Neshaminy edged CB East in an all-SOL District 1 4A final on Saturday at Spring-Ford High School. Andrew Robinson recaps all the action. Photos provided courtesy of Neshaminy School District.
District 1 4A final
No. 5 Neshaminy 3, No. 14 Central Bucks East 2
There was still time left.
It was a thought, among others, running through Gwyn Krystkiewicz's head as the Central Bucks East senior saw the ball come off the head of Mikayla Gray and right into her path. Somehow, she processed all of that in a matter of
seconds and hit a one-time ball in to seemingly save her team.
It was the thought that Kylie Maxwell had as soon as the ball came off Krystkiewicz's foot and into the goal to tie the District 1 4A title game 2-2 with a minute left. All the Neshaminy super sophomore needed was one good ball hit her way.
There was still time left.
Maxwell got the ball she so coveted, playing one final cross in front of goal that Aidyn Tierney was able to convert for the go-ahead strike just 14 seconds after East's equalizer.
"I wanted to get the ball all the way through, I wanted to be up the field," Maxwell said. "I hit it across, and Aydan Tierney hit it right in, it was beautiful. I was a little concerned because there was only a minute left, but once that ball got all the way through and I was able to sprint to the ball, I knew we were going to get that in and once the ball got into the six, I knew we were going to win."
Neshaminy did win, lifting its first district title trophy since 2017 after a staggering finish that saw both teams deliver haymakers in a thrilling final 10:22 of regulation. It wasn't just the fact that both teams crammed four goals into that window, it was the way each counter-punched almost off the tap.
"My heart dropped when they scored, but I knew there was still time," Neshaminy co-captain Carly Fox said. "There wasn't a lot of time, but I knew we had it. We went straight to the net."
Kylie Maxwell and her twin sister Taylor, a defender, entrenched themselves as starters for Neshaminy last fall. An almost unfair blend of skill and speed, Kylie Maxwell jumped out as a scoring threat early last season and has only elevated her play this year despite carrying the extra eyes that are always turn to a scoring threat.
It was something Maxwell and Neshaminy coach Josh Van Reed talked about early in the season. Teams were going to put a target on the forward, and it was up to her to find a way to respond, if she could play off the ball or use that attention as a lure then find someone else to score.
Saturday, Maxwell had a goal and assisted two others in helping the Redskins collect their 21st win of the fall - same as her uniform number.
"To have a weapon like that on your team with that pace who can score goals on her own, who can score goals off of assists, it's special," Van Reed
said. "To add to her game, it's that playing off the ball and creating goals for other people and she's done that this year, a lot. She has two assists today, has a goal today, having someone like that on your team who can produce in big moments and the team can rely on, we're not out of this because we have someone like Kylie.
"Having Kylie they can look to, pass to or work off of, she's on another level right now. She's playing great."
While Maxwell's exploits this postseason - the second round hat-trick, the quarterfinal overtime game-winner, the shootout make against Conestoga - have been heralded, there's another sophomore on Neshaminy who has been equally influential.
By nature, the holding midfielder is not a particularly glorious role. The numerous turf burns up and down Abby Collins' legs on Saturday confirm that, but they are wounds the sophomore wears as badges of honor.
Hard-nosed, rugged and tough, Collins has cut down a lot of threats before they even get to the back line and faced one of her toughest tasks of the season on Saturday trying to mark East senior Elliot Forney.
"She's a very good player with a lot of moves so from our last game, I was just trying to read where she was going, but it was hard job and we all had to work together," Collins said. "Whenever Elliot went backward, I knew I was doing well. Any time she turns, it's dangerous because she can come and shoot so if I made her go back, it helped us."
Collins' equalizer, and the source of a few of those gnarly turf wounds, is the slide tackle. It's a risk-reward move with even a half-second the difference between taking the ball off the opponent's foot or taking them down for a foul.
"She's very difficult to get past, she works very hard and she's able to slide tackle very well, she uses that as a great tool," Van Reed said. "She must have had seven or eight great, clean tackles. She doesn't get a lot of credit for the amount of work she does, it's so much defensive work that forces the other team to go backward and stop their advance."
It seemed like Collins' work might have been rewarded with a goal from the midfield in the second half, but her strike was called back due to a pair of Neshaminy players being in an offside position. Regardless of whether or not she scores, Collins never hesitates to get stuck in and do her job, even if it hurts later, because she does it for her teammates.
"They tell me all the time to just keep doing what I'm doing, I don't need anyone else, I have my team," Collins said. "It means a lot they know I'm there and trust what I'm doing."
Neshaminy was a bit more on the front foot in the first half, but CB East's defensive unit was up to the task. Sophie Schorn got involved quite a bit, the center back blocking two shots that otherwise would have gone in, and keeper Aralynn Patterson made two keys saves, one on Maxwell and the other a diving stop on Fox off a free kick.
Forney did have two shots from distance that Hannah Labadie had to make saves on, and the Patriots weren't totally devoid of chances. Krystkiewicz just felt
they needed to be a little more threatening earlier on.
"It took us a little too long to realize we had to really, really work hard to get the goals and it hit us once we went down 2-0 we had to step on the gas and get going," Krystkiewicz said. "We did, it's just unfortunate they turned it right back around. I give a lot of credit to their front line, they work hard but our back line stuck with them the whole game."
Neshaminy's gotten plenty of contributions in this postseason run, especially up top as an untimely spell of injuries have hit the forwards. With Angelina Daino and Bryn Taylor sidelined on Saturday, Dylana Shearer, Bri Garyah and Aidyn Tierney all saw key minutes.
However, it would be the midfield where the Redskins' depth was most heavily tested. With 6:38 left in the first half, Merecedez Paino knocked heads with an East player challenging for a head ball and the Neshaminy senior had to exit the game.
Paino, who pulls the strings out of the attacking midfield role, did not return after being checked out and didn't play in the second half. Madisyn Conrad jumped right in and helped keep the midfield afloat while clashing with East's hardworking central players.
"When (Paino) went out, she's such a key player but Madi did such a great job filling her position and we continued to work hard, doing the same thing we've always done," Fox said. "We had to match their level, their intensity and how strong they were going to be. We wanted to beat them to the ball, stay composed, work it around and just keep going."
Maxwell took it upon herself to start the scoring. The sophomore was able to turn on the ball a few yards outside the 18, then used a big touch and her speed to get out in front of the pursuing East defense before taking a second touch to settle and slicing a liner to the far post with 31:45 to go, giving the Redskins a 1-0 lead.
"I'm looking for creative ways to get around them and to keep doing different things, different moves and playing how I know how to play," Maxwell said. "I'm just trying to get behind them any time I can."
In five postseason games, Maxwell has seven goals, and on the season, she's at 24. Her passing has also been huge, tallying an assist against Conestoga and adding a pair of helpers on Saturday, the first a part of the opening sequence in the chaotic finish.
Fox started the play, winning a ball at the top of the 18, slipping it out to Maxwell on the right. The speedy sophomore went at the goal and pushed a ball across frame. Garyah met in stride right in front, punching the ball home for a 2-0 lead with 10:22 to go.
"Bri did an amazing job pressuring the ball and their center backs," Maxwell said. "We just kept pressure on them and had the ball in our half on offense a lot of the time."
Neshaminy's fans were still celebrating the goal when East got one back. Off the tap, the Patriots went right at the Redskins with Camryn Williams slicing in toward goal and putting an effort on target.
Williams' shot was blocked, but the rebound found Krystkiewicz, who cleaned up the rebound to give East some new life.
"We did well coming back when we went down," Krystkiewicz said. "It was one of our weaknesses in the beginning of the year, we would go down a goal and everybody's heads would go down. Today, we as a team all did a good job keeping our heads up and trying to get those goals back.
Krystkiewicz knew there was time left. What she didn't know was how much time remained, so when the senior saw Gray win the header in Neshaminy's 18, she knew there was nothing to lose by going for goal.
Her first touch rip found the back of the net with just a minute to play, a shock goal that tied it 2-2.
"I saw it coming, I was going to settle it, but I didn't know how much time was left so I just hit it," Krystkiewicz said.
There was still time left.
This time, it was East's supporters who didn't have time to celebrate as Neshaminy ripped down the field, and it was again Maxwell with the ball on the right playing a low ball across.
Tierney met it with a clear look on frame. An East defender tried to get in front, but the shot only clipped her leg and found the net, another shock goal with just 46.4 to play.
"Aidyn's scored a lot of goals like that this year where she's hungry and she wants to get into the box and she wants to score," Van Reed said. "Everybody wants to score goals. It doesn't always happen, but a lot of our girls are goal-minded and just being in the right spot sometimes is enough to get a goal."
The Patriots will have to turn around quickly for their first state game, which will come against District 3 runner-up Lower Dauphin on Tuesday. As difficult as the ending was on Saturday, East found something on this playoff run and the Patriots are confident they'll get right back to it.
"It's been so much fun, and we've never really experienced anything like this as a team, the excitement of winning every game is a good motivator," Krystkiewicz said. "Losing this game, it's kind of like a slap in the face or a reality check and will help us with more motivation going into states.
"We're going to use this feeling and how upset we all are as motivation that we never want this to happen again. If we lose again, our season is over, so we need to use this as motivation to keep going and win it all."
Neshaminy will host District 3's third place finisher Penn Manor on Tuesday at Council Rock North. This team has accomplished every task its set for itself so far and whether it's a senior, a freshman or as it's often been, a sophomore, it's not being done for individual accolades.
"I think it's our motive to want it and the way we all do it together," Collins said. "Our motivation was districts and now going into states, this is a huge win. These last three wins have been amazing and I think we're only more motivated to go and win states."
NESHAMINY 0 3 - 3
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 2 - 2
Goals: N - Kylie Maxwell, Bri Garyah, Aidyn Tierney; CBE - Gwyn Krystkiewicz
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