Colonials Hold on to Edge Vikings
KING OF PRUSSIA – Two more minutes. 
That’s all Upper Merion senior Devin Bowes wanted in Wednesday’s Suburban One League contest against neighboring Plymouth Whitemarsh. Chelsea Harris wanted even less time.
The game ended with the Vikings in possession of the ball just outside their own striking circle, and their bid for an unlikely comeback had fallen just short as the Colonials escaped with a 3-2 win a game they led by a 3-0 count with 10 minutes left to play.
“It’s definitely heartbreaking when you get so close at the end of the game but you just don’t make it through,” Bowes said. “We didn’t have enough time left.
“I really think if we had maybe two more minutes we could have gotten another goal.”
“It was really hard,” Harris said. “In the last 15 minutes, we really picked it up. If we would have had one more minute, I’m sure we would have tied it and hopefully went into overtime.”
On the other side of the field, the Colonials could at long last exhale when the final whistle sounded.
“I think we got a little too comfortable out there,” PW senior Erin Gorenflo said. “We got an early lead, and we just laid back a little bit.
“We need to keep it strong for 60 minutes. One thing our coach always tells us is we have to play a 60-minute game hard all the time. It doesn’t always happen, but we’re working on it. This is definitely an example of why we need to do it.”The game was unusual in many regards – not the least of which is the fact that both teams scored a pair of goals in a span of less than a minute.
The Colonials had their offensive spurt in the first half. Meg Piotrowicz put PW on the scoreboard 10 minutes into the game when she deftly flicked the rebound of a goalie save into the top of the cage. Forty-two seconds later, Haley Gorenflo scored on the left post, giving the Colonials a 2-0 lead that held up until halftime.
“In the beginning, we weren’t capitalizing on their mistakes,” Upper Merion coach Angie Yanocha said. “We were causing too many turnovers ourselves. We just weren’t playing smart.”
Things looked bleak for the Vikings - who did not manage a shot in the first half - when PW’s Jenny Thiess scored on the rebound of a goal save at the 13:35 mark of the second half, giving the Colonials a 3-0 lead.
“We got a three-goal lead, and we sat on it,” PW coach Marianne Paparone said. “The first 15 minutes we played well – a lot of nice passing. We scored three goals – alright, we’re done. We’re just not playing 60 minutes.
“We’re just not doing the things I’m asking them to do. I give Upper Merion credit. They didn’t quit.”
With PW’s goalie out of the cage, Bowes connected for a goal at the 8:57 mark, and then – 32 seconds later – Mia DiLella took a ball off the goalie’s pads and put it in the cage, and just like that, it was a 3-2 game.
“Once we get the first goal, they just start coming, and our confidence rises,” Upper Merion senior Chrissi Gaudio said. “We just need that first one to get our momentum moving forward.”
The Vikings didn’t stop there. With 1:30 left, they had a chance to knot the score but swung and missed at a ball off the goalie’s pads, and they simply ran out of time.
“Could we make it a 35 or 40-minute game?” Yanocha asked. “It’s frustrating because we just ran out of time.
“We have this situation where – until we get that first goal – we play tense. You saw how easy it was to get that second goal. You could see the momentum shift. I haven’t tapped in yet on how to get them to play like that the whole game.”
“Unfortunately, we came out really flat,” Harris said. “We had a game on Monday, and we were really flat too.
“Thank goodness we finished really hard, and we were able to lift up our confidence. Hopefully, that will carry over into our next few games.”
On the other side of the field, Gorenflo admitted the Colonials learned a valuable lesson.
“At the end, I definitely think we all felt the pressure,” she said. “It’s really scary when you’re getting down to the very end, and you’re only up by one goal.
“We play Wissahickon on Wednesday. We can’t let the momentum swing the other way. We have to stay strong.”
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 3, UPPER MERION 2
PW 2 1-3
Upper Merion 0 2-2
Goals/Assists: PW-Meg Piotrowicz 1-0, Jenny Thiess 1-0, Haley Gorenflo 1-0. Upper Merion – Devin Bowes 1-0, Mia DiLella 1-0.
Shots: PW-13, UP-4.
Corners: PW-1, UM-3.
Saves: Lauren McQuiston (PW) 1, Meg Addaeli (UM) 10.
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