Only two of nine SOL teams in action on Monday were winners. To view action photos of the North Penn/CR South, Norristown/Mount and PW/Spring-Ford games, visit the Photo Gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
It was an unexpectedly rough day for the SOL when the District One AAA Tournament got underway on Monday. Seven out of nine teams were sent home for the season. The two teams that advanced – North Penn and Central Bucks East - were in games featuring a pair of SOL squads.
It doesn’t get much rougher than that.
The PAC-10, meanwhile, reigned supreme with all four of its teams in action advancing to Wednesday’s second round. The Ches-Mont also saw four of its teams advance, and the Central League has a pair of teams in Wednesday’s second round while Mount St. Joseph Academy will represent the Catholic Academies League.
The biggest upset victims were eighth-seeded Souderton and ninth-seeded Upper Dublin with the Indians falling to the tournament’s 25th seed – Radnor – and the Flying Cardinals victimized by 24th-seeded Central Bucks East.
Central Bucks South, Council Rock North and Wissahickon had first round byes.
#25 RADNOR 3, #8 SOUDERTON 1
The Indians had plenty of opportunities to seize control of Monday’s district opener, but they could not convert those opportunities into goals.
The result? A season-ending loss that not only marked the end of the season for the Big Red but also the 20-year stint at the helm for Mary Ann Harris. It was not an ending either Harris or her players could have imagined.
“It was disappointing to not only lose to Radnor but to lose with so many shots and chances,” Harris said. “I told them, ‘I think you should be disappointed because we had a lot of chances to win.’
“Radnor played well. The few times they got down in our end, they were threatening. They didn’t get down there much, but they were dangerous when they did. They stepped up on us when we should have been stepping up on them.”
Things certainly looked promising when Rachel Valentine (Cait Wetzler assist) put the Indians on the scoreboard six minutes into the opening half, but despite the Indians’ dominance, Radnor had rallied to knot the score by halftime.
Three minutes into the second half, Radnor took a lead it would not lose. Eight minutes later, Radnor upped its lead to 3-1. The Indians never could solve the mystery of goalie Mandi Shutt and the Radnor defense. Shutt finished the day with 17 saves.
“I have to give it to them – they really played good defense in the circle,” Harris said. “When you have 16 corners and 21 shots and they have three corners and eight shots and you don’t win the game…”
Harris didn’t finish the sentence. The veteran coach didn’t have to. It had been that kind of day for the Indians.
“I was expecting a good game,” Harris said. “They had nothing to lose.
“We didn’t stop the ball – we were deflecting balls. We have played so much better. They were aggressive on offense, and our defense was not very good.”
The Indians closed out the season with a 14-5 mark.
#24 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 4, #9 UPPER DUBLIN 3 (OT)
In one of the day’s most dramatic finishes, junior Marissa Glatt scored the game winner on a breakaway with 12:13 remaining in the first overtime.
“Oh my gosh, it was so great,” junior Emily Vasey said. “It was so great. Everyone just sprinted up to her and gave her a big hug. It was so exciting.”
Vasey contributed a pair of goals and an assist while Emily Guthier turned away 18 shots on goal in a stellar effort in the cage as East’s two Emilys proved to be the difference makers in the game.
“This was an awesome win for us,” Vasey said. “It’s unbelievable – I don’t know how to describe it.
“It was a close game, and they made us played harder. We played with a lot of heart, and it definitely showed.”
Marie Meehan – whose team led 2-0 only to watch Upper Dublin rally to go on top 3-2 - described Monday’s game as a microcosm of her team’s season, but this time, the Patriots found a way to win when it mattered most.
“This game was like the story of our season,” the Patriots’ coach said. “We have a lovely team that works well together. We lost a lot of our games by one goal – we would score early, but we would end up losing the game by one goal.
“That’s basically the cycle we were in, but it came full circle today. Luckily, they were resilient enough and finished with the victory in overtime. It was a picture perfect capsule of our season.”
It was Vasey (Liz Thiroway assist) spotting the Patriots a 1-0 lead when she scored during corner play with 9:05 remaining in the first half. The Patriots took that lead into the intermission.
“We actually dominated play in the first half,” Upper Dublin coach Heather Boyer said. “Their goalie had an outstanding game. She made some unbelievable saves, so tip your hat to their keeper. We had some great lifts on goal, but she turned everything away.”
A wild second half began innocently enough when Sarah Thiroway (Vasey assist) scored at the 20:59 mark during corner play.
“They had a series where they had a corner and then another corner and another corner,” Boyer said. “I honestly don’t know how many it was, and my corner team was exhausted.”
East’s 2-0 lead was anything but secure as the Flying Cardinals – after a timeout - responded with three unanswered goals in a deadly seven-minute stretch.
First it was Emily Hitchings converting a penalty stroke, and then it was Sam Boyd (Hitchings assist) connecting. Another Hitchings goal, this with a Boyd assist, put the Flying Cardinals on top 3-2 with 11:23 remaining.
Vasey scored the equalizer for the Patriots with 8:51 remaining in regulation, setting the stage for OT.
“That goal was one-on-one,” Meehan said. “She just went through two defenders and went in and scored. It was beautiful. Emily was unbelievable today.
“One of the things the girls did was respond well to direction. Upper Dublin is such a skilled team. They kept drawing the ball back into the middle and attacking right down the middle. We asked our girls to spread the width of the field and then go forward. They did that, and I think that allowed us to get some attack because they were just really pressuring us.”
The Flying Cardinals held a 17-9 advantage in corners and a 20-11 edge in shots.
“It was definitely one of our goals to keep their team from scoring, but since it happened, we just wanted to get it back,” Vasey said. “We didn’t want our season to end on a bad note.
“This meant a lot to us. It was a great win. It shows we can do anything if we set our mind to it– work together, communicate and all those things our coaches have been telling us the whole year.”
The Flying Cardinals closed out the year with a 12-6-1 record.
“I knew they were going to be well coached,” Boyer said of the Patriots. “I knew they would be very aggressive. I didn’t think they would score four goals on us, but with 17 corners, I would have expected to have more goals. Their goalie had an outstanding game.”
The Patriots will host Radnor in a second round game on Wednesday.
#16 NORTH PENN 3, #17 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0
The stage has been set for another classic Continental Conference showdown – the Maidens saw to that with their win over the Golden Hawks in Monday’s opening round.
As a result of their win, the Maidens have earned a date with archrival Central Bucks South. The conference champions – who boast a pair of regular season wins over the Maidens – sent North Penn packing in an elimination game in last year’s district tournament. The loser of Wednesday’s game will also go home for the season.
“It’s a little nerveracking because of our past with CB South, but at the same time it’s exciting because it would be the ultimate win to beat them,” Maiden captain Emilie Ikeda said. “They have always been our biggest rival – that’s a team we do a blackout for. It will be great.”
Ikeda helped set up a pair of goals in Monday’s win, including the game winner by Juliamae Marger with 11 seconds remaining in the first half to break a scoreless tie. It came during play on the Maidens’ sixth and final corner of the first half. Ikeda fired a shot that was turned away by goalie Kelly Schlupp, but Marger was there for the rebound.
“That was big,” said Maiden senior Bobby Dougherty, who added a pair of second-half goals. “It felt really good and helped get our momentum.”
In truth, the Maidens had most of the momentum in the first half, although the Golden Hawks created a pair of threats, the first early in the half when Brittney Tomlinson – who found herself ahead of the defense – fired a shot that went just wide of the cage. Later in the half, Kiera McGovern and Alexis Carroll appeared to be heading toward goal on a textbook two-on-one breakaway only to see the ball cross the end line.
The Golden Hawks drew a pair of corners – their first of the game – in the opening minute of the second half, but the Maidens’ defense and goalie Shannon Keen were equal to the task.
The Maidens hit pay dirt on their first corner of the second half, and again, Ikeda got things started, sending a shot toward the left post that was deflected into the cage by Dougherty.
Maiden co-coach Jankowski began calling Ikeda’s number on corners after watching her team generate very little offense on its first four corners of the game.
“She’s guaranteed to give you a good chance every time,” Jankowski said of Ikeda. “Michelle (Holweger) and Juliamae (Marger’s) shots are harder – they’re the Ryan Howards, if you will, but Emilie will always put it on cage.”
A goal by Dougherty (Holweger assist) with 2:41 remaining closed out the scoring.
The Golden Hawks – despite four second half corners – never could get their offense untracked.
“Unfortunately today, I don’t think we came out as hard as we could have,” Rock South coach Lisa Belz said. “I don’t think anyone had a bad game per se. I just don’t think we played together as a team, and I think they did.
“I thought they outplayed us. They are very good, they had quick passes, they made quick decisions, and we couldn’t adjust quickly enough. We did not play to the level we’re capable of, and unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do.”
Rock South closed out its season with a 12-7 record.
#18 SPRING-FORD 4, #15 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 3
Marianne Paparone knew her team should be able to score goals against a Ram squad that had allowed 35 goals this season. She was right on that count, but she didn’t foresee her team’s problems trying to contain sophomores Gabby Majors and Alyssa Chillano, both of whom are on the U-16 National squad.
“They killed us,” Paparone said. “These two kids are good, they’re tough and they take command of the situation.
“They definitely are a good team. They have a very good attack and good middies. They put (Chillano), who normally plays center mid, on defense, and she just carried the ball a lot. My kids were not patient. They would fly at her, and she would carry from the 16 to 16.”
The Rams won a wild game when Chilano scored a goal with seven seconds showing on the clock during corner play. Originally, both game officials waved the goal off but – after calling a timeout and conferring – ruled it was a goal. Making the goal even more controversial was the play that set up the corner.
“There was a foul called at the 50, and the girl was at the 35 by the time (the official) stopped play,” Paparone said. “That’s a big difference when you’re recovering defensively. The next thing you know they call a corner.”
Despite dominating play, the Rams led by just a 1-0 count at the intermission.
“(Spring-Ford) had a bunch of corners in the first half – nine corners, which is the most we’ve given up all season, so they were legitimately coming at us.
“My attack was hiding a little bit. We would clear the ball, and (Spring-Ford) would send it right back in.”
Midway through the second half, the Rams upped that lead to 2-0, and with her team’s back firmly against the wall, Paparone moved Rachel Konowal – PW’s top attacker who was playing defense in the absence of a regular - from the defensive end of the field to the attack. She provided an immediate spark, assisting on a Meg McCullough goal to make it a 2-1 game with 9:36 remaining in regulation. Konowal also helped set up the equalizer by Molly Getzfread goal at the 6:35 mark.
The Rams took a 3-2 lead with 3:45 showing on the clock only to watch PW’s Bryn Frankhouser knot things up 3-3, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
“They’re a good team, and the PAC-10 is having a good year,” Paparone said. “Those two girls were the difference in the game.”
The Colonials closed out the year with a 13-6 record.
#20 METHACTON 4, #13 WILLIAM TENNENT 1
Don’t be fooled by the final score – the Panthers and Warriors were deadlocked 1-1 until the Warriors scored midway through the second half and then added a pair of late goals, the last one with two seconds showing on the game clock.
“There were moments we let down, there were moments we didn’t recover, and Methacton just capitalized,” coach Kaitlyn Rauchut said. “As a team, the girls came out and worked their hardest. I couldn’t ask for anything else. It was a close game. The 4-1 isn’t a reflection of the game at all.”
The Warriors scored a goal in the opening minute of the game, but the Panthers got that back when Brittany Mitchell connected. It would be the first and last goal of the night for the Panthers, who closed out a successful season with an 11-5-1 mark.
“We had so much growth,” said Rauchut, who took over the helm when job responsibilities forced Kate Wyatt to step down during the preseason. “Overall, the biggest word is growth.
“My seniors – I’m losing eight outstanding athletes, and they’re just amazing people. This year the girls were truly a family, and they accomplished so much.”
#7 MOUNT ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY 2, #26 NORRISTOWN 0
Stacie Staufenburg had just one wish after Monday’s season-ending loss to the Mount.
“Five more minutes,” the Eagles’ coach said. “We needed five more minutes. We were slowly getting it together.”
As for those who were impressed that the Eagles kept it close against a highly regarded Mount squad, Staufenburg had a message.
“I wish they were saying, ‘Wow, they beat them. They upset them,’” the Eagles’ coach said. “My team is capable of doing that, but we just missed.
“I know the potential of my team, and I think with what was in front of us, we could have done more.”
One player who probably couldn’t have done more was senior goalie Ellie Gilette, who turned away 23 shots in a glittering performance.
“She’s a very consistent goalie, and she did have a good game for us,” Staufenberg said. “We had two shots on goal, and those kind of numbers don’t win games.”
The Eagles may have lost, but they raised the bar for future squads by earning their program’s first trip to the district tournament.
The Eagles closed out the year with a 7-8-1 mark.
#7 CONESTOGA 5, #26 PENNSBURY
The Pioneers opened up a 3-1 halftime lead over the Falcons and never looked back. Allie Brady and Paige Bayer accounted for Pennsbury's goals.
"I thought we played well, but with anything, there are always things we can do better," coach Jamie Parell said. "Our defensive corners hurt us, and that's the only way Conestoga scored. I believe if we minimized those, we may have won.
"The most important thing is that they didn't give up - they kept coming back and came from behind to close the gap. Ultimately, we still lost, however, I told them to keep their heads high and be proud of what they accomplished."
The Falcons closed out the season with a 7-9-2 record.
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