Four SOL field hockey teams earned wins to advance to Wednesday’s District One AAA second round. To view photos of the Quakertown/Phoenixville and North Penn/Bishop Shanahan games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Monday was not an especially kind day for SOL teams in the District One AAAA Tournament. Of the nine teams in action, five were sent home for the season. Central Bucks West, North Penn, Council Rock North and Neshaminy were winners while second-seeded Central Bucks South had a first round bye.
The Ches-Mont League dominated play with four of its five teams advancing. Downingtown East, West Chester Henderson, West Chester East and Avon Grove were all winners with only Bishop Shanahan seeing its season end in a tightly contested game against North Penn.
The Catholic Academies saw its only team, Mount St. Joseph, advance as a result of its 3-1 win in a shootout after battling Owen J. Roberts to a scoreless tie after a regulation and two overtime periods. The PAC-10 was 1-2 with Phoenixville needing overtime to defeat Quakertown. Methacton also was an upset victim, falling to Avon Grove in overtime.
A pair of SOL teams – Upper Moreland and Springfield – will be in action Tuesday when the District One AA Tournament gets underway.
#6 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3, #27 RADNOR 0
Amrit Ahluwalia and Theresa Delahanty teamed up for a pair of goals, and that was more than enough to lead the Indians to the first round win.
“We played like a team, and that’s what saved us,” coach Heather Whalin said. “They had three pretty phenomenal players, but they were playing a little individually.
“That number nine (Michigan-bound Lydia Sydnor) is the best player we’ve played against all year, by far. She singlehandedly dribbled the ball from one end of the field to the other. She was fantastic.
“We played like a team, and Jules (Singer) had some really nice saves today.”
It was Ahluwalia (Delahanty assist) scoring 5:52 into the opening half, and 10 minutes later, Devon Mela used a Julianne Mangano assist to score a goal that sent the Indians into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
“Everyone on the team – I can honestly say we want to go as far as we possibly can,” Ahluwalia said. “We’re all in it for the long haul hopefully.
“I have all the faith in the world in the girls on the team and the coaching staff. We had that blip in our season, but it was something we needed. We came back even stronger. We finished the season playing hard, and for at least today, we’re continuing our season.”
Ahluwalia scored her second goal midway through the second half, again using a Delahanty assist, to close out the scoring.
“Last year we lost in the first round, and it was getting that monkey off our backs,” Whalin said. “Now, everything else is just a lot of fun. I know that the girls just wanted to get it over with.”
Although Whalin preferred to keep the focus on her team, her players had other ideas since it was win number 100 at Council Rock North for the Indians’ coach, who is in her seventh season at Rock North.
“It’s an amazing milestone for her,” Ahluwalia said. “It shows how much she’s brought to this program, and I’m happy that I could be a part of this – that our whole team could be a part of it.
“Coach Whalin has been my coach for five years through club and everything, and I know her favorite way to win is with a shutout with a lot of goals and playing really good hockey. That’s what she said at the end of it today that we had some really, really great plays. To win a playoff game for the first time in a few years is fantastic, and it being her 100th win and us all being a part of it was a really, really great feeling. It’s fantastic for coach Whalin. My congrats to her.”
What sets Whalin apart, according to Ahluwalia, is her mentality on the sidelines.
“She’s not a coach that yells,” the Indians’ senior midfielder said. “She explains things to you. She will take you aside and show you what to do and what not to do, so there’s a lot of acknowledgement, a lot of positive feedback.
“The whole program is a lot of learning, and it’s great for anybody who’s a part of it.”
The team will be holding a tailgate after practice to celebrate the milestone win and then will host 11th-seeded West Chester East – a 3-1 winner over Hatboro-Horsham – in a second round game Wednesday.
Radnor 0-0 0
Council Rock North
#12 NORTH PENN 1, #21 BISHOP SHANAHAN 0
The Maidens – despite dominating the game statistically – needed a late goal by Amanda Laessig to eke out a win. Keeping the Eagles in the game was goalie Aileen Taylor, who stopped 18 shots.
“Their goalkeeper had a heck of a game,” coach Shannon McCracken said. “We had a lot of opportunities. We missed wide of the goal multiple times.
“It was just the perseverance of our offense to keep shooting. That’s what we said at halftime – it will go in if we keep shooting.”
McCracken’s words turned out to be prophetic. The Maidens kept shooting, and finally, with 12:43 remaining in regulation, Amanda Laessig found the cage, using an assist from Jennifer DeLongis. That 1-0 lead held until the final whistle.
Although she didn’t face an onslaught of shots, North Penn goalie Marissa Elizardo had some big saves of her own – including a diving stop in the first half of the Eagles only shot on cage.
“Marissa came up with some key saves for us,” McCracken said. “Anytime they had an opportunity, our defense – Morgan Rimmer, Amanda Lashkevich and Marissa Elizardo – just really kept them out of there, and that made a big difference.”
Elizardo was credited with seven saves in the shutout.
“Their goalie had a really good game, and we just kept sending shots at her,” Elizardo said. “I know it was a little frustrating not having them go in, but it just made me know that when it came down, I had to be prepared because I knew it was going to be a close game.
“In a game like this, you’re ready the whole time because you have to know they’re going to come down at some point.”
The district win was the first in McCracken’s three-year stint at the helm.
“We’re just so excited,” she said. “These seniors are leading the team in such a positive way. They want to continue this season for as long as possible.
“It just shows the girls have been working really hard. The girls came together in the offseason and said, ‘We really want to make a name for ourselves this year,’ and all that hard work is paying off.”
Elizardo is one of the team’s 11 seniors.
“Coming into the season, we had lost a lot of good players, but we knew that we had 11 people who could all play together,” the senior goalie said. “We started connecting really well, and as the season’s gone on, we’ve gotten a lot better. Now at this point, all the seniors realize we’re playing to keep our season alive.
“This is so exciting because the last two seasons we’ve gone out in the first round. We just wanted to get past this round.”
The Maidens (13-6, 10-4 SOL) will travel to Downingtown East Wednesday for a 3:30 game against the fifth-seeded Cougars, who defeated 28th-seeded Strath Haven 4-0.
Bishop Shanahan 0-0 0
North Penn 0-1 1
#13 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2, #20 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1 (OT)
Their words tumbled over each other’s as senior Kim Hitchcock and sophomore Bryn Boylan tried to describe the play that brought to a dramatic end their thrilling first round battle with the Golden Hawks – a goal by Boylan with 1:21 remaining in overtime on a corner that the duo executed to perfection for the game winner.
“We practice it a lot,” Boylan said.
“We practice this specific corner a lot,” Hitchcock said.
“We’ve been working on the placement so much,” Boylan said. “I feel like we finally got it right.”
“I think that corner has worked before,” Hitchcock said. “We always try to look for the post every time because we know once we have that tip, there’s no getting by that.”
“It was a perfect pass,” Boylan said. “It worked so well because the pass from Kim was so perfectly on my stick.”
A lot of things went right on the play, beginning with Boylan’s insert pass to Hitchcock to the senior captain’s drive toward the left post that Boylan – who was behind the goalie – redirected into the cage for on a shot that was virtually impossible to stop.
“There’s nothing they could have done,” Rock South coach Lisa Belz said. “I’m so proud of them. They played hard, they left everything on the field, and they played with heart.
“Unfortunately, it’s playoffs, and you can’t go on forever. I’m very pleased with how the girls played all season.”
The game was a rematch of a non-league game that saw the two teams battle to a 1-1 tie, and this game was remarkably similar. The two teams went into halftime deadlocked 0-0, but the Golden Hawks broke that tie during corner play at the 19:40 mark of the second half, connecting on a textbook goal of their own.
The play began with Jackie Shragher’s insert pass to Katie Bagdon at the top of the circle. The senior captain passed the ball to sophomore Caroline McGovern, whose laser shot was redirected into the cage by Shragher.
The Bucks came back to knot the score when Boylan (Cadera Smith assist) scored during play after a corner with 13:54 remaining in regulation. The Golden Hawks – who saw a shot by McGovern miss just wide – drew their ninth corner of the second half as the final seconds were ticking off the clock. They came up empty, setting the stage for overtime that saw the Bucks draw three corners, connecting on the third.
“Seeing the way we reacted after they scored first – honestly, I think the last 10-15 minutes of that game was what took us into overtime strong,” West coach Courtney Hughes said. “Especially stopping the last corner – there were a lot of momentum builders.
“They love overtime. They’re always confident in each other. We were trying to call that (corner) for three plays, and we couldn’t get it done. We finally – it was perfectly executed. Bryn has a way of doing that, that I can’t teach anybody. She’s just very skilled, and she did a great job. It was a perfect pass from Kim. It was just well executed. There’s not anything anyone could have done in that situation.”
The Bucks will travel to Downingtown West for a matchup with the fourth-seeded Whippets on Wednesday at 5:30. But on Monday, they could exhale, knowing that they had extended their season.
“Just the thought that this could be our last game really scared us,” Hitchcock said. “We said – we can’t let this happen.”
Both goalies – West’s Brianna DeAngelis (nine saves) and Anna Sternberg (13 saves) – turned in brilliant performances.
While the Bucks improved to 14-4-1 on the season (10-4 SOL), the Golden Hawks closed their season with a 12-6-1 record (11-3 overall).
Council Rock South 0-1-0 1
Central Bucks West 0-1-1 2
#16 NESHAMINY 6, #17 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0The
Christen Pennington scored three goals and assisted on two others, and Abby Alexis had a goal and an assist to lead the Redskins to the decisive win.
“We passed and moved, and that’s where our spark was coming from,” coach Caitlin Koczynski said. “I was quite pleased with the girls.
“They wanted to come out strong and prove they were meant to be in districts, so we came out ready to go.”
It took no time at all for the ‘Skins to take control of the game as Pennington (Alexis assist) scored four minutes into the game, and a minute later Pennington returned the favor, setting up an Alexis goal. Mackenzie Turchi (Emily Alexis assist) scored six minutes into the game, and within a span of three minutes, the Redskins had taken a 3-0 lead. Another Pennington goal (Abby Alexis assist) sent the Redskins into halftime with a 4-0 lead.
Pennington had a hand in both of the Redskins’ second half goal, scoring midway through the half with an assist from Marlene Koellner, and then it was Pennington setting up Turchi’s second goal of the game for the 6-0 final.
“It was definitely a team effort,” Koczynski said. “The whole team played well.
“They were excited to play at home.”
The Redskins (14-5, 12-2 SOL) will travel to top-seeded Unionville on Wednesday. Earlier this season, Unionville defeated Neshaminy 3-0.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0 0
Neshaminy 4-2 6
#11 WEST CHESTER EAST 3, #22 HATBORO-HORSHAM 1
Any thoughts of repeating last year’s magical postseason run to the state quarterfinals were put to rest when the Hatters fell to the Vikings in Monday’s opening round.
“Both teams played well,” coach Laura Swezey said. “It was a great game.
“We went to the ball and consistently moved it up the field with opportunities.”
The Vikings got on the scoreboard at the 13:56 mark of the first half when Maddy Lewis scored her first of two goals. It was still a 1-0 game at the intermission, but 51 seconds into the second half, Lewis connected for her second goal.
The Hatters fought back, connecting at the 27:42 mark of the second half when Casey Swezey turned a Gabby Acker assist into a goal to make it a 2-1 game. That score held until 39.8 seconds remained when the Vikings tacked on an insurance goal.
“We executed our game plan and marked their number one player for scoring and kept her scoreless,” coach Swezey said. “A little luck around the net and we were there.
“It was a total team effort – lots of great skill and intensity out there by both teams.”
Hatter goalie Emily Braunewell recorded eight saves while East’s Meryl Walker had two saves.
The Hatters closed out the year with a 10-8-1 mark (7-6-1 SOL).
Hatboro-Horsham 0-1 1
West Chester East 1-2 3
#7 PHOENIXVILLE 5, #26 QUAKERTOWN 4 (OT)
If there was any question whether the Panthers belonged in districts, they were put to rest in a hurry in Monday’s district opener as the Panthers opened up a quick 2-0 lead, thanks to goals by Emma McLaughlin – who finished with the hat trick – and Megan Thompson. Thompson scored her goal on a penalty stroke with 9:42 remaining. The Phantoms cut the Panthers’ lead in half with a goal by Katie McErlean with 2:36 remaining in the half to make it a 2-1 game at the intermission.
A goal by Bailey Quinn – also on a penalty stroke – knotted the score, but McLaughlin answered for the Panthers. The Phantoms went on top 4-3 after back-to-back goals by Taylor Jefferis, but once again McLaughlin responded – this time with her third goal at the 7:05 mark, setting the stage for overtime.
The Phantoms won it on a penalty stroke that Quinn turned into a goal. It was the fourth stroke called in the game, a puzzling stat for a district playoff game.
The Phantoms held an advantage in shots (25-7) and corners (18-5). Helping to keep the Panthers close was the 17-save effort of goalie Rylee Lawler.
The Panthers, who closed out the year with an 8-10-1 record (5-8-1 SOL), suffered a setback when standout senior defender Hillary Scott suffered an injury five minutes into the second half.
Monday’s game marked the first time Quakertown has advanced to districts in over a decade.
Quakertown 2-2-0 4
Phoenixville 1-3-1 5
#9 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON 3, #24 WISSAHICKON 0
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