Avon Grove girls soccer team closes in on division title following 3-0 victory over Henderson

WEST CHESTER >> The Avon Grove girls’ soccer team kept on rolling and a little water wasn’t going to stop them.
The Red Devils scored twice inside the first 20 minutes of the opening half and went on to post a 3-0 Che-Mont League National Division girls victory over West Chester Henderson in a driving rainstorm at J. Oscar Dicks Stadium on Thursday.
The game was called with 28:39 left to play after Avon Grove scored as the water ponding close to the sideline was judged to make conditions unsafe for the players. The win pushed the Red Devils to 10-0 in the National and 14-0-1 overall. They need one win in their last two games against Rustin and Downingtown West to repeat as division champs.

However, Avon Grove coach Christian Dunn is focused only on the next game, against Archbishop Ryan on Saturday.
“We have Archbishop Ryan on Saturday. All the goals we have are still in front of us,” said Dunn. “We take it one game at a time and Ryan is next.”
The Warriors (7-2-1, 9-5-1) came out looking to take it to the Red Devils. They were making some menacing forays into the Avon Grove zone. They came up with a five-star chance early on.
Morgan Chiazza blocked a botched clearing attempt and tried to chip goalie Emma Moss, who was off her line, but the effort went agonizingly wide of the right post.
“We played well in the first half,” said Henderson coach Stephen Norris. “We had a couple of real good chances. If one of them goes in, it’s a different game. But, Avon Grove is a real good team.”

Undeterred, the Red Devils took the lead with 28:40 left. A long ball bounced over the heads of a trio of players and toward the Henderson goal. MaryKate Walker powered through two defenders and scored past Kennedy Stark for the game’s first goal.
“It’s really exciting we could pull out the win in such terrible conditions,” said Walker. “Hopefully, we can keep the winning streak going.”
Nearly two minutes later, the Warriors thought they had the equalizer. They appeared to score off a goalmouth scramble, but it was waived off for a foul on the goalkeeper.

The Red Devils made it 2-0 with 22:29 left. On the team’s first corner kick of the game, the ball was flicked on and Sydney Correll latched onto it and headed it into the net.
“Great win,” added Dunn. “Henderson is a very good team, but our girls showed a lot of toughness. Henderson was coming at us the first 10 minutes of the game. We were able to withstand that and play as a team, play team defense and then got our chances as the half progressed.”
Correll notched her second as the hard rain kept falling, making it 3-0 as the referee blew his whistle to bring the proceedings to an end.
The Avon Grove defense continued its hot streak, recording a third straight shutout and fourth it its last five contests. The Red Devils feel that this is another step to where they want to be.
“The best is yet to come,” said Correll. “We’ll be better next week and going into districts.”

Avon Grove 3, WC Henderson 0
Avon Grove        2 1 – 3
WC Henderson 0 0 – 0
Avon Grove goals: Walker, Correll 2.
Goalie saves: Moss (AG) 1; Stark (WCH) 5.