The Pennsbury Falcons boarded the bus headed toward Haverford HS fired up to compete in their first playoff game in six years. The long bus ride was a welcome adventure, as the team embraced the moment and let the joy of being together guide the way. PHS landed at #20 in the PIAA rankings, the highest they have been since head coach, Traci Curtis, took over in 2019.
"We earned that spot as a solid group across the board - all coaches and all players working side-by-side with a common vision. Our theme, THE POWER OF ONE, carried us through to this game and we could not be more proud of ourselves," said Curtis.
Pennsbury came out strong and despite going down 1-0 in the first 5 minutes of the game, they never missed a step and just fought harder with every passing minute. Haverford stayed on top 1-0 into the second quarter, but that quarter belonged to the black and orange on possession and opportunities.
"Unfortunately, we were not able to capitalize in the circle when we were there or on penalty corners, but our passing and connecting up both sides of the field was beautifully executed," explained Curtis. "It was exciting to watch our girls moving at high speed and playing such smart hockey. They were not intimidated by Haverford at all and truly played with heart from start to finish," said Curtis.
The score remained 1-0 going into halftime and it was obvious that PHS had taken Haverford out of their game. "When you don't know the other team well, it's easy to rely on looking at superficial information such as ranking, win/loss record, and strength of schedule, but the reality is, you won't know a team until you hit the pitch and play," said Curtis. "I love that we caught them a little off guard and made them adjust to our game for a bit."
The Falcons' defense denied many of the Fords' offensive opportunities with goalkeeper, Abby McCole, leading her unit solidly from the cage. Haverford did not get another one past McCole until halfway through the third quarter. "They scored on a beautifully placed reverse stick shot straight into the corner. McCole had a couple of saves in the moments leading up, but the Fords were able to pick up the rebound and have second and third chance opportunities, which is lethal in the circle," explained Curtis. It was a tight battle for the remainder of the third and the score was 2-0 to start the final quarter. "The game was no where near over for us and our girls were ready to prove it with grit and strength," said Curtis. Haverford had a slew of earned corners in the fourth quarter, but the PHS defensive unit held their ground. The Fords did connect for their third goal with ten minutes left to play. "What we loved most about watching them out there was their pure fight and their willingness to give everything they had for themselves and each other," said Curtis. "Haverford is a talented team whose strength lies in their shot selection and ability to shoot with power from anywhere. They were able to finish three times and we were not, but we will walk away from this experience with our heads high knowing we went out there and competed at a very high level for 60 minutes," said Curtis. "We want to thank our seniors for all that they gave to our field hockey family - Ayla Alon, Rylee Askey, Alaina Bird, Ella Bray, Olivia Coen, Allison Goldfarb, Ava Jordan, Angelina Kenney, Sam Nesteruk, Avalee Shumski, and Jacqueline Sullivan - your legacies will forever impact us as individuals and as ONE."