Archbishop Wood falls to Greencastle-Antrim in PIAA-3A quarterfinals

MANCHESTER >> Archbishop Wood turned up the pressure in the second half Saturday and was able to generate some game-tying opportunities, but Greencastle-Antrim held down the fort and clung to a 1-0 victory in the PIAA-3A State Quarterfinals at Northeastern High.

“In the second half we changed things up a bit and I thought we played well,” Vikings coach Tom DeGeorge said. “But give (the Blue Devils) credit. They had a couple girls that were all over the field, breaking up all kinds of plays. They scored that early goal and we could never get it back.”

A tremendous season came to a close for Wood, as the Blue Devils prevailed 1-0 to advance to Tuesday’s state semis against either Upper Perkiomen or Valley View.

Greencastle-Antrim, Runner-Up in District Three, scored with 10 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first half, off the foot of Hailey Noblit.

Wood huddles prior to its game with Greencastle-Antrim. (Kev Hunter/MediaNews Group)

The Blue Devils took their 1-0 lead into the break.

The Vikings began to put things together in the second half, but midfielder Rylee Henson was a major disruptive force for the Wood attack, breaking up runs and clearing it out for the Blue Devils.

Greencastle took control early and never let go.

Paige Eckert (29) goes on the attack for Wood.
(Kev Hunter/MediaNews Group)

“In the first half, they took us out of our game plan. I thought in the first half, they gave us a lot of problems,” DeGeorge said. “This team took us out of the way we usually play. They compacted the midfield, they played super high line and we couldn’t figure it out.”

The Vikings captured the Philadelphia Catholic League title for the second year in a row and again made it back to the state quarters (Wood played in 2A in 2021). Seniors Daryn Savage, Giulia Nevrotski, Avery Lubbe, and Shaina Klos helped power the run.

Wood goes over strategy prior to its state contest with Greencastle-Antrim. (Kev Hunter/MediaNews Group)

“It’s tough to see the girls that had such an impact on the program, it be their last game,” DeGeorge said. “This group of seniors was great – some of them started all four years. We’re gonna miss them for sure.

“There are kids that got a lot of experience on this run – we started three freshmen today.”

PIAA-3A Quarterfinals
Greencastle-Antrim 1, Archbishop Wood 0
Wood 0 0 – 0
Greencastle-Antrim 1 0 – 1
First Half
GC: Hailey Noblit.

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