To some, it may have seemed that the clock struck midnight on the Pennridge girls soccer team with its loss in the PIAA State Championship game.
But this was no Cinderella team. There were no shortcuts, no Fairy Godmother to grant success upon the Rams. They fought for, and earned, each and every victory, each and every piece of hardware that will be added to the school's trophy case.
And the impetus for the Rams' success was, undoubtedly, the elder statesmen on the team.
"These seniors were outstanding," assistant coach Audrey Anderson said following the Rams' State Championship defeat on Saturday. "Stevi Parker and Ashley Schoellkopf have been awesome captains and great leaders. Maggie Butcher, Sarah Wiley, Caitlin Sheehan, they were all great girls. Some of them didn't always play, but they were there for their teammates. They were there for them when they came out (of a game), they were there in practice. It's going to be hard to replace them. They're going to be missed."
The seniors leave a team that has made the state tournament every year they've been in high school. This season, the Rams won their third consecutive Suburban One Continental Conference title, won the District Class AAA title in their second consecutive appearance in the championship game, and reached the state finals for the first time in school history.
Seeing the results of a team that put aside early personality conflicts and attitudes and has come together over the course of the 24-2 season was a special feeling for the departing seniors.
"Looking back, it's crazy that we got to this point, that we actually made it here," Butcher said after the state finals. "It's awesome being able to make it here. The season as a whole was fantastic. I couldn't ask for anything more."
"It definitely means a lot to me," Schoellkopf saif. "I am thrilled and I know the entire team is thrilled to even get to this point, after everything that we've come through."
"Losing in the finals is hard to handle, but I would like to hope we'll be able to think just about the good things that we did," Parker said. "I think we'll remember how far we made it and, we won districts, we made history at our school and that's something we'll remember forever."
And perhaps even more than their results on the field, the seniors' effect on the underclassmen has been invaluable this season.
"The seniors, everyone looks up to them," said freshman Marissa Sheva. "They've helped so much, the whole team atmosphere, they brought me into it. They were so welcoming. I don't even feel like a freshman anymore, I just feel like one of the girls."
"The seniors really helped us all put things in perspective being in these big games and keeping ourselves together," said junior Natalia Pinkney. "We're going to miss them a lot."
During the past four years, the Pennridge girls soccer program has elevated itself from a league powerhouse to a constant district and state contender.
"I feel great about the accomplishments we've made -- states the past four years, (reaching the) district championships the past two years, we won our conference three years," Schoellkopf said. "That's a great accomplishment we have as a team. I can't be more proud of every team that I've stepped onto the field with and has represented Pennridge because everybody always puts everything on the field, puts everything on the line. We are a family, and we play as a family."
"I do feel pride in what we've done over the years," Butcher said. "I've noticed such growth in so many of the players, it's just been fantastic. We've all grown, Jorge has grown as a coach. I'm so proud of everyone that's been a part of it."
And though they've played their last games in the green-and-white, the seniors' legacy is still not completed. They've raised the bar for Pennridge soccer and leave the returning players with a level of excellence and expectation higher than it's ever been.
And they expect next year's team to continue the standard they've set.
"I hope they can continue," Parker said. "I would love to hear that the team made it back to the state finals again and they won next year. That would be awesome."
"I think every team sets the tone for the team the next year," Schoellkopf said. "They know what they have to do to get back to where we are today, they just have to keep their heads on and keep the mentality and focus and they'll do great."
For the underclassmen's part, it's a daunting task to match or surpass the success that this senior class has experienced. But with experienced and talented players such as Sheva, Pinkney, Shannon Chynoweth, Jeannie Jasinski, Megan Shenk, Audrey Butcher, Caitlyn Sheva, Jackie Stevens and Julia Rufe, they're up for the challenge.
"Next year, we're getting back here," Marissa Sheva said following the state championship game. "From the beginning of the season, we're going to have it in the back of our minds how great it was to make it and how badly it sucked to lose here, and we're going to come back even stronger."
"I know it's going to be my job next year to step up and do whatever I can for this team and to try to lead the way this year's captains led the team," Pinkney said. "Losing in the state finals is definitely a motivation. We're going to use this as motivation to show everybody that we can get back here again."
"I have no doubt that we will be back here. I have no doubt that people better not count Pennridge out," Anderson said. "You look at Marissa Sheva, she's a freshman and she has been playing like an upperclassman the entire season. Jeannie Jasinski, who was not a starter for us in the beginning but stepped up and made a huge difference in our style of play.
"I could name every person on the team because we're losing our seniors but our bench has been so deep -- Jackie Stevens, Julia Cardie, Julia Rufe -- all stepped up in major ways. I'm excited about next season."
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