Continental Conference
North Penn 11, Hatboro-Horsham 9
Jami Wilus, according to Rachel Shaw, knows how to fire up her players.
“Our coach says some pretty inspiring things on the sidelines,” the Maidens’ junior attack player said. “She really knows how to get us pumped up, and that helps.”
Early in Tuesday night’s ‘Shooting for the Cure’ showdown against Hatboro, Wilus – whose team trailed 3-2 - didn’t like what she was seeing and took Shaw out of the game.
“I told her she was playing as though she was 4-9 instead of 5-9,” Wilus said after the game.
When Shaw, an imposing presence on attack at 5-9, re-entered the game, things were never quite the same for either team. She responded with four goals to lead the Maidens – two in a first half that saw the Maidens turn that 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 halftime lead, and it was Shaw’s goal with less than a minute remaining in the half that gave the Maidens a two-goal cushion heading into halftime.
But it wasn’t only Wilus that ignited the fire in Shaw.
“On the field, we’re constantly getting on each other to go hard, play hard and go all out, no matter what,” Shaw said. “Once they got control of the ball, it fired us up more to get it back and just to go all out.
“Throughout our entire season, it’s always Hatboro-Horsham that we look forward to playing. They’re our number one competition in the league, and it’s one of our biggest rivalries. This is our number one game to get pumped up for.”
Teammate Brenda McDermott also had four goals to go along with one assist and six draw controls. Macie Hauck had three goals and four assists.
The three accounted for all of the Maidens’ goals with only Steph Knauer getting a piece of the scoring action with a pair of assists.
“Brenda, Macie and Rachel have height, and they also have good sticks, so when the ball went up in the air (on draws), we told them not to worry about where Hatboro-Horsham was but to go for the ball and to wrap it up,” Wilus said. “We got the draw control, but then we turned it over in transition, and I thought the initial step in getting the draw was the right step.
“We just need to get better spacing so that we can transition those draw controls into goal.”
The Hatters were led by the four-goal, two-assist effort of Lizzy Carr. Nicole Beck added two goals and two assists, and Courtnee Daley also had two goals. Rachel Rausa added a goal and an assist.
“North Penn is like the hump we always have to overcome,” Beck said. “We have never beaten them since I was in high school.
“You look forward to these games all season. Tonight we never gave up and fought to the end, and it was 100 percent effort by everyone on the field.”
Any thoughts of a Hatter comeback took a hit when the Maidens opened up a four-goal lead less than two minutes into the second half. First it was Shaw scoring off the opening draw, and then it was Hauck connecting off the ensuing draw, and just like that, the Maidens led 7-3.
“The last time we played them and the same thing against Souderton – the draw in the girls’ game – it’s all about possession,” Hatter coach Duncan Swezey said. “Both teams have the players who can score, but you have to have the ball.
“I kept saying and Jami tells her players, ‘You have to have the ball. You have to have the ball.’ I said at practice that whoever got the ball control and whoever won the draws would win this game. I haven’t checked the book yet, but I bet if you add up the difference in the draw controls and ground balls – that’s the difference in the two goals.”
The Hatters didn’t go down quietly. Carr scored back-to-back goals in less than a minute to make it a 7-5 game, but Hauck answered to put the Maidens on top 8-5. The Maidens stretched that lead to four after a McDermott goal.
“Draw control is everything,” Shaw said. “Steph Knauer can win the draw long, and we pretty much know it’s going to our side every time.
“We stepped up, boxed out, and by the end, we were winning most of the draws, which really gave us control of the ball.”
Carr and Beck both scored to trim the Maidens’ lead to 9-7 with 10:54 remaining. A McDermott goal stretched the Maidens lead to five, but Daley and Carr scored within a 30-second span to make it a 10-9 game with 5:07 remaining.
A free position goal by McDermott with 4:28 remaining closed out the scoring for both squads.
Maiden goalie Jenna Stover had some huge stops in the second half, picking up nine of her 13 saves in the pivotal second half. She made a big save of a Hatter eight-meter shot in the game’s closing minutes.
“We did a much better job in the first half of stopping their transition,” Wilus said. “We had a little bit of a lull in the second half, but we responded by getting a ground ball or draw control or Jenna (Stover) coming up with a big save. I was happy with the way they did that, and I think that comes from playing in some tight games and the tougher non-league schedule that we had.”
Wilus, for one, was pleased to see her squad challenged.
“I think it’s great, especially going into district playoffs, to have a tough game,” the Maidens’ coach said. “One of the things we really need to do is we need to keep going with what we’re having success with.
“We change things up on the field for some reason. We need to make the other team stop us instead of us – as North Penn – stopping ourselves. Just that comfort with the ball and that consistency for 50 minutes, not a spurt here or a spurt there. I think we have the ability to do it.
“We show signs of brilliance, but then we show signs where we look really inexperienced and we don’t know what we’re doing on the field.”
With the win, the Maidens (10-0) clinched at least a share of the Continental Conference title.
“I played since I was a freshman, so this is three years in a row,” Shaw said. “This means a lot.”
Central Bucks East 16, Pennridge 15
The Rams and Patriots battled to a 9-9 halftime tie before the visiting Patriots outscored their hosts 7-6 in the second half to earn the exciting win.
Carolyn Remmey had a hand in seven goals, scoring a pair and assisting on five others. Sam Axenroth led the Patriots with four goals while Jamie Burns and Kelly Lapp each added the hat trick. Burns also had two assists while Lapp had one. Marissa Glatt and Lauren Wick (one assist) both added a pair of goals. Carrie Gillen contributed an assist.
For the Rams, Julia Colyar, Sarah Wiley and Nikki Beck each contributed the hat trick. Jordan Kemmer added a pair of goals, and Christy Knipe had one goal.
East goalie Madi Steuber had 10 saves.
Souderton 22, Central Bucks South 13
Danielle Notvest and Liz Mower both scored six goals to lead Souderton's offensive onslaught in Tuesday's win over CB South. Kirstin Russell added the hat track, and Tori Bulgier had two goals. Scoring single goals for the Indians were Melinda Wojt, Carley Kendall, Haley Kershaw, Gabby McAndrews and Chessie Rahmer.
For the Titans, senior Casey Haegele led the way with four goals, and Kelly Hamilton had four goals. Kristen Lawlor scored two goals, and Kayla Kenney, Taylor Michener, Devon Dietzel and Maddie Dibrino each added single goals.
Souderton goalie Jen Bergey was credited with 15 saves.
National Conference
Council Rock North 17, Pennsbury 2
Kara Magley contributed six goals and three assists, and teammate Lindsay Rheiner had four goals and three assists. Hannah Plappert added the hat trick to go along with three assists. Becky Ely had two goals while Erica Green and Kara Le both had one goal. Jackie Strange contributed two assists.
Rock North goalie Taylor Beck turned away four shots.
Abington 20, Neshaminy 3
Meredith Cox scored four goals and contributed an assist, and Molly Seefried and Elisa Macall both added three goals and two assists. Hannah Sjoholm also contributed the hat trick for the Ghosts, who led 14-1 at halftime. Scoring single goals were Carli Fitzgerald (one assist), Ana Kumor, Julie Gallagher, Hannah Weckel, Elle Clark and Alli Failing.
For the Redskins, Caitlin Carrezola scored a pair of goals, and Emily Hegner added a single goal. Brittany Sheenan had an assist.
Emily Towey was credited with two saves in goal for the Ghosts while Neshaminy’s Frances Gentry had eight saves.
American Conference
Upper Dublin 16, Upper Moreland 0
Junior Kelly Cross contributed four goals and three assists to lead a balanced Flying Cardinal attack. Brooke Callahan, Kaley Weinstein, Emily Hitchings and Michelle DeVincent each had two goals. Callahan also had three assists while Weinstein had two assists and Hitchings and DeVincent, one each. Scoring single goals for Upper Dublin were Taylor D’Ginto, Megan Rock, Steph Speese and Anna Trentini.
Upper Dublin’s Emma Joyce was credited with eight saves in goal.
Wissahickon 15, Upper Merion 9
Sophomore Laura Frankenfield scored six goals and contributed two assists in a big performance for the Trojans. Jackie Hibbs added five goals while Maddie Sharp and Taylor Myers each scored one goal. Lindsay Anderson and Zoe Kale both had one assist.
For the Vikings, Mel Ryan contributed three goals and one assist. Casey Griffith (one assist) and Dominique Gambone both had two goals. Jackie Schauble had one goal and two assists, and Amanda McAteer had one goal and one assist.
Upper Merion goalie Ally Frymoyer was credited with 13 saves. Wissahickon’s Jess Scannapieco had seven saves.
- Log in to post comments
0
