Pennridge & Abington were winners in District One 4A play on Thursday. Pennridge/Pennsbury photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
#6 Pennridge 3, #11 Pennsbury 1
The ancient city of Constantinople was well known for its Theodosian Walls, a complex and intricate defensive structure that frustrated would-be invaders for centuries.
For much of Thursday night’s quarterfinal matchup, Pennridge felt like one of those besieging armies, tossing everything it had only to be repelled by a Pennsbury defense that seemed like it just wasn’t going to crack. Eventually, the walls of Constantinople were breached and the city taken over, and eventually, the Falcons’ resolute defense would give up the go-ahead goal.
Pennridge’s persistence in attacking triumphed over Pennsbury’s persistence in protecting as a pair of late second half goals sent the defending district champion Rams to the semifinals.
“Yesterday at practice, we worked on all kinds of different scenarios like if we were playing straight-up, if we’re down, if we’re up, what do we do? We had an extremely good practice and I thought the girls would come into this game with a lot of confidence,” Rams coach Audrey Anderson said. “I thought it was important for them not to panic. Lindsey (DeHaven), Leah (Malone) and Cady McKean – they all played with such composure that it was good for the freshmen and underclassmen to see that.”
Early on, the Falcons were the aggressors with their experience and physicality putting the pressure on Pennridge. That paid off when a corner kick led to a recycle and second chance, which senior Olivia Gentile converted into a hard shot that powered through a save attempt for a 1-0 lead just 10 minutes in.
A young team that hasn’t trailed often this fall, the Rams made sure they wouldn’t have to think about the deficit for long. Freshman Liv Grenda, one of the main catalysts of their siege-like offensive approach, tied the score about a minute later following a tough run by Leah Malone up the flank to get the ball in play for the midfielder to work through the defense with the ball at her foot.
“When they scored and we scored a minute later, I heard a few of the girls on the bench say ‘that’s just like practice,'” Anderson said. “It’s something we worked on, playing with high intensity and a sense of urgency throughout the entire game. I could not be happier with their energy level, especially in the second half.”
Despite losing center back Darrien Furiness to an injury in the first half that limited the junior co-captain’s effectiveness the rest of the night, the Falcons defense turned in a monster effort. Midfielders and backs didn’t think twice about putting a foot or leg in front of a Rams attacker or throwing their body in front of a shot, leading to a high number of blocks.
When that failed, Emma Corso did not. The first-year starting keeper was superb, making 13 saves including a couple of flat-out thefts to keep her team in the game.
“My hat’s off to Emma, she had an amazing game, they had to work really hard and credit them, those were three beautiful goals,” Pennsbury coach Kaitlyn Battiste said. “It’s a credit to their attackers and their midfield, they’re very organized and very disciplined. Emma came up huge and that game could have gotten away from us a lot earlier.”
Pennridge’s shots came from all over, but at the half, the Rams did make one key change. Freshman Tori Angelo, who came off the bench in the first half, started the second half and immediately gave the Rams a jolt of energy.
Angelo, along with fullback Kera Dam, gave Pennsbury all kinds of trouble down the right flank. The forward used her speed, but also wasn’t afraid to match the Falcons’ physical play.
“We figured if we dribbled with speed at them, either they couldn’t keep up with us, or if they could, they would have to foul 
us,” Angelo said. “Tonight wasn’t the night we wanted to stop playing. We knew we needed to get another goal in the back of the net.”
Despite having their attempts constantly thwarted by the Falcons, the Rams just kept coming. Grenda finally found a breakthrough much the same way she had found the equalizer, putting the ball on her foot and going right at the defense.
Emerging from the midfield on a mission, she drew in a defender, stopped and cut the ball back to her left foot before ripping a shot from 20-plus yards out that finally beat Corso with 13 minutes to play.
“Even though we’re a young team, I trust everyone behind me,” Grenda said. “It’s really easy for me to know I can go forward and can be aggressive because they’re all behind me ready to back me up.”
Pennridge had to almost immediately defend a corner, but the back line of Dam, McKean, Anna Croyle and Casey Malone had a strong effort in keeping Falcons forward Taylor Mays contained and holding Pennsbury to one shot on goal.
Angelo put the game away with five minutes to go. Overlapping with Dam, the freshman pushed along the endline, fighting off a defender to create space before slotting a ball inside the far post, breaking a personal slump in front of goal.
“She’s a dangerous player and she just has to get herself in these situations where she knows what has to be done,” Anderson said. “This was a great game for her to do that. For her to show up like she did today and get a goal, she just pressured every time they had the ball and that’s huge for us.”
The loss ends Pennsbury’s season and caps the careers of a strong class of senior leaders and contributors. With 10 seniors – Bella Arcuri, Erin Butler, Lauren Dignan, Gianna Durle, Olivia Gentile, Celia Johnson, Sarah Lohre, Kendall Palatine, Grace Palmieri and Emily Welsh – who were freshmen on the 2017 district title team, won three SOL titles and made the state tournament twice, Pennsbury is losing a foundational group of players.
“We really emphasized that we’re so proud of our seniors. We didn’t know what was going to happen, there were so many question marks going into the season and we knew from the first day they stepped out as freshmen, the amount of sacrifices they made for us,” Battiste said. “They dedicated themselves and committed to the culture of the program and in doing so, continued a long legacy of success. That’s not always measured in wins and goals scored, they do a lot of the other little things well and really focused on the chemistry and culture of making the program better.”
Pennridge (12-1, 9-1 SOL) will face No. 2 Abington in the district semifinals on Tuesday. The teams last met in the postseason in the 2018 quarterfinals, with the Rams coming out on top.
“I thought they played an incredible game and Pennsbury’s just so tough,” Anderson said. “We came into it ready to be knocked down, it was going to be a strong, physical game but we responded to it well.”
PENNRIDGE 1 2 – 3
PENNSBURY 1 0 – 1
Goals: Pr – Liv Grenda 2, Tori Angelo; Pb – Olivia Gentile
#2 Abington 4, #7 Avon Grove 0
What a difference a few days made.
After a rough start forced the Ghosts to rally past West Chester Rustin in their playoff opener, they set the tone early on Thursday and never looked back. A pair of early goals by sophomore Carley Slavin gave Abington a much better start, and the hosts never had to worry about a potential rally.
“I had seen them on film and I thought they were big and strong but played a style that wouldn’t work against us,” Ghosts coach Rick Tompkins said. “It just seemed like they didn’t possess the ball enough, and we thought if we could get on top of them early, they would struggle to come back.”
Tompkins said his team had the right start, with senior Casey Touey beating an outside defender, cutting back across and putting a ball in front of net that Slavin was able to head in.
It was just the start of a superb evening for the sophomore midfielder, who bagged another header for a 2-0 lead.
“She was in the right spot both times and just perfect in terms of execution,” Tompkins said. “From that point, I felt pretty confident and thought they’d have a hard time scoring three goals.”
Abington took a commanding 3-0 lead into the half, thanks to an individual goal from senior Camille Mugnier that mixed skill and effort.
“She got outside, brought the ball across and did a really nice job to beat the outside back,” Tompkins said. “She took a shot that the goalie parried but she followed it and put in her own rebound. It was very-well placed.”
Maura Day added the fourth tally on a corner kick in the second half, capping a strong game for her with a goal. Tompkins felt the sophomore duo of Day and Slavin was critical in making Avon Grove play catch-up all night.
“They had monster games, Carley did not have one turnover,” Tompkins said. “We keep stats on that and she played an entire game without a turnover and had two goals on top of that. She had a lot of touches, it wasn’t like she was out there having a day at the beach, she worked really, really hard.
“It was the best game we’ve played all year for sure.”
Tompkins also credited the play of his goalkeepers Lannan Lare and Alexis Ditri, who combined on the shutout, and center backs Ally Holden and Caroline Hughes, who bottled up Avon Grove forward Annika Franke.
With the result in hand, Tompkins was able to give every healthy player on the roster some playing time and got Touey some much-needed rest ahead of a challenging next game.
Abington (10-1-1, 8-1-1 SOL) will host Pennridge in the semifinals on Tuesday.
“This team has so many different people contributing and they’re all happy for each other,” Tompkins said. “There’s none of that ‘I have to get mine,’ they are really trying to do things as a team and it starts with the captains Ally, Abby (Bautista) and Casey. They set a high standard, they’re good players and they work hard.”
ABINGTON 3 1 – 4
AVON GROVE 0 0 – 0
Goals: A – Carley Slavin 2, Camille Mugnier, Maura Day
#1 Downingtown East 2, #8 Hatboro-Horsham 0
The Hatters saw their season end against the top-seeded Cougars on Thursday.
Downingtown East scored a goal on each side of halftime while keeping the Hatters’ attack under wraps. Despite the setback, it was still a strong fall for Hatboro-Horsham.
For the first time in coach Kelsey Daley’s tenure, the Hatters won a district playoff game and the team built a quick chemistry despite a late start to the season and graduation of a large senior class from their 2019 SOL American championship side.
Seniors like Izzy de la Torre, Aly Yankanich and Maggie O’Neill set the pace with their hard-working mentality while the Hatters saw a mix of returners like Emily Thomas, Caroline Shegogue and Sophia Liott mesh well with newcomers including Mia Malofiy and Emma Levin. Sam Hollish also had a strong season in goal filling in for All-SOL pick Martine Royds, who missed the season recovering from a knee injury.
Hatboro-Horsham closed out its season with a record of 9-3 overall (8-2 SOL)
DOWNINGTOWN EAST 1 1 – 2
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 0 – 0
CLASS 2A
Wednesday, Nov. 4
#2 SAINT BASIL ACADEMY 1, #1 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0
The visiting Panthers scored in the opening 10 minutes of the game, and that 1-0 lead stood the rest of the way, allowing Saint Basil Academy take home the District One 2A trophy
“It was a very entertaining game,” NHS coach Derek Antonini said. “Basil’s got an early chance and converted – I think it was their only recorded shot in the game.”
The Lions had their share of opportunities but couldn’t convert.
“NHS took it to Basil’s for 60 minutes and created many chances,” Antonini said. “St. Basil’s goalkeeper was absolutely outstanding and made truly exceptional saves.”
The Lions’ coach lauded the strong play of several players.
“Kendall Malmrose, Ava Morrone, Ciara Maguire, Sam Kruopas and Reilly Hepp created countless chances and played extremely well. Credit to both teams for a very entertaining match.”
The Lions’ first-year coach had nothing but good things to say about his squad.
“This was my first season at the high school level, and I couldn’t have asked for a more positive experience,” Antonini said. “My girls have had many coaches over the past four years, and they responded to the challenge this year and were able to find organization on the field and off where normally that would be tough with no consistency.
“We worked very hard off the ball this year, and they were always up for it and ready to put the work in. I’m very proud of these girls in their first season in the SOL, forcing OT with schools like Council Rock South (I played at North so I know that level) is very impressive and shows heart.
“These girls faced a lot of adversity with a strange year/season in our country and with a new competitive league and exceeded my expectations. Our seniors led the way and helped me transition into this new role. I’m very grateful for them and this team.”
New Hope-Solebury closed out its season with a 3-6-1 record overall (3-4-1 SOL)
SAINT BASIL 1-0 1
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0-0 0
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