Souderton and Pennridge were winners in Tuesday night’s PIAA 4A semifinal games, and the two SOL Continental Conference rivals will do battle in Saturday’s state title game in Hershey. Pennridge/Ephrata photos provided courtesy of Sharin Harbeck.
#1-2 SOUDERTON 2, #7-2 PETERS TOWNSHIP 1 (OT)
CHAMBERSBURG – In “game time” it was fast.
In “real time” it was fast.
In “memory time” it was one that will last forever.
Trailing by a goal with seconds left in Tuesday’s PIAA Class 4A state girls soccer semifinal game at Chambersburg High School, Souderton basically needed a miracle.
Peters Township held the lead and continually just blasted the ball into the Indians end as the clock quickly wound down.
But the Indians never quit and on their last chance they came through as sophomore standout Averie Doughty took a nifty pass from senior Erin O’Keefe, quickly turned, and fired a low, left-footed beauty into the far corner of the net to tie the game.
The goal got the Souderton faithful – already standing for the duration of the contest – farther off their feet with joy.
Same for the players.
As for the clock, it read 11 seconds left in regulation.
Part One of the miracle was accomplished.
“We didn’t panic,” said Doughty, who also scored the game-winner in penalty kicks in Souderton’s quarterfinal thriller over Seneca Valley (District Seven) last Saturday.“When I got the ball, I just tried to get a shot off. And when I saw that it went in, it was an unbelievable feeling.”
It would get better.
Midway through the first 15-minute overtime, an overtime that Souderton dominated right from the start, Part II was realized.
Senior Campbell Power, who takes all of the free kicks for Souderton, lined up for one a little over 30 yards to the left of the Peters Township goal and delivered a chip that would have made Phil Mickelson proud.
“I just wanted to put it on goal and hopefully it would be misplayed,” said Power, who, minutes earlier, had a similar opportunity but sent the ball high over the crossbar.“I figured I would chip it and maybe something good would happen.”
It did.
Peters Township sophomore goalkeeper Emma Sawich, who was flawless up until then, bobbled the ball and lost control of it right near the right side of the goal line and Doughty was there, again, to poke the ball home and give Souderton a 2-1 victory and a spot in Saturday’s PIAA Class 4A championship game in Hershey (4 p.m.).
“It was amazing how much composure they showed,” Souderton coach Lindsy Jones said. “With a minute left, you got the feeling that the game was over, but the girls never quit.
“They’ve been doing that all season and it really paid off for them tonight. We changed a couple of things in the overtime to give them (Peters Township) a different look and we ended up getting the goal.I couldn’t be prouder of all of them.”
On Saturday, Souderton will face a familiar foe in Suburban One League Continental Conference and neighborhood rival Pennridge. The Rams qualified for Hershey by blanking Ephrata (District Three) 1-0 in the other semifinal Tuesday.
Pennridge and Souderton met twice during the regular season with the Rams winning once (by a 1-0 score) and the other being a 0-0 draw.
“Our goal from the start of the year was to get to the state championship,” Power said. “When we were losing, and the time was running out, you’re thinking about all that we’ve accomplished, but the big one we wanted was to get to Hershey.
“And then we were able to tie the game, which was unbelievable, and then to win it in overtime was unreal.
“Averie has been great for us all season. As seniors, we didn’t want the season to end and everybody, the seniors and the younger players, have all done a great job. It hasn’t sunk in yet, but now we have to get ready for Saturday.”
Lost in all of the offensive heroics was the play of Souderton senior goalkeeper Lindsey Pazdziorko.
The goal she allowed, which came off a beautiful shot by Peters Township’s Jill Marvin midway through the first half, was not her fault. Marvin put it (upper right-hand corner) where no goalkeeper could have saved it. The rest of the way, Pazdziorko was rock solid.
“Everybody chipped in and that’s the way it’s been all season,” Jones said. “They were all just unbelievable.”
SOUDERTON 0 11 – 2
PETERS TOWNSHIP 1 0 0 – 1
Souderton 2, Peters Township 1 (OT)
(Submitted article by Souderton girls’ soccer)
Souderton and Peters Township met at Chambersburg High School Tuesday evening for a thrilling state playoff semifinal.
Peters Township had the first quality chance when they were awarded a free kick five minutes into the match just outside Souderton's 18-yard box. Unfortunately, the effort sailed harmlessly over the net.
Souderton was controlling possession early in the match, but Peters Township was working hard off the ball to win it back. Souderton wasn't able to connect and create chances despite their possession and slowly were losing their foothold in the match.
In the 20th minute, Souderton finally turned the ball over in the midfield and Peters Township punished them with a well-placed ball in behind the defense to send their forward one-on-one with Souderton's deepest defender. The forward took a few great touches to control under pressure and fired home a powerful finish for the go-ahead goal.
Souderton almost responded immediately after sophomore Averie Doughty sent in a cross to sophomore Taylor Yoder who went up and challenged the keeper for the ball. The keeper bobbled the ball, but Souderton wasn't able to put it home to level the match. Seconds later, Peters Township had a great opportunity to double their lead after a scramble in the box ended with an open shot that hit off the top of the crossbar and out of play. Nonetheless, Peters Township was able to enter the half up 1-0.
Souderton was able to gain some ground after the half. A slight change in formation seemed to spark a renewed attack. With 28 minutes left in the game, senior Erin O'Keefe worked some space for herself in the center of the field and was able to unleash a shot from 25 yards out that dipped viscously towards the net only to come off the bar. Doughty followed up but the ball was cleared through a combined effort from the goalkeeper and defender. Souderton had another chance on the ensuing corner, but sophomore Hannah Alderfer hit her shot right to the goalkeeper.
Throughout the half Souderton senior Campbell Power seemed to find some more success in the midfield and had a few decent chances that were just off target. With 16 minutes left, Power hit a well-placed pass over the opposing defense towards O'Keefe. O'Keefe was able to control and dribble in on net, but the goalkeeper was quick off her line and was able to stop the attack.
O'Keefe proved to be a serious threat in the closing minutes of the match. With 8 minutes left, she beat her defender and unleashed a shot that was bound for the corner of the far post, but the goalkeeper came up with another big save. Shortly thereafter, she outran a defender trying to usher the ball out for a goal kick and cut into the box to send in a searching cross that lacked a finishing touch.
Credit to Souderton. With about 30 seconds left in the match, everyone in the stadium had written the game off, but not the 11 Souderton players on the field. The ball was worked from the back line and down the right wing where Peters Township's goalkeeper was forced to clear but her clearance found Souderton sophomore Taylor Yoder who slotted a cross to Doughty who turned well and tucked the ball into the far post to tie the game with 11 seconds left.
That was the boost Souderton needed going into overtime. Power continued to threaten in the midfield, and with seven minutes left in the first overtime period, she earned herself a free kick in a dangerous position about 30 yards from the Peters Township net. Power sent a dangerous ball in and Souderton crashed the net as the ball rebounded off the goalkeeper, and Doughty was able to grab her second goal of the night and send her team to the state finals.
Souderton will face a familiar opponent in the final on Saturday in Hershey.
#1-3 PENNRIDGE 1, #3-3 EPHRATA 0
After her team's stirring comeback and eventual shootout win against Parkland in Saturday’s quarterfinals, Pennridge midfielder Chance Hendricks knew the Rams weren't losing Tuesday night.
While the Rams only scored one goal, make no mistake, this was almost a total domination. From the start, Hendricks and her midfield partners – Ashley Groeber and Maddie Anderson – made sure the Mountaineers wouldn't rack up their third straight state playoff win over a District I team.
"It was a result of us playing our style of soccer and not getting our nerves to the point that we panicked," Pennridge coach Audrey Anderson said. "We were able to go forward in the first half pretty easily and I think our midfield was the key to that."
Ephrata's defensive plan was focused on not letting Pennridge's forwards do damage, and the Mounts keyed in on Abby Groff, Lauren McIntyre and Lindsey DeHaven but left a lot of real estate open doing so. Pennridge was happy to move in on the vacated land, with Anderson and Hendricks winning a ton of balls in the air and Groeber roaming ahead of them ready to get the ball forward.
"They were connecting with each other and looking for our forwards," Anderson said. "Our midfield was able to dribble a lot and get some shots off. I think between Chance and Maddie, they had about 10 shots combined."
Ephrata seemed very happy staying away from Hendricks and with good reason. The junior delivered physical tackles all match and was one of the best Pennridge players all game when it came to winning the ball.
"They were really worried about our forward presence so in the midfield, it created a lot of time for me, Maddie and Ashley to take a lot of shots," Hendricks said. "In the second half, it opened up forward channels so we could play out of the midfield and more into our style which actually worked really well for us."
Offensively, with Ephrata locked in on the forwards, the Rams got some shots but hit most of them right to Mounts keeper Jocelyn Umana.
Pennridge right back Maddie Angelo, who had a good first half going forward, felt like her team needed to score before halftime and with time starting to wind down, she set that in motion.
Her cross found Groff in the 18 and from there, the team's leading scorer had a quick decision to make.
"Originally I thought I was going to shoot but I saw two defenders right in front of me," Groff said. "If I had shot it, it would have went right to one of them. I saw the split and Lauren wide open, so I passed it."
Groff played a perfect diagonal ball through the box to McIntyre.
"As soon as I turned, I didn't realized how close I was to the goal until I had turned and looked up, so I didn't want to over-hit it or hit it right to the goalie," McIntyre said. "I just found the corner and placed it."
It would stand up as the only goal the Rams got despite a large advantage in possession.
While the Rams certainly would have taken another goal, as long as they had the lead Hendricks was good with it. The midfielder said playing up for the last 40 minutes really let Pennridge do its thing, and McIntyre added that with as much as the ball was pinned in Ephrata's defensive third, the one goal was enough.
"I'm never going to pass up a goal and (Ephrata's Maddie Root and Abigail Weist) were so good I felt a second goal would calm us down in the second half and maybe put the game away," coach Anderson said. "However, when we have room to breathe, we can slack off a bit so it kept us on our toes. This was good for what we're going to be playing on Saturday."
Pennridge had its chances to add to the lead. Groff was denied by a terrific save by Umana while McIntrye hit the crossbar.
Ephrata did have one major threat in the second half when Root, a Pitt recruit, won a battle on the endline but put her shot into the side netting.
The Rams will make their first appearance in the state title game since 2011 on Saturday at 4 p.m. There, they will meet a very familiar foe in Souderton, a 2-1 overtime winner over Peters Township.
"I'm excited for Saturday, I'm excited to see what we can do," Anderson said. "It's ironic that we're playing Souderton and Souderton is playing Pennridge but you talk about our conference all the time and the quality of teams, so I'm glad its coming down to two teams from our conference."
For Anderson, Tuesday's result was a deserved payoff for her team, especially its eight seniors.
"We talk about this iceberg philosophy that people don't see all the work. All they see is the results and they don't see all that these girls have pushed aside for this season and for them to get the program back there, it's exciting," Anderson said. "It's exciting for me as a coach who also played (at Pennridge) to potentially win the first state title for the school. This senior group is a great group, I say it all the time, they like each other so much and everybody plays so much harder because they know what our ultimate goal is."
PENNRIDGE 1 0 – 1
EPHRATA 0 0 – 0
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