Sedares’ two goals help Souderton edge Pennridge

FRANCONIA — Souderton and Pennridge met up Thursday afternoon with both field hockey teams desperately needing a win as both squads entered with 0-3 records in the Suburban One League Continental Conference. It was the Indians who emerged victorious on home turf notching their first conference win 2-1.

“This was definitely a game that we needed to come up with,’ Souderton coach Lauren Whiteside said. “Our conference is really strong so even when you’re at the bottom of our conference you’re still on top at other places.’

It was the first half that made the difference for Souderton as the field tilted heavily in the Indians’ favor. It took until 19 minutes in before the first score was registered, Gabby Sedares putting in the first of her two goals giving Souderton the 1-0 lead and all momentum heading into the second half.

“We’re working on our team intensity,’ Pennridge coach Becky Spahr said of the lopsided first half. “We’re lacking a little bit in that right now but the goal for us is to see improvement each game.’

Pennridge fought back hard in the second half and sustained some good offense pressure but the Souderton defense was up the challenge particularly defender Aimee MacFarland and keeper Shelby Landes.

“Pennridge offense is definitely a threat,’ Whiteside said. “My defense definitely stepped up (and) communicated really well.’

With Pennridge trailing by one and threatening to score, Whiteside call a well-timed timeout with 18 minutes remaining and Sedares netted her second and eventual game winning goal just 45 seconds later.

It was another well-timed time out, this time coming from Spahr that got the Rams back in the game. Spahr called a time out with five minutes left in the contest and once again just over a minute later Pennridge cut the lead to just one as Kari Moyer assisted a Kirsten Moyer goal. Kari Moyer set the tempo for the Ram offense all game and her efforts were rewarded.

“Kari controls the middle of the field,’ Spahr said. “We have to get some more support around her and you’re seeing a lot more of that as the season goes on.’

As Souderton now gets off the snide in conference play, the confident Indians know that Thursday’s win should spark some better play moving forward in conference play.

“Our goal this season was to be better than last season,’ Whiteside said. “We know that when we play our conference opponents we really need to step up our game.’

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