By Alex Frazier
Meet…Cara DeolaCara Deola’s soccer career didn’t end quite the way she wanted.
For most of the season the Council Rock South girls were ranked No. 1 in the area. Last spring after finishing second in the district, the Golden Hawks went on to the state semifinals before being eliminated by eventual champion Hershey, 2-1 in overtime.
Expectations were high this year.
The Golden Hawks were rolling along, winning the district title, but then were tripped up by Conestoga, a team they dominated but couldn’t score against, and lost 1-0 in the first round of states.
“It was a big upset,” said Deola. “At the end of the game we were so frustrated we started to play their game instead of ours. We wanted to get to last year if not go further. We wanted to win states.”
A center midfielder, Deola is a three-year starter and a captain of this year’s team.
“She’s very personable, so the kids really follow her on and off the field,” said Council Rock South coach John Oberholtzer. “Whichever way she goes, they go.”
“Unlike some girls who switch teams often, she has been playing for FC Bucks most of her life.
“We were pretty good,” she said. “We won a lot of tournaments. We had a lot of different coaches come in and out of that team, but we all stayed and worked together and got through it.”
When she arrived at South, Deola opted to play lacrosse, but that experiment failed and she returned to soccer the next spring.
“I was on a really good club team, and I thought I wanted to switch it up a little bit because I still had club on the weekends,” she said. “I ended up coming back to soccer. I liked lacrosse, but my heart was telling me to go back to soccer.”
She also played field hockey in the fall for three years, but gave that up this year when soccer switched to the fall season.
“I really liked it,” she said. “It’s a lot different from soccer, but I was good at it.”
Although she played defense when she was young, most of her years she’s played center midfield.
“I got moved because I was better at scoring than defending,” she said.
“She controls the midfield,” said Oberholtzer. “Probably all the coaches would agree when Cara brings her ‘A’ game, we play very, very well.”
Oberholtzer uses Deola on all re-starts and corners.
“She hits the ball well,” said Oberholtzer. “She can place it pretty well. Her shot is not a weapon. It’s more of her passing.”
“I’m always on the ball for set pieces,” said Deola. “I have better placement than some people and know where to put the ball.”
Deola tallied 11 goals this year, including the winning penalty kick against C.B. West in the district semifinals.
With Alexa Crosier behind her, the Hawks were solid up the middle.
“She’s a very technical player,” said Oberholtzer. “She’s very good dribbling, taking on players, distributing the ball. Her ability to control the midfield when she’s playing her game is outstanding.”
Deola will continue playing soccer next year at West Chester. She chose that college for three reasons.
“One it’s close to home,” she said. “Two, they are really good at soccer, and it’s really good for my major.”
She plans on majoring in elementary school special education.
“I like to be with little kids a lot,” she said. “In middle school, I worked with the kids that had issues and disabilities. I like to help other people learn.”
Deola’s older sister has been a role model for her.
“She went into education in college,” said Deola. “When she was younger, she helped me with my schoolwork, and she really influenced me in soccer. When I was growing up, she was playing at a really high level. She actually won a state title her junior year, and I watched her go through that. I wanted the same experience she got.”
Another shootout? What a surprise! – By my calculations, in 30 district playoff games, six went to overtime and another six went to penalty kicks. There were also seven 1-0 games.
I know this is exciting stuff for soccer purists, but for lowly sportswriters like me, it gets to be pretty tedious stuff.
I know there have been efforts in the past to inject more scoring into the game. It doesn’t have to go as far as say lacrosse, but a few goals a game wouldn’t hurt spectator interest.
It’s hard enough to score a goal in soccer even though it’s the largest goal of any other sport, but when a team packs eight or 10 players in the box, you have to be a pool sharpshooter to thread a ball through that many bodies.
As long as scoring remains so difficult, the potential for ties, overtimes and shootouts will remain high.
Maybe it’s time to experiment again.
I realize FIFA would be appalled at the suggestions below, but here goes anyway.
Why not eliminate offsides? Wouldn’t it be exciting to see more 1v1s and breakaways? If a team tried to cherry pick, the other team would have to drop back defenders. There are no offsides in basketball, and that seems to work.
Think how much simpler it would be for officials.
And for overtimes take field hockey’s cue. Remove a player from the field every so many minutes, which would open up more scoring chances to make it less likely a game would finish with a shootout, that players and coaches alike abhor.
Maybe my ideas aren’t the best solution, but I think it’s time for discussion.
Another district tournament? Did you notice that six of the eight teams in the top half of the PIAA state bracket were from District One?
How could you not have?
Would it make any sense to at least split the teams between the top and lower half so that there isn’t a repeat of the district tournament?
I understand that it means more travel, but what’s the point of playing the same team two, three or four times in the same season?
If the seventh place team has to travel, why not two more?
But then again if teams have to travel too far, the PIAA won’t collect as many admissions.
Here’s another unique idea. Why not play games in the afternoon so that kids can get to bed at a decent hour?
Some district games that started at 7:00 or 8:00 didn’t finish until after 11:00 with buses not arriving back to school until near midnight. Start the games at 4:30 or 5:00, and chances are the kids won’t fall asleep in class the next day.
But then again maybe parents can’t get out of work early enough (read fewer gate receipts) to watch their kids play.
Top 5 SOL
1. Pennridge
2. Central Bucks West
3. Council Rock South
4. Central Bucks South
5. Council Rock North
Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Poll
(Through Sunday)
1. Archbishop Wood 19-1-0
2. Council Rock South 19-2-1
3. Central Bucks West 14-2-5
4. Pennridge 19-3-1
5. Downingtown East 15-4-0
6. Unionville 16-5-2
7. Central Bucks South 12-5-6
8. Conestoga 14-7-2
9. West Chester East 14-5-3
10. Strath Haven 16-6-0
Others: Owen J. Roberts, Boyertown, Avon Grove, Villa Maria, Conwell-Egan.
Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Poll
(Nov. 8)
1. Archbishop Wood (12)
2. Council Rock South (1)
3. Central Bucks West (1)
4. Downingtown East (1)
5. Pennridge (1)
6. Mt. Lebanon (7)
7. Peters Township (7)
8. Strath Haven (1)
9. Hollidaysburg (6)
10. Owen J. Roberts (1)
Honorable mention: Boyertown (1), Lansdale Catholic (1), State College (6), Strath Haven (1), West Chester East 91)
National Soccer Coaches Region 3 Poll
(Nov. 9)
1. Archbishop Wood 20-1-0
2. Mercyhurst Prep (Pa.) 17-0-3
3. Lenape (NJ) 20-1-2
4. Immaculate Heart (NJ) 13-1-1
5. Red Bank Catholic (NJ) 21-1-0
6. Pennington (NJ) 15-1-1
7. Ramapo (NJ) 19-1-2
8. Council Rock South 19-2-1
9. Pingry (NJ) 14-1-2
10. Pennridge 19-3-1
11. Peters Township (Pa.) 19-2-0
12. 12 Northern Highlands (NJ) 17-1-2
13. Central Bucks West 13-2-6
14. Norwin (Pa.) 18-4-0
15. Pine-Richland (Pa.) 18-3-0
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