By Alex Frazier
In goalkeeper’s parlance, it was a “three-goal situation.”In lay terms, it was a nightmare.
North Penn’s Gabby Pakhtigian was caught in a no-win situation Tuesday afternoon against Souderton, and it cost the Maidens a 1-0 loss.
The situation developed late in the second half when Souderton’s Courtney Silbert sent a ball to the right flank to speedy Becca Inman. As taught by her coach Terry Underkoffler, Inman dribbled the ball to the endline and toward the left post.
As Underkoffler described it, Inman had four choices. She could try to get off a shot inside the near post; she could slot the ball back on the ground to a near post runner; she could slot it back to the penalty spot; or she could send it to the back post.
This was the dilemma Pakhtigian faced.
“It’s the hardest situation for a goalkeeper to cover,” said Underkoffler.
Inman chose to return the ball to Ingrid Moyer, who deflected it into the wide-open right side of the goal with 7:09 left in the game.
That was all the Indians needed.
“That’s the thing Becca can give us because she’s fast,” said Underkoffler. “We’ve been emphasizing to her that if we can get the ball to Becca wide and to Ingrid wide that we can get in wide. Today we finished well.”
Both teams agreed that the blustery wind and chills in the upper 30’s played a big role in the game. Instead of playing on their big field, which was under water from the heavy downpours the day before, the Indians were forced to play on the smaller, crowned football field.“It was huge especially because we never played on this field yet this year,” said central defender Megan Howe. “Usually we bring our game when the weather is down. We usually play 10 times better.”
North Penn coach Neil Johnson believed the weather was a factor.
“The issue was whoever played the wind better would win the game,” he said. “We put up a good effort but our chances should have been put away in the first half.
When the Indians won the toss, they chose to play into the gusty win in the first half, giving North Penn the first-half advantage. The Souderton defensive unit of Lindsey Hollingsworth, Ann Jeffris (a converted forward), Howe and Cara Dembrosky did a good job of limiting North Penn’s chances, holding forward Danielle Lillo and central midfielder Sophie Eiger in check. Eiger managed three shots, two on direct kicks that were routinely saved and another blistering line drive that flew to the right of the goal.
“Cara is really a good communicator back there,” said Underkoffler, “and Megan can cover some good distance, and you can’t discount the speed Ann and Lindsey have.”
“We’re practicing a lot on keeping depth in the back,” said Howe. “We knew North Penn was going to pop the ball over.”
Inman, meanwhile, gave fans a preview of what she could do by getting open often on the left flank and firing off three shots, only one of which Pakhtigian had to save.
“They always tell me to get wide,” said Inman, “so they usually pass it to me because I have the most space.”
In the second half with the wind at their backs, the Indians had more of the action. They kept Pakhtigian busy. She made a save on a Moyer shot at the right post three minutes into the half, then beat Moyer to a 50/50 ball seven minutes later. Then she came up big on a laser shot from Sara Conroy at the left post midway through the half.Souderton midfielders Emily Farrell and Sara Conroy did a good job of keeping pressure on North Penn by their relentless pursuit, while the defense stepped up to cut off numerous potential breakaways.
“They’re doing yeoman’s work in the midfield,” said Underkoffler of Farrell and Conroy. “They cover side to side and up and down the field.”
Their work helps free up Silbert to make runs at the opponent’s defense, which ultimately contributed to the game winner.
“It’s still early,” said Johnson, “just two games into the league. It was disappointing we lost, but we didn’t play that well, and when you’re on a small pitch, it’s hard to get width. They played the wind better than us.”
Souderton 1, North Penn 0
Goals: Ingrid Moyer (S)
Assists: Becca Inman (S)
Shots: North Penn 5, Souderton 10
Saves: Gabby Pakhtigian (NP) 6, Becca Chylack (S) 2
Corners: North Penn 1, Souderton 3
Fouls: North Penn 4, Souderton 9
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