A brief recap of Wissahickon’s win over Radnor is below the game story. To view game action photos, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
DOYLESTOWN –Liz Lewallen was making the long trek across the turf at War Memorial Field when a groundswell of applause broke out from the parents and fans who lined the fence.
Suddenly, a woman wearing a Phillies jersey burst from the pack of fans and ran onto the field where she embraced the Central Bucks South goalie. The poignant scene between mother and daughter was just about the perfect ending to a perfect day for Lewallen and her Titan teammates.
Moments earlier, it was Lewellan – the Titans’ senior goalie – standing tall and turning away a penalty stroke that allowed the Titans to extend Friday’s District One Class AAA Tournament quarterfinal game against Pennsbury into overtime where they notched a dramatic 2-1 win. “Oh my god, this means so much,” Lewallen said. “I’m so happy.”
Friday’s big win will be remembered for many reasons.
Fans will remember that Kelly Hamilton was at the right place at the right time to redirect Sarah Hughes’ corner shot into the cage to give the Titans the scintillating win.
They’ll remember how the Falcons tied the game on a clutch goal by Hughes with just two minutes remaining in regulation.
But the moment they’ll remember most is the one that defined Friday’s game.
It came with 52 seconds remaining in regulation when - with the score knotted at 1-1 – Lewallen made a dazzling stick save of Melinda Feyko’s penalty stroke that preserved the tie and sent the game into overtime.
“I was so nervous,” Lewallen said. “That’s never happened to me before in a game.
“We usually practice them at the end of practice and during warm-ups, but I have never taken a stroke. I was so nervous.”
Lewallen may have been nervous, but she certainly didn’t look it as she made the huge stop of a shot to her right.
“I tried to read her stick – where I thought she was going,” Lewallen said. “Usually they go high to my right, so I just figured she would go there. That’s where Maddy (Harding) always goes, so I just go by Maddy. I guessed right.”
The senior goalie wasn’t the only one who was nervous.
“Oh my gosh, we were all praying to ourselves,” Hughes. “When we saw it – oh my god…”
The players converged around Lewallen for a brief but jubilant celebration and then – after playing out the game’s final seconds – prepared themselves for overtime.
“After that save on the stroke, no way were we going to walk away from that overtime losing, no way,” South coach Christina Ford said. “That’s the greatest gift and work by a goalie that I could possibly ask for. “There was a minute left in the game, and that would have been really hard to come back from. She made a huge save of that stroke, just huge.”
Buoyed by Lewallen’s big stop, the Titans came out and dominated overtime, peppering shots at Falcon goalie Caty Ritchie. The senior goalie, who was brilliant all day, came up with four huge saves, but when the Titans were awarded a corner, the numbers tipped in the Titans’ favor, and they capitalized.
With 9:21 on the game clock, Hamilton, who was on the post, deflected a strong shot by Hughes into the cage, setting off an emotional celebration.
The win not only ensured the Titans a berth in Wednesday’s district semifinal, they also guaranteed themselves a berth in the PIAA Class AAA Tournament.
“It’s amazing,” Hughes said. “We’re going to states. That’s any team’s dream.”
The game actually would have been over a whole lot sooner had it not been for the 15-save effort of Ritchie, who had several impressive tackle saves and a glittering split kick save of a rocket by Harding on a corner.
“She played out of her mind,” Pennsbury coach Brooke Bergmann said. “She’s had a great season, so I wasn’t surprised. She was turning (shots) away left and right, and in the second half, we got on our heels - it’s hard to do that for 30 straight minutes.
“We had to play a lot of defense, and we played good defense. We had one breakdown, and they capitalized on it, and that’s what good teams do. I give them all the credit in the world for that.”
Ritchie took little consolation from the fact that she’d more than done her part to keep the Falcons in it.“It was a real bummer,” the senior goalie said. “Thankfully, we made it this far, and our season isn’t over. I know I want my season to go on.
“We played a great game. I’m upset because we lost, not because of how we played. We left everything on the field.”
A look back at regulation would show that it was the Falcons getting on the scoreboard at the 9:09 mark of the opening half on their second corner of the game when Nikki Cuthbert’s shot from the top of the circle was deflected into the cage by Feyko.
The Titans still trailed 1-0 at the intermission, but according to Hughes, they felt confident they could and would come back.
“Coach reminded us that we’re a great team,” she said. “She’s always positive and never puts us down.
“Once we have that little positive feedback, we just want to get it done.”
The Titans certainly had their opportunities, but Ritchie and the Falcons’ defense were impenetrable, and with 7:08 remaining on the scoreboard clock, Ford called a timeout.
“When I called the timeout, I said, ‘Where have we been playing this whole half – you’ve been dominating. I believe in you. You believe in yourself. You have to do it right now. Who wants to tie this game up?’” the Titans’ coach said. “When you’re down here the whole half, it’s a killer to walk away empty-handed.”
The Titans continued to pressure but could not convert until – on a bang-bang play with two minutes remaining - Hughes turned a Harding free hit into the circle into a goal, knotting the score.
“I was surprised,” Hughes said. “I saw the ball coming right at me, and I was like, ‘Don’t hit my feet.’ I looked back, and everyone was screaming. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that just happened.’”
Then came the penalty stroke and Lewallen’s big save and the riveting overtime. When it was over, the Titans’ sideline was a sea of emotion.
“I tend to be a very passionate, competitive type coach, and I just wanted to let them live in that moment,” Ford said. “From the beginning, I had no doubts about this team.
“I know the type of players we have on this team, and I believed in them from the beginning. They believe in themselves now. It’s huge. Going back to states is awesome. No one would have thought we would have done this.”The Titans will face an undefeated Great Valley squad in Wednesday’s semifinal.
“Just to follow up on what we did last year is a huge step,” Hughes said. “We lost five great seniors, and for us to step up and really go this far is unbelievable.”
The Falcons still have an opportunity to earn a state berth when they play Mount St. Joe’s in a consolation game on Wednesday.
“We have to look ahead right now,” Bergmann said. “There’s nothing we can do about today but learn from it and take it to our next game.”
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2, PENNSBURY 1 (OT)
Pennsbury 1 0 0-1
Central Bucks South 0 1 1-2
Goals/Assists: Pennsbury – Melinda Feyko 1-0, Nikki Cuthbert (0-1). CB South – Sarah Hughes 1-1, Kelly Hamilton 1-0, Maddy Harding 0-1.
Shots: P-6, CBS-19
Corners: P-3, CBS-8.
Saves: Caty Ritchie (P) 15, Liz Lewallen (CBS) 5.
Wissahickon (1) 2, Radnor (8) 1 (OT)
Alyssa Tourdot continued what is rapidly becoming a post-season tear, following her game winner in Wednesday’s overtime win over Council Rock South with a pair of goals in the Trojans’ emotional win over the Red Raiders.
It was Tourdot (Lauren Becker assist) scoring the game winner with 10:03 remaining in the first overtime period.
Interestingly, Friday’s win represented the first time this season the Trojans have had to come from behind for a win. They fell behind after the Red Raiders scored a goal midway through the first half, but they evened the score after a goal by Tourdot (Becker assist) at the six-minute mark of the opening half.
“I was really worried to see what they would do,” coach Lucy Gil said. “That was something that was new for them.
“I really didn’t know how they would respond (to falling behind), but they came right back. They actually had a goal taken away because the ref said it was dangerous.”
The Trojans will face Owen J. Roberts – a 2-1 winner over the Mount – in Wednesday’s semifinal round.
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