Corcoran helps Haverford slip past friendly foe
NETHER PROVIDENCE >> Shortly after Haverford held on for a 1-0 Central League field hockey victory over Strath Haven Thursday afternoon at George L. King Field, Panthers coach Carly Reid grabbed the stick of Haverford’s Sydney Corcoran and tossed it aside.
“Why’d you have to score on us?” Reid said to Corcoran.
It was all in good fun.
“She played great,” Reid said of Corcoran.
Corcoran and Reid know each other well. Corcoran is one of the many players on both teams who play for the Horizon Field Hockey Club in Westtown, where Reid is one of the coaches, so it was only natural that Corcoran and Reid, as well as many of the other players, shared a moment afterward.
“They all know each other,” Reid said. “It’s hysterical.”
While it was fun for the old friends to get together, the play on the field was serious. It had all the intensity of a playoff game, which is what you would expect of two teams that are in the playoff hunt.
Both defenses were outstanding, as were the goalkeepers.
The Fords (8-5, 7-1 Central League) needed Corcoran’s goal, which came on a feed from Laura Winters off a corner with 4:57 to play in the game, to extend its winning streak to two games and snap Strath Haven’s three-game winning streak.
The goal was a bit of redemption for Corcoran. She had been stopped on three previous occasions, including once on a penalty stroke, by Strath Haven goalie Kay Walker Dietz, one of her Horizon teammates.
“I was really frustrated because the game was tied and I felt like it was my fault,” Corcoran said. “I felt a lot better after the goal.”
Corcoran should not blame herself because Dietz was brilliant. She made 12 saves for the Panthers (9-6, 4-4), seven in the second half as the Fords dominated play. Dietz was called for interference as she stopped Corcoran from point blank range. That led to the stroke. Dietz was equal to that task, too, even though Dietz had no idea which way Corcoran was going to shoot.
“I just stood there and mentally prepared myself,” Dietz said. “I stared at the ball, saw it going and did a side dive.”
The shot went off Dietz’s glove and off the post.
“I was pretty lucky,” Dietz said.
“She did not stand a chance when Corcoran got another opportunity nearly 15 minutes later.
“That was a great shot,” Reid said. “Our girl on the post was marking their insert (Winters), who actually held wide. That created a window and she found it.”
Elsewhere in the Central League:
Conestoga 8, Garnet Valley 0 >> Charlotte de Vries tallied four times to keep the Pioneers (12-0, 7-0) undefeated.
Harriton 4, Upper Darby 0 >> Katelin Williams scored two goals for the Rams. Santi Laureano (two saves) and Mallory Perry (six saves) shared the goaltending duties for the Royals.
Springfield 3, Lower Merion 2 >> Caitlin Gallagher scored with 28 seconds left to win it for the Cougars.
In the Del Val League:
Interboro 1, Chichester 1 >> Interboro goalie Amelia Wellman came up with a big save in overtime to help the Bucs earn a draw with the Eagles. Molly Dowling converted a pass from Lily Fenstamacher in the second half to tie the game for Interboro.
In the Inter-Ac League:
Agnes Irwin 6, Springside Chestnut Hill 1 >> Jax van der Veen powered the Owls (6-5, 2-1) with three goals and one assist. Julianna Tornetta pitched in with two goals and two assists.
In the Bicentennial League:
Lower Moreland 3, Delco Christian 0 >> Goalie Ana Yee came up with 29 saves for the Knights (4-7, 2-6).
In nonleague action:
Episcopal Academy 7, Tower Hill 4 >> Jenna Lotsis (three goals), Lexi Fischer (two goals) and Corinne Zanolli (one goal, four assists) helped the Churchwomen get a win on the road.
