CB East & CB South advanced to the PIAA 4A State Tournament’s elite eight while Pennridge saw its season end. Andrew Robinson recaps all the action. Pennridge/Central Dauphin photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of phtoos.
#1-5 Central Bucks East 3, #3-1 Manheim Twp 0
In years past, going on the road into District 3 for the first round of states hadn’t ended well for the Patriots.
It was a different opponent this time but no less formidable in the District 3 champion Blue Streaks of Manheim Twp. However, despite an uneven start by their standards, it was the Patriots making it two years in a row with a first round win.
“Our girls were excellent defensively today,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “The work of T (Taylor Roumy) and Mia (Forney) in key moments to press or hold, the midfield rotation to close their outside backs and get to their big switches, and our backline prevented incredible soccer players like Regan Taylor and Liv Palmer from getting any really dangerous, dangerous looks.”
Taylor Roumy and Mia Forney put in their usual high-energy efforts and combined with junior Kiera Sleicher to power East’s attack in the first half. Roumy, committed to Richmond, opened the scoring while the always-potent tandem of Forney (Maryland) and Sleicher (Ole Miss) combined for another clutch Patriots goal to make it 2-0 at halftime.
“I definitely thought (Manheim Twp) came out really strong in the first half but then we started matching their energy and gaining the momentum back,” Taylor Roumy said. “We had a good first half, but we came out even stronger in the second half.
“I thought our team played one of our best games in a while on the defensive and attacking side of the game, especially because the other team was really good and had very technical players in the front line.”
It was also a strong night for the East defensive unit, the back line of Addie Langolis, Cece Hayes, Paige Dougherty, and Skylar Lapp forming a wall in front of senior Aralynn Patterson in goal.
Scoring Summary
1st Half
CBE – Taylor Roumy 22nd min
CBE – Mia Forney (Kiera Sleicher) 28th min
2nd Half
CBE – Mackenzie Peters (Addie Langlois) 53rd
CB East coach Jake Nesteruk on the win: “Overall, great game between two very good teams and proud of our girls for coming out with a deserved win on the road. First half, I thought we were a bit up and down, and while we had a good sense of their identity, they definitely created some questions for us to work through and had 2 or 3 good looks against us. On the opposite end, going forward I thought we were a pretty consistent threat.”
–Attack gets rolling: “Mia, Taylor, and Kiera got us going early in this game which gave us some good confidence. I think there were moments we just made some choices that in doing so made the first half a bit harder and more tiring than it had to be on both ends of the ball. That said, to come out of the first 40 minutes 2-0 up against a very talented team going forward and in possession, gave us a really good platform for the second half.”
–Second half upswing: “I thought in half two we got much, much better. We spent a lot more time on the ball, more of the game was spent on our attacking half, and we gave away very, very little defensively. Mackenzie Peters put away a bit of a scramble on the goal line to extend the lead to three and from there, despite some pressure, protected our defensive third incredibly well.”
East junior midfielder Ava Mignon: “Overall it was a great team win versus a quality opponent. I thought in the midfield we worked hard to keep possession, the forwards scored when we needed them to, and defense worked hard for the shutout.”
East junior defender Ella Roumy: “I thought the team had a great game and I think this was one of our toughest games yet. We really showed up and deserved the result that we got. Like (assistant coach Paul) Lichter says ‘we don’t come all this way to lose’ and we can’t be looking at the next game. Instead, we need to focus on this present game because the next game doesn’t matter if you lose. In the end, we really played for each other and got the result we wanted.”
Senior captain and goalkeeper Aralynn Patterson: “I think the first 10 minutes were a bit shaky and Manheim’s intensity caught us off guard, but from there on out I think we did really well at controlling the game and forcing them to play how we wanted to. The back line looked amazing today. I think all five of us work very well with each other and have a lot of trust in one another. Addie, Cece, Paige, and Skylar made huge plays today and it makes life for a goalkeeper so much easier. The midfield and offense were great today too and (Manheim) just couldn’t keep up with them. You could tell that every single one of us on the field wanted that game and I’m excited to be able to stretch this run as far as we can.”
Up next: The Patriots will face District 7 runner-up Seneca Valley, a 2-1 winner over McDowell, in Saturday’s quarterfinals at a site and time to be announced.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2 1 – 2
MANHEIM TWP 0 0 – 0
#1-4 Central Bucks South 9, #4-1 Williamsport 0
It had been nine years since Central Bucks South last played in a state playoff game.
Tuesday night, the Titans scored one goal for every year they’d missed out on the final stage of the season with an emphatic performance far from home. It’s a roughly three-hour drive from CB South in Warrington to Balls Mills Soccer Club just outside Williamsport, and it didn’t seem to slow down the Titans one bit.
Riley Karpinski powered the offense with a hat trick as South rolled into the quarterfinals.
“The team came ready tonight to keep proving why we got this far,” Titans coach Dana Cole said.
Titans defender Alana Peev actually does have a tie to that last state team – her older sister Aleksa was a junior in 2016 when South advanced all the way to the PIAA title match. Like Aleksa, Alana is committed to continue playing at St. Joe’s next year but unlike her sister, who was a striker, Alana is a stopper at center back.
Tuesday night, Alana Peev and the back line made it a complete victory with a clean sheet.
“Our defensive shutout was due to our refuse to lose attitude led by Alana Peev, Peyton Mumm, Brooke Carrigan, Ella Parish, Liz Kelly and Olivia Creswick,” Cole said.
CB South won’t have to travel nearly as far for its next game, but this Titans group would probably sign up to play anywhere.
“I thought the team played extremely well tonight,” Karpinski, a senior co-captain and Virginia Tech recruit, said. “I found that we were connecting our passes well and capitalized on a lot of our offensive opportunities. It was definitely a great feeling to get our first state win. It’s very exciting and we are all looking forward to our next game.”
Scoring Summary
1st Half
CBS – Riley Karpinski assisted by Peyton Mumm
CBS – Riley Karpinski assisted by Monika Daly
CBS – Morgan Hughes assisted by Khloe Montini
CBS – Charlotte Manley
CBS – Monika Daly assisted by Brooke Carrigan
CBS – Khloe Montini assisted by Alana Peev
CBS – Tessa Hughes assisted by Monika Daly.
2nd Half
CBS – Riley Karpinski assisted by Ashley Snyder
CBS – Morgan Hughes assisted by Ali Tait
CB South coach Dana Cole on the win: “We worked the ball around with confidence and didn’t let the other team dictate how the game was played. We played our game and kept composed.”
–Offensive explosion: “Riley was determined to get her groove back, which she did. Our opportunities up top were generated by Riley, Khloe Montini and Ali Tait causing chaos and playing off any mistakes of the defense.”
–Midfield and wings carry play: “Our midfield of Tessa Hughes, Monika Daly, Maddie Roe controlled the middle to ensure we were using the whole field. Morgan Hughes, Charlotte Manley, Delaney Rowe, Ashley Snyder and Kelly Donnelly provided options outside and kept the ball wide for us throughout the game.”
Up next: The Titans will face District 11 champion Nazareth, a 3-2 winner over Lower Merion, in Saturday’s quarterfinals at a site and time to be announced.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 7 2 – 9
WILLIAMSPORT 0 0 – 0
#3-3 Central Dauphin 3, #1-1 Pennridge 0
Cece DeMoss was first, the senior goalkeeper sitting down in the middle of the goal with her thoughts after she and her teammates had seen their season come to a sudden and unexpected ending.
She wasn’t there by herself for too long. The Rams’ seniors and captains, then a few juniors and sophomores and soon after just about all of them were either sitting on the Helman Field turf around DeMoss or talking amongst themselves, stretching out their final moments together as a team.
Making the state playoffs is difficult, winning there is even more so, and an off night can easily mean an abrupt end to a great season.
“This group was incredible, I don’t want to say we punched above our weight, I want to say we came in and met our goals,” Pennridge coach Lucas Kriner said. “Winning the league title, winning the district, those are incredible accomplishments for this group. To have that end abruptly knowing we can navigate a tournament, knowing we can play championship soccer, it’s just really hard.”
Central Dauphin, which has put together quite a bit of success against SOL teams in the state playoffs over the last five years, got all of its offense from the duo of Cameron Ofak and Olivia Prinz. CD scored all three of its goals in the second half, capitalizing in transition especially after Pennridge had fallen behind and gambled a little more offensively looking to create chances.
In that first group of players to join DeMoss was junior Peyton Rabinowitz, one of the team’s three captains along with seniors Emma Shaeffer and Avery Runk. Rabinowitz lauded her fellow captains and the entire senior group
“These seniors are people I’ll never forget,” Rabinowitz said. “Playing with them this season has been unforgettable, and I feel like we proved a lot of people wrong. It’s just hard to end this way, we really wanted to keep going, so it’s bittersweet because we had such a great season and I’ll never forget any of these seniors.”
Scoring Summary
1st Half
No Scoring
2nd Half
CD – Cameron Ofak (Olivia Prinz)
CD – Cameron Ofak (Olivia Prinz)
CD – Olivia Prinz (Cameron Ofak)
Pennridge junior captain Peyton Rabinowitz on the season: “It’s pretty amazing, we proved so many people wrong. Doing that, winning districts and being first in the conference, I feel like in a couple weeks once the sadness of losing states goes away, we’ll look back and we’ll realize we gave it our all and we had an amazing season.”
—The team’s adaptability: “Our versatility is insane, I feel like every player that we put on the field can play at least one other position, if not multiple. It just makes me proud to see everyone can take on a role and play it to the best of their ability without complaining. Alan (O’Mara), our assistant coach, has a great quote ‘we over me’ and I really think we played we over me, it was always us as a team over ourselves as individuals.”
CENTRAL DAUPHIN 0 3 – 3
PENNRIDGE 0 0 – 0
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