Upper Moreland rallies past Gwynedd Mercy in District 1-3A first round

UPPER MORELAND >> In the first round of the District 1-3A Girls Soccer Tournament, the Upper Moreland Golden Bears scored two second half goals to beat Gwynedd Mercy Academy 2-1.

The Golden Bears, who are seeded seventh in the tournament, got two goals from Sarah Veneziale and Grace Burns in the second half to advance to the next round on Friday.

Veneziale scored the first goal of the night in the first two minutes of the second half on a penalty kick to lift the Golden Bears up 1-0.

“Scoring the first goal tonight was probably the best moment of my life,” said Veneziale overwhelmed with excitement. “We played them three years ago in the playoffs and lost to the them, but we came back tonight and beat them and I got the first goal which was a great feeling.”

The 1-0 lead did not last long, however, as Gwynedd Mercy Academy came back with a goal two minutes later from junior Peyton Palazzo to tie the game at 1-1.

Finally, with 16 minutes left in the game, Golden Bear Grace Burns scored the go-ahead goal to take the 2-1 lead.

“When I got the ball, I was thinking don’t miss,” said Burns. “I was thinking like this might be our last game and this is a make or break thing.

“I just looked where the goalie was and I took the shot and it went in. That was a great feeling with everyone cheering me on.”

Also a big factor in the game was goalkeeper Jaclyn Martino with six huge saves to give the Golden Bears the win.

“Definitely knowing that this could’ve been our last game as a team this season, it boosted our confidence in our speed of play,” said Martino. “I knew that after we scored the first goal that GMA would be pressing us really hard.”

“Right now we are at the highest level of confidence. We are pumped and we want to keep going further in the tournament.”

Upper Moreland head coach Lisa Benvenuto was thrilled with her team coming up big at home in the first game of the district playoffs.

“Being at home for the first playoff game was a huge boost for us,” said Benvenuto. “It was great to have not only the parents come out tonight, but the students as well, but kudos to GMA because it was a really great game and a really awesome game to watch.”

“We are going to do what we do in the next game. We are going to prepare in the same way we do for every game, we are going to come out, execute a game plan, and we are going to be competitive.”

Gwynedd Mercy Academy head coach Derik Stover was thrilled for his team in the game despite the tough loss.

“The girls played outstanding tonight,” said Stover. “They played their hearts out and they gave everything we could and Upper Moreland is a really good team.

“I am so proud of our seniors for all that they have done for our program and our school. I know that they will all do well in the next level and I’ll be cheering for them because we are Gwynedd Mercy Academy.”

With the win, the Upper Moreland girls soccer team will now travel to the number two seed Villa Joseph Marie for a quarterfinal matchup on Friday.

Upper Moreland 2, Gwynedd Mercy Academy 1
GMA 0 1 -1
UM 0 2 -2
GOALS – Upper Moreland: Veneziale (PK), Burns.
Gwynedd Mercy Academy: Palazzo.