Plymouth Whitemarsh stays perfect with win over Upper Dublin
UPPER DUBLIN >> Another day, another dominant Plymouth Whitemarsh victory.
The Colonials stayed perfect with a 7-1 Suburban One League American Conference win over Upper Dublin Monday afternoon at Upper Dublin High School.
It didn’t take long for the defending league champions to get going.
The Colonials (8-0, 5-0) got on the board less than four minutes into the game. An Upper Dublin defender was sent off the field for two minutes for wearing jewelry and PW took advantage. After her first shot was stopped on a penalty corner play, Sam Spera stuck with it and put the ball in the back of the cage.
The lead doubled two-and-a-half minutes later. Ava Borkowski passed to Kennedy Reardon in front of the net and Reardon lifted her shot to make it a 2-0 game.
“Our motto is ‘Next five’ as coach (Charise) Halteman always says,” Spera said. “We really wanted to set the tone for the game and by scoring early goals that helps us set the tone for the game.”
Spera and Borkowski each scored later in the first half to send the Colonials to halftime with a 4-0 advantage.
“(PW is) deep.” Upper Dublin coach Heather Boyer said. “They’re fast. They have very good stickwork. They have good on-field communication and they’re well-coached. They know exactly where to go, what to do. They’re very fun to watch. They’re a very good squad up and down.”
After surrendering a goal to trim its lead to 4-1, PW answered right back. Borkowski scored 73 seconds after Upper Dublin got on the board and Kaleigh Missimer added another three minutes later to extend the lead to five, 6-1, midway through the second half.
“Our girls aren’t letting mistakes get them down,” PW coach Charise Halteman said. “They’re turning around and trying to make a better play the next time. That’s really a compliment to the kids that they keep working hard no matter what is thrown at them on the field.”
“The seniors and I — especially defense — we really work on encouraging the girls, ‘Next five, let’s keep the intensity up,’” Spera said. “After that goal we just kind of thought of it as let’s get this one back and show them that they’re not going to score again.”
Missimer finished off the scoring with her second goal to make it 7-1 with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.
The goal Plymouth Whitemarsh allowed was the second goal it allowed this season and the first goal it allowed in SOL American play since the 2016 season.
The Cardinals (3-2, 2-2) scored that goal on a penalty corner. Lydia Casey passed the ball in to Ryann Kullmann, who got all of the ball on her shot and put it past the goaltender in the blink of an eye.
Despite losing the game, Upper Dublin can take some pride in being able to score against a team with the defensive ability of PW.
“Baby steps,” Boyer said. “It wasn’t a soft goal. That was a legitimate corner. We got a good insert from Lydia and a really strong shot from Ryann. It’s good to see.”
