Pair of late scores lifts Downingtown West to win over Twin Valley

DOWNINGTOWN >> Despite controlling the action for the better part of three quarters, the Downingtown West field hockey team found itself still tied with visiting Twin Valley at a goal apiece as time began to wind down in the final period of regulation.

Then, all of a sudden, the Whippets erupted for two goals in less than 30 seconds to hand Twin Valley, the defending Class 2A state champ, a 3-1 defeat in the nonleague clash at Kottmeyer Stadium on Tuesday.
“Our girls are playing really well together as a unit,” said West coach Courtney MacPherson. “We changed up a few things within our formations, and they’ve done an outstanding job with it and in our transitions.”
With just under five minutes remaining, the Whippets moved the ball inside the circle and worked in towards a crowded cage area, and started firing away. Jackie Barton grabbed the ball, and put it on the stick of Piper Cline, who slipped it in behind Twin Valley goalie Madelyn Stevens for the go-ahead score.

Not even 30 seconds later, West was putting pressure on the cage once again. This time, it was Barton denting the net with Ashley Plzak getting credit for the assist.
“I was looking ahead a bit,” said Plzak. “We’ve been practicing that pass to post a lot, so it was really good to be in a position to get that shot off. We had a lot of shots on goal all day, so I knew we just had to finish. But I was a little surprised by how quickly the two goals came.”

“That was a crazy moment,” said Cline. “I saw the ball, and I figured I’d just go for it. I took the shot, and saw it go in the back of the net. It’s always good to score early, and we’d been getting good pressure, so it was great to finally get one.”

The Raiders tied it a minute into the second period, when Collette Lennon assisted on a goal from Hanna Schmittinger. And then Twin Valley put on a defensive show under relentless pressure to stay in the game until that late explosion by West.
Led by some spectacular play in the cage from Stevens, the Raiders withstood 15 shots over the next two-and-a-half periods and seven second-half penalty corners before finally succumbing.

“We just didn’t stop,” said MacPherson. “Even though we weren’t getting those shots in, we didn’t let up. Twin Valley’s defensive unit, especially that goalie, was tough, and even though the girls might have been getting frustrated, it just showed grit and determination to keep pushing until the goals started going in.”

The Whippets played some tough defense themselves, with the West backs making it an easy day for goalies Kylie Schmidt and Kaiya Chepow. Chepow didn’t need to make a save all afternoon, while Schmidt registered just one as they outshot Twin Valley 25-2, and held a 9-4 edge in penalty corners.
Downingtown West is off to a hot start, with wins over last year’s District 1 runner-up Garnet Valley, for the Jags’ only loss of this season, and Twin Valley. Last season, the Whippets were 0-2 against those two teams, including an ugly 6-1 drubbing by the Raiders.
“It feels so good to be playing the way we are so far,” said Cline. “Especially because we lost to both of those teams last year. It’s great to get some redemption, and get this season off to a great start. We just have to keep it going.”

Downingtown West 3, Twin Valley 1
Twin Valley 0 1 0 0–1
Downingtown West 1 0 0 2—3
Twin Valley goals: Schmittinger.
Downingtown West goals: Cline 2, Barton.
Goalie Saves: Stevens (TV) 22, Schmidt (DW) 1.