Pennridge’s start, Groff’s finish help Rams edge North Penn in District 1-4A 2nd round

EAST ROCKHILL >> Abby Groff didn’t have much time.

As the Pennridge senior closed toward the North Penn goal, Knights senior keeper Ashley Schmidt was charging off her line, determined to halt Groff’s scoring chance. With no time to pick a spot, aim high or low or even find an angle, Groff just had to shoot as Schmidt started to slide.

Her shot couldn’t have been better, slipping between the keeper’s legs and into the back of the net for a tide-changing goal.

“I really don’t know how I did it, I kind of just kicked it and hoped for the best,” Groff said. “I wasn’t really picking a side, I saw her coming right at me so all I could do was kick it right at her and hope for the best.”

Groff’s goal gave the No. 3 Rams all the security they needed to fend off a resilient No. 14 Knights team 3-1 Thursday night in the second round of the District 1-4A girls soccer playoffs.

Pennridge (16-2-1) couldn’t have gotten off to a better start by putting away a pair of goals before 10 minutes had expired from the game clock. The Rams, who had a first-round bye, were upset in the same round last year as the top overall seed but senior goalkeeper Mary Kate Levush said she only had good nerves on Thursday.

North Penn (10-7-3) won its first round game over Avon Grove 4-0, but also had a slow start in that match. Against Pennridge, the Knights knew they could ill-afford that same kind of jittery opening act.

“It’s a thing called nerves, they did the same thing the other night but we weren’t up against this high of quality,” Knights coach Steve Whitby said. “Once we settled down, I thought it was a reasonable match and we had them on their back foot a large part of the second half. We just couldn’t find the onion bag.”

Lauren McIntyre was extra-aggressive early, forcing Schmidt into a trio of early saves in the first eight minutes. Her third effort, while denied, played back into the box where Pennridge sophomore Lindsey DeHaven capitalized for a put-back to open the scoring.

About two minutes later, a free kick by Chance Hendricks led to a long sequence that ended with Pennridge up 2-0. Rams senior fullback Holly Harbeck won a pair of tough tackles on the touchline and found Groff, who then slipped a through ball to DeHaven.

Schmidt was able to charge off her line and make a sliding stop on DeHaven’s shot, but the rebound carried out to Ashley Groeber, who ripped the effort into the vacated net.

“High pressure is really key in this game,” Hendricks said. “That’s what we talked about in the locker room and we were pretty hyped about this game since we saw we were playing them. We had to make sure were composed but also had high energy coming out and it really boosted us through this game.”

Schmidt did make six saves in the game and her aggressive play helped keep the deficit in striking range throughout the first half.

The teams met for the third time this season on Thursday and while Pennridge won the first two meetings 3-2 and 2-1, they knew it was no guarantee the third time would end the same way. North Penn surged in the second half of the season behind a relentless, high-pressure style and it’s exactly what the Knights settled into after the rough start.

It put an extra onus on the Rams’ defensive unit and especially Levush. The senior keeper only made two saves but she was extremely busy all game, dealing with three corners, free kicks and numerous balls played into the box.

“Their crosses were very dangerous, especially off their corners, so coming out and winning those balls are key,” Levush said. “Their forwards are so dangerous, you can’t let the ball touch the ground in the 18. We work on that a lot and that’s what we needed to focus on.”

The Knights’ pressure finally paid off in the final five minutes of the first half. Junior Grace Sacchetti, the author of many of those dangerous balls into the Pennridge box, swept in on a short clearance to win the ball.

Sacchetti then threaded a perfect through ball to senior Lauren Ruth, who turned on the jets to run away from the Rams defenders before placing a clinical ball to the far post and cut the lead in half.

“I thought we did a good job, we just can’t lose the first 15 minutes of a game that badly because it’s very tough to come back from,” Whitby said. “That’s soccer. They had a couple good finishes, we made five mistakes in the back and they punished us three times.”

North Penn carried play for a large part of the second half, which didn’t surprise Pennridge coach Audrey Anderson.

“The thing I respect about North Penn more than anything else is that they will not quit,” Anderson said. “We played them three times and each time, we were up and they just kept going and going and going. For them to get that goal at the end of the first half, I think it crushed our spirits and a little bit and lifted theirs.”

Fortunately for Pennridge, they have Groff. But she wouldn’t have gotten the ball without a pretty fearless play by Hendricks. The junior, who was excellent in the midfield, was able to toe-touch a 50/50 ball up to Groeber before taking the brunt of a collision.

Groeber, who also had a great match, then slipped a through ball up the field to Groff, who worked a little magic to stake the Rams to a two-goal lead with 25:34 to play.

“It was a sense of relief for the team but at the same time, it also amped us up,” Groff said. “We were a little more ready and it put us in a mindset to defend more.”

Pennridge moves on and faces No. 6 Abington, a 5-1 winner over No. 22 Central Bucks South, in a quarterfinal scheduled for Saturday.

North Penn’s resurgent season came to an end and while the program graduates 14 seniors, Whitby was very optimistic that the strides the group made this fall would only be the beginning.

“I have players sitting on this bench that were freezing their tails off tonight that are ready to get out there and play and they’re only going to get better,” Whitby said. “This is good for North Penn soccer. It’s a great bunch of girls and they’re disappointed it’s over.”

NORTH PENN 1 0 – 1
PENNRIDGE 2 1 – 3
Goals: P – Lindsey DeHaven (Lauren McIntyre), Ashley Groeber (DeHaven), Abby Groff (Groeber, Chance Hendricks); NP – Lauren Ruth (Grace Sacchetti). Shots: P – 9, NP – 3. Saves: P – Mary Kate Levush 2, NP – Ashley Schmidt 6.