Pennridge rolled to a 6-0 win over Downingtown East in Saturday’s PIAA 4A quarterfinal contest. (Photos provided courtesy of Abbe Kiwak/Pennridge soccer)
(1-1) Pennridge 6, (1-3) Downingtown East 0
Lindsey Balmer’s been oh-so-close the last few games, the Pennridge senior just seemingly unable to get a ball into the back of the net.
Not even three minutes into Saturday’s second half, the West Chester-bound speedster seemed to personify the drive that the Rams all
possess right now. Balmer got her goal and it opened the gates as Pennridge put away the Cougars for the second time in 12 days to advance to their fifth state semifinal in the last six years.
“We talked about that at practice this week, we didn’t want to change who we were,” Rams coach Audrey Anderson said. “We are who we are, and we want to be the best version of ourselves. We want to do what we do, maybe a little bit cleaner, a little bit better, a little more composed, so we’ve really focused on being the best version of ourselves.
“These girls know how to play soccer, it’s just a matter of fine-tuning some things and not changing what got us to where we are.”
It sounds simple enough, but the Rams wanted to get on the board as quickly as possible, so they didn’t have to change anything up. By the midpoint of the first half, they had their goal as senior Tori Angelo converted off a pass from senior Ava Kiwak.
By halftime, they were up 2-0 with senior Liv Grenda getting on the board with a solo effort.
While Pennridge had mostly limited Downingtown East in their district semifinal meeting on Halloween, the Cougars still had a game-changer in senior Madison Shumate. Late in the first half, the Villanova recruit and All-American Game selection nearly changed the
game.
“She’s so good, you can’t take your eyes off of her for a second,” Anderson said. “They had a free kick, she just missed the goal off her head, it was only 2-0 at the time so it could have been a real game-changer.”
Instead, the game-changer came from Balmer two-plus minutes into the second half.
“She rockets a shot into the upper 90 on the far side, it was great to see her get on the scoreboard,” Anderson said. “Her scoring today can give her the belief she can do it in these big moments and big games. She’s been working hard, she wants to score, there’s always that pressure because we have so many scorers, so it was nice to see her get in there and score that goal.”
Freshman Gabriella Howley, who has become a major impact player off the Rams’ bench, added two goals in the second half, bracketing them around a finish by senior Hailey Primwhere. Grenda picked up an assist on Balmer’s goal, Angelo assisted the first of Howley’s two goals with Anna Croyle – Pennridge’s All-American Game selection – assisting the second and Caitlyn Peace setting up Primwhere.
“When somebody scores, everyone else wants to start scoring and they just keep going,” Anderson said.
Pennridge’s attack was rolling again, the Rams now up to 30 goals in just the postseason alone, but the defense was also locked in again. The Rams have posted six straight shutouts, and while the variety is present in the attack, the defenders have formed a deep rotation too.
Croyle and Addy Mills are mainstays at center back, with Meredith Blannett, Casey Malone, Gabby Herrmann and Balmer all rotating at fullback.
“Casey Malone was in the corner numerous times where it would have been easy to give up a corner and she didn’t, she was
composed and willing to fight to not give up that corner,” Anderson said. “Anna and Addy were really good, and Meredith, Gabby and Lindsey when they were in the back all just did a great job. They didn’t let through balls get through, they communicated well and if they make a mistake, they make a mistake but there were really very few mistakes made.”
The ultimate goal is the last game of the season, and Anderson felt Saturday showed how much her players are willing to do for each other to get there. In order to get there, the Rams had to first get to the semifinals.
This 2023 team joins the 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 teams that have advanced to the PIAA’s final four. Members of those teams have been coming out as well to watch this group carry on what they were a part of.
Joey Tomlinson, the team’s lone senior last year, was there on Saturday. 2016 grad Erin Stevenson has been a fixture at games this postseason while 2018 grads Abby and Lauren Groff were at Tuesday’s state opener.
“When you stand back and look at that, the amount of different players that were part of these state runs, it’s just incredible,” Anderson said. “These girls don’t want to see anybody fail, they had a hand in where the success of this program is, and they want to see it keep going in that direction.
“They want to see where this team and program can go because they feel like they have a little bit of ownership to it. As a coach, you’re just in awe of where this program is, and you hope it stays there.”
Pennridge (23-0-1, 15-0-1 SOL) will face District 11 champion Parkland, a 2-0 winner over Lower Merion, in Tuesday’s semifinals. The Trojans have been a frequent postseason nemesis for the Rams, matching up in 2018, 2020 and 2021 in states.
PENNRIDGE 2 4 – 6
DOWNINGTOWN EAST 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Gabriella Howley 2, Tori Angelo, Lindsey Balmer, Hailey Primwhere, Liv Grenda
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