Central Bucks South – with 12 seniors on its roster – will face District 3 runner-up Manheim Township in Tuesday night’s PIAA Class 4A semifinal game. (Photo provided courtesy of Central Bucks South soccer)
Central Bucks South was the feel good story of the postseason last year, riding its 24 seed in the 24-team District One AAA Tournament to a fifth place finish and a berth in the state tournament.
“It was a surprise to us,” senior captain Kylie Walsh said. “We were the underdogs. We knew every game could be our last because we didn’t expect to get that far.”
“Last year was definitely a huge shock to everyone, not just us,” senior captain Sophia Boggs said.
One person who wasn’t surprised by the Titans’ magical postseason run was coach Betsy Bullock.
“I told them last year all along that I saw tremendous potential,” the Titans’ coach said. “When we were ranked 24th, one thing I was preaching to them and I felt very strongly – I said, ‘You are not a 24, you’re much stronger than that.’
“We just had a brutal division. The Suburban One League is so hard. Last year Emma Loving was around and (Central Bucks) East was dominating. I could see (we) really had some talent, and it would hopefully develop this year, which is has.”
Has it ever.
Ignoring the burden of lofty expectations placed on them after last year’s strong finish, the Titans find themselves one of just four Class 4A teams in the state still standing. On Tuesday night, South will face District 3 runner-up Manheim Township in a state semifinal game.
“We definitely wanted to beat what we did last year, which we did so far,” Boggs said. “We came into this year with the goal of winning states. We’re not done yet.”
This year was destined to be special. After all, the Titans graduated just two starters from last year’s team that advanced to the state quarterfinals, and this was ‘the year’ for the team’s 12 seniors who’d been together for a lifetime.
“From our (Warrington) club team, we’ve had 10 girls maybe that have been playing together for years,” Walsh said. “When we were younger, we’d say, ‘We’re going to be so good.’
“Even as freshmen, we said, ‘We’re going to be so good when we’re seniors’ because we knew how many seniors we had, and we’d been playing together so long. We had a feeling it was going to be a good year.”
The regular season didn’t follow the script the Titans had hoped. They finished second to Pennridge in the SOL Continental Conference standings, and then in the District One Class 4A semifinals, the Rams edged the Titans yet again – this time 7-6 in penalty kicks after battling to a 1-1 double overtime tie.
“Pennridge is one of the toughest teams we play,” senior captain Courtney Taylor said. “But then we lost again to Conestoga for third place, and that was really just an eye opener that we have to give everything we have because it’s not going to come easy for us, no matter who we play.”
Instead of allowing those setbacks define them, the Titans came back even stronger, and on this team, there’s no need for motivational speeches.
“Before each of the state games, we keep saying, ‘We don’t want this to be our last time on the bus together, we don’t want this to be the last time we’re playing together,’” Taylor said.
“We were talking about that the other day,” Boggs said. “That’s one of the things that pushed us through Hempfield (a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals). All we kept saying to each other was ‘Guys, I don’t want this to be the last time we play with each other.’
“I think that’s one of our biggest motivators – we don’t want to stop playing with each other, so to stretch this out as long as we can would be huge.”
Win or lose, this is the final week for a senior class that includes Boggs, Taylor, Walsh, Caitlin Brennan, Julia Coco, Carly Fischer, Laurel Gogel, Madison Koch, Taylor Marinelli, Corinne McDonald, Krysta Reading and Nicole Wills.
It’s a senior class – according to Bullock – that boasts exceptional talent.
“It was one of those situations – there’s a pretty deep talent pool in this area, and I would have a hard time cutting any one of those because they’re all good players,” the Titans’ coach said. “It’s just sometimes they’re playing behind somebody a little bit stronger.”
Bullock pointed to senior goalie Taylor Marinelli – the backup to Boggs - as an example of the team’s depth.
“I’ve given her a couple of starts because she deserves them,” the Titans’ coach said of Marinelli, who has accepted a softball scholarship to St Joe’s. “I’m not just saying it – she could play for any of our local schools and would be a starter if it wasn’t for Sophia Boggs.
“Krysta Reading was talking to me the other day, and she said. ‘This year we don’t have one superstar. We just have a lot of players that play really well together.’ I think that sums it up.”
For this year’s Titan squad, it all starts with the senior class.
“Not all of us can obviously be on the field at the same time,” Boggs said. “A lot of us do start, but even off the soccer field, this is the closest group of people I’ve ever been with.
“We hang out off the field all the time, so I think the connection we have together just as girls, not as teammates, is far more important than what’s ever happened on the field.”
Combine that camaraderie with the team’s obvious talent, and it’s a winning combination.
“Ever since we were younger, our class has always had so many really good soccer players,” Taylor said. “And they’re all such amazing people - everything is so positive with them.
“I think us being so close makes us that much closer on the field and makes us play that much better.”
“We’re a really close-knit team, no matter what grade we are,” Walsh said. “We have a lot of seniors obviously, but we’re all really close.
“After practice, we’ll go out to dinner at Chipotle. We still have pasta parties throughout the postseason. We’re like a family.”
The team’s good chemistry, according to Taylor, has been a key to their success.
“Most of us have been playing together since we were really little, and all of the defenders still play together,” she said.
“My connection with my defenders is huge,” said Boggs, the Titans’ standout goalie. All my defenders played for Warrington. I know how all of them play, I know their habits, I know what they’re going to do, so that’s a huge advantage for us.”
With the finish line in sight, the Titans are savoring every minute of yet another memorable postseason run.
“Even in the beginning of the playoffs, you know each game could be your last,” Walsh said. “Now that we have just the final week, it is hitting home because we’ve all been playing with each other for four years now.
“Some of us aren’t playing in college. We’ll still have club soccer, but this is our last year to get it done what we’ve been trying to do for so long.”
#1-4 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH v. #3-1 MANHEIM TOWNSHIP (at Spring-Ford High School, 7 p.m.)
Central Bucks South
- District 1 AAAA fourth-place
- 18-5-1 overall record
- 9-2-1 SOL Continental second place
- Titans boast 15 shutouts and have allowed more than one goal just three times
- Senior keeper Sophia Boggs has proven herself as one of the best in the state, an athletic and smart player who covers her box exceptionally well. Her defenders, Courtney Taylor, Margot Centofanti, Nicole Wills and Laurel Gogel are excellent as a unit and cover for each other adeptly.
- Corinne McDonald, Brooke Steigerwalt and Aleksa Peev lead the Titans attack.
How they got here:
- After finishing fourth in the District One 4A Tournament, the Titans opened state play with a 4-0 win over District 12 champion Central. Sophomore Mackenzie Edwards scored a pair of goals and assisted on another while Chelsea Nichols and Kyle Lutteroty both added single goals.
- In Saturday’s quarterfinal round, senior Corinne McDonald broke a 1-1 halftime tie with a goal that proved to be the game winner in South’s 2-1 win over Hempfied, District 3’s third place team. Maddie Koch also scored for the Titans.
Manheim Township
- 23-2 overall
- 11-1 Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1 champions
- District 3 runner-up (lost to Cumberland Valley 3-1 in title game)
- Attack led by Cashlin Copley (22 goals, 19 assists), Brianna Bracero (20 goals), Alison Heckman (18 goals, 25 assists) and Maddie Kohl (14 assists)
How they got here:
- In opening round action, Manheim Township defeated District 4 champion Williamsport 3-0. Briana Bracero, Cashlin Copley and Kierston Scott each scored a goal.
- In Saturday’s quarterfinal, Manheim Township trailed District 11 champion Parkland 2-0, but goals by Audrey Suydam and Cashlin Copley knotted the score and set the stage for overtime. Brianna Bracero scored the game winner in the first overtime, giving the Blue Streaks a 3-2 win and handing Parkland its first defeat of the season.
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