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By Alex Frazier
“Our time in ’09.”
The Pennridge girls are living up to their team slogan.
After three straight frustrating years of losing in the District One quarterfinals, the Lady Rams broke the jinx by beating Central Bucks West 1-0 to qualify for their first state playoff appearance.
“I’m so excited, so happy we won,” said senior captain Megan Gurecki.
In contrast to Pennridge, the Lady Bucks have a ton of state playoff experience as the seven stars, representing seven state championships on the backs of their jerseys, attests.For senior forward Taylor Viniarski, it will be the first time since her freshman year she won’t be going to the state tournament.
“We had a couple tough games at the beginning of the season but halfway through we pulled it together and started playing well together,” she said. “It’s a shame to lose in the second round, but overall we did pretty well.”
Viniarski noted that because of West’s unprecedented success in spring soccer, so many have come to have high expectations (as in state championship) every year.
“It’s hard to have so much pressure on you throughout the league,” she said. “Every team wants to play their absolute best against you. Every team is going to give you their absolute best game, so you have to battle back and ignore the background and talk about you.”
This year’s West team has struggled to score goals and that was evident against the Rams. The Bucks had just three shots, and Ram keeper Shannon Zickler stopped all three. In three games against Pennridge this year, West didn’t notch a goal.
“They have a ton of talent,” said West coach Chris Freudig, “so for us to lose 1-0 is an accomplishment. We competed and we gave everything we had. It just wasn’t enough in the end.”
Looking at the big picture, Freudig was nevertheless pleased with what this year’s seniors had accomplished
“What the seniors gave us for four years was unbelievable,” he said. “I’m very pleased with Colleen (McQuate) and Amanda (Fleischut) and the seniors in general.
“I look at the four years the senior class gave to West and it’s better than any other class except for the Class of ’96. I don’t look at it as a disappointment. In the end there’s a lot more that goes on besides wins and losses.”Pennridge dominated the Lady Bucks in the first half with a sharp, patient passing game. If the Rams couldn’t go forward, they dropped the ball back, waiting until they found an opening.
“We really focus on small possession and finding feet as often as we can,” said Ram coach Jorge Rodriguez. “That’s why the first half went as it did.”
Midfielders Lindsey Lyons and Sarah Senoyuit won a lot of air balls and distributed the ball to the attack.
“They really stepped up and the backs did a great job of winning all the 50/50s,” said Rodriguez. “That was big for us.”
“We knew they were going to pack it in and be very defensive,” said Gurecki. “We had to relax and be patient and we knew our goal wasn’t going to come easy.”
Their patience finally paid off.
At the 22:29 mark, Pennridge’s Millie O’Brien was tripped in the penalty box. Central defender Marissa Kunkle came forward to take the kick and blasted it into the right side of the net for the lone goal of the game.
“It would have been nice to score on some beautiful play,” said Gurecki, “but the fact that we scored was great.”
“I was very pleased with how we played specifically in the first half,” said Rodriguez. “We definitely controlled the tempo of the game, especially after that goal. It reinforced that we needed to continue to play that way.”
West came out a lot stronger and more aggressive in the second half, but still could not get good numbers forward. “They put a ton of pressure on us and made it a more physical game,” said Rodriguez.
“We definitely battled back in the second half,” said Viniarski. “It’s tough to go down by a penalty kick, but you just have to hold your head high and play as hard as you can.”
Midway through the second half, Amanda Fleischut had a great look at goal, but she shot wide right and was also flagged for offsides. West also had a goal called back for offsides.
“We kind of held back because we had the lead,” said Gurecki. “At the same time our defense and midfield connected well and we held the ball well.
“We didn’t pressure as much because the way West plays is to send the ball long and hope to get to it, and they have fast forwards up top. We didn’t want that to happen so we held the ball more.”
In the final three minutes, Freudig moved freshman defender Lindsay Horst up top and dropped Viniarski to midfield. And it seemed to give the Bucks a boost
“It got a little hairy there because we were getting a little frantic,” said Rodriguez. “The second half was more who was going to fight the hardest.”
One of the few highlights for West was senior defender Colleen McQuate starting her 101st game for the Bucks.
“She’s started more games for us than anyone else,” said Freudig. “She’s a perfect example of C.B. West.”
The Lady Rams have taken one big step to their “time in ’09.”
“We’re hoping to live up to that,” said Gurecki. “We’re hoping to make the state finals.”
Pennridge will take on No. 1-seed Central Bucks South, a 3-0 winner over William Tennent, in the semifinals next Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. at War Memorial Field.
The 8 p.m. game will feature No. 2 Neshaminy against No. 6 Souderton.
Pennridge 1, Central Bucks West 0
Goals: Marissa Kunkle (P)
Shots: Pennridge 12, Central Bucks West 3
Corners: Pennridge 3, Central Bucks West 1
Fouls: Pennridge 9, Central Bucks West 9
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