Pennridge advanced to the District 1 4A final while CB East earned a spot in the PIAA State Tournament. Check Andrew Robinson’s recaps. (Photos provided courtesy of Abbe Kiwak/Pennridge soccer)
District 1 4A Semifinals
No. 2 Pennridge 6, No. 3 Downingtown East 0
Two players in particular kept catching Rams coach Audrey Anderson’s attention during Monday’s practice session.
On a team like Pennridge, with future Division I and college-caliber players at every spot, starting positions don’t come easily, and every opportunity to play brings an expectation of keeping the standard, if not elevating it. So, when junior Gabby Herrmann and freshman Gabriella Howley kept making their mark in a practice setting, Anderson knew she’d be counting on them in Tuesday’s semifinal game.
Herrmann’s started a few games this season, but that doesn’t mean she ever overlooks the importance of being an impact sub either.
“When you hear your name, you’re immediately on fire,” Herrmann said. “You know you have to go in and just play as hard as you can.
“It brings my energy up so much.”
Herrmann and Howley, who most everybody on the team calls “G,” joined senior Liv Grenda in the scoring column as all three G-named players each netted a brace as Pennridge advanced to its first District 1 title game since 2020. Two years ago, it had been the Cougars who knocked the Rams out of the hunt for a district three-peat
Howley scored the match’s opening goal and its finisher, but neither came as a token appearance for the freshman. She’s found a good niche on a senior-heavy team and has a good knack for being around the ball.
Herrmann, a spot-starter on the back line at times this season, was just an energizer in her shifts. The smallest Pennridge player to see the field, she won several headers – scoring on two of them, another drawing the ire of the Cougars coaches when she beat several of their taller players to it – and her hustle led to a few other scoring chances.
“Any player who goes in wants to do their part as well as they can,” Anderson said. “G, Riley (Williams), Jessie (Moylan), Gabby, all these girls want to do their part. G and Gabby had a great practice and I felt like there was something that was going to happen for them.
“For her to be the shortest player on our team and score two goals with her head is incredible and for a freshman to score the first goal in a district semifinal was something special and something I feel like she’ll take with her these next three years.”
Three seniors from the southeastern part of Pennsylvania earned selections to the High School Soccer All-American Game to be held in early December in South Carolina. Two of them, Pennridge’s Anna Croyle and Downingtown East’s Madison Shumate, were opponents on Tuesday.
Croyle, heading to Syracuse next year, had a nice tackle against the Villanova-bound Shumate early in the first half. The two came together a couple more times, Shumate able to get the ball off Croyle on a challenge of her own, but a long-term duel between them never materialized.
That was in large part due to Sophie Craig. The senior midfielder would have been busy enough launching the bulk of Pennridge’s seven corner kicks and most of their free kicks, but her work locking up Shumate did not go unnoticed by those it mattered to most.
“Us three are standing here because we scored the goals but not many people are going to pay attention to the players who work behind the scenes, all that hard work defensively and stopping the shots before they happen,” Grenda said. “They’re always working to make sure the other team never gets those breakthroughs, holding the ball for us, connecting it forward and it helps having our whole team on the same page and working toward the same goal.”
Shumate did have the Cougars’ best chance of the game, uncorking a quick shot on frame that Seretha DeMoss read all the way down for a sure save. Outside of that, it felt like the ball just lived in the Downingtown East end, but it wasn’t until the first shift of subs came in that the sustained pressure paid off.
Grenda was able to go at a defender, as she so often does, keep possession through a challenge and drive into the box where she laid a ball right in the path of Howley. The freshman knew just what to do with it, hammering the chance in for a 1-0 lead midway through the opening half.
“We practice our crosses and all that a lot, so we kind of have an idea where a ball from our outside backs or midfield, where they want to put it,” Howley said.
Aside from their scoring, the Rams were chance-takers on Tuesday. Countless times, one of them would put a foot out to try to save a ball or get a flick near the touchline just to see if they could keep it alive. Tori Angelo, Casey Malone and Lindsey Balmer were aggressive going after it on the flanks while Grenda’s own bit of risk-reward play led to her first goal.
A high-bouncing ball was on its way down between her, the onrushing keeper and a defender, so Grenda extended her leg out, caught the ball and got enough on the chip to roll the ball over the line for a 2-0 lead.
“We’ve been talking about not settling this postseason,” Anderson said. “We don’t want to settle for just an ‘easy’ shot, can we create something more? Don’t settle for just letting the ball go out of bounds and I feel like we didn’t settle tonight. We fought hard for every ball, every cross, every shot and every header.”
Herrmann got the lead to 3-0 a minute before half with a ton of tenacity. Balmer took a hard shot off the left side that rang the crossbar, with Herrmann there for a follow-up shot. That one got saved but the ball was still loose as the junior just kept going, sort of colliding into the ball and putting it over the line.
“It’s our deal to go in and keep the same energy as the starters,” Herrmann said. “We want to keep that same energy, create our own good chances and do whatever we can to get a goal.”
Meredith Blannett added two assists after halftime, the senior playing a fantastic cross into the box that Grenda headed in for a 4-0 lead, then hitting one of her long throws to Herrmann in the box, the shortest Ram also getting a good touch off her head to find the far post.
Senior Ava Kiwak gave the assist on the last goal, putting another good pass right to Howley with the composed freshman wrapping up the finish with about 12 minutes left.
“Our team energy and connection has really been going throughout the season,” Howley said. “There weren’t many new players and having a lot of seniors really helped with that.”
Grenda also noted there was some extra motivation for herself and her fellow seniors on Tuesday. First, a win would guarantee they’d host their first round PIAA game next Tuesday, something that was very important for a class that’s won some of its biggest games at Helman Field.
Second was an opportunity to play Conestoga. The two programs don’t meet often and as the midfielder noted, it was the Pioneers who ended their season in the 2021 state quarterfinals.
At most, Pennridge has five games left this fall and the Rams plan to play every one of them as they try to return to the state final.
“It’s all about our energy,” Grenda said. “Every time we step on the field, we have to give our all. I’ve said it before but for our seniors, it’s our last time ever playing together. We’ve been together since we were around five years old and these are going to be our last games together ever, so we all want to leave everything we have out on the field with no regrets at the end.”
The Rams (20-0-1, 15-0-1 SOL) and Pioneers will play for the District 1 title at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Spring-Ford. Pennridge won district titles in 2019 and 2020 and also finished the runner-up in 2016.
PENNRIDGE 3 3 – 6
DOWNINGTOWN EAST 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Liv Grenda 2, Gabriella Howley 2, Gabby Hermann 2
No. 1 Conestoga 6, No. 21 Council Rock South 0
The Golden Hawks’ magic run through the District 1 bracket came to an end against the top-seeded Pioneers.
CR South had picked up road wins over No. 12 Downingtown West, No. 5 Garnet Valley and No. 4 Spring-Ford over the last week and a half, securing its first state playoff bid since 2019.
The Hawks (12-6-3, 8-5-3 SOL) will have at least two more games, starting with the third-place game Thursday at No. 3 Downingtown East then await their first PIAA matchup.
CONESTOGA – 6
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH – 0
District 1 4A Playbacks
No. 8 Central Bucks East 3, No. 4 Spring-Ford 2
All that mattered to Grace Craig was getting a win.
The East senior defender knew it was potentially her last time in a Patriots uniform, but Craig also knew she, her fellow seniors and the rest of the team had more to give. It didn’t come easily, but Craig and East secured their third consecutive berth in the PIAA tournament with a gritty win over the host Rams.
“We knew that today was not going to be an easy game, as our season was on the line,” Craig said. “For the seniors, and for our other girls, we especially wanted to make sure that today was not our last time putting on the jersey.”
The teams met in the district tournament last year, with East winning on its way to a spot in the District 1 4A title game. It was also Spring-Ford’s third straight match against an SOL side, having topped CR North in the second round and falling to CR South in double overtime in the quarterfinals.
While East had its motivations and desperation, so did Spring-Ford.
“Credit to Spring-Ford for a great game. They fought back twice to level this up and fully made us earn this result,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “While I don’t think we are at our best today, I think we did enough in key moments to get the result.”
The Patriots, who had a healthy advantage in shots and chances created, struck first to kick off a frenetic final 20 minutes of the first half. Jessie Bernabe opened the account, catching up to a right-to-left through ball by Stella Genin, taking a couple touches and ripping one home midway through the opening frame.
Three minutes later, Spring-Ford leveled the score with its first shot on goal of the day. The score stayed tied for 10 minutes until the Patriots showed their williingness to win on display again.
Lauren Curry’s initial shot got saved but trickled back into play where senior Sofia Mignon authored her biggest goal of the season with a one-time volley for a 2-1 lead.
“As a staff, we’re really proud of this group for getting back to states. For our senior class, that’s three times in three years,” Nesteruk said. “They are a tremendous group, all of the girls, that comes ready to work, always looks to improve, and just enjoys each other’s company.”
Spring-Ford would tie the game up off a corner about seven minutes into the second half.
“First half I thought we were very positive, had a good tempo about us and created a handful of chances, just nothing very dangerous. On the opposite end, we knew their front two would be a problem and they lived up to our expectations,” Nesteruk said. “Second half, the game got a bit direct and hard for us to manage fully, but I thought we pressed the game in our attacking half really well.”
It took all of a minute for the Patriots to respond.
Madelyn Hill slipped a ball through and out to the right where senior Julia Santanello hit one low and on target for the go-ahead marker.
“It was a gritty game, and not the prettiest, but I am proud of my team for coming out on top today to continue our season to states,” Craig said. “For now, we continue to look ahead and play our absolute hardest and always try to give 110 percent.”
Nesteruk liked the way his team responded to both goals it gave up and thanks to the player’s fortitude, they were able to extend their season for at least two more games.
“They’ve all had their own journey in the program but this year they’ve done such a good job buying in and we are all thankful to see them get to this point,” Nesteruk said. “We are happy with the result here but our eyes are absolutely toward what’s ahead.”
CB East (16-4-2, 11-3-2 SOL) will travel to No. 6 Lower Merion in a seeding game on Friday, then will prepare for its opening round PIAA 4A opponent.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2 1 – 3
SPRING-FORD 1 1 – 2
Goals; CBE – Jessie Bernabe, Sofia Mignon, Julia Santanello
No. 6 Lower Merion 1, No. 10 Hatboro-Horsham 0
A terrific season for the Hatters came to an end Tuesday afternoon.
Once again, Hatboro-Horsham held its own defensively but couldn’t find a way to crack the Aces’ defense. A strong senior class led by Emma Levin, Sarah Roesing, Kitty Randa, Jordyn Harris, Alyssa Tooley and plenty of others helped lead the Hatters to their second district quarterfinal appearance in the last three seasons.
Hatboro-Horsham’s season ends with a 14-6-2 record.
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