Boyertown earns first PAC-10 win, 3-1 over Pottsgrove

POTTSGROVE >> The Bears knew they needed a spark.

Coming into their contest against Pottsgrove on Wednesday night in which neither team had registered a PAC-10 win, Boyertown knew it was time to get that first conference victory marked in the standings.

And the visitors did just that, spoiling Pottsgrove’s Senior Night with a 3-1 win over the Falcons at Pottsgrove Stadium’s Pennypacker Field.

“It’s exciting for us to get this first win,” said junior Hannah Wentzel, who finished with two assists on the game. “It sort of gives our team a whole new mentality. Now we just have to go out and win some more games.”

Boyertown (1-5 PAC-10, 4-6 overall), playing under first year head coach Karen Kooker, hopes the victory will propel them to keep adding checks under the win column.

“This is just the start,” said Kooker following her first career PAC-10 victory. “We’re hoping this win will sort of get us started and get us moving in the right direction.

“The girls came out with a really positive attitude and were ready to play. They know what next week looks like, and they were ready to get started.”

Following the win over Pottsgrove (0-5 PAC-10, 0-7 overall), the Bears face Phoenixville on Monday, Upper Perkiomen on Wednesday, then close their week with a game against Pottstown, all of which Kooker feels are games that her team can be competitive in.

“I think we’re good enough to hang with anybody,” added Kooker. “We just haven’t been playing cohesively as a team. Today, though, I think we really put it together.”

It took some time, but Boyertown did put it together Wednesday night behind junior Tiffany Diachynsky.

Diachynsky scored the first goal of the night with just over five minutes left in the first half on an assist from Wentzel.

Three minutes later, Diachynsky returned the favor providing a sweet pass to teammate Sydney Fox as the Bears took a 2-0 lead into the half.

“We were connecting really well with our passes,” said Diachynsky. “We were staying patient and seeing the field a lot better than we had early on in the season.”

The Bears’ patience paid off, as the team outshot Pottsgrove 6-4 on the game.

Still, Pottsgrove wouldn’t go down quietly.

Just three minutes into the second half, senior Brooke Toennies scored off a rebound to pull the Falcons within one score.

It was the chance she had been waiting for the entire first half.

“I was waiting for the ball to come loose in front of the net and hoping to find a place to knock it in,” she said. “It was great to score on our Senior Night.”

About seven minutes later, Jess Flack scored with an assist from Wentzel to add some insurance and seal the 3-1 win.

Despite the loss, Pottsgrove head coach Christine Campbell sees plenty of positives from her team.

“The girls played really hard throughout the entire game,” she said. “It was definitely great to see them get on the board. They left everything out there and played well against a tough team.

“We just need to keep playing as hard as we did today,” she added. “We’ve got plenty of good players, and I know they really want to win a game.”

NOTES >> Near the end of the first half, Pottsgrove’s Imanye Delay was carted off after taking a shot off the forehead. … Anna Myers and Esperanza Perez each made a defensive save for Pottsgrove. … Boyertown’s Katelyn Berger made two saves in goal on the night while Kayla Weaver made three saves for the Falcons.