The Mighty Quinn: Senior’s final-minute game-winner lifts Phoenixville over Methacton, 2-1
PHOENIXVILLE — Through the first eight games, Phoenixville cruised through its early season schedule as efficiently as an AP student in basic algebra.
Now, against the Liberty Division, the Phantoms are showing a flair for the dramatic as the team won its second one-goal contest in three days, topping Methacton after PAC-10 leading scorer Bailey Quinn found the back of the cage with 22 seconds remaining en route to a 2-1 victory on Wednesday.
“It was unbelievable,’ Quinn, an Old Dominion verbal commit, said. “But if it wasn’t for everyone on my team, that goal wouldn’t have happened. We just came together. We didn’t give up.’
“It was a hard-fought, tough game,’ Phoenixville head coach John Tornetta said. “We tell the girls that every second counts when you’re out there. They didn’t quit.’
Quinn’s goal capped off a furious finish as the teams combined for all three of its goals in the final five minutes of regulation. The senior finished the game with two goals for the Phantoms (6-0 PAC-10, 10-0 overall) and leads the league with 27 midway through the season. Katie McErlean provided the assist on the game-winning goal.
“We’ve still have a long way to go,’ Tornetta said. “Right now we just beat one team, we just have to go to the other teams and play them just as hard.’
For Methacton (2-3 PAC-10, 4-3 overall), playing without National U-19 member midfielder Brittany Dickinson who is lost for the season with a torn ACL, Wednesday’s game marked a sense of cohesion that wasn’t exemplified in the team’s last two losses against Owen J. Roberts and Perkiomen Valley last week. With her sister sidelined, Julia Dickinson played exceptionally well, coming up with a critical defensive save before she struck for her first varsity goal with 1:44 remaining.
Added to that, goalkeeper Sammi Steele made 23 stops including a flurry of saves on a trio of penalty corners midway through the second half that kept the game scoreless.
“I think we played well as a team today,’ Methacton head coach Sarah Quintois said. “We had more players step up today and we really fought hard the entire game. We are continuing to improve as a team and today was a step in the right direction.’
Methacton’s fight early on was stymied by a potent Phoenixville attack as the Phantoms accounted for seven of the game’s nine first-half shots and seven of the 10 penalty corners. However, overrun balls and the inability to come back to the ball hampered their offensive efficiency in the half.
“We didn’t have the trails. We were playing more defensively instead of supporting our offense a little bit more,’ Tornetta said. “We just got caught eight steps back; they were a little bit timid. But despite that we did control the pace of play that half.’
Phoenixville kept up the offensive pressure in the next half, earning three corners in the opening 10 minutes but Steele was there, knocking away a TJ Jefferis shot before denying a McErlean try at the far post a few seconds later.
Methacton countered on the offensive as Jen Rees nearly gave the Warriors the lead midway through the second half but her shot was directed aside by a diving blocker save from Kim Rutherford. Forward Olivia Hoover almost capitalized ten minutes later but her shot went inches wide of the near post. Rutherford finished the game with nine saves.
Five minutes later, it was Quinn who didn’t miss as she collected the ball at the right of the circle, and let one go from an improbable angle. The ball bounced off Steele and into the shallow portion of the cage, for a 1-0 lead with 4:10 remaining.
The excitement was short-lived as the Warriors took advantage of two penalty corners, capitalizing on the second try as Lexi Short found an open Julia Dickinson who let one fly from the top of the circle beating Rutherford on the short side for the equalizer.
However, Quinn played hero.
The Phantoms induced a penalty corner with 30 seconds remaining before McErlean took the insert from Quinn and placed a perfect ball to the awaiting stick of Quinn that deflected past a sprawled out Steele for the game-winner.
“Once we got the corner, you’re thinking that it’s a nice advantage,’ Tornetta said.’Bailey just got a great stick on it. Katie struck it perfectly.’
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,’ Quinn added. “It’s awesome but we need to keep this going one game at a time.’
