Council Rock South blanks Hatboro-Horsham in District 1-4A 2nd round
HORSHAM >> Motivated by their low seed and aimed by the unfailing toe of Sammy Jones, Council Rock South scored a decisive shutout on the road Thursday night, blanking host Hatboro-Horsham 3-0 in the second round of the District 1-4A Tournament.
“It means a lot. We were definitely mad that we didn’t get the bye but coming in, we knew we had to play stronger because of that – (Hatboro) was the eight seed and we were the nine seed,” the Golden Hawks’ Jordi Rubakh said. “I think it actually helped us in the end because we came out stronger and we knew what we wanted. It really helped us in the end.”
The victory sends Council Rock South to Saturday’s quarterfinals, to take on No. 1Pennridge, a 3-0 winner over No. 16 Great Valley
Rock South struck quickly, taking a 2-0 lead in the first half on a cool, crisp night on the turf at Hatboro. Aubrey Hondros scored the first goal for the Golden Hawks and then Rubakh put in back-to-back tallies — the second coming shortly after the intermission.
“Sammi is obviously an amazing player,” Rubakh said. “We knew we had to penetrate the wide areas because we found so much success there early in the game. And she just played me a perfect ball over the top. And I could just one-touch it in.”
Rubakh’s second goal came off a corner.
“Sammy hit the ball, Kimmy Herritt got a great header on it, and I was just there for the rebound,” she said.
Sydney Mandel got the shutout in goal for the Golden Hawks.
Said Rubakh of moving on: “We’re looking forward to the next game. I think we’re on a really good path and looking forward to what the future brings.”
A tremendous season came to a close for the Hatters, who had captured the Suburban One League American Conference.
“It was a tough game. This is the second game that these girls have ever played in,” Hatters coach Kelsey Daly said. “It’s a totally different atmosphere. The first half was a little shaky but I give my girls credit. They never gave up.
“We had six seniors playing and they knew it was the last time ever touching this soccer field. So they never gave up until the last second. We had some opportunities there at the end – a couple breakaways, but we couldn’t find the back of the net tonight. These girls are amazing, and I’m proud of each and every one of them.”
District 1-4A Second Round
Council Rock South 3, Hatboro-Horsham 0
#9 CR South 2 1 – 3
#8 Hat-Horsham 0 0 – 0
First Half
CRS-Aubrey Hondros, 31:28; CRS-Jordi Rubakh (Sammy Jones), 21:12.
Second Half
CRS-Rubakh (Jones), 36:47.
