CB West defeated Souderton to capture seventh place in the District 1 3A Tournament. Photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. CLICK HERE to view Suburban One Sports' FIELD HOCKEY GALLERIES.
District 1 3A playback
#2 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2, #7 SOUDERTON 1
There aren’t many surprises when Souderton and CB West do battle on the hockey field.
Thursday’s meeting between the two teams was the third, and this was by far the most important with the winner moving on to a play-in game with Central and then – with a win – advancing to the state tournament.
The losing team went home.
“It’s really exciting,” West senior Heidi Schoenleber said. “We’ve been playing some really skilled teams, and just to be able to win this game and have the opportunity to go to states is really exciting for the whole team.
“Not we get to play Saturday for a chance to go to states.”
The Bucks made it three wins over the Indians in as many outings with Thursday’s win.
“I honestly was excited about playing them for the third time,” junior Eve Damsker said. “We knew they kind of disliked us because we’d beaten them the past two times.
“We do have a little rivalry, and it honestly made the game better. It was fun to play it because we have a strong rivalry with them, and it made it more intense and fun.”
Although they dominated the game statistically, the Bucks needed a goal by Schoenleber late in the third quarter to eke out the win.
“We had a couple corners in a row,” Schoenleber said. “Aida (Ierubino) had an aerial, and since I was inserting and I was on the post, I was able to get the rebound off the goalie.
“I took my time, I kind of pulled back in front of the defender, and I was able to get it right in between the goalie and the post.”
Earlier, the Bucks got on the scoreboard just over a minute into the game when the freshman duo of Grace McGrath and Lucy Smith combined for a goal with Smith scoring.
“It gave me a lot of confidence,” Schoenleber said of the early goal. “I was like, ‘The whole team can take a breath.’”
That 1-0 lead stood until the Indians evened the score when senior Julia Blair scored with an assist from Charlotte O’Neill, setting the stage for Schoenleber’s game-winner in a contest played in the sweltering heat.
“It was very hot for both teams,” Schoenleber said. “I think we performed well, and we were able to execute and win every though we weren’t used to the weather.”
“I think we adjusted well as the game went on,” Damsker said. “Before school started, we have some pretty hot games, so we had to adjust to that. We can’t really let the weather affect how we play.”
Damsker wasn’t involved in the scoring, but the junior center back played a key role in silencing the Indians, who had just three corners and one shot.
“Eve controls counterattacks and starts our offense from the back,” West coach Lori Ierubino said. “I’m never nervous when the ball gets passed back to transfer around because she’s just calm and smart with the ball.”Marking, according to the Bucks’ defender, was paramount in Thursday’s win.
“The key for our defense was communication and making sure we were marking the girls on the other team when they were in the circle because that’s the most important thing,” Damsker said. “We’ve been working on it at practice, and we had to make sure we were marking the Souderton girls and making sure they weren’t able to take good shots.
“Our goalie, Kendra (Pitts), is obviously very good, but we want to make sure she doesn’t have to face open shots. We want to help her out too.”
The Bucks held an advantage in shots (11-1) and penalty corners (11-3).
Scoring Summary
First quarter
Lucy Smith (CBW) from Grace McGrath 13:34
Second quarter – No score
Third quarter
Julia Blair (S) from Charlotte McNeill 11:17
Heidi Schoenleber (CBW) 6:54
By the numbers:
Shots: CBW 11, S 1; Penalty corners: CBW 11, S 3.
Central Bucks West coach Lori Ierubino on playing Souderton a third time: “It’s very tough to play a team three times, and Sue (Casciato) does a good job with her teams, sets them up to make it difficult. Whether they change their press or change their lineup, I was confident in our team beating them a third time, but I wasn’t convinced it was a sure thing. We had to show up and earn the win. We have one more hurdle to get through.”
--On scoring early: “We scored early, which was nice, and we started with the ball, so it was a pass up the field. It was pretty quick, and it was two freshmen – Grace McGrath to Lucy Smith. It was a nice little combo, and it was cool because they’re like best friends on the team – a freshman passing to a freshman.”
--On playing in the heat: “It takes something out of you. There were exciting moments, but I think everybody was sort of gassed. It almost looked like everyone was running through lava or quicksand. You saw them working, but they weren’t going anywhere. It looked like a lot of effort.”
Up next: Central Bucks West (18-4, 10-0 SOL) will face District 12 winner Central at noon on Saturday with the winner advancing to next week’s PIAA 3A Tournament. Souderton closed out its season with a 15-7 record, 7-3 SOL.
Souderton 0-0-1-0 1
Central Bucks West 1-0-1-0 2
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