Owen J. Roberts deals Boyertown second-straight PAC-10 defeat
BUCKTOWN: The Boyertown girls lacrosse program knows all about streaks.
This type isn’t one they’re very familiar with. And it’s not a welcome one either.
One day after seeing their 152-game winning streak in PAC-10 play come to an end with a thrilling 7-6 overtime loss to Methacton, the Bears took their second straight defeat with a 19-10 loss to Owen J. Roberts on Wednesday night.
The Wildcats may have been a day late on being the team to end the Bears’ streak, but that took little away from getting a long-sought victory, especially for Maddie Gebert, who tallied a game-high nine goals.
“I was really nervous coming into this game,’ Gebert said. “It’s Boyertown. They’ve been the powerhouse of the league since back before I was even in high school. They beat us three times both of the last two seasons. So it feels so good to finally get this win.’
Kerry Huzzard added five goals, while Anna Dempsey (two assists) and Morgan Stone each scored two and Alli Bevivino finished with one goal.
“We didn’t know what we were going to get (from Boyertown) coming into this game,’ said Owen J. Roberts head coach Joe Tornetta. “After their loss last night, we didn’t know if they’d come out really motivated or if they’d come out deflated tonight. But credit to our girls. We just played our game and kept the pedal to the metal from start to finish.’
Although it’s an unfamiliar place for the 11-time PAC-10 champion Bears (0-2), Boyertown head coach Pam Wernersbach believes her team will be fine once the players get into mid-season form.
“We just need to take it one game at a time,’ she said. “We need to show up to play, regardless of whether it’s a league game or non-league. Right now, we need to find our identity and make that next step if we want to get back in the win column.’
Karli Gilbert led the Bears with three goals while Sydney Fox had two and Hannah Wentzel (one assist), Grace McFadyen, Maddy Siejk and Kyle Graver each had one.
But it was the game Gebert had been eyeing up since the start of the season.
The junior didn’t appear nervous when she took the field and broke open the scoring with a swift move past the defense just 59 seconds in.
Later on in the half, with Boyertown leading 5-3, Dempsey scored both of her goals in a matter of 11 seconds to tie it up again at 5-all.
Gilbert scored for the Bears on a free position a few minutes later, but the Wildcats saw goals from Huzzard, Gebert and Bevivino to end the first half with an 8-6 lead.
“On offense, we did a good job of creating space and taking advantage of it,’ said Huzzard. “As the game went on, we took some time to read their defense, and we ended up getting a lot of good scoring chances.’
The second half began the same way it did in the opening half—with another goal from Gebert.
Spearheaded by three of her goals, including one that she skipped between the Boyertown goalie’s legs, OJR went on a 7-2 run in the first 15 minutes of the second frame and went out to a commanding 15-8 lead.
Gebert closed out the game by tallying OJR’s final three goals, playing a crucial role in the Wildcats’ confidence-boosting win.
“We had to come out and play our best game today, and we did that,’ said Gebert. “Tonight showed what our team is capable of. We had a really solid all-around effort, and we keep getting better everyday.’
“I’m really proud of what these girls have accomplished in such a short amount of time,’ said Tornetta. “They’ve been ready for this game for a while now, and they definitely made the most of it. I’m excited to see what we can do this season.’
And for Wernersbach, it hasn’t quite been the start to the season the Bears have hoped for.
“It’s disappointing to open our season this way,’ said Wernersbach. “Yesterday’s game was emotionally draining for us. We need to learn from our mistakes and develop some more chemistry on the field, and we’ll be fine.’
“(Owen J. Roberts) showed up and played us really hard. They scored, they executed when they needed to and they were solid on defense.’
NOTES: The Wildcats will look to continue improving Friday as they host Souderton in a non-league contest. Boyertown will look to get back to its winning ways Friday as the Bears host Perkiomen Valley. … Sara Maute made 11 saves in goal for the Wildcats. “Sara has done a nice job stepping up and making some solid saves,’ said Tornetta. “It’s nice when you can get that one timely save, and it helps you go from a two-goal lead to a three-goal lead.’
