managed to pin Souderton in their defensive third for a good portion of the first half.
With the wind at their backs, Seneca Valley continued to push forward and utilized their long throw as their primary threat in the attack. Souderton was unable to find a rhythm and settled with clearing the ball, only to have it come right back at them. Seneca Valley finally got on the end of a long throw into the box with eight minutes left in the first half and was able to meet the ball with a looping header into the far post to put them up 1-0.
The goal provided a wake-up call for the Indians, who were able to clean up their play in the remaining minutes. In the final two minutes of the half, senior Campbell Power hit a threatening free kick from midfield that caused a scramble in the box but ended up rolling out for a goal kick. The attack proved to be too little too late for the Indians to capitalize before the halftime whistle.
Souderton was able to carry their momentum into the second half and looked hungry to get back a goal with the wind now at their backs. The Indians were increasingly threatening and finally broke free for the equalizer with 17 minutes left to play. Senior Erin O'Keefe made an impressive solo run down the right flank, beating multiple defenders and cutting into the box to slot a cross to sophomore Averie Doughty for the finish.
Shortly after, O'Keefe made a similar run and unleashed a shot that was inches wide of the far post. Souderton unleashed a barrage of attacks in the closing minutes. Sophomore Taylor Yoder got on the end of a cross with less than a minute to play and headed it towards goal. The Souderton players were claiming it crossed the line, but the referees felt the Seneca Valley goalkeeper and defenders did enough to prevent it from going in.
The game went to overtime and both teams looked like they had a lot of tired legs. In the first period Seneca Valley had a great one-on-one chance against Souderton's senior goalkeeper Lindsey Pazdziorko, but Pazdziorko was quick off her line to make a game saving save. The second overtime period brought an early chance for O'Keefe that was saved well and shortly after Seneca Valley had an opportunity off a free kick that was sent just wide. In the end, penalty kicks would have to decide the match.
In the shootout, there were no saves made, but Souderton was able to claim victory by outshooting their opponents 4-3.
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