Pennridge rallies back to stop Parkland in PKs, advance to PIAA-4A semifinals

PENNSBURG >> In a PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal thriller, the Pennridge girls soccer team came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat District 11 champion Parkland on penalty kicks 4-2.

Strong wind was definitely a factor in the game as both teams scored two goals on the same side of the field.

“It’s amazing to be in the semifinals,” said Pennridge goalie Mary Kate Levush, who made two sensational stops during PKs. “It just feels amazing because the amount of hard work that we put into this program and the urgency to move forward and our biggest goal is to get to Hershey.”

In the first half, with the wind against Pennridge, Parkland scored the first goal in the first seven minutes of the game with a goal from Ava Schaller on an assist from Alex Marsteller.

Parkland made it 2-0 later in the first half on a free kick 15 yards away from the net from Madi Warminsky.

After being down 2-0 at halftime, both teams switched sides to give Pennridge an advantage with the strong wind on its side.

“The wind was definitely a factor in the game,” said Pennridge coach Audrey Anderson. “But I said to the team at halftime that the game wasn’t over.”

“We have come too far to not give up and to these girls it’s not about quitting, it’s about winning and finishing the game,” added Anderson. “The fact that we fought back from being down 2-0, it just shows how badly these girls want to advance and win the state championship.”

The Rams cut the Parkland lead down to 2-1 after Ashley Groeber scored the Rams’ first goal on a penalty kick.

For the rest of the game, Parkland did everything it could to keep the ball away from Pennridge.

However, Lauren McIntyre scored the equalizer with 3:10 left in regulation to tie the game at 2-2, which sent the game to golden-goal overtime.

Pennridge, with the wind against them in the first overtime, had multiple chances to score including a shot barely over the net.

However, Parkland survived being outshot to send the game to a second overtime.

With the wind on its side, Pennridge once again had more shots than Parkland in the second overtime.

However, both teams weren’t able to score a game-winning goal; so the game went on to be decided on penalty kicks after 110 minutes of play.

Pennridge scored four goals on penalty kicks to beat Parkland 4-2 and advance to the state semifinals.

“I was definitely feeling the nerves at penalty kicks,” said Levush. “But we practice a lot on them so I felt pretty good going into it.”

With the win, the Pennridge advance to the PIAA 4A State semifinals for the first time since 2011. The Rams will take on third place finisher from District Three Ephrata High School on Tuesday.

Pennridge 2, Parkland 2
1 2 OT 2OT PK
PA 2 0 0 0 2
PE 0 2 0 0 4
GOALS: Parkland: Schaller 1; Warminsky 1.
Pennridge: Groeber 1; McIntyre 1.
ASSISTS: Parkland: Marsteller 1.
Penalty Kicks results
PE G G X G G -4
PA G X G X -2
Pennridge Goals: Groeber, Williams, Harrison, Harbeck.
Parkland Goals: Reightler, Gottwald.