To view photos of the Rock North/Wissahickon and the Pennridge/Upper Merion games, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 4, WISSAHICKON 3 (OT)
Gabby Tofig, according to Carly Everett, regularly lapped her teammates during the Indians’ preseason runs.
“She’s awesome,” the senior captain said of the speedy forward.
Tofig showed off the speed that has made her a track standout when – midway through overtime – she banged home the game winner on a textbook fastbreak goal.
“I think I blew it twice during the game, so this was the one shot I had,” Tofig said. “You know this could be the last shot you ever get in the game.”
Tofig received the ball near midfield and blew by the one defender in her path on the right sidelines. After that, it was a one-on-one with the goalie, and Tofig won that battle hands down, beating the goalie near the top of the circle and driving the ball into the far corner of the cage.
“I don’t think I was panicked,” Tofig said. “I just thought – ‘Do what you do best,’ and I kept running past people. I didn’t try anything fancy. I just kept hitting to a spot where I could run onto it.
“When the goalie comes out, you have to shoot the ball. It’s probably the only drive goal I’ll ever get.”
Tofig – who says she specializes in touch goals – finished the game with two goals and an assist, but it was her final goal that set off a giddy celebration for the Indians, who exacted revenge for last season’s 1-0 loss to the Trojans in the district semifinals.
“After last year’s game against them – we lost on a fluke goal,” Everett said. “Coming into this game, we knew that we could beat them if we went in strong and played the game the way we knew we could.”
The Indians looked as though they were on cruise control after a goal by Michelle Hand (Tofig assist) put them on top 3-1 just over 10 minutes into the second half, but a goal by Wissahickon’s Taylor Myers made it a 3-2 game with six minutes remaining.
Then – with no time showing on the game clock – the Trojans were awarded a penalty corner. They didn’t score on the first but forced another corner and hit paydirt when Gretchen Guaglianone turned a push pass from teammate Lauren Becker on her right into a goal, knotting the scoring and setting the stage for overtime.
“I thought we had momentum coming off that last goal, but we always knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Guaglianone said. “With only seven players on the field, there’s a lot more running after just playing a whole game.
“We went in there knowing it would be hard, and we just had to play the best we could.”
The Trojans had possession to open OT, but Rock North goalie Molly Doyle came up with a big stop to keep the tie intact, setting the stage for Tofig’s heroics.
According to Everett, the Indians’ response to Wissahickon’s tying goal with no time remaining on the clock in regulation is a positive sign.
“We have never – in the past three years – come back from a loss once a team has scored on us like that,” she said. “One of our big goals this season is to learn to come back and not give up if the other team scores on us.
“This is something that pushes us knowing we can come back and knowing the game’s not over just because they score.”
Friday’s win a big one for a Rock squad with high aspirations.
“This is huge,” Rock North coach Heather Whalin said. “They’re the district champs. We lost to them 1-0 last year in districts and 2-0 at the beginning of the season. We knew this was going to be a really strong opening game for us.
“They have almost their entire team back from last year – a new coach and a really
knowledgeable coach. I’m glad that our girls stepped up to the challenge they were given in the first game.”
Whalin lauded the performance of her midfielders – Everett, Hand and Kara Magley -against Trojan standouts Becker, Guaglianone and Jackie Hibbs.
“We told our girls they were going to have to match up with them, and they did,” the Indians’ coach said. “We definitely dominated play at times but had a couple of breakdowns we need to work on.
“We have a new defense and a new goalie, but I’m very proud. Molly came up big
with a huge save in overtime.”
A recap of the scoring early in the game would show that Wissahickon took a 1-0 lead 11 minutes into the opening half on a goalie by Melanie Fry (Emily Gallagher assist). The Indians knotted the score 1-1 on a goal by Tofig (Everett assist).
Goals by Hannah Plappert (Everett assist) and Hand (Tofig assist) put the Indians on top 3-1 only to watch the Trojans come back to knot the score.
According to Guaglianone, the Trojans can use Friday’s loss as a learning experience.
“We have a different team than we had last year,” the senior captain said. “We have to see what works for us as a totally new team.
“The beginning of the season is about learning what works. It was just our first game. We’re going to work from here. It might even be better that this happened now because we know what work is ahead of us.”
The Indians held a 13-7 advantage in shots while the Trojans had a 10-7 edge in corners. Trojan goalie Rina Lobell turned away eight shots.
WILLIAM TENNENT 3, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2 (OT)
In another classic battle pitting a pair of SOL schools, Taylor Prichett scored three minutes into overtime to propel the Panthers to the dramatic win.
It was, according to coach Kaitlyn Rauchet, exactly the kind of start her young team needed after a tough preseason that saw a coaching change a week into preseason.
“Just for morale,” the first-year coach said. “These girls work so hard on a daily
basis. This is what we were working hard for.”
Prichett’s goal came on corner play that actually began, according to Rauchet, with an insert pass from Pritchett to Rachael Mueller, who passed the ball to her right to Brittany Mitchell. Pritchett was there to tip Mitchell’s drive into the cage for the game winner.
A recap of the scoring would show that the Panthers took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Colleen McCabe (Prichett assist) only to watch the Bucks knot the score on a Steph Cooper goal. Sophomore Rachael Mueller scored the go-ahead goal for the Panthers with 16 minutes remaining in regulation.
“This was Rachael Mueller’s varsity debut today,” Rauchet said. “As a sophomore, she stepped it up, and Megan McCloskey played the whole game, and she’s a sophomore. It’s a young team.”
The never-say-die Bucks knotted the score when Heather Zezzo scored with 20 seconds remaining, but the Panthers regrouped to win it in OT.
Rauchet lauded the performance of several players.
“Brittany Mitchell was everywhere on the field,” the Panthers’ coach said. “She played the whole game, and she was outstanding.
“Another player who played very well was Allie Reed. She played center mid today – it’s not her usual position, but she definitely stepped up and filled the role really well.”
Rauchet went on to laud the performance of her defensive unit comprised of Mary McGinty, Allie Adams and McCloskey.
“I don’t want to call it a defensive game for us, but if anybody played hard, it was our whole defensive line,” Rauchet said. “Without them, there’s no way we would have won this game. Scoring is one thing, but defense is going to win us games.”
UPPER DUBLIN 2, SPRINGFIELD 0
The Flying Cardinals used goals by Emily Hitchings and Marie Wheatley as well as the solid nine-save effort of goalie Dana Russell to earn the hard-fought win.
“The score doesn’t necessarily reflect their effort,” coach Heather Boyer said of the defending BAL champion Spartans. “They were very aggressive, and they’re always well coached.
“They put a lot of pressure on us the entire game and they did a very good job of double teaming Emily Hitchings and Kelly Cross, which forced other kids to step up.”
The Cardinals went on top 1-0 when Hitchings (Wheatley/Kelly Cross assists) scored at the 28:49 mark of the first half. The Spartans responded by turning up the pressure.
“We got a little frantic, and I called a timeout midway through the first half so we could regroup,” Boyer said. “They settled down and played a little more to their composure level.”
The Cardinals added an insurance goal at the 8:58 mark of the second half when Wheatley scored, using an assist from Cross.
Both teams had just two corners in a game that saw the Flying Cardinals hold a slim 10-9 edge in shots on goal.
“The defense played well on both sides,” Boyer said. “We had the ball in their circle a good bit, and they had the ball in our circle a good bit.
“When that happens and you don’t see a lot of corners, it means you’re doing a lot of good things and playing good defense. Springfield had a couple of good strong shots on goal, and Dana turned them all away.”
Boyer went on to commend the efforts of her four defensive backs – Brooke Callahan, Jen Harchut, Taylor Morgan and Sydney Lang.
“Jen Harchut plays the left side unbelievably well,” Boyer said. “Taylor Morgan –who is kind of a newcomer for us – stepped up and filled in for an injury at right back. She’s used to playing midfield, and she did a really good job.
“Sydney Lang, our sweeper, is as steady as they go.”
TRUMAN 1, ACADEMY PARK 0
Center back Maria Shut scored on a corner to propel the Tigers to the exciting non-league win.
“We didn’t have many corners, but the one we did have we capitalized on,” coach Dawn Martesi said. “Considering we lost a good portion of our team to graduation, this was a big confidence builder.
“It’s great to start out with a win that will allow them to believe they can do it if they work together and keep playing to the very end. The girls hung in there. They played hard the whole game – they didn’t give up, and they executed.”
Martesi acknowledged the solid outing of midfielder Nikki Herbert.
“She just helped keep the ball in the offensive end and really helped the center of the field the entire game and keep the play out of our defensive end as much as possible,” the Tigers’ coach said. “I kind of feel bad for Academy Park.
“They played well. They had more than we did, and they had more shots than we did, but we just capitalized on what we had.”
UPPER MORELAND 2, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 1 (OT)
Rebecca Coutts scored an unassisted goal at the 8:22 mark of overtime, propelling
the Golden Bears to the dramatic win. The game winner came on the heels of a goal by Mackenzie Carroll (Brit Finn assist) with 4:30 remaining in regulation to force the overtime.
“Everyone played really well together,” coach Karen Grossi said. “They were all pushing up on offense, and they came back on defense.
“During overtime, you could tell they were tired, but they just kept pushing and eventually came out victorious.”
For a Bear squad hoping to improve on last year’s three-win season, it was a good beginning.
“This was very important,” Grassi said. “We just played at HockeyRama this past week and really didn’t do very well.
“Having the kids click today will hopefully be a good sign for the upcoming games.”
The Golden Bears held a lopsided 26-7 advantage in shots on goal. LC goalie Kaite DiPlacido’s 21 saves kept the Crusaders in the game.
PENNRIDGE 7, UPPER MERION 0
Addy Marshall led the Rams with three goals and an assist, and teammate Emily Kaempf added a pair of of goals while Alyssa Rosette and Kelly Herd both chipped in one goal. Rosetti also had an assist.
Despite her team’s lopsided win, Ram coach Nikki Thren was looking for better play from her squad.
“I don’t think they played bad, but I think they could have played better as a team,” the second-year coach said. “I was looking for things to click a little bit more.
“They did do well, but they’re still finding their way with the transition pieces and getting used to certain players in certain places. They’re getting adjusted to that.”
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 7, QUAKERTOWN 2
Rachel Konowal scored three goals and also contributed an assist to lead the Colonials to the big win. Ali MacIntyre scored both Quakertown goals.
ABINGTON 4, CHELTENHAM 0
Meredith Cox contributed two goals and an assist for the Ghosts. Dana Heller and Max Malloy each added single goals with Caitlin Chapla, Katherine Geating and Noelle Rao each contributing assists.
UPPER PERKIOMEN 2, SOUDERTON 1
Souderton’s Abby Gabriel scored midway through the second half to knot the score 1-1, but the Tribe came back to earn the win.
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