DiValerio delivers as underdog Marple Newtown earn tie with Penncrest
MIDDLETOWN — As Olivia DiValerio pressed the Penncrest defense Tuesday afternoon, it wasn’t a tough sell for the Marple Newtown midfielder to give a little extra effort and close down that last few feet.
Writ large, that’s what the Tigers have done all season. After years hovering around .500, Marple is used to being the underdog, especially against a Penncrest side that has tasted plenty of PIAA soccer in recent years. So when DiValerio, in the 29th minute, pounced on a loose defensive touch, took possession and rifled home the opener in a 1-1 Central League draw, the industry that went into the goal fit quite well.
“I think we came out really strong, working really hard and I think we deserved one,” DiValerio said. “Our coaches told us to keep pushing and it’s going to come. I saw (the defender) take a bad touch, so I went for it and I took it and I put it away in the corner.”
For most of the game, the Tigers could claim to have outworked Penncrest. In a fairly even game, Marple Newtown created its share of chances. Particularly in the first half, they summoned Penncrest freshman goalie Kate Stanton, the team’s third goalie of the year due to injuries, into three saves, including a reflex kick save of Lauren Gura early on.
Penncrest would eventually get the game on its terms, and Emma Strahan’s marker in the 56th minute was the payoff. But Marple made them work for it, not always a given for a team trying to work its way into the top half of teams in the Central League.
With the hard work put in by DiValerio, Gura and midfielder fulcrum Anna Gries in particular, they have a strong base to get there.
“I definitely consider Marple to be the underdogs,” DiValerio said. “We definitely get underestimated a lot of the time, and we want to show out and prove ourselves. I feel like we’ve been doing a pretty good job. Even the games we have lost, we’re putting up a pretty good fight and they’re not easy wins for the other team, so I think we’re taking some Central League teams by surprise because we’re coming out strong and hard.”
Penncrest got off to a sluggish start but eventually steadied the game. Strahan was the decisive factor. She provided a jolt on the right wing, her straight-ahead play and speed putting the Marple backline under pressure and creating space for teammates. But when coach Joe Ross switched her to the left side, a goal came of it.
It was a sensational solo effort, Strahan taking on three defenders on a run into the box. Left to go it alone without any support runners, she feinted to her left foot, turned back to her right, shook a defender and unleashed a high shot to the far post that left goalie Elodie Prigent no chance.
“There was a lot of people on me and I didn’t really see any of my teammates,” Prigent said. “So I was like, just take them on and see what happens, and it ended up in a goal.”
Finishing let the Lions down in the second half as the balance tipped in their favor. Seconds after the goal, Kara Mullaney could’ve put Penncrest in front, stealing the ball off the tap and orchestrating a 1-2 with Shayna Polsky, but Prigent came off her line well to get a hand to the shot.
Mackenzie Hilden made three saves in goal in the first half for Marple, the best within a minute of DiValerio’s goal with Mullaney finding space and Hilden charging off her line and making herself big to smother a shot. Prigent ended up with six saves in the second half and OT.
Polsky, the All-Delco midfielder playing further up the pitch this season, couldn’t find the shooting sights on a pair of free kicks just outside the 18. She spurned a chance to put the Lions ahead with five minutes left in regulation, Prigent on the spot. The distribution from the back, particularly from sophomore center back Taryn Tagtmeir, that was missing with Tagtmeir out for much of the first half was an obvious change after the break.
“That opens the game up completed,” Strahan said. “Her through balls are beautiful. And everyone runs onto them perfectly.”
The only shot of overtime came from Gura on a well-worked move involving DiValerio and Gries, but Stanton fought it off. Marple’s center back tandem of Amanda Smith and Noelle Lehrman kept Penncrest at bay in the extra sessions.
The differing reactions to the draw tell something about the expectations entering. Strahan said the Lions were disappointed not to get a second goal. DiValerio’s reaction was considerably more optimistic.
“I know obviously we wanted to come out with a win, but we’re definitely happy with the result,” DiValerio said. “We wanted to get a goal on Penncrest and we wanted to compete, and we definitely did that and we looked like even teams out here today.”
Also in the Central League:
Garnet Valley 1, Strath Haven 0 >> Maddie Kalish’s goal early in the first half ended up the difference as the Jaguars picked up a big road win.
