Home openers always feel different. The Falcon field hockey family was locked in and ready to go after supporting the JV team during the first half of their 1-0 victory against the Skins. Patiently waiting for the turf to be cleared from football practice, the varsity team rushed the field like fans entering a concert. "We were blessed with another gorgeous day and the whole vibe was so positive and exciting. The JV game was before ours so we watched the first half and then came to the turf for our later game," explained head coach, Traci Curtis. "We have done a great job attacking each game as they come, climbing the ladder one rung at a time. Assistant coach, Lori Riley, and I are very proud of our preparation at every step," said Curtis. "Our focus was intentional and purposeful - our game plan solid - play as ONE," said Curtis making reference to their team's season theme, The Power of ONE. The score tells a story as just numbers, but inside of that score is an even bigger story to be told. The history over the past 5 seasons of the score of Pennsbury's first game against Neshaminy looks like this: 2019, 5-1 Neshaminy - 2020, 2-1 overtime Neshaminy - 2021, 7-0 Neshaminy - 2022, 5-1 Neshaminy - 2023, 6-0 Neshaminy. "With the exception of 2020, which is an exception in itself, our history of first battles with the Skins have always been weak. There was nothing weak about today," said Curtis. Three minutes into the game, the red and blue earned the first of 15 penalty corners. Kasey Rieger put her team on the board with a straight shot just past the goalie's right side. Neshaminy went up 1-0 and Curtis felt that familiar feeling that comes with an early goal like that. This is the part of the story that the score does not reflect. This is where weakness never became part of the story. That 1-0 score remained the same going into halftime and all the way until there was 1 minute left in the 3rd quarter when Nesh scored off of a nice corner play with a post tip. The 2-0 score would hold until the final buzzer, as the Falcons held the Skins scoreless in the 4th. "The pride we felt in our players is unexplainable. They could have crumbled after that early goal and succumbed to the pressure of this high caliber game, but they didn't crumble. At all. Instead, they united, dug deep, stuck to their plan, and fought. They fought hard with skill, speed, and heart. They held Neshaminy at 1-0 for 44 minutes," said Curtis. "There were so many victories for us inside of this game. Neshaminy only scored off of penalty corners, not from regular field play. Our defense stopped 13 of the 15 corners the Skins earned. Our goalie saved 9 of 11 shots. Nesh was scoreless in the 2nd and 4th quarters," Curtis beamed. "One of the biggest pieces of this game was the sacrifice and hard work of sophomore, Abby Iacona, who did her job to hold Neshaminy's leading scorer to only 1 goal off of a corner. Iacona single handedly broke up many opportunities their top player had and also worked to channel her into other defenders for great defensive plays," said Curtis. "Iacona's effort was a game changer. It certainly was a strategy we put into place and sacrificed Abby in other spaces on the field, but it was effective and we knew she was the right one for the task," Curtis said. "The Skins make us all work harder and strive to be at our best. They are a strong team with speed and great sticks. They are smart and skilled and never back down. Today we proved to ourselves that we have all of those qualities as well," said Curtis. "It was a really great field hockey game and although the offensive push may have been lopsided (not in our favor), the overall play of both teams was high level and made for an entertaining performance." "Our defense was on fire and forced to play at a very quick pace for 60 minutes. Cailyn Reilly, Angelina Kenney, Avalee Shumski, and Payton Worth put together an awesome game with the help of keeper, Abby McCole. We struggled to create offensive opportunities today earning only 1 penalty corner and taking 4 shots on goal, but that lapse is a result of sacrificing Iacona to do a specific job and is easy to adjust when the offense is all back together in one piece." "We were very proud of the leadership of our captains, Ava Jordan and Angelina Kenney. They got everyone pumped and put their words into action on the field with incredible play," said Curtis. "Tomorrow is a new day and time to take the next step and prepare to battle Council Rock North on Monday. The takeaways from today's match up will be a perfect jumping point for us and only make us better. When you lose, you always learn," said Curtis