To view photos of the Central Bucks East/Mount game, visit the Photo Gallery.
And then there was one.
Wissahickon is the lone SOL team still alive in the hunt for the District One Class AAA title. The Trojans edged Council Rock North in one of Wednesday’s semifinals, and in the other, Mount St. Joseph Academy ended Central Bucks East’s dream of a district crown, downing the Patriots 2-0.
All four teams will advance to the PIAA Tournament.
The game with the highest stakes was Wednesday’s elimination game pitting top-seeded Central Bucks South against fifth-seeded North Penn. The defending district champions notched a thrilling 4-3 win, vaulting the Titans into the state tournament while the Maidens’ season came to an end.
#2 Wissahickon 1, #6 Council Rock North 0
Gretchen Guaglianone continued her streak of torrid post-season performances, this time connecting for the game winner with 21:49 remaining in the second half to give the Trojans the win and a spot in Saturday’s district final against the Mount.
“It’s very exciting,” coach Lucy Gil said.
The Trojans’ coach acknowledged that the Indians had the better of play in the early going.
“They came out really strong,” Gil said. “In the first 10 minutes of the game, we were kind of caught a little flat-footed. We just really needed to survive those first 10 minutes because I know from talking to other coaches that they’ve scored early and then played defense the rest of the game.
“We really couldn’t let that happen, so we survived their first onslaught and then came alive and put some pressure on them.”
Rock North coach Heather Whalin acknowledged that her team had a chance to seize early control of the game.
“We dominated play pretty much the first 10 minutes,” she said. “We got a corner under two minutes, but we couldn’t put one in. If we score first, we’re pretty good. We’re dangerous. It was frustrating.
“We were hungry. Since they beat us 2-0 and dominated us the first game we played them (in the season opener) – we hardly got over the 50, so I don’t think they were expecting us to be the way we were today.
“The game was very back and forth. It was even on corners and shots. They just scored that really funky goal.”
Guaglianone’s goal came after a Trojan free hit.
“She shot the ball, and it went off two sticks, hit the inside post and rolled in,” Whalin said. “It wasn’t a pretty goal. It was just really a funky goal that went up and over everyone’s head and hit the bottom of the inside post and rolled in.
“It was hard. The girls really wanted it, and they left everything on the field. They worked hard for this, so it is a little disappointing.”
According to Gil, the Trojans had to counter the Indians’ strategy to take center midfielder Lauren Becker out of the game.
“They were marking Lauren really, really tight,” the Trojans’ coach said. “They did not let her breathe, so we took a different tact and let Lauren take all the free hits.
“Gretchen Guaglianone and Jackie Hibbs – my two side midfielders – had to take up a lot where Lauren couldn’t really move, so they had to do most of it, and they did.”
Rock North goalie Amanda Krause turned away seven shots while Wissahickon’s Rina Lobell had four saves.
Rock North will face Central Bucks East in the third place game.
#4 Mount St. Joseph Academy 2, #8 Central Bucks East 0
The Mount’s Brooke Sabia scored a pair of goals – the first midway through the first half and the second with four minutes remaining. The Patriots never could find their offense against a stingy Magic defense.
“We had some trouble connecting,” coach Marie Meehan said. “When we ran our passing game, we did really well.
“They (the Magic) stepped up and took that out of our reach, and they did a really good job defensively. A lot of the game was played in the middle of the field.”
The Magic held a 19-5 advantage in shots but just a slim 10-7 edge in corners.
“We had opportunities in the circle,” Meehan said. “We had direct shots on corners that went just wide. We had some threatening situations, but we weren’t as connected as a unit as we have been.
“It was one of those days when we weren’t quite together. If we play connected, we’re fine, but we just weren’t quite as connected.”
East has already clinched a berth in the state tournament, but the players wanted more.
“You get this close, and you don’t want to see that slip away, but you get this far, and every team you play is going to be that much better,” Meehan said. “Mount has a solid tradition of playing in the playoffs. They have a lot of experience behind them, and our girls are younger and inexperienced.
“I hope they learned a lot today and will be prepared for (their) game against Council Rock North.”
#1 Central Bucks South 4, #5 North Penn 3
LOWER GWYNEDD – The final horn had barely sounded when Maddy Harding tossed her stick and ran into the outstretched arms of one of her teammates. Moments later, the senior midfielder was lost at the bottom of a jubilant pile-on.
It was a celebration befitting a district title.
“Pretty much it was,” senior Fran Ryan said. “If we lose, we’re done.
“It was almost more exciting that it was North Penn because North Penn is the team we’re even with the entire season.”
So it was easy to understand why Wednesday’s win over the Maidens at Wissahickon High School felt every bit as good as winning a district title for it kept the Titans’ season alive. A season that was in jeopardy after the defending district champions were upset by neighboring Central Bucks East 2-0 in last Friday’s quarterfinals.
“Looking at the picture that was in the paper last week after we lost – we decided that we never want to have that feeling again,” Harding said. “It was a picture of me and Casey McGowan sobbing on the ground.
“It was a really emotional day on Friday and just the complete opposite emotion today.”
In truth, the Titans have cried a whole lot over the past several days. And not because they were missing out on a chance to defend their district crown but rather because they knew that they might be spending their final days together as a team.
“We knew this was do or die today, and we didn’t have any doubts that we couldn’t do it,” Harding said. “But this whole week we were all emotional and trying to absorb everything in case this was the last game.
“I think we cried every day. We were running our sprints yesterday that we normally do at the end of practice, and Ford was saying things like, ‘I’m not sick of you yet. I’m not ready to not see your face every day,’ and we were crying and running at the same time.”
“I cried on the bus ride coming here,” Ryan said. “It seriously got us pumped up though because we were like, ‘We’re really not ready to get rid of each other. Not yet.’”
And the Titans have stayed alive for at least six more days for Wednesday’s win ensured South a spot in the state tournament.
“It’s been real emotional,” South coach Christina Ford said. “It took them a while to get over that East game. In practice, there has been this unspoken nerves and down feeling.
“The girls wanted it today and played with their hearts. It really came down to playing with their hearts, and they did a great job.”
The two SOL powers battled to 0-0 ties in both regular season meetings, and the idea that this would be more of the same went out the window when both teams scored a goal before four minutes had elapsed. By halftime it was 3-3, and this game will be remembered as one of the true classics.
“It’s hard to see the season end this way, but at the same time, it was just a good game of hockey,” Maiden coach Carrie Jankowski said. “It was much more exciting than our last two games because it was good hockey that actually resulted in scoring.
“Obviously, it’s awful to lose, and you don’t want your season to end, but it is ending on an awesome game. It’s not like it ended after the Mount game (a 2-1 quarterfinal loss) where we were frustrated with how we were playing. We ended playing a great game of hockey.”
It took just 90 seconds for South to get on the scoreboard when Kayla Kenney one-timed a perfect Jessie Accurso crossing pass, putting the Titans on top 1-0. On the Maidens’ first corner of the game, Emilie Ikeda converted the rebound of a goalie save into a goal, and it was a 1-1 game.
The Titans went on top 2-1 after Harding converted a penalty stroke at the 19:59 mark, and that lead held up for all of two minutes. This time it was Elizabeth Fedele turning Amy Coughlin’s insert pass into a goal on the Maidens’ third corner when she fired a rocket into the cage, knotting the score 2-2.
Coughlin put the Maidens on top 3-2 with a highlight reel goal, intercepting a pass and then scoring on a beautiful shot across goal with 15:31 remaining in the half. That lead held up for 10 minutes until Harding connected on a laser shot on a corner (Casey Haegele assist) to send the teams into halftime deadlocked 3-3.
“In the first half, I thought we were playing a little hesitant on defense and in our midfield,” Ford said. “They had too much time and too many passing opportunities in our defensive end.
“The second half we tried to fix that – we tried to step up more and deny the ball, and we were able to do that. Each goal was well earned, and it was just a battle back and forth.”
“It was exciting but nerveracking at the same time,” Ryan added. “North Penn is our biggest opponent – we tied them 0-0 twice. Who would have thought it would be a 3-3 game at the end of the first half?”
That torrid offensive production didn’t carry over into the second half, and it was Kenney connecting for what turned out to be the game winner, slamming home a shot from the top of the circle to put the Titans on top 4-3 with 18:09 remaining.
“I compliment Kayla’s shot – it was a rocket of a shot, but it was a poor play on our part,” Jankowski said. “That was the only time I could say there was an open ball that we didn’t go to and we didn’t capitalize on.”
The Maidens mounted some pressure in the closing minutes but could not draw a corner or generate any shots.
“This game – especially the last three minutes – I felt like it was on pause,” Harding said. “It was so long, but this was my favorite game to play so far.
“This is what athletes live for – games like this. It’s not how you’re doing or if you’re scoring – it’s how well your team is doing against the other best team. We both played our best games today.
“It was great defense on both sides, great offense on both sides.”
“It was a great game in general,” Ryan said.
The Maidens closed out the season with a 15-5-2 record.
“We didn’t win, but we’re ending the season on a good note,” Jankowski said. “It was a great game of hockey.”
The loss marked the end of the line for nine seniors on the Maidens’ roster.
“We were such a good team together,” senior Jen Ikeda said. “We were family, and just to see the family go their separate ways is kind of hard to move on from that because we wanted it so badly, and that makes it even worse.”
NOTES: The Maidens held a 4-3 edge in corners, but the Titans held an 11-10 advantage in shots. Maiden goalie Shannon Keen turned away six shots while South’s Lydia Keener stopped five.
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