Perkiomen Valley prevails in battle of unbeatens with Phoenixville
GRATERFORD – The PAC-10 Championships aren’t for another three weeks, but on Friday, league unbeatens Perkiomen Valley and Phoenixville provided a glimpse of what the PAC-10 final may entail.
Erika Womack highlighted a valiant Perkiomen Valley first half with a tap-in off an Emily Nagle assist and Mara Wrzesniewski capped off the Viking scoring with a rebound off a Kelsey Giese shot early in the second half as Perkiomen Valley stayed unbeaten in the PAC-10 with a 2-0 victory over Frontier-leading Phoenixville.
“It feels really good to get this win,’ Wrzesniewski said. “We were working really hard to get this win and to beat them, especially with them being undefeated. Overall it was a great effort.’
“I think it was really important to get this win,’ Womack added. “We’re expecting to use this as momentum for the rest of the season.’
Perkiomen Valley (9-0, 11-1) goalkeeper Kerri Hanshaw was brilliant in the cage, providing a 12 save effort, including a stunning display where she denied Phoenixville’s Bailey Quinn on two consecutive shots late in the first half.
“We’re taking this game-by-game,’ Hanshaw, who missed the majority of 2013 due to a torn labrum, said. “But I’m glad I could help my team get the win today.’
Kim Rutherford finished the game with 11 saves for Phoenixville (8-1, 13-1), but a 0-for-14 effort on penalty corners pulled the plug on the Phantoms’ chances.
“I think we psyched ourselves out on the penalty corners,’ Phoenixville head coach John Tornetta said. “We didn’t convert on the corners and ultimately that hurt our chances.’
Phoenixville found itself on the offensive for the majority of the first half but Hanshaw stood tall for the Vikings as she withstood six Phoenixville corners, stopping six shots. Her athleticism was on full display as she took back-to-back Quinn shots to the chest before she blocked away a TJ Jefferis offering with a spectacular blocker save on the next corner try.
Hanshaw’s effectiveness paid dividends as Womack and the Vikings capitalized late in the half. Following a Nagle shot from the top of the circle, the ball trickled through the circle onto the awaiting stick of Womack who found an opening at the near post and stuffed it in for a 1-0 lead entering the half.
The Vikings kept up the pressure offensively in the second half as they converted on their first penalty corner of the half. Wrzesniewski was the benefactor as Giese’s rip from the top of the circle ricocheted off Rutherford and onto her awaiting stick. Wrzesniewski then displayed some nifty stick work around a sprawled out Rutherford and tapped in the game’s final score.
“It was a hard win. They are an exceptional team,’ Perkiomen Valley head coach Erik Enters said. “That was a battle that could of went any way; we feel very fortunate.’
A statement win, though?
Not according to Enters.
“We don’t think of it that way,’ the head coach said. “We’re taking it one game at a time. I’m figuring this team could be a team that we can eventually face in the PAC-10’s, maybe even in the finals.
“We talked a lot this week about how this game wasn’t a must-win game, but it’d be a good way to test the waters — see what would work and what wouldn’t. It was a nice win.’
