CB West fell to Perkiomen Valley 6-5 in overtime but remains alive in its quest for a state berth in the District One 3A Tournament. (Photo provided courtesy of Sue Reichwein/CB West lacrosse)
#1-10 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 6, #1-4 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 5 (OT)
“We’re not done yet.”
That was the singular message on West’s sidelines after Saturday morning’s overtime loss to Perk Valley in a District One 3A quarterfinal game.
“Right when we came off the field, we said, ‘We’re not done yet,’ so we’re going to keep on going,” senior Maddie Maio said.
The Bucks have two more chances to earn their program’s first state berth in more than two decades. Seven of the eight remaining teams will advance to the PIAA 3A Tournament. The Bucks’ quest begins Tuesday when they host Owen J. Roberts – which fell to top-seeded Garnet Valley 10-7 – in a playback.
“We’re still in it,” coach Tara Schmucker said. “We just made it a little bit harder.
“We always go game by game. It doesn’t really matter what game we have next. It’s just a matter of preparing and getting ready for the next game, so hopefully, we just bring that mindset and keep up the intensity.”
The Vikings brought an end to the game in dramatic fashion when Kate Hickey turned a Riley McGettigan pass into a goal with 1:12 remaining in the first overtime. It is the second overtime of the season for the Bucks, who also fell to CB South in OT.
“We haven’t had a good overtime win, we haven’t had a good outcome,” senior Finley Ueland said. “We don’t want that to keep happening, so hopefully the next time when it comes close – because, of course, it’s going to come close in the next couple of games – we know what to do, and we know what kills us in this situation. I’m grateful that it happened now and not further into the (postseason).”
Saturday’s game was played in a steady rain that was torrential during a stretch in the first half, but the Bucks made the conditions seem irrelevant as they raced out of the gate to a 4-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game.
Ueland accounted for three of those goals – the first on a come-around goal just over a minute into the game. Then it was Dani Dundas finding the net and Ueland following with a goal 24 seconds later off the ensuing draw. The Bucks led 3-0 less than two minutes into the game.
Although no one could have possibly imagined it at the time, Ueland’s third goal – with 18:37 remaining in the half – would be the Bucks last for close to 25 minutes.
The Vikings won their first draw of the contest, and just 39 seconds after Ueland’s score, Kit Kelley found the net for the Vikings. It marked the beginning of 4-0 PV tear in a nine-minute span.
“The momentum went straight to them,” Ueland said. “They got the draws, they got down there and scored. They were really poised, which I respected a lot.
“They just came out and came back. It’s not easy after (we got) up 4-0 to come back that intense. I give them a lot of props for that. It was a shift from our momentum to their momentum. I don’t think we were down. It was just hard getting back into the draw when they were feeling so good.”
With six minutes remaining in the half, the Bucks forced a turnover and called a timeout. They maintained possession the remainder of the half but couldn’t find the net. PV goalie Lauren Foley stonewalled a Ueland shot at point blank range, and a West shot on a free position sailed well over the net, forcing the Bucks to settle for a 4-4 halftime time.
The Bucks went on top 5-4 when Dundas scored on a free position, and only a dazzling save of a shot that appeared to be a sure goal by Dundas kept West from adding to its lead.
With 8:15 remaining in regulation, the Vikings knotted the score on a textbook play that saw Kelley find Paige Tyson for the score. The Vikings won the ensuing draw and had possession for the duration of regulation, but the Bucks’ defense refused to give an inch, allowing only a soft shot in close that goalie Lauren Ring easily stopped.
“I thought that was one of the best defenses we’ve played,” senior Maddie Maio said. “We threw at them two different defenses, and I think we really came together with our communication and the slides and hedging and crashing in because we’ve been working on that during practices.
“I thought we came together despite the score at the end of the game. I’m honestly proud of the defense and everybody who played down there at any point just because it’s such a hard job and it’s underappreciated in a sense. It’s not all about scoring goals – sometimes it comes down to a defensive set.”
Kelley won the draw at the beginning of overtime, setting the stage for Hickey’s game winner.
“I think of we had gotten that draw control – we would have won in a second,” Ueland said.
Draws proved to be the difference in the game.
“It wasn’t like we weren’t there,” Schmucker said. “I think sometimes it was just a matter it was in our sticks and we just couldn’t come up with it.
“I think it was just a matter of who wanted it at that last second and who was able to come up with it.”
The Bucks’ coach went on to laud the play of her defense that included Maio, Dundas, Lucy Varner, Eva Altadonna, Casey Reichwein, Maddy McGarry and Abby Natoli .
“I think defensively we really showed up today as a unit,” Schmucker said. “Especially in the second half, it was definitely down on the defensive end for a long time, and they did a really good job. They held them out. I think it was a matter of eventually who got the draw control and who was able to put it in the back of the net.
“We couldn’t finish it on the attacking end. The attack – I think they did a good job too of executing some of the things we set out to do. Their goalie had some excellent saves. We just couldn’t finish it.”
After scoring four goals in the first seven minutes, the Bucks managed just one over the next 45.
“I don’t know,” Ueland said. “I’m going to say I think it was more us than their defense.
“Obviously, we’re playing in the same conditions as them. We were doing little dropsy things. We were making little mistakes, and I think that’s what really killed us. We have all the skills in the world to shoot all day, and I think we could have done that. I just think we weren’t on our best stick skills today.”
Perkiomen Valley 4-1-1 6
Central Bucks West 4-1-0 5
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