LOWER GWYNEDD – The Neshaminy field hockey team was greeted by applause as its players exited the stadium field at Wissahickon after Tuesday’s PIAA Class AAA opening round game against Wilson.
It had been quite a season for the Redskins, but no one anywhere could have imagined a scenario that would have seen the Redskins heading home after one state playoff game.
But that’s exactly what happened.
The recently crowned District One AAA champions were stunned by a fired up Bulldog squad 4-1, and except for a brief second-half surge, the Bulldogs – the fifth seed out of District 3 - were every bit as dominant as the final score suggests.
“It didn’t go as planned,” Redskin senior Diana Rowan said. “In states, everyone is good. We should have come out and played them the way we knew we could have, and we didn’t.
“It’s very disappointing. “
Rowan was offered the opportunity to use Saturday’s grueling win in penalty strokes over Central Bucks South in the district title game as an excuse for her team’s subpar showing. The senior midfielder was having none of that.
“It did (take a lot out of us), but that’s no excuse,” she said. “I don’t believe there’s an excuse for how we played today.
“They were a great team today. They stepped up, and you could tell they wanted it and we didn’t.”
It took absolutely no time at all to realize that the Redskins were in trouble. A clue came 42 seconds into the game when Jess Beisswanger scored on her team’s first shot.
“I would have thought it would have woken them up, but I don’t know that it did,” coach Lisa Pennington said. “We just looked back on our heels from the opening pass.”
Wilson came back to draw three straight corners, prompting Pennington to call a quick timeout. Her players responded by connecting on their first shot of the game when Chelsea Rota turned a pass from Marlaine Schneider into a goal at the 22:08 mark.
Now the Redskins were rolling, right?
Wrong.
As a matter of fact, just the opposite was true. The Bulldogs connected on their fourth corner when Jenna Humphreys turned a pass from Kim Sheaffer into a goal at the 11:38 mark. With under five minutes to play in the half, Sheaffer scored (Jen Nigrelli assist) to put the Bulldogs on top 3-1.
“As soon as we got back and tied it up, we thought we were ready to go, but somehow they put two goals in,” Rowan said. “Then halftime comes, and you have 30 minutes to play.
“We have been in the other team’s position. It’s easier to not let another goal go in than it is to score. When you’re playing such a good team with this kind of skill, you can’t let it get down to that.”
In the opening half, the Bulldogs drew five corners and took 10 shots, and Redskin goalie Alexa Bell already had six saves.
Any thoughts that the Redskins would seize control of the game in the second half all but went out the window when Wilson drew an early corner.
Five minutes later, the Redskins drew a pair of corners. They came up empty.
“We didn’t move to the ball the whole game,” Pennington said. “We were a day late and a dollar short. We just couldn’t get to the ball, and when we did, we were working it down nicely, but we didn’t do that enough.
“We have been down before and come back, but this is a different scenario – you’re in states, you’re playing a wonderful team, and you’re on turf.”
In the second half, the Redskins had seven corners to just two for the Bulldogs, who made it a 4-1 game when Chrissy Davidson scored a meaningless goal with 34.5 seconds remaining on the game clock.
“I thought we had a spurt of about 15 minutes where we moved to the ball in the second half, and I think that was the difference in the game,” Pennington said. “When they beat us to the ball, they did something with it.”
The Redskins closed out a most memorable season with a 20-1-2 record.
“We played hard the whole season,” Pennington said. “We did not play our best today. In a state tournament, if you don’t play your best, you’re not coming out on top.
“It’s just hard. You try and put it in perspective – you have 20 wins, one loss and two ties. It’s a very good season, but there’s a bitter taste in your mouth because you didn’t play your best game, and you’re done.”
WILSON 4, NESHAMINY 1
Wilson 3 1-4
Neshaminy 1 0-1
Goals/Assists: Wilson – Jess Beisswanger 1-1, Kim Sheaffer 1-1, Jenna Humphreys 1-0, Chrissy Davidson 1-0, Jen Nigrelli 0-1. Neshaminy – Chelsea Rota 1-0, Marlaine Schneider 0-1.
Shots: W-13, N-3.
Corners: W-7, N-7.
Saves: Kelley Wentling (W) 2, Alexa Bell (N) 8.
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