Souderton edged Pennridge 1-0 in an overtime thriller to capture the program’s first ever PIAA 4A title. Game photos provided courtesy of Sharon Shipe. Check back for a gallery of photos.
#1-2 SOUDERTON 1, #1-3 PENNRIDGE 0 (OT)
Hit the ball to Averie.
Late in regulation, the Souderton coaching staff had Averie Doughty shift from her center forward spot to the left wing. At the start of overtime, they told the rest of the players on the field – midfield, defenders, other forwards – to hit the ball Doughty's way.
In one of those moments of chaos a ball hit into the 18-yard box can create, Taylor Yoder headed the ball to Doughty.
The rest, well, Doughty didn't quite have the words for it, but it's a moment that will live in Souderton history.
"I don't even know what happened, I saw the ball come to me and I just hit it," Doughty said.
The sophomore delivered yet another clutch goal for the Indians, handing them a 1-0 win in overtime against Pennridge to win the PIAA 4A girls' soccer state title Saturday night in Hershey. To anyone that's followed the Indians' run, it was no surprise that Doughty scored the goal.
In Souderton's last three games, the Indians have scored four goals. More accurately, Doughty scored four goals, plus a penalty kick that ended the team's quarterfinal shootout against Seneca Valley, so she ended the season with a week for the ages.
"It really is," Doughty replied with a laugh after being asked if this was the best week of her life.
Getting to that point was a familiar story of recent duels between the Rams and Indians. Pennridge was rampant in the opening 15 minutes, and even Souderton coach Lindsy Jones had to admit the Rams controlled the play in regulation.
"They dominated regulation and had more chances, but we just kept going," Jones said.
Souderton knew it couldn't out-possess the Rams or even move the ball around the expansive pitch at HersheyPark Stadium the same way Pennridge could, but the Indians weren't worried. If the Indians could count on one thing this year, it was their defensive unit.
"I have a lot of trust in our defenders," Souderton midfielder Sara Readinger said. "I knew whenever Pennridge would press us, they would handle it. I have a lot of faith in them, they played awesome and I didn't have a doubt in my mind they were going to get it done for us."
Pennridge started the match with a bang or more accurately, a clang. Senior forward Abby Groff struck the crossbar on a shot six minutes into the match, setting an early trend and putting at least a scare into the Souderton faithful.
Groff was solid up top for Pennridge but couldn't find any luck in the first half. She had another shot blocked by Payton Carroll, hit one a foot wide of the far post and had a third denied by a diving Lindsey Pazdziorko at the near post.
Pazdziorko, a senior, made seven saves as she posted a shutout in her final high school game. Her impact extended far beyond saves however, as the keeper was alert and aggressive off her line.
She made a nice save on a second half effort by Pennridge created when Holly Harbeck found Groff, who laid it off for a shot by Ashley Groeber that forced Pazdziorko into a jumping snare. The Souderton keeper also intercepted a couple of quality crosses and she helped the back line keep its shape by charging any free ball in her 18-yard box.
"I'm just so happy, I love this team and I'm going to miss them so much next year," Pazdziorko said. "I still talk to girls from prior years and I know I'm going to do that with this team. This is my family."
In the second half, the Rams tried to exploit their speed out wide and kept the ball out near the touchline on either side as much as possible. By doing that, they also minimized the impact Readinger and Campbell Power had on the match, which helped Pennridge maintain its control.
"We talked about it at halftime and going into overtime it was going to come down to that one chance and who was going to make it count," Pennridge coach Audrey Anderson said. "I thought we had a lot of great opportunities and I thought we played some really great soccer tonight."
Pennridge did everything it needed to except put a ball in the back of the net. An injury to defender Molly Groff late in the first half did shake things up, but Lauren McIntyre jumped right in at center back. The other center back, senior Sarah Williams, played a terrific match while midfielder Chance Hendricks turned in another strong effort.
"The girls had great energy at the start of the game, we just weren't on the finishing end of the ball," Anderson said. "We did a lot of really good things. We just couldn't put a ball in the back of the net."
Jones had three points of emphasis for her players heading into overtime.
“I told them, ‘We need to get more people in the attack, either the defensive mids or fullbacks have to get up every time. Defenders cannot let anyone stay unmarked,’” the Indians’ first-year coach said. “We were giving them too much space. I also told them to stay positive and keep working hard.”
Jones’ message certainly woke something up in the Indians. An offense that had been largely silent in regulation came screaming into extra time.
Erin O'Keefe forced a save 45 seconds into the overtime and put another shot on target a few minutes later. The forwards, who had gone stretches being totally isolated up top, had finally connected with the rest of the team.
"We've had a problem kind of consistently this season connecting our midfield with our top three," Jones said. "We kept pushing forward. In the end, in overtime, I believe they were working harder than I'd seen from them the whole game. They were working back, they were working to connect, playing quick. You could see the desire absolutely increased."
With just about nine minutes left, the Indians drew a foul about 40 yards out on the right flank. Power stepped over the ball and measured up her options.
"After our last three games, I know who's going to get on the end of it, I know where to place it," Power said. "After playing with everyone the whole season and having so many extra games, I know where to get it in. I just wanted to get everyone going to goal."
Power's initial service was headed away by Pennridge's Holly Harbeck on a good clear. But, Readinger was able to win the ball at her feet and slipped it back out where Darby Kramer thumped it back into the box.
Taylor Yoder leapt up and flicked it Doughty's way. The sophomore found the right angle for a shot and took care of the rest.
"It kind of hit the post and curved in," Doughty said. "I was just so excited. I couldn't believe we just won the state championship.
"We had to be mentally prepared. We knew we could do it, we'd gotten this far so there was no stopping now."
After the public address announcer at HersheyPark Stadium made it official, a horde of Souderton players enveloped the forward as a chant of "Averie, Averie, Averie!" broke out.
"She is goal-driven, that's for sure," Jones said of the sophomore. "She has good timing, she's quick, her touches have been really good. She wants the back of that net."
And for the Indians, the third time turned out to be the charm. After falling to the Rams in the first regular season meeting (1-0), they battled the Rams to a scoreless tie the second time around. On Saturday, the Indians prevailed.
“It was definitely hard playing them a third time, but you’ve got to give them credit when credit is due,” Pennridge senior captain Groeber said. “They put in a goal, and we didn’t. In my opinion, we had the better of play, but they ended up finishing it out and winning the game. It’s definitely frustrating playing a team three times, but you have to do anything you can to win. They came out on top today.”
Souderton closed out its historic season with a 17-3-6 record (5-2-5 SOL) while Pennridge finished another successful season with a 21-4-1 mark (9-2-1).
“In a nutshell, it came down to little mistakes on both sides,” Anderson said. “Both sides played such a good game.
“It just came down to who was going to capitalize on the best scoring opportunity. We had so many shots, so many opportunities to put the game away, so when it didn’t happen for us, I think that made (the loss) that much harder for us to swallow.”
SOUDERTON 0 0 1 – 1
PENNRIDGE 0 0 0 – 0
Goals: S – Averie Doughty
The stuff dreams are made of…
Averie Doughty’s golden goal had barely crossed the goal line at the 11:38 mark of overtime when the celebration began, a celebration that probably won’t end anytime soon.
“Honestly, it feels unreal,” senior Miranda Kullman said. “It’s like waking up from a dream. Especially doing it with these girls, it’s insane. They’re my best friends.”
“I keep telling everyone – I’m still waiting to wake up,” senior Campbell Power said. “It’s unlike anything else. You work for four years, you work for 20 games for this. Seeing the ball roll into the back of the net was unbelievable.”
A Souderton squad that was 7-2-6 after 15 games closed out the season with 11 wins in its last 12 games en route to the program’s first ever state crown.
“This is so surreal,” senior Lindsey Pazdziorko said. “I woke up this morning and I was like, ‘Are we really going to Hershey today? Is this really happening?’
“I kept pinching myself on the bus ride over, and we get here and I’m like, ‘This is a big stadium. We’re really here. This is really it.’ Walking out here – obviously, it’s really emotional. It’s a lot. This is more fans than we’ve had since our Senior Night. My emotions are everywhere. I’m shocked, I’m so happy, I’m so proud of all my team, my family.”
Before the Indians played any games this season, coach Lindsy Jones drew a stairway to illustrate that the season would be played in steps with a state title the ultimate prize.
“I literally did the stairs – 18 was the (regular season), and I had a line, five for districts, line, and four for states, line,” Jones said. “The whole point of that was to take it a game at a time – let’s not get ahead of ourselves, and we did that. Each game was important in the season, and I think that lent (itself) well to the playoffs.”
Sara Readinger admitted that the players initially didn’t take Jones’ talk of a state title all that seriously.
“Our coach said that at the beginning of the year, and we kind of laughed at it,” the senior captain said. “We were like, ‘There’s no way,’ but once we started winning playoff games and getting further and further, we were like, ‘We’re making it all the way. There’s not a doubt – we’re good enough.’
“Coming into the season, we had no idea we would come this far. We knew we would be competitive, but I don’t think anyone expected this. It’s just crazy. I can’t put it into words. I was just so happy when (Averie) scored. It was like everything we worked for this season happened in that moment. We made it this far and we just won it.”
It’s defense, defense and more defense for the Indians
Miranda Kullman and Kailee Harwick – clutching the gold medals that hung around their necks – could relax at last. Mainstays in an Indian defense that spent the night silencing a fast and talented Pennridge squad, they – along with Darby Kramer, Payton Carroll and Gianna Natale – are the unsung heroes of Souderton’s run to a state crown.
“Honestly, just trust,” Kullman said when asked the key to the Indians’ stingy defense.
“We all trust each other back there,” Harwick said. “We can find each other’s feet. We know that everyone’s going to cover for each other. We got each other’s backs.”
The Indians’ defense is defined by its grit, tenacity and relentless determination.
“Our defense is amazing,” senior Campbell Power said. “We would not be where we are without our defense.
“Kailee and Miranda are running everything in the back. Darby, Gianna and Payton are sticking with girls on the outside– we know how fast they are, we know how good they are. It’s crazy, and they are unbelievable.”
Standout goalkeeper Lindsey Pazdziorko is also a key piece to the defense.
“Most of our defense has been playing together for a while, so we all really know each other well,” Pazdziorko said. “We’re all really connected, so we’re really comfortable with each other. We know what each other wants to do.
“They know if I want to come out, if I want to stay back. It’s just like a connection we all have.”
In three games or 268 minutes and 22 seconds, a dangerous Pennridge squad scored just one goal against the Indians this season. The Rams are not the only team to be frustrated by the Indians’ defense, which has 17 shutouts in 26 games.
“They just don’t give up on any ball,” senior Sara Readinger said of the defense. “They work together, and nobody gets frustrated in the back. If someone gets beat, it’s not anyone’s fault. Everyone covers for everyone.”
Souderton has allowed just 12 goals in 26 games this season, and their resilience is underscored by the fact that they lost starter Sam Harwick in the opening round of districts but didn’t miss a beat.
“When we lose people, we know we just have to play for them,” Kullman said. “We’re a family, and we go into every game playing for each other. That’s really how we do it.
“We’ve been playing together since we were in elementary school, and we really all love each other.”
Coach Lindsy Jones had high praise for her team’s defensive effort.
“They were covering for each other very well today,” the Indians’ coach said. “They communicated well. I think our defense won it for us today.”
A team effort
All but lost in the shuffle of the Indians’ magical run to a state title is the fact that they did it with several key players watching from the sidelines. Sam Harwick, a fixture in the defensive backfield, went down with a torn ACL and meniscus in the Indians’ opening round district win over Harriton.
The senior defensive back underwent surgery on Thursday and was on the sidelines at Saturday’s title game in a wheelchair. Allie Trick, last year’s leading scorer, missed the entire season. Kristin Loh and Rachel Croll were also sidelined for the postseason.
New players stepped in to fill the void left in their absence.
“We have a really good off-the-bench presence,” senior Lindsey Pazdziorko said. “No matter who you put in, they’re going to work 100 percent, they’re going to give everything they have.
“Every single girl on our team, no matter who they are, no matter what grade they are, no matter if they start or come off the bench, they’re going to give whatever they have left.”
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