Pennridge edged Parkland in an overtime thriller to advance to Saturday’s PIAA 4A state title game in Hershey. Photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
#1-1 PENNRIDGE 4, #11-1 PARKLAND 3 (OT)
After a nearly-90 minute whiplash of highs and lows, after watching her team not once but twice rally from a second half deficit and after watching a wonder goal send her Rams’ squad back to the state final, Lindsey DeHaven couldn’t fight off the emotion.
The Pennridge senior, who late last week mimed wiping a single tear falling from her eye celebrating a District I title, had very real tears in her eyes as she embraced the night’s hero, freshman Liv Grenda. Even 15 minutes removed from the field, DeHaven was still a little choked up trying to surmise what she and her teammates had gone through as they found a way not to break in Tuesday’s state semifinal against an excellent Parkland team.
“It was just crazy to be honest, this game was so full of emotions because of how back and forth it was,” DeHaven said. “Being a senior, it’s a little different knowing it could be your last game and with it on our home turf, we didn’t want to lose. The way it ended was what really made me emotional and especially with this team, we’ve built such a family around this team I didn’t want it to be our last game.”
Two years ago, Pennridge met Parkland in a classic state quarterfinal where the Rams advanced on spot kicks to reach the state title game. With the Trojans carrying a pristine 14-0 record, yet another District XI championship and a remarkable 63-3 goal differential plus more than a few holdovers from 2018, anything less than a thriller was off the table.
Grenda, Pennridge’s leading scorer as a freshman, spent the bulk of the night with the Trojans bench yelling out her jersey number and having Parkland players rush to her anytime she had the ball. For that attention, the midfielder not only managed to score one of the Rams’ tying goals but won the game with a brilliant hit in overtime.
Yet, the first thing she did was note Joey Tomlinson, the teammate who had passed her the ball.
“We never want to lose an opportunity because we want it all to ourselves,” Grenda said. “It comes down to us wanting it as a team. It doesn’t matter if you’re the one who scores it, assists it or starts the play, you’re always a part of it. If you can help make a difference, sometimes that’s the difference between winning and losing the game.”
When Tori Angelo rattled the Parkland crossbar two minutes into the contest, it was a sign of things to come.
“I don’t know how to describe what I just coached,” Rams coach Audrey Anderson said. “We don’t quit and, as silly as this sounds, those girls wanted to go to Hershey. They wanted to go to Panera before the game, they want to buy things in Hershey they got two years ago and can’t find anywhere else. They’re having a lot of fun right now, and that’s maybe what’s setting this team apart from those in the past.”
Pennridge struck first, thanks to its senior co-captain DeHaven. Seven minutes in, freshman Casey Malone took advantage of some space on the wing and drilled in a looping cross through a swath of snow flurries that found DeHaven at the far post for a powerful header.
The Rams, who had threatened before the goal, almost got a second off a corner but were denied by Parkland keeper Teresa Gonzalez, who racked up seven saves.
From there, the Trojans took advantage for a spell that began with a shot ringing off the crossbar almost as a retort to Pennridge’s own frame-rattler.
“Our emotions were up and down the entire time,” Rams senior Kera Dam said. “Parkland was an amazing team, they’re one of the best teams we’ve ever played. I was constantly thinking ‘we’re going to lose’ or ‘we’re going to win,’ it just kept going back and forth the entire game.”
Alex Marsteller, the Trojans’ top player, took it to Pennridge’s backline and had her marauder’s mentality rewarded when she was tripped up in the box for a penalty kick. Not willing to leave the shot to anyone else, the senior buried her kick to tie things up with 28 minutes left in the first half.
While the half ended without further denting of the scoreboard, it wasn’t without effort. Pennridge keeper Sierra Shaeffer made a key stop while Gonzalez denied two Pennridge chances.
After a district tournament where they had been able to take control of games in the second half, the Rams found it much tougher going against Parkland. With a veteran team, the Trojans went right at Pennridge and Anderson noted her freshmen needed some time to adapt.
“They weren’t afraid of our backs, they had a lot of confidence in themselves and we struggled with that,” Anderson said. “Tonight, we had a taste of our own medicine. We struggled at times and at halftime, we had to sort out some things and tell them to not be afraid. It was scary for a lot of those girls, you could see it in the first 15 minutes from those freshmen and underclassmen to be on a field in a game this big.”
Parkland never completely seized control of the game either, but the Trojans did cash in well when they had things rolling their way. By limiting Pennridge’s ability to cluster around the ball defensively, Parkland drew its share of fouls including one 30 yards out on the right 15 minutes into the second half.
A well-hit ball by Jocelyn Fowler found Demi Olatilo for a knock-in at the far post, giving Parkland a 2-1 lead. It took a key save by Shaeffer to deny Marsteller on a open look to keep the Rams down just a goal and it was time for Pennridge to answer.
“Everybody – we have the same goal in mind and we weren’t going to let anybody stop us,” defender Cady McKean said. “We were going to do whatever it took. We know even if we’re down, we can always go up and we were all really resilient during the game and kept that goal in mind.”
Leah Malone played an important role for the Rams despite not directly scoring a goal. The junior helped win a throw deep in Parkland’s end, then turned facilitator on the restart, kicking a ball across the front of goal that Grenda was able to flick in off her heel to level the score 2-2 with a tick less than 19 minutes to go.
Between the two teams, a combined four goals popped up on the scoreboard in about 17 minutes in an exchange of willpower and resolve.
“We proved to ourselves that we’ll never give up,” Grenda said. “It’s one of those things that we have been working on since August. We’ve always had the mentality that we will never give up and we will never let go, no matter what happens. You never stop playing and it showed here tonight.”
The oceanic tide is caused by gravitational forces between the Sun and Moon. High above the field, the crescent Moon on Tuesday had to have been pleased with the ebb and flow of momentum between the two sides.
Marsteller, who carried double-digit totals in goals and assists entering the game, struck for her second off a hustle play with 12 minutes left. After Shaeffer made a great reaction save on a point-blank shot, Marsteller rushed in and knocked the loose ball home with the Rams’ keeper unable to respond.
Despite the team giving up three goals for the first time since 2017, Shaeffer played a strong game with five saves.
““How can you not rally around that as a team when your keeper just saved you,” Anderson said. “The girls could then play with that energy after Sierra made those saves, that tells a story itself.”
Three minutes later, Malone was tripped up right along the line of the 18-yard box to set up a pivotal decision. Despite the Rams bench begging for a penalty, the officials spotted the ball just on the other side of the line for a free kick.
“We’ve practiced that same play before,” DeHaven said. “We try to draw them all out as far from the 18 as we can and one player runs in, so I have to slip the ball through to them. It worked out kind of perfectly, we scored off of it.”
It wasn’t totally to blueprint, as Malone’s first-chance try was blocked by a Parkland defender, but McKean powered in to slam home the rebound.
“I didn’t know if anybody else was there but I was going to hit it as hard as I could,” McKean said. “I looked right at the corner, as soon as I hit it, I thought ‘I want this to go in so bad. My team has worked so hard, we need this.’”
Pennridge had a key adjustment in the second half, starting freshman Sophie Craig with Grenda in an attacking midfield role and dropping senior DeHaven back to the holding spot.
“Lindsey DeHaven was outstanding, she was the glue that held this team together,” Anderson said. “Their midfield was owning everything, so by moving her to that holding spot, she’s so good at reading the field and is a presence on the field the players need to see. The way she played, for as small as she is, she played huge.”
Despite a few late chances for Pennridge, including a hit by Grenda that forced a save out for a corner, neither team could find a third goal in the second half.
The Rams put the pressure on early in overtime, keeping the ball stuck in Parkland’s end for about four minutes to open the period. Finally, the awaited chance developed.
Craig helped win a ball in the midfield, playing it up to Tomlinson. The sophomore played the ball perfectly, spinning away from a defender and using the one touch she got to slip a pass up to Grenda.
Grenda used her first touch to round a defender, her second to set the ball in her path and the third to rip it airborne toward the far post.
““When I touched it around here I just had that feeling it was going to go back post,” Grenda said. “I looked up, saw their defender running to the back post so I knew I couldn’t hit it on the ground and had to get a little bit of air. I thought it was going to hit the crossbar and come off so when I saw it hit the net, I was speechless.”
Pennridge advances to face North Allegheny, a 1-0 winner over Cumberland Valley, in Saturday’s final, set for 4 p.m. at HersheyPark Stadium. Peters Township bested Pennridge in the 2011 state title game, where Anderson led the Rams while filling in for then-head coach Jorge Rodriguez.
It’s also the program’s second state title appearance in the past three years, with the Rams falling to Souderton in 2018. For Grenda and her teammates who were in the stands the past few years watching, being on the field has been an entirely new experience.
“It’s completely different, from the stands, you just see a team out there playing as hard as it can,” Grenda said. “When you’re on the field with them, they’re your family and everyone has that love for each other, you play for each other and you play for everyone in the stands who look up to you. It’s a feeling you just can’t get everywhere else.”
Pennridge 1-2-1 4
Parkland 1-2-0 3
Goals: Pr – Lindsey DeHaven, Liv Grenda 2, Cady McKean
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