On a day that rocked the field hockey world, defending district champion Central Bucks South – the tournament’s top seed – was stunned by Central Bucks East in a 2-0 loss in District One AAA quarterfinal action on Friday.
Wissahickon and Council Rock North will join the Patriots in Wednesday’s semifinals. The Trojans silenced Haverford 2-0 while Rock North edged third-seeded Owen J. Roberts 1-0.
The SOL’s fifth team in action – North Penn – fell to fourth-seeded Mount St. Joseph Academy 2-1.
While the Patriots will face the Mount in one district semifinal and Wissahickon will take on Rock North in the other, North Penn and Central Bucks South will do battle in a high stakes winner-moves-on and loser-goes-home contest.
Stay tuned!
#8 Central Bucks East 2, #1 Central Bucks South 0
If there were any doubters that the Patriots are the real deal, those doubts should be forever erased after East’s upset win over neighboring South.
“It’s definitely a huge win,” coach Marie Meehan. “Our girls are a really special group. They set their goals in August, and they’ve reached all of their goals.
“They wanted to win certain games, they wanted to get to districts, and they wanted to get to states. They’re a very, very focused group, and it’s not just the seniors – it’s the entire team.”
The two teams were deadlocked 0-0 at the intermission. Statistically, it was an evenly played first half with the Titans holding a 4-2 edge in corners while both teams had four shots.
Things changed rather quickly when the Patriots converted a corner into a goal at the 23:20 mark of the second half. It was Melissa Remmey connecting for a goal that turned out to be the game winner, using an assist from Emily Vasey.
The Titans called a timeout to regroup, and the Patriots used that opportunity to change their strategy as well.“We went defensive at that point,” Meehan said. “We dropped everyone. We had less offense going, but we still scored.”
The Patriots scored on a breakaway with Carolyn Remmey turning a Jamie Schlotterback pass into a goal.
In the second half, the Titans held a decided advantage in shots (15-3) and corners (7-3). East goalie Emily Guthier had 10 saves, and the Patriots’ defense comprised of Tori Kane, Megan Starner, Sarah Kutz, Melissa Remmey and Maggie Gonsiewski was impenetrable.
“They had some nice shots on corners that Emily stopped,” Meehan said. “We have five seniors on defense, and they were just relentless and cleared strong.
“We stopped that fast break they had out to Colleen (Kempf), and that’s really the story.”
The win not only vaulted the Patriots into the district semifinals, it also ensured them a coveted spot in the state tournament.
“We take one game at a time, as cliché as that sounds,” Meehan said. “We really try to focus on certain skills for certain games and certain strategies for certain games.
“This was our third time playing South. Everyone understood what they needed to do, and the girls ran their game plan today. They played their hearts out. They fed off each other’s energy. It wasn’t one person - it was everyone doing their job. In field hockey, it’s hard to stop that.”
East will face the Mount in a semifinal game on Wednesday at North Penn High School.
#4 Mount St. Joseph Academy 2, #5 North Penn 1
The Maidens season will continue despite Friday’s loss to the Magic, but that didn’t soften the blow of a loss both players and coaches believe shouldn’t have happened.
“I don’t want to play like that ever again,” senior captain Elizabeth Fedele said of her team’s performance. “It’s very disappointing to not come out of this with a win.
“We just weren’t putting the ball in the cage. We’re working and working to get the ball into the circle. It’s just a mental thing we need to get by.”
The Maidens had the better of play in the first half, drawing five corners to the Magic’s three, but things changed in a hurry in the second half.
The Magic converted their first corner of the half into a goal when Allie Sabia pounced on a ball on the goalie’s pads and put it in the cage at the 25:59 mark. The Maidens had a chance to knot the score, but a goal line save by defender Lauren Pacheco preserved the shutout.
Moments later, the Magic capitalized on their second corner of the half when Brooke Sabia turned the insert pass from twin sister Allie into a goal, putting the Mount on top 2-0.Making the second goal more difficult to swallow was the fact that the corner was called on a Maiden foul outside the circle.
“There has to be some intention or level of flagrancy,” coach Carrie Jankowski said. “(The ref) said she tackled from behind. I would have been fine with it if she had warned her.
“That resulted in their second goal, so it really does change the complexion of the game. With that said, you still have to defend the corner and not let them score.”
The Maidens finally got on the scoreboard when they hit pay dirt on their third corner of the half. Juliamae Marger – with the Mount goalie down – deflected Fedele’s corner shot into the cage with 5:52 remaining.
That would close out the scoring for both teams.
“We got a goal, but there wasn’t enough time left,” Fedele said. “We just didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.
“It’s unacceptable to have the ball on the goal line and not put it in. We need to want it more. We need to have that drive and that hunger to put the ball in the cage.”
North Penn will face CB South in an elimination game on Wednesday at Wissahickon.
#2 Wissahickon 2, #7 Haverford 0
Lauren Becker (Gretchen Guaglianone assist) scored at the 25:01 mark of the first half to send the Trojans into intermission with a 1-0 lead. Jackie Hibbs (Guaglianone assist) added an insurance goal with 10:38 remaining.
“We dominated play for the most part – our passing has gotten so much better,” coach Lucy Gil said. “They did get a few fast breaks.
“I think they were on a high – they had won 11 straight, and I think that carried them through some of their games.”
Trojan goalie Vanessa Fry was forced to make just two saves in the shutout while her counterpart, Lindsay Baker, turned away eight shots.
The Trojans will face Rock North in a semifinal game at Central Bucks West on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
#5 Council Rock North 1, #3 Owen J. Roberts 0
The Indians can let out a sigh of relief after surviving Friday’s district quarterfinal game against the Wildcats.
“They had the ball in our end the entire time,” coach Heather Whalin said. “They had 14 corners to our three - which were in a row. They had between 16 and 20 shots on goal, and we had two.”
The Indians made one of those two shots count when senior Becky Ely (Michelle Hand assist) scored with 6:45 remaining during corner play on Rock North’s third and final corner. To that point, the Indians had not managed a corner, and they had just one shot.
The story of the game for Rock North was the stellar performance of its defense – Kara Magley, Kara Le, Courtney Titus and Jacque Fagan – as well as goalie Amanda Krause. The Indians’ senior goalie turned away 13 shots in a superb outing.
“They all played an amazing game,” Whalin said. “Our corner defense – they could not get a shot off because Kara Magley disrupted every single corner they tried to do. They were phenomenal.
“At halftime, after they were literally down our throats the entire game, the girls were like, ‘We can do this.’ They just have this confidence in themselves, and they know if they work as a team they can get it done. It still hasn’t hit me really. It was like a dream.
“When time ran out, we just looked at each other like, ‘Oh my god.’ The kids just went ballistic at end of the game.”
The win ensured the Indians a berth in the state tournament.
“No one expected this from us after losing six girls,” Whalin said. “We expected to be competitive in the league. We were hoping we could win it, and then let’s see what we can do. Now everything is just icing on the cake.”
The Indians will face Wissahickon in Wednesday’s district semifinal at Central Bucks West.
- Log in to post comments
0
