TREDYFFRIN – By the time Keira Kemmerley stood over the free kick in the 96th minute Thursday afternoon, it felt like a fait accompli.
The Conestoga senior had just slalomed through four defenders on a 40-yard run straight up the gut of Garnet Valley’s otherwise valiant defense. The minds of many of Garnet Valley players were still stuck at the other end of the field, where an egregious missed handball call should’ve awarded them a penalty.
Kemmerley lined up 21 yards from goal. She’d scored once, did all the heavy lifting on the equalizer to get ‘Stoga to overtime and had just one last thing to do to drag Conestoga over the line.
Kemmerley took three short steps and coolly stroked home a curling free kick, past the wall and into the lower left corner of the net, to hand a fortunate Conestoga side a 3-2 win in double overtime, a controversial end to an otherwise outstanding affair between Central League contenders.
Kemmerley should never have had a chance to win the free kick. Seconds earlier, Kylie Mulholand had orchestrated a 2-on-1 counterattack with forward Maddie Smith. Mulholland cut back a cross for Smith running in the box. Seven yards from goal, the ball hit the triceps of Conestoga center back Talia Metz-Topodas, her arm extended and turned up at a 90-degree angle as if signaling a bicycle turn.
The penalty was clear as day. Just not to the two men equipped with whistles, who allowed play to continue.
Right down to winning a penalty in overtime, Garnet Valley (8-1, 3-1 Central) did just about everything needed to deal Conestoga its second loss of the Central League slate. The Jaguars rebounded from Kemmerley’s opener to knot the game at halftime, Mulholland burying a shot into the top corner off a feed from Taylor Bryan.
They scored 10 minutes into the second half on one of the prettiest counterattacks you’re likely to see at this level, which started at the edge of their own box with a vital intervention from right back Reese Hunter and a duel won by Bryan. The ball cycled up to Smith on the right wing, who slide-ruled a pass toward the left channel to Ella Bryan, who cut back to Kamryn Sarmento to bury it.
“We have some of the most unselfish attackers, I feel like, and they’re always just working for each other,” midfielder Sammy Wood said. “That’s how we get goals like that.”
Along the way, they mostly bottled up Kemmerley, the source of most of Conestoga’s danger. Things have changed in Berwyn after last year’s run to the PIAA Class 4A final. The Pioneers (6-1, 3-1) had a 23-game league winning streak snapped by Strath Haven last week and were a monumental refereeing error away from a second loss being tacked on. The Pioneers’ won their 11 league games last year by a combined score of 60-4; they’ve allowed four already this year.
“We’re trying to make it a little bit more like last year,” Kemmerley said. “But it’s definitely good to build up some grit, I want to say, because we know in the postseason, it becomes a lot more challenging. So having more competition in the Central League now only prepares us better for the future.”
Conestoga, though, still possesses the most skilled player on the field most days, thanks to Kemmerley, a Northwestern commit. The first time Garnet Valley allowed the game to get stretched, Kemmerley punished them. In the 21st minute, Fure Abhulimen got on the ball out wide in a counter. With GV’s midfield stretched, Kemmerley fielded a ball to her feet, took a touch and rifled home a 30-yard shot that goalie Reese Regula had no chance on.
“Finding our target player Fure is something that I think we really had to do once we broke that midfield line,” Kemmerley said. “And I was a sporting player under her. It really opened up the field and it showed that if we break lines, good things come out of it.”
Kemmerley got free once more in the first half, a 2-v-2 with Madilyn Michalek that ended in a shot Michalek scuffed wide. From then on, Kemmerley had Wood and the midfield rotation of Ella Bryan and Maura Mellides for constant company. Through 80 minutes, Garnet Valley had nine shots on goal to Conestoga’s five – though the Pioneers hit the woodwork twice – and the hosts spent most of the 20 minutes after Sarmento’s goal chasing fruitlessly.
“She’s a really good player, so we respect her a lot,” Wood said. “… All of our midfield did such a great job working together to defend her. I think all of us are in it as a unit.”
But all it took was one moment of Kemmerley getting free. It happened in the 75th, a fluky and largely undeserved goal on the run of play. Off a throw in, Kemmerley got the briefest window while Garnet Valley was sorting its shape. She looped in a ball near the edge of the six aimed at Isabelle Allread, who made a nice run to get goal-side of her defender. The cross more caromed off Allred than the forward actually consciously shooting it, looping high and bouncing fortuitously just inside Regula’s post.
Smith had a shot late in regulation, though didn’t get much on it. Mulholland had two looks within a minute in the first overtime, the first going down as the eight save for Conestoga goalie Emily Klaiber on her birthday, the second a better chance that fizzled wide. Kemmerley whizzed a dipping free kick from 26 yards near the right byline just over Regula’s goal in the 87th.
The circumstances around Kemmerley’s winner left Garnet Valley with plenty to chew on. It also left the Jaguars more sure that they can play with teams like the Pioneers as the season progresses.
“Yes,” was Wood’s succinct answer to that question, “and we want to see them again.”
Also in the Central League:
Strath Haven 1, Haverford 0 >> Tessa Dignazio scored in the 68th minute off a setup from Ava Hurwitz and Annie Dignazio. Alice Rieger posted the clean sheet with four saves.
Radnor 4, Penncrest 1 >> Ivy Chaskelson scored on either side of halftime to lead the Raptors to a win.
Chaskelson also set up Lisa Strak’s second-half goal. Camilla Demontis scored the other goal for Radnor. Keira Mucksavage and Anna Reger added assists.