Pope John Paul II shines in District 1-2A first round, tops Jenkintown
JENKINTOWN >> Fresh from a pep rally and intent on earning the program its first district playoff win since 2017, Pope John Paul II pounced on its opportunity on Wednesday afternoon.
“We were pretty amped up. Being together is the biggest thing for us,” said junior Jill Cobaugh. “It’s so fun to listen to music on the way down and just get excited.
“I love playing with all my friends and I want the season to go as long as possible.”
The Golden Panthers will play on, thanks to their 7-3 victory over Jenkintown in a District 1-2A First Round contest on a sunny afternoon at Jenkintown Stadium.
A fine season came to a close for the sixth-seeded Drakes, who saw Olivia Spoerl score her 100th and 101st career goals on Wednesday.
PJP, the No. 11 seed, advances to the quarterfinals Tuesday to take on either No. 3 Upper Moreland or No. 14 Interboro.
The Golden Panthers seized control early, building a 5-1 lead by the break.
Cobaugh’s five goals led the way.
“It’s easy to play well when you have good teammates to support you,” she said.
Sarah Mink and Anna McElroy contributed a goal each for the Golden Panthers, who reversed the outcome of last year’s district clash between the two: Jenkintown won 9-3 over Pope John Paul II in 2022, reaching the district quarters.
But the Golden Panthers controlled things this time around.
“Very excited to move on,” said Cobaugh. “It’s gonna be a difficult game but I think we’re ready for it.”
Big finish — Spoerl capped her Jenkintown career in style, hitting the 100-goal plateau.
She helped keep the Drake offense pounding away right until the end.
“We were trying to keep possession on offense and move the ball around, get some shots off, but it was hard because their defense was really closing down on us,” she said.
Spoerl scored her 100th midway through the second half. The game was stopped for a few moments to commemorate the accomplishment, the senior surrounded and embraced by her teammates.
“It was pretty cool,” Spoerl said. “I had no clue (that was 100). It was a pretty good shock so that was good.”
It was another strong season for the Drakes.
“It was good. We had a couple injuries in the beginning of the season so that was hard to come back from,” Spoerl said. “But we played really well. We wound up beating Abington, which was a big win. And it was really good to just finish strong and get into the playoffs.”
District 1-2A First Round
Pope John Paul II 7, Jenkintown 3
11 Pope John Paul II 5 2 – 7
6 Jenkintown 1 2 – 3
PJP goals: Sarah Mink, Anna McElroy, Jill Cobaugh 5.
Jenkintown goals: Bryn McCall, Olivia Spoerl 2.
