Martina’s late goal lifts Perkiomen Valley past Upper Perk

GRATERFORD >> Gabby Martina wanted just one more chance.

After spending the afternoon as the inserter of Perkiomen Valley’s corner tries, the freshman finally got it.

And she delivered in the biggest way, knocking in the eventual game-winner with less than seven minutes remaining in the Vikings’ 3-2 win over Upper Perkiomen on Monday afternoon.

“It felt good to finally score one, especially in that situation,” Martina said. “Our team fought hard and progressed throughout the game, so it was definitely good to come out with a win.”

With just under seven minutes left in the regulation and the score tied at 2-all, Martina found Laura Shelton at the top of the circle.

Shelton then flicked it back to Martina in front of the net, who then found the back of the cage to keep up with her seven-game point streak.

“I’m just glad my teammates trusted me there,” said Martina. “Laura put a really good pass in front of the net for me to finish. I knew the rest was up to me.”

The late score came as a sigh of relief for the Vikings (4-1 PAC-10, 5-2 overall) offense, which tallied 28 corners in the game, but Martina’s was the only one converted. The Vikings defense also held Upper Perkiomen (3-2, 3-4) to just four corners on the game.

“We had a lot of scoring chances, but there were a lot that we couldn’t finish,” said Shelton. “But we stayed aggressive and kept creating chances. We knew it was a matter of time before we could get one in.”

Perkiomen Valley head coach Erik Enters says his team has all the scoring pieces in place. Now it’s all about finding the back of the net.

“We always want to capitalize on our offensive chances,” said Enters. “We know we have a potent offense; it’s just a matter of scoring goals.

“So it was huge for Gabby to step up there,” he added. “She is becoming a really good player with our offense.”

Shelton tallied the Vikings’ first goal of the game to tie it 1-all just past midway through the first half. Nearly forty seconds later, Bryn Marcavage scored off an assist from Jenna Dickey to take the 2-1 lead.

In the cage, Kerri Hanshaw registered two saves in the first half followed by Miranda Wesley’s two-save showing in the second half.

On the Upper Perkiomen side, sophomore Kaylie Siwy knocked in two goals while Abrianna Gatto registered an assist. Erika Boyer made six saves in goal.

“Our girls played well, but it’s tough to defend a team when you let them have that many corners,” said Upper Perkiomen head coach Jamie Warren. “We need to do a better job of getting the ball out of the circle on defense.”

Despite their struggles with corner chances, Warren says her offense played up to par behind the attack of Siwy.

“Kayleigh did a really nice job,” she said. “Players need to score goals in big games, and this is a big game. For her to pull in two goals in a game against PV, that’s really great. She should definitely be proud of that.”

“Overall I think we played (Perkiomen Valley) really well,” said Siwy. “They’re a strong team both on offense and defense, so we’re I’m glad we were able to hang with them.”

The Vikings will look to capitalize on more chances Wednesday as they take on a scrappy Pottstown team. Upper Perkiomen will travel to Spring-Ford Wednesday.

NOTES >> Marcavage’s goal was her first of her varsity career. … Mara Wrzesniewski knocked one off the post with eight minutes to go for the Vikings. … PV captain Kelsey Giese sat out the game after receiving a red card in the team’s non-league loss to Wilson. … Brooke Zappo made three defensive saves for Upper Perkiomen.