PW owns share of first title - Jessica Knudsen remembers her first days as a freshman on the Plymouth Whitemarsh girls’ soccer team.
They were -- to put it mildly -- a bit overwhelming.
"Freshman year was terrifying," Knudsen said with a laugh. "Especially with (coach Steve Slack). He used the intimidation factor, and it was basically him freaking us out and us working really, really hard. And then with us being thrown into high school on top of that, it was tough. But we were putting our feet in the water. It opened our eyes and the seasons just started progressing into the season we have now."
Four years later, Knudsen and her classmates are senior leaders. Victories are expected, not merely hoped for. And for the first time in team history, the Colonial girls soccer team is the American Conference champion, a title it shares with Upper Dublin after both teams posted identical 11-1 league records.
"I knew there was a nucleus coming up, and as freshmen, we put our trust in them," Slack said of the four-year starters -- Knudsen, Jennifer Lurty, Kerri-Anne Ciesielka, Alison Schoppe and Kelsey Plona. "All five of them started as freshmen, the team has grown around them, and they're enjoying their just rewards now."
It was a long but very successful progression for the senior class. In their first two years on the squad, Plymouth Whitemarsh finished in the middle of the pack in the American Conference. Last season, the Colonials came in second and made their first appearance in the district tournament.
This season, the seniors knew this team had the potential to achieve even more.
"We've been playing for four years," said Lurty, who scored two goals in the Colonials' title-clinching 4-0 win over Upper Merion in the last game of the regular season. "Our first year started off rough, but we were trying to redevelop the whole program. We made it to the playoffs for the first time last year but got knocked out in the first round, so we've been really trying to build and make it back again.
"When we beat Upper Dublin (1-0 on Sept. 13), I think that's when we really realized what we could do. It's the best way to go out senior year, it's what we've been working at for four years and it finally happened. I couldn't ask for a better season and it's an amazing feeling to do everything that I possibly could to help make it happen."
For Slack, though, it's boils down to something much more simple than a history-making season and a league title ... it's about seeing a dedicated class getting something back after all they've given to this program.
"This group of girls, they work so hard and they're so positive and such a nice group of girls," he said. "I'm over the moon for them. They're such nice kids, they've worked so hard and they have a passion for the game, so to see them get the rewards for their hard work just puts a smile on my face."
There's more work to be done, and hopefully more history to be made. The Colonials will return to the district tournament with a higher seed than last season's 28th slot (which resulted in a first-round loss to fifth-seeded Strath Haven).
They're looking to make it further this year ...
"We're going all the way, we're going all the way this year," Ciesielka said with a laugh, then added, "We want to go as far as we can this year. We want to make it further than we did last year, and we definitely have the talent to do it."
But the district tournament is still a few days away. Until it starts, the Colonials are just going to enjoy the fruits of their labor, made all the more sweet to the seniors who have worked four years to get to the level of success they've reached.
"I wanted to go out with a bang," Lurty said. "This was the best way possible."
"It's been four years of hard work and practices and breathing and living and eating soccer. It means everything to me," Knudsen said. "I just want to go give everyone a hug."
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Rams three-peat - Sometimes a loss is the best thing that can happen to a team.
When Pennridge lost to Hatboro-Horsham on a last-second goal in a Sept. 15 matchup, it helped the Rams open their eyes to something that was holding the team back. Because while there was an abundance of talent, the Rams had yet to develop the chemistry they needed if they wanted to claim their third consecutive Continental Conference title.
"We had some growing pains we went through when we started off," said Pennridge coach Jorge Rodriguez. "Taking nothing away from Hatboro, which is a very talented team and played a great game, the biggest obstacle we faced when we lost to Hatboro was having the players that were role players before, stepping up to the leadership roles we needed them in.
"I've been fortunate to have some really good teams, but I don't know that I've had as many weapons that this team has. But with that, you have to deal with personalities, with girls that are playing multiple positions, competing for minutes with other girls that are just as talented. It makes it very difficult to balance playing time. It takes time for the girls to realize, whoever is on the field, somebody is going to get the job done and everyone on the sidelines is pushing for those players. There was some rivalry in the beginning from players trying to get minutes. And when we stopped competing for minutes and we started competing against the other teams, I think that's why we finished that last stretch as successful as we did."
For the seniors, getting the entire team onto the same page became critical.
"We have so much talent, but at the beginning of the season we struggled a little bit with some attitudes," said Stevi Parker. "We had a lot of team talks, and it's all settled now and because of that we've become a lot stronger as a team. That's been really important. Without getting everybody focused on the same goal, there's no way we could have done as well as we did."
"Coming in as a freshman or new players on the team, it's scary, we've all been there," said senior goalkeeper Ashley Schoellkopf. "We like to include the freshmen and underclassmen in everything we do -- team dinners, sleepovers. If we include everyone, it's going to improve the team chemistry and that's going to help us on the field."
And it has. Since dropping that early season game to the Hatters, Pennridge has gone undefeated, rolling to a 17-1 overall record and a 13-1 league slate to claim its third straight league title.
Getting the team together mentally was crucial, Rodriguez said, because significant contributions from the new starters with expanded responsibilities as well as from younger players would be needed for the team to succeed.
"This year has been different from other years in that a lot more players are having an effect on the game," Rodriguez said. "Those top players draw so much attention that players like Sarah Wylie, Jackie Stevens, Shannon Chynoweth -- players that should be known but maybe don't get the recognition they deserve -- those players have stepped up so many times during games. Natalia (Pinkney) and Stevi have been very tough, but the other players have not been afraid to step up. And we have some role players, like Marissa Sheva, who's a freshman, have stepped up as well."
And just how important have those younger players been to the success of the team? Just ask those who've been around for four years.
"Without them, we wouldn't be where we are," Parker said. "Every game a player steps up big for us. We have a lot of young girls that are playing a lot older than they are."
With the regular season now in the rear-view mirror, the Rams turn their sights to the playoffs. Last season, the squad made it to the district finals, falling 1-0 to Central Bucks South, and advanced to the second round of the state tournament.
This season they are determined to improve upon that showing.
"We still have a lot we need to do to become the team that I think we all expect we can be," Schoellkopf said. "We want to make it as far as we can in districts and then go to states. I'm a senior, so I can see us going all the way. We have the skill and the record to back it up and really great team chemistry. I think we can go all the way, but as long as we play our best and give our best effort, I'll be happy with that."
"We still have bigger goals," Parker said. "I think in the very backs of our minds, we would like to win a state championship, but we're just focusing on districts right now. We just want to win the game that's up next. It was really important for me and I'm sure for the rest of the team and the seniors to do what we've done so far this season. We've really been coming together and it's really important to us that we continue to do well."
To prepare for the playoffs, the team will meet for 6 a.m. practices this week. To Rodriguez, that speaks volumes about the team's dedication ... not just to the sport, but to each other.
"I told the girls we're going to have 6 a.m. practices next week," Rodriguez said. "I asked, 'What do you guys think about that?' Every single one of them was excited about it. And that tells me that these girls are in it because they want to be around each other. For a group of girls to be excited to be at school at 6 a.m., I think there's more to it than just a game. It's about spending time together and supporting each other."
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