Quakertown stuns top-seeded Pennridge on PKs in District 1-4A 2nd round

EAST ROCKHILL >> Quakertown converted its first four penalty kicks, keeper Morgan Small made one monumental save, and the Panthers rode into the night with what coach Mike Koch called the biggest win in the program’s history.

After a 0-0 tie in regulation and two 15-minute overtimes, Quakertown outlasted Pennridge for a 1-0 victory (4-3 PK’s), stunning the top-seeded Rams in the second round of the District 1-4A playoffs Thursday evening.

“Pennridge is a great team. About a month ago, we lost 5-0 to them and to come and beat them in PK’s tonight, it’s insane,” said “Mo” Small, who dove to her right to stymie Pennridge’s first PK, a shot by Lindsey DeHaven. “I have to give all the credit to my team.

“We persevered through everything. You could tell how tired everyone was by overtime and double overtime, but we never stopped. We were practicing PK’s the last two days. You never know when it’s gonna happen and we executed them, and I really can’t ask for anything more from my teammates.”

Small stopped DeHaven to set Quakertown on its way. The Panthers then converted on their first, with Haley Pursel beating Ram keeper Mary Kate Levush up top for a 1-0 lead.

Then, both teams kept finding open spots. Ashley Groeber, Abby Groff and Molly Groff all knocked their PK’s in for the Rams, and Samantha Barkholz and Ashley Gluck connected for Quakertown, drawing things even at three apiece.

After Molly Groff went upper right corner to knot things up, Kyra Handel drilled one into the right side of the net to put the Panthers ahead 4-3.

Knowing her team needed just one more stop or score to lock it up, Small braced for an attempt by Lauren McIntyre, whose shot sailed a bit too high, going over the crossbar as the Panthers raced onto frosty Helman Field in celebration.

Small came up with the early save to give Quakertown the edge.

“I always tell myself on PK’s, ‘come up with one big save,’” Small said, “and then whatever happens happens. We lost last year in PK’s (to Downingtown West in Round Two) and to me, this is redemption.”

The victory sends the 17th-seeded Panthers to No. 9 Spring-Ford on Saturday while the Rams saw a terrific season come to an end.

“(Coach Audrey Anderson) and I are longtime friends and I have so much admiration for her and that team,” Koch said. “They’re a tremendous team, tremendous opponent.

“We’re a hard team to play against. We’re not the prettiest team but a very difficult opponent. We’re hard to break down, we’ve got a great goal keeper, we’ve got great defenders, and more than anything we have a bunch of great kids that bought into filling their role in order to do what makes this team successful.”

Koch commended his team’s dedication and grit, beginning way back in the preseason when they chose to follow up four-hour practices in the August sun by running bleachers.

It was two dedicated, determined squads racing up and down the turf at Helman Thursday night.

“We knew going in that we were really gonna have to do something to score on Quakertown,” Anderson said. “I went and watched them (beat West Chester Henderson 1-0 in the opening round) and I watched them outwork the other team.

“Quakertown did a great job tonight and our players, they fought hard. It just didn’t go our way tonight.”

The Rams, who had a first-round bye, had the majority of the scoring chances in the two overtimes, shots by Abby Groff, Maddie Anderson and DeHaven coming tantalizingly close to their target.

“We have a lot of great seniors who aren’t coming back, but for the rest of the girls, we were talking about our next season starting tomorrow,” Anderson said, “and not letting this game define our season and define who we are, and grow from it. That’s the only way we can look at it right now, because of our youth and because of what we have coming back next year.

“It’ll be hard for the girls for a while — I think it’ll be hard for everybody. But we’re hard workers and we don’t quit. I don’t foresee us feeling like this was the end for us. I know it’s the end of our season but I think the girls in there are looking forward to getting back to it, and there’s a lot of soccer left in these returning players.”