North Penn can’t gain control in loss to Methacton

TOWAMENCIN — Not much went right for North Penn as it took on Methacton Monday morning.

It was nearly impressive it kept the game within a two-goal margin even holding a lead three separate occasions however too many mistakes eventually did in the Maidens as they fell to the Warriors 11-9.

Draw control was the name of the game for both Methacton and North Penn. For the Warriors it controlled 13 draws to only eight for the Maidens including a lopsided 8-3 advantage in the first half.

“We got crushed on draw control, they did an excellent job winning the draws,’ North Penn coach Heather Mellow said. “It’s a game of possession and if you can’t get possession you’re not going to win.’

As the Maidens worked with limited possessions in the first half, they did an excellent job of making the most of its opportunities as it operated efficiently with few chances. Leading the offensive charge for North Penn was midfielder Emily Schulze and attack Sydney Lear. The duo scored six of North Penn’s nine goals and tallied eight total points.

“We were running some nice plays, we did some nice things. I think their defense was kind of on to what we were doing,’ Mellow said.

Unfortunately for North Penn, it was unable to operate with the same efficiency in the second half as it was in the first as the Maidens started to throw the ball around and commit some turnovers it could ill afford.

“Once you get the ball you have to keep the ball,’ Mellow said. “You can’t just throw it away and make bad passes and bad decisions offensively. We got to keep a hold of the ball and do good things with it.’

A large key to the game was Methacton being able to capture momentum to string some goals together particularly in man-up situations. Not only did it greatly help the Warriors but it killed the Maidens as they continued to struggle to gain possessions.

“For the first time we were able to take advantage of the man down scenarios, I think we got three or four goals off their man down,’ Methacton coach Laurie Markle said.

As the defense of the Maidens was starting to give a little, the Warrior attack started to take advantage as Methacton scored four goals in a row to break what was a 7-7 tie. The Warriors surrendered the final two goals but the four-goal cushion was enough.

“They’re beginning to really gel,’ Markle said of her attack. “This is only our fifth game; we had two scrimmages and two outside practices so we can only continue to gel.’