Central Bucks East defeated Cardinal O’Hara in a PIAA 3A opening round game on Wednesday night. (Photo courtesy of Debbie Fee)
#1-4 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1, #12-1 CARDINAL O’HARA 0
Kenzie Lever inherited a brand new fan on Tuesday night.
“I loved the way you played,” the young girl in charge of the scoreboard clock shyly told the East sophomore after Tuesday’s game at the Germantown Super Site.
That young girl was hardly alone. Lever’s play drew high praise from her coach.
“I think this was her best game of the season,” coach Meghann Spratt said. “We needed some key players to step up, and she took the role and did everything in her power, thanks to her hustle, her grit, her determination and skill.”
Lever’s inspired performance – which included several textbook crossing passes – played a major role in the Patriots’ ability to dominate play in Wednesday’s PIAA 3A opening round contest.
“I thought she played amazing,” said senior captain Cailey Lever, her elder sibling. “Her tenacity was incredible. I thought she fought for every single ball.”
It also didn’t hurt that Lever connected on a powerful reverse stick goal deserving of a spot on this season’s highlight reel with 1:39 remaining in the first half that turned out to be the game-winner.
“In the first half, we knew we were having a good game as a team,” Kenzie Lever said. “We came out really strong, and we knew if we didn’t play as well as we could have our season would be over.
“For the majority of the first half, we weren’t able to put it in. We were going wide a lot, so I knew we had to go inside, so I just dribbled it in. It was on my reverse, which wouldn’t be what you want, but I just took it in and it went in. It was real exciting and that’s what got our momentum going.”
The Patriots’ dominance is underscored by the fact that they had 11 corners while O’Hara had none.
Goalie Gianna Travia kept O’Hara in it, turning away 10 shots, which included some impressive stops.
“She was good,” Kenzie Lever said. “She had a lot of great saves and was definitely a key component on their team.”
Wednesday’s win came on the heels of back-to-back losses to Owen J Roberts (2-0) and Methacton (3-0) to close out district play. They were just the second and third losses of the season for the Patriots.
“I just said, ‘ At this point, it’s do or die. We lose we go home,’” Spratt said. “And after the incredible successful season we’ve had and how hard they’ve worked all season that I wasn’t ready for the season to end.
“I said, ‘I don’t think you guys are ready for the season to end,’ and they all brought it today. It was an amazing win for us. Now we’re facing Emmaus, and we look forward to it on Saturday.”
The Patriots were minus their top scorer –Phia Mannino – the past two games. The sophomore standout was injured in the loss to Owen J Roberts.
“Owen J Roberts was definitely a very tough loss,” Cailey Lever said. “They were an excellent team. We hadn’t really seen that talent thus far in the season.
“Coming out to face Methacton, we really, really wanted that win, but we’d also lost one of our top starters, Phia Mannino, in the Owen J Roberts game. That was a really critical loss for us.
“We have done a lot of restructuring in our lineup. We’re putting some new faces out there, and I really think this game was a good opportunity for us to test that out and start gelling as a team. I honestly thought we really brought it today. I thought we looked amazing, and I’m really happy with how we played.”
“We were not happy about (the two losses),” Kenzie Lever said. “Then again, we knew districts were in the past, and now it was states time.”
Central Bucks East (20-3, 12-0 SOL) will face District 11 champion Emmaus in Saturday’s quarterfinal round state game at Exeter at noon. Emmaus defeated District One fifth seed Downingtown West 1-0 in Tuesday’s opening round.
Cardinal O’Hara 0-0 0
Central Bucks East 1-0 1
Tuesday, Nov. 6
#3-1 LOWER DAUPHIN 2, #1-6 SOUDERTON 0
District III flexed its muscles in Tuesday’s opening round of the PIAA 3A tournament with all four of its teams advancing to the Elite Eight. The standard bearer for excellent in the state’s toughest district is undeniably Lower Dauphin, which has competed in 22 district title games and won 13.
The underdog Indians didn’t win, but they certainly held their own.
“We hung in there,” coach Sue Casciato said. “If we had played this well, we probably would have beaten (CB) East a couple of times and beat Downingtown (West) the other day because we actually played two decent halves of hockey.”
“We definitely played our best hockey of the season. We played the way we always figured we could play. Against Downingtown, we only really played one half. Today we came out and played hard from the first minute, which we’ve had trouble doing this year.”
Emma O’Neill scored a goal that would turn out to be the game-winner with 10:08 remaining in the first half. Audrey Domovich added a goal 12 minutes into the second half.
“It was fast,” Casciato said. “They’re all tall and muscular. They’re good – they come in waves, and they’re so fluid. We’d make a good play, and there would be somebody right on their heels.
“We had chances – in the first half, we had some really nice crosses, and we just didn’t get a stick on the ball. We were double and triple teaming them too. I think we kind of surprised them.
“We were nervous. It’s been a long time since we have been there, and some of these girls don’t have a lot of points of reference for how good hockey can be.”
Lower Dauphin held an advantage in shots (11-1) and corners (8-0). Souderton goalie Jordan Michalak recorded nine saves.
“She had some really great saves,” Casciato said.
Tuesday’s state game was the first for Souderton in 12 years.
“We’re losing a lot, but it’s a learning experience for us,” said Casciato, who bids farewell to 10 seniors. “The cool thing about them was they had 45 kids warming up. It’s a program – you can tell she (coach Linda Kreiser) is preparing them for what’s next – this is what it’s like to play at this level.”
Souderton closed out a successful season with a 17-5 record (10-2 SOL).
Souderton 0-0 0
Lower Dauphin 1-1 2
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