CB East earned a win over Hatboro-Horsham in a battle for the fifth and final state berth. CB East/Hatboro-Horsham photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos. Pennridge/Contestoga photos courtesy of Althea Tomlinson/Pennrdige girls’ soccer.
District One 4A Playback
Fifth place game
#5 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2, #22 HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
The Patriots entered the season with the modest goal of earning a district berth. It turns out they’ve done a whole lot better than that, clinching the final spot in the PIAA 4A State Tournament with Friday’s playback win.
It is the Patriots first trip to the state tournament since 2015.
“We’ve got 14 seniors in our group this year, and I’ve never seen a class of kids more committed to a goal than these kids,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “It starts with our captains but it’s all the way through our senior leadership. They had never been and in my tenure at East, we had never seen playoffs at East. For us, our main goal was get to districts, and that was it. It’s great to see these kids find ways to win and do it in a way that is challenging.
“It’s unbelievable to see the kids knock the ball the way they do and try to keep possession and play a really good brand of soccer that we’re really proud of. These kids are unbelievably jacked up about this. We’re trying to be humble about it, but it’s just such an awesome experience, and it’s all them, no doubt about it.”
For the seniors, Friday’s win was especially sweet.
“All the time I’ve been in the program, we haven’t made it to districts, and it was incredible how we made it this year, but to make it to states has been amazing,” senior Chloe Strawn said.
“I was just so proud of how far our team has come because we put in so much work during preseason and throughout the whole season, so to see our work leads to success, it was really enjoyable and fun.”
Strawn scored both goals for the Patriots in Friday’s win.
“We haven’t lost at home this season, so we wanted to defend our home field and just play for each other and celebrate each other’s success,” the Patriots’ senior midfielder said. “I think we all felt we could get to states, and in order to do that, we just had to play our game today. I think everybody that came on the field or was on the bench – everybody was so excited for each other, and I think that was a major part of our success today.”
Listening to Strawn tell it, one of the keys to the success of this year’s team is its unique chemistry.
“All the seniors lead in their own way, and everybody contributes in their own way,” she said. “To be a team, we have to be a family first, and I feel like we’ve all that camaraderie all year, and we’ve been so close. A lot of us have played together on club teams, and we know how each other play.”
Strawn and her teammates had an idea they might be onto something good after their second game of the season even though it was a 2-1 loss to defending state champion Pennridge.
“Last year we lost to them 5-0, and this year we showed we could hang with a nationally-ranked team, and then to beat them later in the season (1-0), I knew we could get to where we are today,” the Patriots’ senior co-captain said.
On the opposite sidelines, the Hatters were going home after a marvelous postseason run for the tournament’s 22nd seed.
“(Our) historic run in the postseason has come to an end today,” HH coach Kelsey Daley said. “We battled 80 minutes today and came up short to a very talented CB East team. I am so proud of my team and couldn’t have asked for anything more.
“We made history this season by just making it to the quarterfinal game and then winning a playback game for states. That is something no one can take away from them. We played some of the best soccer in the postseason along with having a lot of fun. I started coaching when these seniors were incoming freshmen, so it was amazing to start and finish with them. They are a really special group and I’m honored to have been able to coach them and achieve their goals with them as a team. Hatters never die!”
For the Patriots, Strawn stole the spotlight, scoring back-to-back goals in a 10-minute span 15 minutes into the contest. The senior captain scored both off crosses – the first from Elise Duffy and the second from Brooke Roumy.
“It’s just being patient with myself and attacking the ball whenever I get the chance,” Strawn said. Once we got the first goal, it just elevated each other even more and we wanted to play for each other. I think we moved the ball really well today and defended as a team really well, which is something we were working on since our last couple of games.”
That 2-0 lead stood the rest of the way, and Nesteruk had high praise for his team’s performance.
“For us, we really put our stamp on this game,” the Patriots’ coach said. “We created a lot of opportunities and were really good in possession.
“I thought Sophia Mignon in the center of the park was excellent today. Elliot Forney was really good as well, and I thought our back line – goalkeeper Skyler Gash, Courtney Curry, Olivia Kallelis, Meredith Black, Chantal Van Dongeren and Kelly Keen stepped in as well. We were a little bit concerned about the goals that we had given up in the last two games, and our back line found a way to keep a clean sheet. I think it was one of those games where we were really, really motivated and organized, and it showed.”
The win in their final home game of the season was special for reasons that went well beyond the state bid.
“The coolest thing about this group and what we’re really proud of is the fact that somehow we managed to go undefeated at home, so that was a big motivator coming into this game and obviously we wanted to go to states,” Nesteruk said. “To walk away from the season and say you’re undefeated at home is huge.”
For Nesteruk, an assistant at Hatboro-Horsham for three years, Friday’s win was – in some ways – bittersweet.
“It’s unbelievable to see that team get this far,” the Patriots’ coach said. “It hurts that they’ve got to lose because I always root for them. It was so unbelievable for them to get that far. It was great.”
Central Bucks East (18-4, 13-3 SOL) will face the winner of Saturday’s District 3 title game pitting top-seeded Central Dauphin against third-seeded Wilson in Tuesday’s PIAA 4A State Tournament.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0 0
Central Bucks East 2-0 2
Third place game
#3 CONESTOGA 3, #9 PENNRIDGE 1
In a contest with only seeding position in the state tournament at stake, it was the third-seeded Pioneers notching the win.
The visiting Rams trailed by just a 1-0 score at halftime, but Conestoga scored a minute into the second half to up its lead to 2-0. Three-and-a-half minutes later, Leah Malone put the Rams on the board with a goal that cut the Pioneers’ lead in half, but that’s as close as the Rams would get.
Conestoga put the finishing touches on the win with a late goal for the 3-1 final.
Pennridge (18-5, 13-3 SOL) will face District 11 champion Parkland in Tuesday’s opening round of the PIAA 4A Tournament. Parkland edged third-seeded Nazareth 2-1 in the District 11 title game.
Pennridge 0-1 1
Conestoga 1-2 3
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