North Penn was the lone SOL team to survive Friday’s District One AAA quarterfinals. While the Maidens advanced to Wednesday’s district semifinal, Central Bucks East and Wissahickon will square off in an elimination game.
#16 NORTH PENN 5, #24 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2
It’s been an interesting season for the Maidens, who won their first three games but then lost three of their next four. Since that early-season stretch, the Maidens have won nine of 11 games with their only losses at the hands of Continental Conference champion Central Bucks South and defending state champion Emmaus.
“In the very beginning of the season, we thought we would do very well, but then we lost to CB South, and that kind of knocked us down a little bit,” said senior Laura DeLongis of a loss that began North Penn’s stretch of three losses in four games. “I think once we got our confidence back and once we started playing hard – now we feel like if we keep going out strong and we keep putting the ball in the goal, we will get even further.”
The 16th-seeded Maidens have advanced further than most might have predicted, and they have done it in convincing fashion, outscoring their three district opponents 11-3.
Although the final score might suggest otherwise, the Maidens – fresh off their 3-1 upset of CB South two days earlier - actually got off to a bit of a slow start against the Patriots on Friday.
“I knew there was going to be a letdown, but by the same degree I honestly thought they’d be ready to play because it was such an important game,” co-coach Carrie Jankowski said. “We’ve played the last five games really hard.
“Between the Souderton game, the Hatboro-Horsham senior game and our two district games, we’ve had a nice little streak going, but I did think there was a large letdown at the beginning of the game.
“With that being said, at some point, they did put the switch back on and they fought, but the really big positive out of today is that they finished.”
The game started out on a good note for the Maidens, who got on the scoreboard at the 23:06 mark of the opening half when Bobby Dougherty (Emilie Ikeda assist) scored during a scramble in front of the cage. That lead held up for just 50 seconds as Marissa Glatt (Liz Thiroway assist) answered for the Patriots, prompting Jankowski to call a quick timeout.
Although the Maidens appeared to be seizing control of the game, it was the Patriots’ Emily Vasey scoring a classic breakaway goal, using a nifty pull move to beat the goalie and slamming the ball into the cage to give the Patriots a 2-1 lead midway through the half.
“We figured out how to use the right side of the field, and the girls executed that well, so we had some strength offensively, which was good,” East coach Marie Meehan said. “But we stopped cutting strong to the ball, and they did not. They were more aggressive, and I think that’s the thing that made the difference.
“We had breakdowns right around the 25-30, and it allowed them to get into the circle and attack.”
For the Maidens, Vasey’s goal was a wake-up call.
“Obviously, when they were up, we needed to get more in the cage, and I think the intensity picked up after that because we know that can’t happen,” DeLongis said. “We told each other – we need to pick it up, we need to get it in the cage or we’re not going to states. You have to want it, and I felt like after they scored, we picked up the intensity.”
With 5:28 remaining in the half, the Maidens were awarded a penalty stroke when a sure goal deflected off a Patriot defender on the goal line. Ikeda hit pay dirt, firing the stroke into the bottom corner of the cage and knotting the score 2-2.
Late in the half, freshman Casey O’Donnell scored after a corner to send the Maidens into halftime with a 3-2 lead.
Early in the second half, the Maidens capitalized on a corner. It began with Juliamae Marger passing the ball to Ikeda along the top of the circle, and it was Dougherty deflecting Ikeda’s drive on goal into the cage, giving the Maidens a 4-2 lead. A Carly Pickford goal (Ikeda assist) put an exclamation point on the decisive win, and all that remained was the celebration at the final horn.
“It feels great,” DeLongis said. “This is my first time going to states, and I’m a senior. Three years of hard work to get to this point – it’s awesome.”
“This is a (once in a) lifetime experience,” sophomore Shannon Talbot said. “This might never happen again – it’s awesome. All of our hard work is paying off.”
The Maidens will face Owen J. Roberts in Wednesday’s district semifinal game while the Patriots will face Wissahickon in an elimination game. The winner of that elimination game will earn a berth in states while the loser will go home for the season.
“We definitely talked about playing another game and having an opportunity to move onto states, which would be exciting,” Meehan said.
#5 OWEN J. ROBERTS 3, WISSAHICKON 2 (OT)
Twice the Trojans had the lead in Friday’s game, opening up a 1-0 lead and later a 2-1 lead, but each time the Wildcats had an answer, rallying to knot the score, and it was the Wildcats connecting on a goal nine minutes into overtime to earn the win.
(Additional information will be added when it is available.)
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