CB East defeated Archbishop Carroll Saturday to advance to Tuesday’s PIAA 4A State Tournament semifinals. Andrew Robinson recaps all the action. Photos courtesy of John Gleeson. CLICK HERE to view the Suburban One Sports’ GIRLS’ SOCCER GALLERIES. Check back for a complete gallery.
#1-1 Central Bucks East 5, #12-1 Archbishop Carroll 0
It didn’t take East long to put its stamp on Saturday’s state quarterfinal.
Seven days after winning the District 1 title on Spring-Ford’s turf, East was back in Royersford and did not have to wait very long to find its offense. While Carroll – also the Patriots like East – had finished fifth in the PCL’s regular season standings, they had turned some heads with their first round win over Emmaus.
CB East didn’t want to leave any room for another upset.
Nine minutes in, Taylor Roumy won a ball on the left flank and played it in to Kiera Sleicher. Sleicher made a nifty touch to find Stella Genin, who carried the ball to the middle of the pitch and then played it wide to Mia Forney on the right.
Forney did the rest, driving past the first defender in her way, then ripping a shot into the goal past Carrol’s onrushing keeper for an early tally.
“I thought we came in focused and ready to take care of business today,” East senior defender Sydney Ralph said. “We connected well through the midfield with Ava Mignon, Jess Bernabe and Kiera Sleicher, and they created really good scoring chances going forward. The front line pressed really well and finished the ball which helped us get an early lead.”
About 10 minutes later, Forney won her team a corner along the endline. As Ralph advanced out of her center back spot, Sleicher lined up to take the service. The sophomore hit a towering service to the middle of the box where Ralph elevated and powered in a header for a 2-0 lead.
Ralph, senior Savannah Hayes, sophomores Taylor and Ella Roumy and senior Mae Leedy in goal recorded their fourth shutout in six postseason games on Saturday.
“We know this was a great win today, but we are already looking ahead and want to use this win as momentum going forward into Tuesday,” Ralph said. “Really proud of this group for continuing to raise the standard for this program.”
East wasn’t done in the first half. Sophomore Ava Mignon won a ball in the middle of the field, leading to a sequence going forward with Sleicher looking to thread a through ball into the box only for a Carroll defender to put a foot in the way.
Taylor Roumy alertly charged in off the left flank. The defender was able to settle the free ball, take a touch then rip an effort off her left foot that found its way past the leaping keeper with 14 minutes left in the half.
“I think we played a very good game today from start to finish and a complete game,” Mignon said. “I feel like we knew what needed to be done today, and we did just that. It felt like we were super connected today, and we did such a good job of moving off the ball for one another. Overall, super happy to be moving onto the semifinals.”
A defining trait of East’s season has been the team’s wealth of scoring options.
Saturday, the SOL Colonial champions had five different players find the back of the net.
The team maintained its offensive intensity into the second half, pressuring the ball relentlessly and generating some set pieces. Midway through the half, Ralph won a header near midfield with her flick finding senior Mikayla Gray.
Gray then played a stellar ball through the back line to Sleicher, who cut in and ripped an effort to the far post to make it 4-0.
A few minutes later, Sleicher picked up a second assist when she re-directed a deflected pass to super-sub Magee Williamson, who had a nice touch to control the ball before burying her effort.
“I thought we passed the ball really well and had a lot of good combinations which led to our scoring opportunities,” Sleicher said. “It was a great team effort today with five different goal scorers and a clean sheet heading into the semifinal game. I’m so proud of us for making it this far, it is so well deserved. But we aren’t done yet and our focus is now on Tuesday’s game against a good opponent.”
East is now one win away from its first trip to the state title match since 2015. In the way is a familiar opponent in Downingtown West, who the Patriots defeated 3-1 in the district semifinals and will have to solve again in Tuesday’s semifinals.
The entire 4A bracket is now an all-District 1 affair, with Lower Merion and Conestoga meeting up in the other semifinal. Times and sites for the semis will be announced Sunday.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3 2 – 5
ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 0 0 – 0
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