CB East fell to Owen J Roberts in a District One 4A semifinal game. Souderton edged Central Bucks South to earn a berth in the PIAA 4A Tournament. CB East/Owen J Roberts photos provided courtesy of Debbie Fee & Deborah Horan.
#1-4 OWEN J ROBERTS 2, #1-1 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0
Cailey Lever – minus half of one of her front teeth and traces of blood still on her face – wore the battle scars of a tough afternoon on the turf in Tuesday’s district semifinal battle against the Wildcats.
The broken tooth was not the senior captain’s main concern when it happened and was even less of a concern when the game was over. Rather, her focus was on her team and what it had learned in the loss.
“The second after I came off the field – I immediately asked if I could play the rest of the game,” Lever said. “I didn’t realize (the tooth) had come out.”
“That was a tough loss. We definitely didn’t want to lose that game, but you know what – I think it was a good learning experience for us. I think it’s a wake-up call and will better prepare us for states so we can keep our confidence in check.
“I thought we played well. I think there’s a lot we can learn from it and a lot to work on, but we’re going to keep moving forward. We play Friday (in the third place game), and now we can look forward to that.”
The Patriots had their hands full against a talented and aggressive Wildcat squad.
“Honestly, I think they had a lot of great technical skill,” Lever said. “I think they were very similar to us in the sense that when we were preparing for this game every coverage we read on them – they had a strong center back, they had a strong center forward.
“They looked for long balls, they had excellent in and out passing in the midfield. I think their transfers were excellent. I really give them props. I thought they played amazing.”
The Patriots and Wildcats battled to a scoreless halftime tie. Emily Bullard delivered a clutch saves early in the game to keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard. Neither team had a whole lot of chances. The Wildcats drew two first-half corners while the Patriots had none.
“I thought we played them great the first half,” East coach Meghann Spratt said. “The first half was great field hockey, and it was a very even game.
“I thought the physical part of things started to get out of control, and it changed the flow of the game. We had three yellow cards (in the second half), and at one time, we were down two players. I thought the second half changed completely with the calls and physicality. They allowed it to escalate.”
The Wildcats had the better of play in the second half and got on the scoreboard at the 26:19 mark when Natalie Fuertsch turned Jenna Kirby’s insert pass during corner play into a goal. Julia Lamb (Sophia Murray assist) tacked on an insurance goal midway through the half.
“They were very strong girls,” Lever said. “And with such a young team, I think that’s something we could definitely be lacking.
“I think we played the best we could play against them. I think it was a good learning experience for us. We’re playing Methacton for third or fourth, and we’re looking forward to that.”
“I agree with Cailey 100 percent,” Spratt said. “We will learn from this. I said to the girls – it does not change our destiny. We are still in states.
“We said going into this game – these are the kind of games we’re going to play when we get into states, and we’ll learn from it. I’m not deterred. I’m not upset. I thought it was a great game the first half. The second half was just not field hockey.”
Central Bucks East (19-2, 12-0 SOL) will host #14 Methacton in Friday’s third place game. The Warriors handed the Patriots their only regular season loss on Sept. 29 when they earned a 1-0 win.
Owen J Roberts 0-2 2
Central Bucks East 0-0 0
Playback Game
#1-8 SOUDERTON 3, #1-12 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2
Souderton – for the first time since 2006 – is bound for the state tournament, putting an exclamation on a remarkable season for a squad that won just eight games last year.
It turns out that advancing to states was not on the Indians’ list of goals.
“I don’t think we ever got that far – we wanted to win the league,” coach Sue Casciato said.
That didn’t work out for an Indian squad that finished second to Central Bucks East, but earning a berth in states for the first time in a more than a decade is not a bad consolation prize.
“When the girls went to camp at East Stroudsburg this year, they had a coach they really loved,” Casciato said. “I don’t know what her name was, but she said, ‘When you make it to states, I’ll come to a game.’
“They’ve been excited all week that they’re going to reach out to her and see if she actually shows up.”
The two teams battled to a scoreless halftime tie.
“We played really well the first half and had nothing to show for it,” Casciato said. “We controlled the ball most of the half, but we just didn’t get enough quality shots off. We talked about it at halftime and said, ‘They’re packing so many people in the circle. Instead of trying to get shots off, let’s get corners.’”
And get corners they did. All three of the team’s second-half goals came during corner play.
At the 21:36 mark of the second half, Courtney Kenah scored her first of three goals after a give-and-go with her sister, Lauren Kenah. Two minutes later, Casey Reilly (Annie Brady assist) scored on a powerful corner shot, knotting the score 1-1.
“Courtney’s goal went off a foot on the defense, and Casey’s goal went in off Randi’s stick,” Casciato said. “Randi Hess is our flyer – she got out there, got a lot of stick on it, but Casey hit it so hard it still went into goal.”
Less than two minutes later, the Titans struck again – this time it was Annie Brady connecting during a scramble, but the Indians responded. At the 13:08 mark, Kenah turned Jenna Hunsicker’s insert pass into a goal with a shot from the top of the circle.
“Almost all these corners, the goalies never had a chance – our goalie or their goalie,” Casciato said. “I told them, ‘Just get the ball on goal. Good things can happen.’”
Kenah scored the game-winner during a scramble in front the cage on the rebound off the goalie’s pads.
“She was definitely in the right place at the right time,” Casciato said of Kenah.
Casciato credited Alyssa Krady, who moved from right to left forward, and forced the corner that resulted in the game-winning goal.
“She busted her butt to get to a ball in the circle and drew a foul,” Casciato said. “I told her, ‘Nobody is ever going to notice that, but I saw that.’
“I moved Alyssa to the left side to play a little more defense and just try and change things up a little bit.”
The Indians capitalized on their corners, and their reward is a trip to the state tournament.
“It’s really nice because there are so many seniors,” Casciato said. “We’ve had some talent different years and even last year.
“I told someone today that I give a lot of credit to my defense because I only play with three people back there so I can have a fourth person on the forward line. Last year they lost so many games by a goal or two because they had trouble scoring, so I was like, ‘We’re going to be offensive heavy.’ I’ve been fortunate because my two backs and my sweeper – all seniors – have been playing great.”
Jess Schmidt, Caitlin Lennon and Grace DeThomas anchor the Indians’ defense, and also playing a key defensive role recently – according to Casciato – is left mid Kylie Norbeck.
“The last couple of games – she has great footwork, she’s a great defender, and we pick out the best player on the other team, and she chases them around,” said Casciato, who also lauded the play of Anna Gwiazdzinski. “As usual, Anna was running all over the field busting her butt.”
The Indians held an advantage in shots (12-7) and corners (11-4). South goalie Jillian Heilig was credited with eight saves while Souderton’s Casey Febus had five. South’s Sofia Sonnet also was credited with a defensive save.
For South coach Pat Toner, Tuesday’s loss meant bidding farewell to a special senior class.
“Losing a hard-fought game is always tough, but saying good-bye to seniors you love is heartbreaking,” the Titans’ coach said. “Thank you for a great season, all the laughs and so many wonderful memories.
“Casey, Mel, Meeks, Annie, Sofia, Arianna, Kelsey and Kate – you are the best.”
Souderton (17-3, 10-2 SOL) will travel to Downingtown West for Friday’s fifth place game. Central Bucks South closed out its season with an 11-8-2 record (6-4-2 SOL).
Central Bucks South 0-2 2
Souderton 0-3 3
About the Author
