Three SOL teams advanced to Thursday’s second round of the District One AAA Tournament. To view photos of the Hatboro/Villa game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
#8 HATBORO-HORSHAM 19, #25 VILLA MARIA ACADEMY 8
By Mike Prince, Sportswriter
For Suburban One Sports
After watching their four-goal lead disappear following four consecutive goals by Villa Maria, coach Duncan Swezey and the Lady Hatters called timeout, got situated and realized they needed to pick up their game and start playing some defense.
And it worked, as Hatboro-Horsham appeared to be a completely different team for the final 36 minutes of the game.
The Lady Hatters turned a 5-5 tie into a 12-7 halftime lead and eventually cruised to a 19-8 win over 25th-seeded Villa Maria in a District One Class AAAA first round playoff at Hatboro-Horsham High School on Tuesday.
Junior Katie McKay led the eighth-seeded Lady Hatters (16-2) with six goals, one assist and four draw controls.
“We decided that we just had to really step it up and bring our ‘A’ game and bring it hard on goal,” McKay said regarding the timeout Hatboro-Horsham called early in the first half. “We knew we had to start talking on defense.”
McKay was helped by juniors Maria Guerra and Rachel Rausa in the first half, as the three midfielders each scored four goals apiece in the opening 25 minutes of play.
“It’s like night and day for us,” Swezey said. “The first 5-6 minutes of every game seem to almost always be horrendous. It’s almost comical, but we just had to call timeout and get their heads in the game. We kind of turned our heads on the ball today and made mistakes that you make at the beginning of the year.”
In the second half, it was all Hatboro-Horsham, as Colby Eldridge got in on the scoring and then McKay followed with two more of her own to put the Lady Hatters up 15-7 before Villa Maria called timeout at the 13:49 mark.
Guerra and Rausa each finished with four goals, while Rausa added two assists and four groundballs. Casey Swezey scored twice and assisted twice for Hatboro-Horsham, while Sydney Rausa added one goal. Jane Henry also tallied a pair of assists, while goalkeeper Jackie Giovinazzo stopped seven shots in net to earn the win.
The Lady Hatters will next face Garnet Valley, the No. 9 seed which defeated Souderton 23-8, this Thursday at Hatboro-Horsham High School.
“Now, it’s districts and now, it’s for real,” Swezey said. “In the first game, you never know what you’re going to get, but now we have Garnet Valley and we’re looking forward to that game on Thursday. It should be a good one.”
#18 UPPER DUBLIN 9, #15 NORTH PENN 8
In years past, it wouldn’t be unlikely for Upper Dublin to sail through the first round of districts, but this year, the young Cardinals were the underdogs. On Monday, two of the Cardinals top players, juniors Taylor D’Ginto and Anna Petrucci, were in a car accident and were unable to play due to minor injuries, leaving the playoff-bound squad with some serious holes in their lineup.
D’Ginto is the leading scorer for the Cards and Petrucci anchors the defense, so their absence was destined to be felt on the field. Petrucci and D’Ginto were on the sideline cheering their team on, but it was an emotional experience for a Flying Cardinal squad coming off an upset loss to Upper Merion that snapped an 80-game SOL winning streak.
“Things happen for a reason,” said coach Dee Cross. “I said to them, ‘Just go out there and have fun.’ And that’s exactly what they did, and it kept them in the game.”
From the first minute, it was obvious the game would be a battle as Upper Dublin’s Kayla Mullen scored off the opening draw, and the Flying Cardinals increased their lead to 2-0 before the Maidens’ Lauren Green answered with two in a row to make it a 3-3 game at the half.
“It was back and forth,” said Cross. “It was a defensive battle; 3-3 is our lowest halftime score of the season.
“Alycia Hildebrand and Sam Boyd had perfectly timed checks on defense and came up with ground balls to set the tone early.”
The Lady Cards capitalized again at the start of the second half and scored the first goal of the period, but they were never able to take more than a one-goal lead as Green, who had five goals on the day, had an answer, scoring three consecutive goals for the Maidens. Green’s final goal knotted the teams 6-6 near the end of regulation, and both teams were set up to battle through the last five minutes of play.
With one minute remaining, the Maidens took an 8-7 lead and attempted to hold onto the ball for the duration. However, an errant pass that went out of bounds resulted in a turnover that the Cardinals jumped on. The Flying Cardinals brought the ball into their offensive zone before dishing it off to Kayla McAneney (four goals, two assists), who charged to goal on a 1v1 and scored with 24 seconds remaining to tie the game.
The ensuing draw was everything in this first round game, with the winner likely to have the opportunity to win the game. The Lady Cards, according to Cross, came up with the ball and got a midfield free position, which set them up for a two-on-one break to the cage. The ball made its way to Rachel DiFrangia, who passed it to Shelby Kenny who, in turn, threw a fake on Maidens’ keeper Jenna Stover and put the ball past her for the win with 11 seconds on the clock.
North Penn called a timeout hoping to regain possession and send the game into overtime. The Maidens did control the final draw and pushed the ball into the Cardinals eight-meter arc but ran out of time to get a solid shot off as time expired.
“It was very emotional,” said Cross. “The girls (D’Ginto and Petrucci) were on sideline and were so sore, but it was good they came with us. This is the kind of win you’ll never forget.”
The Cardinals received standout efforts from many players, and some were unexpected surprises.
“Emily Long started on defense and hadn’t played varsity all season, but she held her own,” said Cross. “Also, Dominique Green-Coleman came back from an injury and she did a nice steady job today.”
Cross also noted the play of Kenny, a defender who filled in as an attacker and stepped up with the game-winner, as well as keeper Sarah Gallagher who turned away a career-high 15 shots.
Lady Cards’ power attacker Julie Cross was held to only one goal due to an effective face-guarding effort by the Maidens.
“They face-guarded Julie all game and that made a difference since she averages 3-4 goals a game,” said Cross. “She got one, but they did a nice job. She was still was able to get ball in midfield and come up with some draws.”
In addition to Green’s five-goal effort, Brittany Tyson, Julianna Hill and Jen DeLongis added single goals for the Maidens, who end their season 13-5 (9-3 SOL). Maiden keeper Jenna Stover stopped 14 shots.
The Lady Cards upped their record to 15-4 overall and head into the second round to face second-seeded Great Valley.
“I couldn’t have asked for more,” said Cross. “We walked off the field and we had fun, and they didn’t let the circumstances stop them. They played with heart and that’s what we had to do.”
#19 PENNSBURY 17, #14 OWEN J. ROBERTS 10
For the second time this season, the Falcons made history. First, they won the program’s first ever league title, and on Tuesday, they advanced to the second round of districts for the first time after upsetting the 14th-seeded Wildcats.
One of the Falcons’ weaknesses this season has been a lack of momentum in the first half, but coach Kelly White was happy that wasn’t the case during their playoff debut.
“I thought we came out strong and played a good first half,” said White. “We led 7-5 and we were playing good defense, but the only thing we had to work on was getting ground ball controls on defense since they scored three of their goals off ground ball possessions.”
The Falcons got a little too comfortable with their two-goal lead as the second half began and lost some momentum, allowing the Wildcats to claw back and score three in a row to take an 8-7 lead after seven minutes. White then called a timeout to regroup and reassess, reminding her team what they were playing for.
“The whole season our goal has been taking it to the next level,” the Falcons’ coach said. “We knew we had a good seed, and this was a winnable game. It was time to get fired up and to focus on playing two halves.”
West Chester recruit Kelsy Gumbert was particularly important in the comeback, scoring a game-high five goals and adding four assists, but she insisted on passing the credit around.
“We are all working as a team,” said Gumbert. “If one is down, then everyone is picking each other up. We all contribute.”
After White’s timeout, a different Falcon squad took the field for the remaining 18 minutes, and they never gave up that momentum as they steadily added to their lead. Jackie Sweeney also had a big day, scoring four goals, while freshman Devin Frankil (three assists) and Carson Smith each added three goals, and Joy Hopkins and Alyssa Matthews chipped in single goals.
White credited the efforts of her defensive unit in the Falcons’ decisive win, particularly the performance of keeper Liana Eyre, who turned away 10 shots.
“Eyre has been our anchor all year long,” said White. “She keeps us in the game when we might be disconnecting in other areas.”
Gumbert realizes facing third-seeded Springfield-Delco, a 19-7 winner over Council Rock South in the first round, will be difficult, but she is optimistic since the Falcons handled South in an 18-12 win earlier in the season.
“That will be an even match,” said Gumbert. “If we can come and play both halves, we have a chance,”
The Falcons (14-3) faced the Cougars in the first round of districts in 2012 and lost 14-3, but White isn’t worried about last year’s matchup.
“We have progressed so much from last year,” she said. “The only thing we can do is go and play our game and give it everything. We need to play with pride and leave everything on the field.”
#9 GARNET VALLEY 23, #24 SOUDERTON 8
The ninth-seeded Jaguars jumped out to a 12-7 halftime lead over the 24th-seeded Indians, creating a deficit too hard to recover from. Chessie Rehmer, Alyssa Ziegler and Natalie Bulgier each scored a pair of goals while Amber Lambeth and Brittany Roynan rounded out the scoring with single goals. The Indians end their season with a 9-9 record (6-6 SOL).
#5 HARRITON 19, #28 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 6
The fifth-seeded Rams staked out an 11-4 lead over the visiting Patriots en route to knocking them out of the playoff bracket with a decisive 19-6 victory. Maggie Stella and Mary Kate Schwartz each scored a pair of goals for the Patriots while Julia Norek and Marissa Glatt added single goals. The Patriots end their season 11-8 overall (6-6 SOL).
#10 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON15, #23 WISSAHICKON 3
The 23rd-seeded Trojans had their hands full when they faced the 10th-seeded Warriors, who staked out a commanding 11-0 lead by halftime. Jaclyn Hibbs, Laura Frankenfield, and Zoe Gomez all contributed single goals while sophomore keeper Julie Silverman stopped 10 shots. The Trojans end their season with a 13-6 record (11-3 SOL)
#1 RADNOR 17, #32 UPPER MERION 2
It’s been ten years since the Vikings made their last trip to District playoffs, and coach Angie Yanocha credits her team for their hard work throughout their 2013 season.
“I'm extremely proud of my girls for making it to districts and being among the top 32 teams in the area,” said Yanocha. “We played hard and gave it our best effort.”
Unfortunately for the Vikings, the top-seeded Red Raiders were too much for them to handle. Amanda McAteer and Haley O’Malley (Julia Reinert assist) scored the only goals for the Vikings, whose season ended with an 11-8 record overall (8-6 SOL)
“It's never fun to lose, but it was a learning experience for my girls,” said Yanocha. “Our goal this season was to make districts and we did.”
Yanocha has a team full of young and promising players, so she has hopes for continued success and return trips to the playoffs.
“I'm looking forward to our future and hope this experience will help us move in that direction,” said Yanocha.
#11 MOUNT ST. JOSEPH 20, #22 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 10
Things looked promising when the Bucks jumped out of the gate to a 2-0 lead less than four minutes into the game, thanks to goals from Elena Romesburg (Meghan Tillger assist) and Jane Savard. They led 3-1 after another Romesburg goal, but that’s when the fun stopped for the Bucks, who were outscored by the Magic 12-2 the rest of the half.
Romesburg led the Bucks with four goals and one assist while Savard added the hat trick. Tillger had three assists, and Jacq Fitzgerald, Maddie Villalba and Paige Savard each added single goals.
Coach Tara Schmucker bids farewell to four seniors who were freshmen when she took over the program three years ago.
“They’re a small group,” she said. “But they’re all really special, and it’s nice to see how well they’ve grown not only as individuals but as a team.”
The ending may have been disappointing, but the season was not for a West squad that three years ago won one game and last year – in the program’s first trip to districts in a over a decade – fell to Conestoga 21-1 in the opening round of districts.
The Bucks closed out the year with a 10-8 record overall (6-6 in SOL).
#4 STRATH HAVEN 20, #29 SPRINGFIELD-MONTCO 5
#3 SPRINGFIELD-DELCO 19, #30 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 7
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