Wissahickon keeps pace in SOL American, rolls past Upper Moreland

LOWER GWYNEDD>> It wasn’t a win over Plymouth Whitemarsh, but it was a win.

The Trojans of Wissahickon High are more than aware who it is they’re chasing in the Suburban One League American Conference standings.

And all they can do is keep winning so that when they meet up with PW again on Oct. 2, the game will have meaning.

In the meantime, the Trojans dispatched Upper Moreland, 7-2, as Sammi Pak, Emily Purnell and Julianna Sutow each scored twice and the Trojans kept pace with the Colonials.

“It’s impossible not to think about PW,” said Trojans long-time head coach Lucy Gil. “If we beat them next time, we could be tied for first.

“So we want to be in that position.”

The Trojans (5-2-0, 5-1-0 conference) started slowly, but by the time Purnell scored midway through the first half, the Wissahickon lead was 4-0 and the Bears were in no shape to rally.

“I think we were OK in the first half,” said Bears head coach Karen Grossi, “but we need to play better.

“We had very little communication, the girls just weren’t communicating.”

Jessica Flanagan got the Bears (4-4-0, 3-3-0) on the board in the final 3:00 of the first half, but by then the visitors were scrambling.

And when Kendal Williams scored with 11 seconds left in the half, the Bears were in a hole from which there would be no escape.

“It seems every time we play Upper Moreland it’s a toss up,” said Pak, who had two assists to go along with her two goals. “We weren’t happy with the way we lost (Monday, in overtime) to Council Rock North, so we came into this game looking to fix our mistakes.”

Those mistakes were a distant memory by the time Purnell notched her second goal early in the second half to get the clock in continuous -run mode.

Victory was assured, but it was secondary to the task ahead.

“We play Springfield on Monday, and they’re very good this year,” Gil said. “That’s our focus for now.

“It’s not all about PW, we have to get through our other games, too.”

WISSAHICKON 7, UPPER MORELAND 2
Upper Moreland 1 1 — 2
Wissahickon 5 2 — 7
First Half Scoring: 1. Wissahickon, Sammi Pak, 18:43; 2. Wissahickon, Julianna Sutow, 16:01; 3. Wissahickon, Sutow, 13:01; 4. Wissahickon, Emily Purnell, 9:34. 5. Upper Moreland, Jessica Flanagan, 3:01. 6. Wissahickon, Purnell, 0:11.
Second Half Scoring: 7. Wissahickon, Purnell, 18:17; 8. Wissahickon, Pak, 10:10. 9. Upper Moreland, Claudia Zanine, 3:46.
Shots: Upper Moreland 3-4-7; Wissahickon 12-6 -18.
Corners:Upper Moreland 1-2-3; Wissahickon 3-6 -9.