Callueng’s goal advances Ridley past Haverford
Ridley field hockey coach Karen Snyder did not call for a timeout when the Green Raiders fell behind by a goal early in the second half against Central League rival Haverford in the first round of the District One Class AAA field hockey playoffs Monday night.
She took a different approach.
“I let them play on,’ Snyder said.
It turned out to be a winning strategy.
The 14th-seeded Green Raiders scored three times in a 13-minute span to rally for a 4-3 victory over the 19th-seeded Fords at Phil Marion Field.
Lauren Callueng’s goal with six minutes to play, off an assist from Taylor Eubanks, was the winner as the Green Raiders (13-5) avenged a 4-2 loss to Haverford in the regular season to earn a second-round date at No. 3 Perkiomen Valley Wednesday.
“It was a great game,’ Snyder said.
It was a back-and-forth battle from the start as Kristin Saraceni put home a pass from Emily Johnson to give Ridley a 1-0 lead. Haverford evened the score when Waverly Datner tallied an unassisted goal shortly before halftime.
That set the stage for a wild second half.
Haverford took a 2-1 lead when Gillian Ross converted a penalty stroke early in the second half. Snyder let the Green Raiders play on and Brooke Nasella rewarded her coach when she put home a rebound with 19 minutes left in regulation to tie the game.
“I knew they would fight back,’ Snyder said.
Nasella scored again to put the Green Raiders in front, 3-2, and that’s when Snyder decided to call a timeout.
“I just wanted to let them know that they had to continue to play hard because we needed another goal,’ Snyder said. “We couldn’t take any chances.’
Synder was right. After Callueng scored to make it 4-2, Ross tallied her second goal of the game with 12 seconds to play to make things interesting. However, Ridley was able to hold on for the victory.
“They never gave up,’ Snyder said. “They never let up and as a coach, that’s all you can ask.’
In other first-round action:
Council Rock North 3, Radnor 0: The Indians scored twice in the first half to bring the Raiders’ season to a close. Amrit Ahluwalia led the offense with two goals.
Sixth-seeded North advances to play No. 11 West Chester East, a 3-1 winner over Hatboro-Horsham.
Radnor’s defense did its best to halt the onslaught by the North offense. Goalie Kylee Rutty made 14 saves and Maggie Shields came up with a defensive save but it was not enough to stop the Indians, who had 22 shots and 12 corners.
Downingtown East 4, Strath Haven 0: East’s offensive firepower was simply too much for the Panthers.
The fifth-seeded Cougars (16-3) outshot the 28th-seeded Panthers, 21-1 and had a 12-0 advantage in corners. The result was an early playoff exit for Strath Haven.
Katie Capalbo broke through and had a one-one chance with East goalie Laura Narcum in the fourth minute, but Narcum was equal to the task. It was the only shot she would face.
Jenna Davison scored on a penalty corner to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. Kallie Gray made it 2-0, Caroline Boyd gave East a 3-0 advantage and Isura Amarasekera closed out the scoring with her 13th goal of the season.
The victory earns East a second-round matchup with No. 12 seed North Penn. The Maidens defeated Bishop Shanahan, 1-0.
