PW, CB East, Souderton & CR South were winners in Wednesday’s second round of the District One 4A Tournament.
#2 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 8, #19 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 2
There are few things coaches appreciate more than a fast start.
The Colonials gave coach Charise Halteman reason to smile, scoring a pair of goals in the opening three minutes.
“They were well-executed corners that we had practiced and planned before the game, so it was exciting to see the team execute the game plan,” PW coach Charise Halteman said.
Ava Borkowski – who collected another hat trick – scored on a deflection of a drive by Liv Truong to spot the Colonials a 1-0 lead. Truong connected on the second goal with an assist from Molly Lynch. Ten minutes later, Kaleigh Missimer scored from the top, and then it was senior Alexis Minor tipping in a Borkowski pass to give the Colonials a 4-0 lead.
Haley McCourt connected on her first varsity goal from the top left of the circle, and with time expired, Missimer scored on a penalty stroke, sending the Colonials into halftime with a 6-0 lead.
“We definitely got on the attack – that’s what we talked about in the huddle before we went out that we wanted to set the tone and be on attack because that’s one of our strengths,” Halteman said. “We definitely did that well.
“I thought we played defense pretty well and shut Council Rock down for the first half of the game.”
PW went on to open up an 8-0 lead before the Indians got on the scoreboard with goals from Rebecca Ripans and Riley Clarke.
“The second half was a little more competitive,” Halteman said. “We subbed and worked on a few different things.
“Council Rock didn’t give up. They played hard the whole game.”
Borkowski led the Colonials with a hat trick and one assist. Missimer added two goals and one assist.
Halteman credited Truong and Kayla Link, the team’s captains, for their leadership.
“They played consistently and showed senior leadership, and that’s what you really need in playoffs,” the PW coach said. “Overall, I just thought we played a solid game. There are definitely things that we still need to work on and get better at. It certainly wasn’t a perfect game of hockey for us. We’ll be back out working on things tomorrow to keep improving for Friday.”
With the win, the Colonials – who saw their season end in the second round the last two years – advanced to Friday’s district quarterfinals.
“Overall, the team executed the game plan,” Halteman said. “We talk about getting on the attack early, but you certainly don’t expect to be up 2-0 that early in the game either.
“That makes a huge difference when you have a little bit of a cushion to play with. It builds confidence for your team, it gets them excited. We’ve struggled to get past the second round, so I think it just gave them the boost of confidence that they needed for the rest of the game to execute the things we had been working on at practice.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (18-1, 14-0 SOL) will host #10 Council Rock South in a quarterfinal game on Friday.
Council Rock North 0-2 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 6-2 8
#5 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1, #12 HAVERFORD 0
The Patriots scored 45 seconds into Wednesday’s second round game when Kenzie Lever slammed home a Sophia Parker pass during corner play.
“We had a stoppage in play, Kenzie Lever lifted it to Phia Mannino, and she drew a corner,” coach Meghann Spratt said. “It was beautiful, it was incredible actually.”
That 1-0 lead stood the rest of the way, and according to the Patriots’ coach, Wednesday’s game was a classic battle.
“I have to give Haverford so much credit,” Spratt said. “It was probably the most difficult first game, and it possibly could have been a final game.
“They were threatening, they were fast. It was so nice to play such a high intensity game from the start. I prefer that win or lose. They came out ready to win. We got on the board in the first minute, and that held us to a victory. We definitely held possession a lot more than Haverford. They played more of a long ball game, and that is not our style, but I give them credit. They are a disciplined, strong, quick team.”
The Patriots’ coach credited the efforts of several players.
“Emily Bullard started our defense with aggressiveness, commanding the backfield,” Spratt said of her junior goalie. “I think she deserves a ton of credit. She came out ready to play, and that always sets the tone for our backfield all the way through, which is always very, very important.
“Kenzie Lever – her shots, her hits were incredible today. Alli Gallant played a very strong game. Phia Mannino is sick right now, but she played and did well.”
The Patriots’ coach went on to laud the play of left back Renee Gatto.
“She played incredible, she played poised and strong,” Spratt said. “There was a ball that was off the post, and she had one of the strongest goal saves I’ve seen all season.
“She tried to collect it, they shot again, and she saved it again on the goal. With all grit and aggressiveness, she forced it out and then cleared it to the outside. It would have been the tying goal, and who knows what would have happened if they came away with a goal. It would have changed momentum. I give Renee so much credit for one of the best defensive plays and strongest plays I’ve seen all season.”
When it was over, there was nothing but respect on both sides.
“Their coach is so sweet – at the end of the game, we hugged each other,” Spratt said. “I said, ‘I don’t even want to say good season because this could have been a district final match.’ That’s how good they are and how well they’re coached.
“They were a hard first round for us. It was great.”
Central Bucks (16-3, 11-1 SOL) will travel to fourth-seeded Perk Valley for Friday’s quarterfinal contest.
Haverford 0-0 0
Central Bucks East 1-0 1
#6 SOUDERTON 4, #11 KENNETT 0
Showing no ill effects from a layoff, the Indians – who had an opening round bye – seized early control of Wednesday’s second round game and never let up.
Courtney Kenah scored two goals and assisted on another, and sophomore Reiley Knize also connected on a pair of goals as the Indians rolled to the second round win.
“We had some really good practices this week, and we played really well against the Mount on Friday in a scrimmage” coach Sue Casciato said. “We had a couple of not so great games to finish off the league – maybe we were pressing because we knew we had to win out, but we had a good scrimmage with the Mount.”
The Indians’ convincing win brought an end to the season for a Kennett squad that had won 12 of its last 13 games. Souderton’s players and coaches acknowledged that it was a stronger showing than they’d had in their final regular season outings.
“Our passes were better – we weren’t forcing passes,” senior Kylie Norbeck said. “We’ve struggled the past few games, but I think today we worked as a team, and that’s what’s helped us in this win.”
Knize gave the Indians an early lead, turning a Courtney Kenah pass into a goal four minutes into the game. Two minutes later, Kenah connected to put the Indians on top 2-0. Kenah scored her second goal in a strong individual effort after carrying the ball down the right side. The Indians took that 3-0 lead into halftime.
Knize closed out the scoring with a goal midway through the second half, using an Anna Gwiazdzinski assist.
Lost in the shuffle was the standout effort of a young Indians’ defense. Kennett held an 8-6 advantage in corners and also took as many shots as the Indians, an advantage that was negated by the 11-save effort of goalie Jordan Michalak.
“She had a really nice game,” Casciato said.
Ange Borisow is one of two freshmen in the Indians’ defensive backfield.
“It’s an honor to be out there,” Borisow said. “It’s really fun to work with the other girls back there, and Jordan (Michalak) is really uplifting.
“I had an idea I’d be playing since we had been playing with the varsity all summer, but I really tried hard to get on this team. I’m having a blast – it’s so much fun.”
“Overall, we have a really good team connection,” Norbeck said. “We lost 10 seniors, so we knew we needed the freshmen. We came out this season, and it just clicked. It clicked better than last year.”
The Indians turned in one of their best defensive efforts of the season in Wednesday’s win.
“There are times when you just click together,” Borisow said. “That’s how the game was today.”
“Everyone had their sticks down,” Norbeck said. “It was just a wall back there.
“I have to give it up to our coaches for running us. As much as we hate it, we come out in games – other teams get tired and we’re still running. I feel that definitely helps us, and just being so tight. We got lucky having two really good freshman back there.”
Proving it’s never too late to make changes, Wednesday’s game included a brand new corner alignment for the Indians.
“We’ve been a work in progress all season,” Casciato said. “The kids are rolling with it. They’re going to play where we ask them to play. They’re very willing. It’s the same 11 or 12, but we keep rotating them around.”
Souderton (17-2, 11-1 SOL) will travel to #3 Owen J Roberts for a quarterfinal game Friday. The winner earns a berth in states.
“I want it so badly,” Norbeck said. “After last year, I thought that might be our last run, but this year we came out, and it’s just been amazing. I don’t want it to end.
“All the girls are so great – one more win. We just have to play together as a team.”
Kennett 0-0 0
Souderton 3-1 4
#10 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1, #7 NESHAMINY 0
Twice during the regular season, the Golden Hawks had fallen by one goal to the Redskins for their only two conference losses, so when Ashley Lackman looked at the District One 4A bracket and saw a potential second round date with Neshaminy, the senior defensive back couldn’t have been happier.
“We kept saying that nobody can beat a team three times, and we proved that today,” Lackman said. “They beat us twice in the regular season, but we won when it really mattered.”
The third time really was the charm as the Golden Hawks used a standout defensive effort and a first-half goal by Cailey Hiscox to earn the hard fought win.
“It feels amazing,” Lackman said. “I’m a senior, and it’s the last time I’m getting to play them, and to go out like that, it’s the best thing ever.”
The Redskins came out of the gate and applied immediate pressure. They held a 17-4 advantage in penalty corners and drew 13 of them in the first half, but it was the Golden Hawks getting on the scoreboard with 11:21 remaining in the first half when Hiscox scored on a rebound.
Earlier, during a timeout with 19:15 remaining in the half, coach Lisa Belz made several defensive changes, not the least of which was assigning junior Emelia Elko the task of containing Neshaminy’s dangerous senior forward Peyton Ritchey.
“I stayed ball-side, goal-side most of the time, and that really worked,” Elko said. “I also made sure I was in a position where I could come in front of her and take the ball before she could get it.
“We kind of panicked a little bit at the beginning today, but we got it together. At the beginning, I was not on Peyton. I was left back, and the first timeout our coach called us over and gave us the game plan. We switched everything up and it worked from then on.”
“Peyton Ritchey is their main generator of offense, especially when she brings the ball down on the right side of the field and has a big cross ball,” said Lackman, who had a pair of defensive saves. “We put Emelia on her to block her out and try to stop them defensively, and I moved over to the left side to be on her, to stop the transition down. All of our backs – we really stepped up and we worked together as a unit.
“Also, our midfield did a great job of stopping them in transition. We worked well together in that sense. We played them two times before this season, so we knew their strategy, we knew the way they play together. We really worked hard at practice, buckling down and getting done what we needed to get done defensively to stop everything they usually do.”
When the Redskins did take a shot, Rock South goalie Karlie McCloskey was equal to the task, turning away 14 shots in a stellar outing.
“I think both teams fought really hard,” Rock South coach Lisa Belz said. “I’m extremely proud of my team, specifically the defense today. They came up big.
“Karlie McCloskey had some outstanding saves, and Emelia Elko marked Peyton Ritchey, and she did a great job helping to deny her the ball because she’s a major threat. Their other forwards are speedy too, and our other backs – Lauren Mitchell, Ashley Lackman, Rachael Rolle – did a great job. Overall, it was a great team effort.”
The Redskins managed just four corners in the second half, two as time was winding down, but they came up empty.
“They’ve been our rivals,” Elko said. “In past years, we have not been able to win against them. We were really excited to finally beat them.
“It felt like a championship. When we were on our side and it was nearly 10 seconds, we realized that we won, and we all got the biggest smiles on our faces. We were so excited.”
Council Rock South (15-5, 10-2 SOL) will travel to #2 Plymouth Whitemarsh for Friday’s district quarterfinal.
“It’s crazy,” Elko said. “Now that we beat someone we didn’t think we could at the beginning of the season – it gives us so much confidence.”
Neshaminy (12-0 SOL) closed out a successful season with a 15-4 record.
Council Rock South 1-0 1
Neshaminy 0-0 0
#1 GARNET VALLEY 2, #16 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
The Titans knew they’d have their hands full against the top-seeded Jaguars, but they hung tough, allowing only one goal in each half to a Garnet Valley squad that held a 19-6 advantage in shots.
Keeping the Titans in it was the glittering 17-save effort of senior goalie Jillian Heilig as well as the tenacious defense of sophomores Anna Shirley, Sarah Cooper, Grace Haag and senior Maddie Pearce.
“We allowed very few uncontested shots,” said coach Pat Toner.
The hard part, according to the veteran coach, is saying good-bye to the team’s seniors.
“One of my favorite sayings is ‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened,’” Toner said. “There was a lot to smile about this season as we had the chance to watch the youngest and most inexperienced team I’ve ever coached, achieve a level of success that surpassed everyone’s expectations. This group of players was willing to change positions based on what we needed as a team. They understood that our success was a group effort and they believed in themselves and each other.
“Congrats to our seniors for leading a team that finished third in a very difficult league and earned 11 wins. Congrats on qualifying for the playoffs for the fourth straight year, for winning the first round for the past four years, and for sticking together as a team as several players dealt with injuries. I could not be more proud of all of you.”
Central Bucks South (6-6 SOL) closed out its season with an 11-9 record.
Central Bucks South 0-0 0
Garnet Valley 1-1 2
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