We have boarded the ride, strapped into our seats, and lowered the safety rail. The only sound we hear on this roller coaster is the clickety clack of the wheels on the old wooden track as we slowly ascend, filled with anticipation of what is to come. The climb is long and slow and the free fall inevitable. We have been here before. It is all too familiar. There are sharp twists and turns and even an unexpected reverse loop. The question is, "How will we handle the twists, turns, drops, and loops that throw us upside down?" Will we scream with a white knuckled grip pushing back and regret getting on at all? Will we hold on tight, but still laugh along the way? Or will we just let go with arms in the air, lean in, and let the ride fill us with the excitement and joy it was meant to give? Head coach, Traci Curtis, of the Pennsbury Falcons has definitely leaned in and let the ride take her as her team suffered another loss Monday, this time against the visiting Pennridge Rams. Despite the outcomes, we are seeing our girls begin to click and connect, work smarter, and do some great things out there on both sides of the ball, Curtis explains. The game was very even from the start and their first goal did not come until the last six minutes of the first quarter. The ball was not moving fast and just went right through the pads of our goalie, putting them up 1-0 going into the second quarter. We did not flinch and I'm proud of how focused we stayed at the start of the next quarter. We made some line up changes and went back to the drawing board with what combinations we felt would work. Pennridge did a good job or earning corners and connected on two of them at the 10 minute and 5 minute marks to make it a 3-0 game. The Falcons struck back with 3 minutes left before the half on a great goal by senior, Meg McClure keeping the orange and black hopeful with a 3-1 score at halftime. The third quarter was a draw with neither team scoring. We had some opportunities in the circle, including earning corners, but just could not make it happen. This has been our story for almost all of our games thus far - we cannot finish and get that little orange ball into the giant cage! Our defense has been rock solid, which is helping us to gain possession and create some momentum. Riley Henderson has stepped up huge for us this season and embraced her defensive role like a champ. She is solid, smart, and takes control back there when it is necessary. Gabby Darling is another solid defender who builds the brick wall and Reagan Ward has come up big for us lately. She is a converted attacker who is working so hard to make a difference with her unit in the backfield. Liv Graebner is such a leader on the field and always the spark we need. Angelina Kenney has contributed defensively for us as well. Graebner is so versatile and today she proved that tenfold. We made a few changes and moved her around and she helped to make a lot of things happen for us. Our forwards and mids did work hard today, but just need the one final step to finish in the circle. The score remained 3-1 going into the fourth and the Falcons did not let down. We held them in the fourth and tried our hardest to put the best combination of kids out there to encourage smart and scrappy play in our offensive 25. Pennridge just did such a good job of getting stronger as the game went on. They adjusted to the field well and came out with really strong sticks in the fourth and scored two more to make it a 5-1 final. We held them for more than half of the final quarter and kept fighting, but they were just better able to finish. We are seeing progress and doing some really great things on both sides of the ball, but it's just not enough to win against these recent match ups. This is the juicy part of the season and our next two weeks will be an intense gut check experience. It is time for us to have our crossover games and we will be challenged to the highest level every time. We will not be on the kiddie rides, it will be more like riding Kingda Ka at every starting whistle. Curtis says she plans on leaning into the ride and enjoying every moment with this amazing group of kids who know the only way is TOGETHER. Pennsbury will be back on turf and on the road as they travel to Souderton on Wednesday night.