CB East defeated Cumberland Valley 2-0 on Tuesday in a PIAA Class AAA semifinal game to earn a trip to Hershey for Saturday’s state title game.
By Mary Jane Souder
HAMBURG – Dreams do come true.
Just ask the Central Bucks East soccer team.
In the Patriots’ third trip to the PIAA Class AAA semifinals in the last four years, they effectively erased memories of disappointments past, taking that final giant step and earning a trip to Hershey and a coveted spot in Saturday’s state title game.
East defeated highly regarded Cumberland Valley 2-0 on Tuesday at Hamburg High School, playing with a relentless tenacity that suggested they simply would not be denied.
“This is our third year in the state semifinal, and to overcome the challenge of getting to Hershey and to get there and be one of two teams left in the state – it’s a relief, and it feels like a dream come true,” said senior Emma Loving. “To be here with my best friends, doing what I love to do – it’s the coolest feeling in the world.”
Their words tumbled over each other as they tried to describe their emotions.
“It’s insane,” said one.
“Amazing,” said another.
“We finally got over the hump,” added still another.
“It was out goal,” senior Paige Weiss said. “Like Maddie (Myrtetus) said – three times is the charm. We’ve been here three times.”
The third time was the charm, and the Patriots made a statement before fans had settled in their seats, capitalizing on their first corner kick in the game’s second minute.
Paige Weiss – who took the kick – acknowledged that things did not exactly go as planned.
“To be honest, that’s not how my usual corners are, but it worked out for the best,” Weiss said of a kick that was low but created immediate chaos in the box.
Senior Maddie Myrtetus pounced on the ball, avoided a defender and slipped it into the net for a goal that proved to be the game winner.
“That’s why you practice your set pieces,” coach Paul Eisold said. “That’s why you make sure every player is accounted for, that’s why you preach to them – watch the movement of the ball.
“Getting inside position, going to goal, deflections – all that stuff comes into play, and then you see how it’s scripted. It’s just ad lib scripted, and what a brilliant goal.”
“I guess it’s just the right place at the right time and having inside position too,” Myrtetus said. “We practice corners constantly at practice, and even though it wasn’t what she intended to do, it was a perfect ball clearly. It worked well.
“It was nice to have that edge from the beginning, but right away – you could hear us on the field – everyone said ‘it’s 0-0.’ You forget about it right away, and you play like it’s 0-0 because that team – they’re so good. They’re such good competitors. They play the entire game, so we knew we had to stay strong.”
The Eagles already had a pair of late-game comebacks in the state tournament. In their opening round game against District 11 champion Parkland, they rallied from a 3-0 halftime deficit to earn a 4-3 win with Rachael Dorwart scoring the game winner with nine seconds remaining. In Saturday’s 1-0 state quarterfinal win over Spring-ford, Mallory Johnson scored the game winner with 2:09 remaining, so letting up was not an option for the Patriots.
East’s defense – anchored by Weiss, Emily Horn, Megan Mannato and Katie Bloom – was something pretty close to flawless, calmly thwarting every Eagle attempt to generate a serious attack.
“We knew how dangerous they were,” Eisold said. “We made it a priority to focus on our shifting and movement defensively.
“We have done that for three or four training sessions where we were just moving and marking, shifting, angling – all the stuff you do defensively. We knew the offense would come because we knew their backs were where they were susceptible, so we knew that would play through, but we really needed to defend out number 11(Dorwart), we needed to defend out and not give them shots.”
The Eagles did not manage a shot on net in the opening half.
“Coming into the game, we knew that (Dorwart) was the player we had to watch,” senior keeper Katie Dolf said of a player who had 46 goals entering Tuesday’ game. “The fact that our defense was able to contain her and not let her turn as much as she would have hoped – they didn’t get many shots.”
The key, according to Horn, was communication.
“We always have to talk and keep organized,” the senior captain said. “I think keeping our shape and covering for each other and making sure everyone was accounted for was definitely the key.
“Just making sure (Dorwart) couldn’t turn and locking her down and getting everything out – we just stayed to the point and got our job done.”
Dorwart had her team’s only hard shot on net, and it came 15 minutes into the second half but was calmly corralled by freshman keeper Kristen Obetz (four saves).
“In the beginning, we had to figure out what they were doing, and once we figured it out, we knew we had to shift and cover and do it as a team in transition,” Weiss said. “If we weren’t doing it as a team and we weren’t talking and communicating, we wouldn’t be successful.”
The Eagles’ fate was sealed when – with 7:14 remaining – Loving turned a free kick into a highlight reel goal, connecting from a seemingly impossible angle 20 yards out on the left sideline.
“The bottom line is she put the game away on that goal,” Eisold said. “Our goal was to keep the game a little bit choppy, not allow them to get into a rhythm where they were just passing around us, so we wanted to make sure we kept the play alive, but we also wanted to make sure that we took that rhythm away from them. We did a really nice job.
“Our work isn’t done yet, but I’m really happy for them. I’m elated for the girls.”
When the final whistle sounded, Cumberland Valley senior captain Jenny Bail slumped on the cold turf at midfield, unable to hide the heartbreak she was feeling.
Not far away, Loving also gave in to her emotions and could not hold back the tears. Hers, however, were tears of joy.
“I think it’s pride in how hard we worked as a team and seeing that it’s paying off,” the senior captain said. “We set goals for ourselves at the beginning of the season, and everyone wants to get to Hershey. To see us actually achieving our goals and coming so far as a team, as a group with all these people, it’s awesome.”
It was a far different scene than last season when – on Nov. 11, 2014 – the Patriots saw their season end in the state semifinals after a 2-1 loss to Canon-McMillan.
“This is so much better,” Myrtetus said. “Knowing especially that for the seniors it was our last time to even have this opportunity and the fact that we did do it – it’s just unreal. It really is a huge family and best friends. The bus ride home – I can’t wait.”
Another bus ride awaits the Patriots on Saturday, and the destination is Hershey.
EXTRA SHOTS: Dolf and Obetz combined for the shutout in goal. The two keepers have been a winning combination for the Patriots this season. “I have known Kristen for the last two years because Jason (Obetz) is our goalie coach, and she’s his daughter,” Dolf said. “She would always come to sessions before she was even in high school, so we got to know her through that. We grew up and bonded together. All the goalies are really tight, and we always want to cheer for each other.”
Cumberland Valley 0-0 0
Central Bucks East 1-1 2
About the Author
