By Alex Frazier
National Conference
New coach. New system of play.
When Kaitlyn McGinnis took over at Pennsbury this year, she introduced a new attacking philosophy.
The transition wasn’t immediately successful, but the positive results are now becoming apparent.
“We’re getting a lot of people in the right place, and we’re clicking in all gears at this point,” said McGinnis. “We’ve solidified some of the positioning for our system of play, which is a little different for them.”
The Falcons’ 4-1 win over archrival Neshaminy on April 22 is a good example of how far they have come.
“That was definitely the best I’ve seen them play all year,” said McGinnis. “They were playing with a lot of confidence and they were focused in on the game.”
It was a marked contrast to the 5-2 loss to Council Rock South on April 14.
“We lost focus,” said McGinnis. “We got stuck in the quicksand and lost the game in three minutes.”
Pennsbury came back to beat Harry S Truman 5-0 and then had one day of practice before they faced the Redskins.
“We really emphasized that we needed to be focused in and playing to the best of their ability to be able to get themselves out of those tough situations in the last three minutes of the half when they feel the other team is sustaining momentum and how to take that pressure off of themselves,” said McGinnis.
Pennsbury’s two forwards, junior Kersten Formento and sophomore Lindsey Jones, have each scored 12 goals.
And while the Falcons’ have been scoring goals, they have also given up some.
A case in point was an early 4-3 loss to North Penn. All four goals came in the first half.
“That was something that was happening early on when we were playing with just three defenders,” she said. “Our outside midfielders are doing a much better job of getting behind the ball, making it very difficult for other teams to score.”
McGinnis doesn’t mind giving up a few goals as long as the team comes out with a ‘W.’
“At the end of the day, it’s the wins and losses that count,” she said.
The defense is playing well, anchored by senior captain Cassie Meade in the goal.
“She’s one of my senior leaders who is finding more confidence in her role,” said McGinnis. “With each save she’s growing more and more confident. A lot of that comes from the defenders she has in front of her.”
One of those is senior captain Annie Bohlander.
Juniors Becca Kovalik and Molly Phillips as well as senior captain Lindsay Cunningham have been controlling play in the midfield.
The Falcons still have some huge games ahead of them, including Council Rock South and then Neshaminy in the last game of the season.
“With each game, the next win becomes more and more important,” said McGinnis. “As soon as you slack off, there’s another team right behind you. There are still a lot of teams competing for the top.”
With only four seniors on the team, the Falcons have a unique opportunity to develop the younger players now, and they will be able to hone their skills right through next year’s fall season.
“It’s nice to have that kind of consistency,” said McGinnis. “We’re becoming like a family at this point.”
Continental Conference
Last year Central Bucks West had an uncharacteristic season, bowing out of the district playoffs in the quarterfinals.
The Lady Bucks finished their season at 12-5-1. For many teams that is an honorable record. But not at West, where winning state championships has almost been the norm.
West might be on track to make another run in states this year, despite having only five seniors - three that see much action - in the lineup.
“It’s all sophomores and freshmen,” said coach Chris Freudig. “I’m playing 20 kids a game. Hopefully, they won’t go through any growing pains, trying to get these youngsters up to speed.
“We’re a bit ahead of schedule right now. We were hoping to be playing well come playoffs, and as of right now we’re playing pretty good before playoffs.”
As of Thursday, the Bucks were 7-1 on top of the conference. C.B. South and Pennridge are tied for second at 6-2 apiece.
“I don’t know how much I would have bet on that before the season,” said Freudig.
One of the seniors, Sam Moyer leads the Bucks with five goals. Another, Mary Kate McCray, anchors a young defense that includes freshman right back Lauren Scofield, senior left back Rachel Jastrzebski and sophomore center back Elena Oschenreigher.
Freudig also has an enviable depth chart at goalkeeper. He started freshman Ashley Parker in the first game of the year against Council Rock South, and she responded with a “killer” breakaway save that ensured the Bucks’ 1-0 win. Generally sophomore Jenny Bradley starts and splits time with junior Bre Benedict.
“Most schools would like to have one good goalkeeper,” said Freudig. “We have three really good goalkeepers.”
West sometimes starts four freshmen in the midfield. The second leading scorer on the team is Kailen O’Jert. Erin McQuate is also doing an excellent job.
Lindsay Horst, who had an incredible freshman season, switches between forward and midfield.
With such a young team, it was important to start strong. And the Bucks did just that with 1-0 wins over Council Rock South and defending district champion Pennridge.
“Those were the types of wins early on that got us going in the right direction,” said Freudig.
The Bucks only setback so far has been a lopsided loss against sister rival Central Bucks South.
They have a crucial re-match with the Titans next Thursday and end the season with another must-win game against Pennridge on May 13.
“Tactically we’re pretty strong; we’re getting better,” said Freudig. “Technically, we’re improving. We’re not always generating as many chances as we’d like, but we’ve been able to score enough to keep our opponents at bay.”
American Conference
This has been a roller coaster season for Cheltenham. So far there have been about as many ups as downs.
The Panthers put together a couple of nice wins over an athletic and big Springfield squad and Plymouth Whitemarsh and then lost to Upper Moreland.
“We have a couple of excellent games and then we fall off the edge and we play quite appalling soccer,” said coach Mark Woodcock.
He is still scratching his head about the inconsistency of his squad.
“We never seem to be able to find the middle ground,” said Woodcock. “It’s hard to get a read of exactly what this team wants to be.”
Admittedly, there is some youth on the team, and Cheltenham has had injuries that have forced Woodcock to move players out of position, but even that doesn’t really explain the uneven play on any given day.
“There doesn’t seem to be any particular rhyme or reason for it,” he said.
As individuals, however, three players stand out for their ability and reliability.
Junior forward Rhoda Moise leads the team in scoring with 11 goals.
“She’s very reliable and scores pretty consistently against good and bad teams,” said Woodcock.
Sophomore Bree Hansten started as center midfielder, but was forced to move back to stopper because of an injury.
“She’s a very athletic girl,” said Woodcock. “She’s done a pretty good job, but she’s not a natural defender. She’s aggressive and works hard.”
Ironically, Hansten will have a big decision to make next year when soccer moves to the fall, as she is an all-league tennis player.
Sophomore center midfielder Marissa Gorman has done a good job of replacing Hansten.
“We’ve had some pretty solid play from her,” said Woodcock.
Last year Cheltenham entered the District One playoffs as the 15th seed. Although Neshaminy eliminated the Panthers in the first round 4-1, Woodcock was pleased at the result, especially since the game was tied at one at the half.
When Woodcock took over the program four years ago, he inherited a team that had gone 0-19 the year before.
Since then he has grown the program into a team that was 10-7-1 last year.
“We’ve had steady, consistent improvement with substantial leaps every year,” said Woodcock. “I’m hoping to continue that trend. We want to become a team that other teams will want to play. We want to be a playoff-contending team every year.”
The Panthers are 6-4 (SOL) as of Thursday and are hoping to make another playoff appearance. They still have a re-match with Upper Moreland Friday as well as upcoming dates against Plymouth Whitemarsh and Wissahickon.
“We’re not a team that’s overloaded with talent by any means,” said Woodcock. “We’re a team that makes the most of relatively limited technical skills and relatively limited athletic abilities, but we play with a great deal of heart, but that can only take you so far. When we want to play badly enough, we can play very well.”
After a slow start last year, the Panthers won their last six games to make the playoffs as the third team from the American Conference.
This year looks similar.
“The girls are going to have to dig pretty deep if they’re going to repeat that performance,” said Woodcock. “The pressure’s on right now. We can’t afford to lose another game in league.”
SOL Top 5
1. Council Rock South
2. Pennsbury
3. Central Bucks West
4. Pennridge
5. Central Bucks South
Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Poll
1. Hempfield (3)
2. Central Bucks South (1)
3. Mechanicsburg (3)
4. Hershey (3)
5. Cumberland Valley (3)
6. Penn Manor (3)
7. Central Bucks West (1)
8. Neshaminy (1)
9. Parkland (11)
10. Conestoga Valley (3)
Honorable Mention: Central York (3), Dallastown (3), Governor Mifflin (3), Lampeter-Strasburg (3), Manheim Twp. (3), Red Land (3), Upper Dublin (1)
NSCAA Region One Rankings
(April 27)
Rank School W-L-T
1. Hempfield (Landisville, Pa.) 11-0-1
2. Padua Academy (Wilmington, Del.) 4-0-0
3. Mechanicsburg (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) 11-1-0
4. Hershey (Hershey, Pa.) 7-0-0
5. Conestoga Valley (Lancaster, Pa.) 8-1-2
6. Neshaminy (Langhorne, Pa,) 4-0-0
7. Cumberland Valley (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) 9-2-1
8. Parkland (Allentown, Pa.) 11-1-1
9. Manheim Twp. (Lancaster, Pa.) 8-2-1
10. Central Bucks South (Warrington, Pa.) 9-2-0
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