Baumgarten does it again as Owen J. Roberts tops Pope John Paul II
BUCKTOWN >> For Mia Baumgarten, it was sort of “deja vu” all over again.
When Owen J. Roberts and Pope John Paul played early in the regular season, the Wildcats scored a 4-0 victory with help from scoring by Baumgarten. In Tuesday’s rematch — for the higher stakes of a spot in the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s championship game — OJR shut out the Golden Panthers, 3-0, with a big scoring boost from Baumgarten.
The senior midfielder gave top-seeded Roberts its ultimate margin of victory with a goal 11-1/2 minutes into the contest. She added insurance in the second half, scoring near the game’s 25-1/2 minute mark to complete the Wildcats’ domination of a PJP unit playing through a prolonged win-or-else situation.
“I just get lucky against them,” Baumgarten said following the semifinal at Owen J. Roberts’ Wildcat Stadium.
The win puts the unbeaten ‘Cats (17-0-1) in Thursday’s title game with Spring-Ford, a 3-2 overtime winner over Pottsgrove in the other semifinal at Wildcat North.
“This proves why we’re the best in the league, and one of the top teams in the district,” OJR head coach Joe Margusity said after watching his program put itself in contention for a 12th PAC title.
PJP (9-7-1) acquitted itself well one day after going double-overtime with Upper Perkiomen in a do-or-die game Monday.
The Golden Panthers, qualifying for the Final Four with the 1-0 win over the Indians, kept it a one-goal game for a 43-minute stretch spanning the first and second halves. Goalkeeper Stacy Kormos was stout in front of the PJP cage, facing 10 first-half shots and making six saves en route to finishing the game with 13 stops on 18 Roberts shots.
“People predicted we wouldn’t be here,” Panther head coach Stew Shirk noted, “but our girls persevered … they battled. They should be proud of themselves. I’m proud of them.”
Owen J. Roberts, which went 9-0-1 against the Liberty Division and 12-0-1 in the PAC this fall, broke through with Baumgarten converting from the right side of the goal with 28:29 on the clock in the first. It controlled the action at PJP’s end of the field much of the time, taking seven corners and not requiring goalkeeper Samantha Hughes to handle any shots in that span.
Yet for all that statistical superiority, the Wildcats had only a 1-0 lead to show for the first half.
“Stew is very organized,” Margusity said, “and their goalkeeper played out of this world. Defensively, they knocked three balls out of the line.”
The pressure they faced in recent weeks — “We had to win our last four games to get here,” Shirk noted — took a toll on the Panthers in the second half. Kylee MacLeod, assisted by Gretchen Harken, scored off a corner at the 27:56 mark before Baumgarten hit the nets at 25:41 with a shot straight on.
“We had a lot of opportunities,” Baumgarten said. “We have to make sure to finish them.”
PJP’s best scoring chance came with 13:20 left in the second half, when Brooke Wizimirski took a direct shot. The Panthers had just one corner kick on the night, and two shots.
“We kind of passed it around to keep possession,” Baumgarten recalled. “We wore them out, getting quick passes.”
“We have a really good defensive back line. They play solid.”
NOTES >> Owen J upped its goals for/against differential to a heady 70-2 with the latest clean sheet. … PJP senior Julie Cherneskie sustained an ankle injury in the second half and had to be helped off the field. … Baumgarten on Spring-Ford, which it beat twice during the regular season: “They’re going to be a tough opponent. But we have a good chance to win.” … While OJR currently ranks first in District 1’s Class 4A, PJP is seventh in the 3A rankings.
