Boyertown avenges last season with 10-7 win over Methacton

AUDUBON >> There was plenty of history in this one.

Just over a year after Methacton snapped Boyertown’s 152-game conference winning streak with an overtime victory to open up the season, the Bears never let that memory fade.

“You could feel it right from the beginning,” said Boyertown’s Sydney Fox. “We wanted to get revenge from last season. That was definitely on the back of all of our minds — they (Methacton) beat us twice last year. We had to claim back what was ours.”

With the 2015 season still fresh in their memories, the Bears put the clamps down on Methacton on Wednesday afternoon, claiming a 10-7 win as the Warriors christened their new turf field in both team’s season opener.

Fox led the way with three goals while teammate Haydn Hallman netted a hat trick of her own to lead Boyertown. Hailey Heimbach notched four assists and a goal to go along with two assists and a goal from Hailey Wentzel. Maddy Siejk and Kate Kada each added a goal.

Boyertown’s defense was suffocating throughout the afternoon, swarming in on anybody who dared bring the ball in front of the net. When the Warriors were able to get through the defense, freshman keeper Kasey Fox was a stonewall in net, finishing with 13 saves in her high school debut.

“She did a really good job,” said Boyertown head coach Pam Wernersbach of her freshman goalie. “I’m sure she felt a lot of pressure being out there, but she didn’t let it get to her. She was a real difference-maker for us.”

The freshman made two huge stops in the final moments to keep the Warriors at bay. She also had some help from her defense in front who were able to block Daria Lucchesi’s shot at a clear net in the late-going.

“Coming in, I knew this game meant a lot to both teams,” said Kasey Fox, the younger cousin of teammate Sydney. “They beat us twice last year, so we knew we’d have to bring a good effort all-around. This was a great way for us to get the season started.”

Methacton senior Sara Hughes scored three times, including the opening goal just over two minutes in while Lucchesi added two goals. Julie Byrne and Deb Peifer each snuck one past Fox in goal once while Jackie Cerchio had an assist. Addie Frey made six saves in the loss.

Coming off a strong 2015 campaign where they advanced to the PAC-10 title game before losing 11-10 to Owen J. Roberts, the Warriors seemed out of rhythm throughout. With the score tied at 4-all seven minutes into the second half, Boyertown rattled off four unanswered goals in a matter of eight minutes capped by Hallman’s unassisted goal with 10:17 left in regulation.

The closest Methacton would get after that was 9-7 after Hughes sent a beautiful feed to Peifer in front of the net with 5:25 left in regulation. After that, Boyertown’s defense put the clamps down as the Bears took possession and slowed things down. Wentzel scored off a feed from Siejk with two seconds left to seal it.

Methacton head coach Laurie Markle credits her team’s early-season issues to the offseason rust, something she hopes will be gone by the time the two teams face off again down the road.

“Our offense didn’t click at all,” she said. “Our defense did a decent job of getting the ball to our attacks, but we weren’t being patient enough once we had possession. We weren’t crisp with our plays. After that, we got frustrated — that was a lot of it.

“Next time we meet them (Boyertown), I’m hoping our attack will be seasoned and ready to go,” she added. “It should be a different ballgame. We’ve got a lot of talent, it’s just a matter of getting everyone together and playing on the same page.”

Though they come off a down season by Boyertown standards, Wernersbach and the Bears bring plenty of experience with them as they eye the stretch of the regular season.

“Each year, every game is just as important as the next,” she said. “Our team gained a lot of good varsity experience last season and we’re hoping we can bring that into this season.”

If Wednesday serves as any indication, the Bears have brought plenty of momentum with them into the 2016 season.