North Penn upsets Pennridge

LANSDALE >> In a thrilling Suburban One game, the North Penn Knights stunned third-ranked Pennridge by a final score of 10-8 to earn their third win of the season.

The Pennridge Rams (5-4) were ranked third in the PIAA District One 3A rankings heading into the game against the Knights (3-4).

Highlighting the game at North Penn under the lights were Lucas Yannul and Connor Young, who each scored three goals in the victory.

“I feel pretty good about this game,” said Yannul. “I thought we got off to a great start moving the ball around and when we do that, we are pretty hard to beat.”

The Knights certainly did get off to a big start scoring three goals in the first six minutes to take a 3-0 lead halfway through the first quarter.

However, the Pennridge Rams got a huge 3-1 run at the end of the first quarter to keep the North Penn lead to one goal after the first 12 minutes.

Both teams managed to score two goals in the second quarter to keep it a one-goal game at halftime.

North Penn got off to another big start after halftime shutting out the Rams 4-0 in third quarter to have a 10-5 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Pennridge started a comeback late in the fourth quarter scoring three quick goals after the Knights got into foul trouble and being down one man for most of the fourth quarter.

However, despite being down one man at the end of the game, the North Penn defense managed to seize control of the ball to earn the upset 10-8 victory.

Young was thrilled with his performance scoring a hat trick and one assist in the victory.

“A big reason we won today was because of our coaches telling us what plays are there and helping us get the head space we needed to win,” said Young. “The energy from the sideline really helped us stay motivated and keep the lead throughout the game.”

North Penn head coach Richard Smith was please with his team’s performance despite a rough fourth quarter.

“Every time we play against Pennridge, it’s always going to be a battle no matter what the records are,” said Smith. “Unfortunately we lost our composure at the end of the game and we can’t do that against a good team like Pennridge.

“I’m very happy about the way our players played today. Our kids are excited and they worked very hard to get this big win.”

The North Penn Knights will look for their third straight win on Friday, April 12 when they travel to Central Bucks South with the game scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

The Pennridge Rams will look to end its two-game losing streak when they host Pennsbury at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 12.