Methacton outlasts Pope John Paul II
ROYERSFORD >> They knew what to expect.
Entering their PAC-10 clash with Pope John Paul II on Wednesday afternoon, Methacton head coach Sarah Quintois and her team knew the aggressive Golden Panther defense would be in full effect.
Two quick goals by Olivia Hoover and Emily Owens turned Methacton into the aggressors as the Warriors took a 3-1 win over the Golden Panthers en route to their fourth-straight win.
“They have a different style of defense which is really aggressive and took us out of the game early on,” said Quintois of Pope John Paul II’s defensive approach. “We got behind early, but our offense responded and created some really good scoring chances.”
Hoover provided the game-tying score midway through the first before assisting on Owens’ eventual game-winning goal with 11:08 remaining in the first half. Julia Dickinson then added the insurance marker with 6:03 left in the second half to preserve the win.
“PJP has a really high press (defense), which puts a lot of pressure on our defense to step up,” said Hoover, a sophomore who sits in sixth place in the PAC-10 with nine goals. “The way their defense plays makes it really important to make quick, smart decisions.”
Methacton improves to 6-2 in the PAC-10 and 8-2 overall. The Warriors are third in the Liberty Division, a 1/2 game up over Spring-Ford.
With the loss, PJP drops its fourth straight and falls to 3-6 in the conference, 4-6 overall and into third place in the Frontier Division behind Phoenixville and Upper Perkiomen.
Jackie Lerro provided the lone goal of the contest for PJP with Stephanie Petery registering the assist.
“We’ve been really close in a lot of games,” Pope John Paul II Jackie Petery said. “But we just can’t find a way to put it in the cage. Our defense has played really well for us all season, and it’s been getting better as we’ve gone.
“It’s just a matter of scoring goals.”
It looked as though things were going PJP’s way early on as Lerro was able to break through with a goal midway through the first half after consistent PJP pressure in the circle.
But the two quick goals by Hoover and Owens proved the difference. Hoover answered 90 seconds later with a blast from the top of the circle before Owens flicked one in from the left of the cage moments after.
“I was happy with the way we responded when we got down,” said Quintois. “In the first few minutes, we didn’t really have a great rhythm. We made too many mistakes and weren’t creating many chances. Once we got our offense into sync, we started to play our game.”
“We responded well when we got behind,” said Hoover. “We knew if we picked up the intensity we could create some goals.”
In what she admits wasn’t her team’s best showing, Quintois says there is a lot her team can take away from Wednesday’s game.
“We always emphasize starting out fast and getting on the board first, but we didn’t do that today,” she said. “This was one of those games where it wasn’t easy for us to score. There are certainly a few more things we need to work on.”
The Warriors will look to keep improving as they take on Pottsgrove on Friday afternoon while Pope John Paul II will have some time to rest before traveling to Pottstown on Monday.
NOTES >> Methacton keeper Sarah Park made eight saves in the win while Sara Carlini made 10 saves in goal for Pope John Paul II.
