Pennridge defeated Abington to earn a spot in the District One 4A title game. Photos provided courtesy of Greg Zesinger. Check back for a gallery.
CLASS 4A
#3 PENNRIDGE 3, #2 ABINGTON 0
It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes the team winning at halftime actually feels like it is the one losing.
Despite her team scoring a goal 10 minutes into Tuesday’s semifinal, Rams coach Audrey Anderson didn’t like what she saw from her squad in the first half. A team that thrives on pressuring the ball was slow to get after it following turnovers, there was a lack of energy and if not for the defense, Pennridge might not have been in such a position.
“We should be thanking Abington that it was 1-0 at the half,” Anderson said. “They totally had us in the first half and it was a little frustrating to watch. I wasn’t really sure why we weren’t pressuring like we normally do, if it was nerves or us being defensive-minded.”
The Rams, playing a rare game on a grass surface, seemed to adjust to the field but lacked the edge and intensity that marked their rally and second half dominance against Pennsbury in the quarterfinals. They were lucky in the sense that an early set piece paid off with a score, putting the onus on Abington to play from behind much of the afternoon.
Senior Lindsey DeHaven started the play with a free kick service into the box. Leah Malone flicked the ball along the ground, giving freshman center back Anna Croyle a free look at a one-time blast on the far post.
Among the first half chances for Abington was a free kick by sophomore Maura Day that rang the crossbar.
“They’re a good team, I have a lot of respect for them and the way they play the game,” Ghosts coach Rick Tompkins said. “We made mistakes on execution, but we had chances. Maura hit a crossbar in the first half, who knows, but we needed to pinch one and we knew it.”
At the break, the Rams’ coaches stressed the importance of pressuring the ball and playing with energy. A needed lift came from the bench in the form of freshman Sophie Craig and the starting lineup from junior Riley Hepler.
Craig, along with sophomore Joey Tomlinson, were aggressive in going after the ball.
“Once someone on the team gets hyped up, they get everyone on our team hyped up and we start working better as a team, like way better, and we go from there,” Craig said. “The coaches tell us to find the ball and get teammates involved. They tell us what to do, we do it and it gets everyone going.”
A five-minute spell in the second half turned the entire tone of the match. Abington’s Casey Touey tangled with Pennridge’s Casey Malone in the box, with both players going down with about 28 minutes to play. Thinking she had drawn a PK, Touey was stunned to see the official call the foul on her and award the Rams a free kick.
Less than two minutes later, Hepler gave her team to a two-goal lead. The junior made a move to her right to open space and launched a shot, with an ill-timed bounce leading to a keeper miscue and the ball slipping just inside the post.
“As a forward, I was finding a lot of gaps and we all found success when we started pressuring the ball fast,” Hepler said. “As a whole, our forwards and midfielders all started pressing together which I think led to Sophie’s goal.”
Craig’s pressure helped lead to a third goal about 90 seconds after Hepler’s, with the freshman hitting a perfect chip over the keeper from the edge of the box.
“I thought Sophie played amazing,” Anderson said. “To have her out there applying pressure, take a ball to the chest and keep going, that’s what we like to see. We don’t want anyone to get hurt, but we want to see that effort.”
Pennridge’s back line was the team’s strongest unit on Tuesday. The back four of Croyle, Malone, Cady McKean and Kera Dam limited the times they got isolated against Abington’s attackers and covered for each other extremely well.
Malone had plenty of matchups with Touey while Dam had to contain Abington’s Lesha Karaba and the center backs filled in the rest.
“We knew how good they were up top and we talked about making sure we didn’t defend 1-v-1,” Anderson said. “We got caught a couple times but Anna and C-Mac did a good job covering a lot of ground and Casey Malone should feel great about herself – to defend Casey Touey the way she did was amazing.”
Tompkins also gave plenty of credit to the Rams’ swarming defenders.
“The most impressive thing they did – we had a break in the second half, Lesha was going onto the ball and they had three girls on a full sprint to try and close that down,” Tompkins said. “They’re organized and thinking ‘I may not get there, but the next one, she’ll be there.'”
The season ended for the Ghosts, who captured an SOL Liberty title, their second conference crown in the past three seasons. Co-captains Touey, Abby Bautista and Ally Holden, along with fellow seniors Camille Mugnier, Myana Bebee-Gomberg and Karaba, brought the team together after an uncertain summer and a COVID issue that caused the season to start a week late.
“They’re upset today for the seniors, it’s their last game but when they sit back and think about it, they should be pretty proud,” Tompkins said. “I’m going to remember the chemistry. This was a good group, they like each other and worked for each other. I’m hoping to capture it again.”
Pennridge, the defending District I champion, will host No. 5 Spring-Ford in Thursday’s final. Spring-Ford edged Downingtown East 1-0 on Tuesday.
“A couple years ago, our team motto was ‘we’re stronger than our excuses’ but this year it’s ‘Make it count,’ and we don’t want to be a team that makes excuses,” Anderson said. “I feel great we’ve gotten this far. You want the kids to have fun, and they’re having fun because they’re playing.”
PENNRIDGE 1 2 – 3
ABINGTON 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Anna Croyle, Riley Hepler, Sophie Craig
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