Nemeth hat trick powers Great Valley past Avov Grove

WEST GROVE >> Following a tough loss to Downingtown West on Sept. 27, in a game where they actually outshot the Whippets, Great Valley came into its r match-up with Avon Grove hungry to get back on track. On a cold and dreary Tuesday afternoon at Avon Grove, the Patriots grabbed an early lead and never looked back, cruising to a dominant 6-1 Ches-Mont League field hockey win over the Red Devils.

“The girls finally came together,” said Great Valley coach Brenda Haley. “We struggled to play together for a couple of games, but they played hard and we’re back in our groove.”
Playing in a cold drizzle for much of the first period, both teams struggled to get much going early on. The Patriots (6-1 Ches-Mont American, 10-2 overall) moved the ball around well, but weren’t getting a whole of lot pressure inside the circle until late in the stanza when they forced a couple of penalty corners.
Awarded a corner in the final minute of the first, Eva Nemeth put the ball in play on the insert, and in the midst of a crowd in front of the cage, Nadia Nemeth, took a shot behind drawn-out Red Devils goalie Brooke Benjamin for the first goal of the game.
“We really try to score in four minutes,” said Nadia Nemeth, a Northwestern recruit, along with her twin sister Eva. “So it’s always huge to get out to an early lead. Once we get out front, we just try to keep scoring.”
Nemeth struck again barely three minutes into the second, this time with an assist to Eva, for a 2-0 lead. With 5:48 to play in the half, Ella Winters grabbed a hold of a ball and put in behind Benjamin, then tapped it into the empty cage to make it 3-0 Great Valley, a score that held up until halftime.

“We played really well as a team today,” said Nemeth. “We passed the ball well, and really did a good job using the sidelines.”
The Red Devils (5-2 Ches-Mont National, 10-2) came out of the break and immediately went to work, forcing their first penalty corner of the game early in the third. Avon Grove didn’t squander the opportunity, scoring on a goal from Madison Britton, to cut the lead to 3-1.
“I thought maybe we might be getting something going there,” said Avon Grove coach Guilz Anignani. “But we’re going to learn from this and keep moving forward. Games like this, and all the tough games in this league, are going to get is ready for the post season.”
Any thoughts the Red Devils had of a comeback were quickly dashed, as the Patriots answered back with three goals in quick succession. The first came from Eva Nemeth, with an assist to Kaitlyn Giondonato. Next up Eva assisted on Nadia Nemeth’s third goal of the day, and finally it Giondonato’s turn, with Ella Winters picking up the assist.
“We like to avenge things quickly and not get down,” said Nadia Nemeth. “It just puts a fire under us to get out there to score again and build our lead back up.”
Though the Red Devils forced a couple more corners down the stretch, they were unable to convert, and Great Valley kept them out of the cage the rest of the way.
“We really needed this win,” said Giondonato. “We were all a little down on ourselves after a couple tough losses. But I think we showed ourselves today that we do have a great team.”
The Patriots are currently ranked sixth in District 1, so a spot in the Class 3A playoffs is pretty much a lock.
“I think we can still get better,” said Giondonato. “But we’re playing really well, and we’re all looking forward to see how far we can go this year.”

Great Valley 6, Avon Grove 1
Great Valley 1 2 3 0 – 6
Avon Grove 0 0 1 0 – 1
Great Valley goals: N. Nemeth 3, E. Nemeth, Giondonato, Winters.
Avon Grove goal: Britton. .
Goalie saves unavailable.