Perkiomen Valley’s run ends to Lower Dauphin in PIAA 3A quarters
REIFFTON >> The speed bump known as states tripped up Perkiomen Valley again.
The Vikings saw dreams of a date at Whitehall next Saturday dissolve at the hands of District 3 power Lower Dauphin, 4-2, Saturday afternoon, at Exeter Township High School, in the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals.
Perkiomen Valley (18-5-1) gave up three goals off three corners during the opening 10:24 of the contest to put itself behind a huge 8-ball from the jump – the unbeaten Falcons (22-0-3) had not conceded as many as four goals in a single contest all season.
That 3-0 halftime lead was comfortable enough to see LD through to a semifinal date with backyard rival Hershey. The two met for the 3A state title a year ago, with Hershey prevailing.
“Our goal was to be playing next Saturday,” Vikings head coach Erik Enters said. “That’s all we ever said. We didn’t care what championships we won, we just looked at it like we’re going be playing the last weekend of season. We fell two games short, so that’s a bit bittersweet. But I can’t complain at all. They were a great team.”
Ashley Elvidge, wearing a cast on her left arm, scores with under two minutes left. 4-2 pic.twitter.com/tXMCrAFeIP
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) November 9, 2019
PV’s corner defense, an issue all season, bit the Vikes hard when it mattered most.
“LD had those three corner goals in the first 10 minutes and our corner defense wasn’t sharp,” Enters said. “It’s been a problem all season long, giving up too many corners and you can’t win games if you’re giving up too many.
“We called time out, regrouped, tried to keep them out of our circle so we don’t have to worry about that. Play our passing game and do our thing.”
The Vikings got a pair of second-half goals from Danielle Hamm and Ashley Elvidge to keep things interesting, if not particularly dangerous.
Elvidge’s marker, coming with 1:53 to play and her club trailing 4-1, came four days after her left forearm was fractured by a stick in PV’s first-round win over Wilkes-Barre Area. The senior did not start Saturday’s quarterfinal but went in as a substitute forward, instead of at her normal defensive mid position, with about 10 minutes to play.
It was a bittersweet moment for the senior, who departed the field for the final time in high school with an extraordinary goal, really, given the circumstance – but also with the knowledge that she and her fellow accomplished seniors won’t don the uniform again.
“Down 4-1, when it came down to the last 10 minutes I knew it was going to be my last time with these girls,” an emotional Elvidge said. “They’ve been the best four years. They’ve been there for me for everything and I just wanted to play with them. Coach didn’t want me to get hurt again, but when it came down to the last 10 minutes, so he put me in. Every single one of us are so close and it’s weird that this is the end.”
Danielle Hamm gives PV some life… 3-1 with 23:50 left. pic.twitter.com/acH0Hjbkrf
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) November 9, 2019
Enters made note of Elvidge’s absence and how it affected his club.
“That was a big hole for us to fill,” he said. “It took us a while to get used to that. Once the girls who were filling in for her, the fact that they had to step up, play harder, that was big difference for us in the second half. But it took us a while to get used to a big piece of our game missing.”
With the Vikings desperate to get back into the contest and playing like it, Hamm sliced LD’s lead to 3-1 with 23:50 to play.
But LD’s Andie Sierer potted her second of the night just 57 seconds later to cancel out Hamm’s marker and reestablish control of the contest in the Falcons’ favor.
