Springfield-Montco downs Upper Dublin in SOL American finale
SPRINGFIELD TWP. >> The struggles of Upper Dublin in Suburban One League American Conference league play have been well documented the season as the Cardinals took its fair share of lumps during a rebuilding campaign.
Upper Dublin wrapped up its season and conference play Tuesday afternoon as it traveled to Springfield on the Spartans’ senior day. The Cardinals finished out its American Conference schedule with a 2-0 loss to the hands of the Spartans.
“It’s been a year of adversity,” Upper Dublin coach Heather Boyer said. “In some ways it was a little bit of a rebuilding year and we knew that coming in.”
While the 2-0 loss for Upper Dublin ended its season, the 2-0 win for the Spartans launched them into to the District One Class AA playoffs.
The Spartans came out a little flat, but their efforts were still good enough to grab a 1-0 lead just four minutes into the game as Ellie Hamilton netted the goal.
“We were coming into this game very ready for it,” Springfield senior Allison Yoder said. “I thought in the beginning we started out rough. We weren’t talking, but by mid first half we picked it up and got it going.”
The Spartans started to really pour it on in the second half as they fired 15 second half shots at the Upper Dublin cage in addition to eight second half corner opportunities.
“At halftime we talked about our main issue is talking,” said Yoder, who assisted on the second Springfield goal. “Another thing is our forwards and midfielders were clustered so that was our goal to spread out and use the field.”
A bright spot for the Cardinals was keeper Marlowe Gardner. The freshman goalie made 16 saves, 14 in the second half, as she helped Upper Dublin weather a second-half storm from the Spartans.
“She had to step in early in the season to fill this role,” said Boyer of Gardner. “It was a huge step for her and she really has tried and given her best effort. As a freshman she had some great game and then there’s some learning experiences too but she really put forth a great effort and accepted a major challenge.”
As the Upper Dublin season ends, it’s all about turning to 2016 as the Cardinals will return seven starters and four other players who logged significant varsity minutes.
“It’s a good core group and it’s really exciting so we’re looking forward to 2016,” Boyer said.
For the Spartans, after some adversity faced early in the season they look to make a run in the District 1-AA playoffs after an 8-6 SOL American record.
“Our past couple games we’ve stepped up and [got] some wins,” Yoder said. “That’s boosted our confidence. In the beginning of the season we started out rough, we were losing we had a lot of drama on the team but now we (have) extra confidence with these two wins we’re going to make playoffs.”
