Pennridge & North Penn advanced to Tuesday’s District One 4A semifinal. CR South & Pennsbury will vie for a state berth. Pennsbury/North Penn photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for a gallery. (Pennridge/CR South photos courtesy of Althea Tomlinson/Pennridge soccer.)
#1 Pennridge 2, #9 Council Rock South 0
Rams’ coach Audrey Anderson, at least prior to Thursday, didn’t have a whole lot of playoff experience on her roster.
Even coming off an appearance in the state title game last fall, Pennridge had a lot of veterans to replace and a lot of underclassmen filling those spots. Two postseason games later and Anderson isn’t seeing the nerves from a team full of players still figuring out this time of year.
“They’re fun in the locker room, they’re loose and I think our senior class and junior class have done a good job helping them understand what it means to play at Pennridge,” Anderson said. “Our goal in the beginning of the season was to get back to states. I think it shows a lot of resilience from this program to be there and know how much work it takes and do it two years in a row after losing nine players from last year.
“It’s incredible to me as a coach seeing these girls day in and day out and what they’re willing to put in.”
Getting back to states meant finding a way to beat a very good Council Rock South side for a second time this season. While Pennridge picked up a 3-1 win over the Golden Hawks in the first game of the season, Anderson wasn’t thrilled to see the SOL National opponent pop up in her team’s part of the bracket.
“I was very nervous,” the Rams’ coach said. “It was a great game 19 games ago when we played them, they’re a well-coached team and they have great players. (Sammy) Jones – she can dribble with so much speed and it’s hard to defend a player like that.”
Against Jones, her twin sister Allie, Jordi Rubak, Claudia Steinmetz, Aubrey Hondros and the rest of the Hawks, the Rams used a determined and connective defense to protect their goal. No defender had to go it alone, and if someone did get beat, the next back was right there to cover for them.
“We’ve been talking about that pressure-cover balance and making sure we’re never left alone one-v-one anywhere,” Anderson said. “Defensively, we were really good but I wish we controlled the ball a little bit more and didn’t panic so much. But for a majority of these girls, it’s their first time in these situations.”
Pennridge scored early when sophomore Emily Kriney toe-poked in a flick from Maddie Anderson following a corner kick taken by Lindsey DeHaven a bit more than six minutes in.
The slow start and breakdown proved costly for CR South, especially once the Hawks settled in and started to generate chances of their own.
“I thought we spotted them one off that corner kick and you can’t do that against a team that’s as good as they are,” CR South coach Nick Heim said. “They punish you for every mistake you make.”
Pennridge went up 2-0 when sophomore Leah Malone got on the end of a shot and ripped a blast just under the crossbar with four minutes left in the opening half. The goal came against a flood of Hawks pressure, another blow to CR South’s efforts in the first half.
“I thought we started the second half well but when you get to this point and you play a team this good, you need to be clinical to the very end and they were a bit more clinical than us,” Heim said. “We regroup, come back Monday and look to play Tuesday for a chance to get to states.”
The Hawks made a strong push at the end, but Pennridge’s defensive group of Ashley Gordon, Lauren McIntyre, Maddie Angelo and Zoe Sabol stood strong and continued to collapse every time CR South threatened.
“Jason (Lollar), my assistant, and I were sitting there saying we just don’t give up goals,” Anderson said. “In those moments, it’s almost like a pride thing, we don’t even want to give up a shot. I thought the last 13 minutes, Council Rock South played us really, really tough in our defensive third and we were able to keep our composure as much as possible and not give up any fouls.”
Pennridge (18-1-1, 10-1-1 SOL) will host #13 North Penn in Tuesday’s semifinals. The teams split their regular season meetings.
CR South (13-5-1, 9-3) will also see a familiar foe as it visits #5 Pennsbury with the winner getting a state playoff bid in the playback bracket.
PENNRIDGE 2 0 – 2
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Emily Kriney, Leah Malone
#13 North Penn 0 (5), #5 Pennsbury 0 (4)
Midway through the season, the playoffs looked like a longshot for the Knights.
Thanks to a determined effort, some heroics from keeper Anna Fiore and a steely resolve from Casey Cavanaugh 12 yards from goal, the Knights snapped a long state playoff drought and advanced to the final four of the district tournament.
It’s been a stirring turnaround for North Penn, but one the coaching staff credits all to the players in the program.
“They are such a hardworking and close group. The whole team has really come together and fought hard for this,” Knights coach Mike Rio said. “Halfway through the season we were 4-7-1, and the girls came together and rallied and we have had them working hard in practice, maintains focus and working towards these goals. They are confident and excited and are enjoying playing the game, which is one of the most important things.”
Pennsbury has made a habit of long postseason runs, and seeding aside, the Falcons had a lot on their side Saturday. A big, strong and physical side playing on their home pitch, the Falcons tested the Knights in ways they hadn’t been most of the season.
Even with a disadvantage in height, North Penn found a way to match Pennsbury’s physical play without getting too caught up in that style.
“The resiliency of the girls really stood out,” Rio said. “Pennsbury was a really strong and defensively sound team. They were really difficult to break down and were a really physical team.
“Our girls just battled the whole game and kept going at them and keeping up the pressure. It was a physical game for both teams and that’s not usually the way we play, but the girls stepped up to the plate.”
North Penn’s defense, which posted a third straight shutout this postseason, and the Falcons’ defensive group were both on top of their game and few chances developed from the run of play. Rio said the first half started to get away from his team a little bit, but halftime arrived at just the right moment and the Knights were able to settle down.
“Our fitness level and work rate was amazing and I felt like our girls could have played another 30 minutes,” Rio said. “Defensively, we played superb and it really seemed like if a goal was going to be scored either direction it was going to be on a set piece because both defensive units were playing so well.”
The Knights were on the front foot for most of the second half, but neither defense was willing to relent and the game went into extra time. Fiore, a junior in her first season as the starting keeper, was then asked to come up strong for her teammates.
“She’s been playing so strong for us. She hasn’t had a lot of moments recently because we have been playing so well in front of her. But towards the end of the overtime she had to come out and clear some balls and collect them,” Rio said. “She was aggressive and either caught or punched out every ball that was near her. It was super important for us because we were at a disadvantage height-wise and she made sure to get rid of the danger.”
Tia Sheehy got the Knights off to a good start in the spot kick shootout, but after five rounds, the teams stood tied at 4-4 – North Penn had a try saved and Pennsbury missed an attempt.
Cavanaugh, a senior center back who would have shot in the first five if not for a nagging injury, buried her attempt from the spot to put the Knights up. Then it was time for Fiore to seal the deal.
“In the shootout she was composed and went the correct way on all of them and even got her hand on one of the shots, and then finally was able to stop the last one for us,” Rio said. “She’s been a rock in goal and the girls are really confident playing in front of her and I’m glad she finally got a moment to win a game for us.”
North Penn (12-7-2, 6-4-2 SOL) will now see a familiar foe in top-seeded Pennridge, a 2-0 winner over #9 
Council Rock South, in Tuesday’s semifinal round. The Knights, the only team to beat the Rams this season, split their two meetings with the Rams.
It’s been a long time since the Knights have made the state tournament, well before any current players were even close to entering the program, but all they’re worried about now is trying to make the district final.
“They have all done something now that hasn’t been done very often for North Penn girls’ soccer, and it’s something they had worked for and will get to cherish and remember forever,” Rio said. “They are having a blast, know what it takes to be successful and are excited to keep playing. I couldn’t be more proud of this group of girls and what they have accomplished so far, but we all know we still have more work to do.”
Pennsbury (16-3-1, 11-1) will host CR South in the playback bracket with the winner getting a state playoff berth. The Falcons topped the Golden Hawks in both regular season meetings.
NORTH PENN 0 0 0 0 – 0 (5)
PENNSBURY 0 0 0 0 – 0 (4)
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