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HORSHAM - As Lauren Purvis was lining up to take a penalty stroke late in the opening half of Thursday’s SOL showdown against North Penn, Hatboro-Horsham coach Marie Schmucker glanced at the scorer’s table and – with a wink – said, ‘Watch this.’
It was worth watching.
Purvis fired a no-doubt-about it stroke into the upper left corner of the cage. Maiden goalie Shannon Keen never had a prayer, and the Hatters led 3-0 over the stunned Maidens. Purvis – bound for Penn State on a hockey/lacrosse scholarship – played no small role in the Hatters’ dominance.
“Number 13 is an amazing player, and we knew that from the beginning,” Maiden captain Kaitlin Colbridge said of Purvis. “She just ran around us, and we let her. After the first half, we pushed it out and tried to stop her as much as we could.”
Purvis, who finished the day with two goals and an assist, might not have been as dominant in the second half, but the Maidens - despite controlling play in the final 30 minutes – never could make up the ground they lost, falling 4-1 to the Hatters.
The loss was the first of the season for the Maidens, who took a gaudy 4-0 record into the game. The Hatters, meanwhile, improved to 3-1 and made a powerful statement with their big win, which came on the heels of a 2-1 overtime loss to Souderton.
“After losing to Souderton 2-1, I think we were a little upset – we could have done things better, and we made some mistakes we don’t usually do,” said Purvis. “Today we really wanted to prove to ourselves that we could win.”
“It was minor breakdowns,” teammate Sarah Tustin added of the Souderton loss. “It was just minor tweaks we had to make, and I think we made them today.
“We were ready to play, and that was a major factor. We pumped each other up in school. We just knew we had to win. It wasn’t a point of losing at all.”
It was Tustin scoring the Hatters’ first goal during corner play at the 22:21 mark of the first half. The former forward – who is now playing center back – got her stick on a shot by teammate Kasey Gehlhaus and deftly redirected it into the cage.
Moments after Purvis sent a rocket across goal that no one touched, the senior midfielder sent a strong pass into the circle toward goal where teammate Hannah Vogel got just a piece of the ball, deflecting it into the cage and putting the Hatters on top 2-0.“Actually, right before the hit, she (yelled), ‘Lauren,’ and I was like, ‘Alright, Hannah is obviously open,” Purvis said. “So I hit it to where I heard it. I looked up, and she put it right in.”
With time winding down in the half, the Maidens were whistled for fouling a Hatter from behind as she entered the circle, and the Hatters were awarded a penalty stroke. Purvis made it count, and the Hatters had a three-goal lead over the Maidens, who did not manage a corner in the half and only two shots.
They came out of halftime a different team.
“I think we just realized we needed to get it together – that was ridiculous,” Colbridge said. “That was the worst display of hockey we have ever done.
“We were just frustrated with ourselves, and we knew we could do better. They scored three goals in the first half. That never happened to us. We just really needed to get ourselves together and play the hockey we know we can play.”
The Maidens drew 11 second-half corners, and they made the fifth one count when Elizabeth Fedele – after a nifty dribble move past her defender – scored on a perfectly-placed lift shot to make it a 3-1 game.
Two minutes later, the Hatters were awarded another penalty stroke. Again, Purvis turned it into gold.
“I think the first half we played so well that the second half we didn’t push as much as we needed to,” Tustin said. “Once we realized they definitely could come back, we had to turn it up and keep pushing forward.
“We could not let up at all, and for a little bit in the second half, I think we did.”
Almost lost in the shuffle of the decisive win was the standout effort of the Hatters’ deep defense – Tustin, Melissa Keller, Shannon Stemler, Kelly McCartin, Jess Holzman and goalie Maddy Wagenfeld – against the Maidens’ relentless second-half pressure. Wagenfeld (14 saves) turned away 12 shots in a superb second half.“It’s definitely communication,” Tustin said. “I know everyone says that, but it’s just being in the right spot and marking up.”
Maiden coach Carrie Jankowski credited the Hatters’ defense.
“I thought their defense played very well,” she said. “Their low backs did a nice job of stopping play.
“I’m not taking anything away from them, but I thought our effort level changed in the second half.”
According to Jankowski, hockey is a game of momentum.
“In hockey in general, whoever steps up with more intensity and starts to dominate, the other team – almost by default – will fall back, and then you gain more and the other team gets frustrated,” she said.
“It’s almost like a slippery slope. If you give them the first five minutes, they’re really hard to come back from. In the second half, we came out hard and almost surprised them, and we had a lot of momentum in the second half. The bottom line is we need to find the back of the net more.”
On the other side of the field, coach Marie Schmucker was not surprised by her team’s response to a disappointing loss.
“We had a good practice yesterday,” she said. “They’re awesome kids. This team has so much character, and they just want to learn and learn and learn.
“I have kids that come up and say, ‘Coach Schmucker, what can I do to get better?’ I haven’t seen that in years.”
The Hatters admit they have high expectations.
“I think this is the season we know we can go far,” Tustin said. “We really have a solid team with a lot of seniors.
“After Souderton, we were so disappointed in ourselves, especially after overtime. Today it was not a question to lose.”
HATBORO-HORSHAM 4, NORTH PENN 1
North Penn 0 1-1
Hatboro-Horsham 3 1-4
Goals/Assists: North Penn – Elizabeth Fedele 1-0. Hatboro – Lauren Purvis 2-1, Hannah Vogel 1-0, Sarah Tustin 1-0, Kasey Gelhaus 0-1.
Shots: NP-19, H-14
Corners: NP-11, H-11.
Saves: Shannon Keen (NP) 6, Maddy Wagenfeld (HH) 14.
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