Souderton earned a berth in the PIAA 3A Tournament with Tuesday’s win. Wissahickon remains alive for a state berth.
District One 4A Playback
#2 SOUDERTON 1, #3 WISSAHICKON 0
The Indians punched their ticket to the state tournament
“It’s super exciting,” said Souderton senior captain Lauren Kenah, whose first quarter goal turned out to be the game-winner. “Coming into the season, that was one of our main goals. “Last season very few teams went to states (because of the COVID-19 pandemic), so it was super important to get back and finish for my senior year.”
In truth, there wasn’t a whole lot of talk about the state berth after Tuesday’s game. Rather, both players and coaches on Souderton’s sidelines were trying to figure out how they came up empty on 20 penalty corners. This on the heels of falling to Garnet Valley 3-1 in a district quarterfinal game Friday that saw the Indians hold a 16-5 advantage in corners.
“Twenty corners and a (penalty) stroke and no goals,” Souderton coach Sue Casciato said. “We tried different things, but after 20, you run out of options.
“This is the same thing that happened to us on Friday. Every time we had a timeout today, we’re like, ‘We’re playing well, we look great between the 25s, but we have got to find a way to get the ball in the goal cage.’ Too many balls were rolling over the end line. It’s not like we don’t practice – we practice it all the time. I felt like we played well and had nice passing.”
Although they struggled on corners, the Indians had the distinct advantage of scoring early when Kenah turned a Reiley Knize pass into a goal five minutes into the game.
“Reiley did such a great job taking the end line that I was almost free, and I feel like I’m never really free in the circle because other teams do a pretty good job marking, so it was great,” Kenah said. “She sent the ball, and I was wide open on stroke, and we just finished. I wish we did it a couple more times, but it was great.”
Neither team scored the rest of the way, but for the Indians, it was not for lack of opportunities. They had seven corners in the first half and then eight more in the third quarter, but the Trojans’ corner defense refused to give an inch.
“Boy, did they have a lot of work to do today,” Wissahickon coach Lucy Gil said of her defensive corner unit. “The defense was the winner of the game. They did a really, really great job on the corners, just getting to the ball and providing a brick wall.
“My right back Danielle Ciliberto was diving in front of the goal cage and stopping the ball, and Julia Schools also did it. They were just intent on not letting another ball go in.”
According to Schools, communication was the key.
“Every time before we go out, we say where we’re going because sometimes the people who aren’t flying – the back three – get stuck really close to each other,” Schools said. “We make sure we all know where we’re going.
“Every time before we go, I say, ‘Don’t let it go in. I don’t care how you get it out, but as long as it doesn’t go in, it’s fine.’ A lot of times with the corners, after we stop the first couple, we realize – we did it before, we can do it again, and you also start to pick up what they’re doing. We know their plays, we know where it’s going to go.”
While the Trojans seemed to gain confidence with each penalty corner, the Indians’ struggles and frustration mounted.
“We did a corner play, and I could hear them say, ‘Guys, be ready for this,’” Kenah said. “I feel like that has happened in multiple games. The last game we had 15 corners, and the more we do them, the more they’re catching on, the more they know who the ball’s going to. They know how to switch. If we get corners, we have to capitalize early, that’s for sure.
“I do feel like the first couple we definitely read what they’re giving us, and I think that’s important. I knew they were coming outside of the cage versus running inside the cage, so I knew we had a little less time to get something off. I also knew that they were coming up with a high trail. I think we need to make adjustments a little quicker as far as reading what they’re giving us. We’re either hot or we’re cold with corners, which kind of stinks. I think we do a great job getting it on post, but I think we need to be a little more consistent.”
Corners will be a point of emphasis at Wednesday’s practice, a fact that was made clear before the Indians left the field.
“We’re just going to keep doing them,” Souderton assistant coach Becca Chylack said. “We’re going to do corner and repeat if they don’t make it.”
The players wouldn’t want it any other way.
“All season we’ve been trying to work on our corners, and all season we’ve been trying to work on finishing in the circle,” Kenah said. “We know that’s been a challenge for us, so we know coming into practice tomorrow we’re definitely going to stress that, especially going into states. It’s becoming more important than ever to capitalize on the opportunities we get. We know we’re going to be playing better teams, so we know we’re not going to get as many opportunities as we’re getting now, so I think coming up it’s going to be even more important to capitalize on all of our opportunities.”
Despite the Indians’ dominance, the Trojans – thanks to their stingy defense – were in the game until the end.
“After each game, even if you lost, there’s still stuff you can take from it,” Schools said. “I think from this game – we learned we need to take advantage of the opportunities we have because we weren’t up at their goal or even their 25 a lot,” Schools said. “We just need to understand that every time we’re there, we need to make something out of it.”
The Indians held a decided advantage in corners (20-2) and shots (19-2).
“They’re very good, very strong all the way around,” Gil said of the Indians. “I didn’t see any holes. I think they’ll move on nicely and be tough.”
Casciato lauded two of her players who excelled.
“Ang (Borisow) and Lauren (Kenah) really stood out today,” Casciato said. “They were working so hard.”
Souderton (19-2, 16-0 SOL) will host #4 Great Valley in a fifth place game on Friday, and Wissahickon (18-3, 16-0) will host #8 Kennett in the seventh place game with the winner advancing to states and the loser going home. Great Valley edged Kennett 1-0 in a playback game.
Wissahickon 0-0-0-0 0
Souderton 1-0-0-0 1
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