Girls Soccer: Spring-Ford vs. Owen J. Roberts PAC championship preview
The Pioneer Athletic Conference’s premier girls soccer programs are at it again.
Undefeated Owen J. Roberts, District 1’s top-ranked team, takes on new-look Spring-Ford for the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship, 5 p.m. Thursday night at Owen J. Roberts.
The Wildcats are seeking back-to-back championships, this their third-straight trip to the final after being bested by the Rams in 2016.
The match is the first game of a PAC soccer doubleheader with the boys final between Perkiomen Valley and Spring-Ford following at 7 p.m.
Breaking down the girls’ final between Spring-Ford (3) and Owen J. Roberts (1):
Records >> Spring-Ford: 7-3 PAC Liberty, 10-3 PAC, 12-5 overall (No. 14 in District 1-4A rankings). Owen J. Roberts: 9-0-1 PAC Liberty, 12-0-1 PAC, 18-0-1 overall (No. 1 in District 1-4A rankings)
Head-to-head >> On Sept. 17, OJR won 1-0 in overtime on Kylee MacLeod’s header from a corner kick. On Oct. 9, OJR won 2-1 in overtime on Hannah Delahaye’s header.
PAC playoff history >> Spring-Ford are three-time PAC champions (2013, 2014, 2016). Owen J. Roberts is the defending champion and has won the PAC 11 times (4 in the Final Four era). The programs met in the 2016 final, won 2-0 by Spring-Ford.
On Spring-Ford >> The Rams weathered a scare from Frontier Division champion Pottsgrove in the semifinals for a 3-2 overtime win thanks to a pair of Claire Sites set-piece goals on Ella Curry deliveries. The Rams have done well to develop an almost entirely new team under first-year coach Mo Hadidi. Senior defender Sites and junior midfielder Curry are key contributors while the rest of the first XI features seniors Devin Rawley, Nandini Patel, Jillian Quigley, juniors Carlin Glancey, Grace Sharkey, Julia Schappell and sophomores Molly Thomas, Hope Flanegin and goalkeeper Riley Wallace.
On Owen J. Roberts >> The Wildcats took care of business in the semifinals against Pope John Paul II (3-0), a rematch of the 2017 title game. It was unbeaten OJR’s impressive 17th shutout. Kylee MacLeod had a goal and provided valuable cover for the OJR back line of Kenzie Milne, Brinley Beveridge, Mo Weaver, Shay Cobb and goalkeeper Samantha Hughes. Mia Baumgarten and Bailey Hunt have been breakout scoring forces to fill the void left by last year’s Mercury All-Area Player of the Year Mahogany Willis and are joined in the attack by Sarah Kopec and Hannah Delahaye.
Matchup >> Most signs point to the Wildcats’ undefeated streak continuing, winning a second-straight PAC title in the process. Coach Joe Margusity’s squad has a big advantage in experience: MacLeod, Milne, Baumgarten, Kopec and Hughes were starters on last year’s PAC champ and PIAA semifinalist. And an advantage on set pieces based on previous results. Yet Spring-Ford played OJR to overtime in both regular season meetings, so the margins are thinner than they may seem on paper. It’s impossible to argue against OJR’s defensive record of just two goals allowed all season (vs. 70 goals scored) though, and Thursday’s occasion doesn’t seem like an appropriate time for that record to suddenly disintegrate.
Prediction >> Owen J. Roberts 2, Spring-Ford 0
