Hoover, Owens lead Methacton past Boyertown in opener
FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> Olivia Hoover and Emily Owens have been playing alongside one another for quite some time now.
Both entering their junior seasons with Methacton, the pair played a key role in the Warriors’ 4-0 win over Boyertown to open up the Pioneer Athletic Conference season on Wednesday afternoon.
“We’ve got good chemistry,” said Owens afterward. “We connect really well on the field and pretty much know where each other will be. We’ve been playing together for a long time.”
“Almost too long,” chipped in Hoover with a laugh.
Owens connected for two goals and added an assist while Hoover scored twice, including the game’s opening strike just under three minutes in. Jackie Cerchio and Frankie Lucchesi each finished with an assist in the win.
“We knew we could be a strong team coming into the season,” said Owens, “and I think we’re off to the start we were looking for.”
Methacton moves to 1-0 in PAC play (2-0 overall) while Boyertown drops to 1-0 (1-1 overall).
The Warriors registered 12 shots on goal while the defense held Boyertown to zero, keeping the Bears out of the circle through the first 15 minutes of the second half. The Warriors also out-cornered the Bears 20-8.
Despite controlling the possession and creating the scoring chances throughout, Methacton head coach Sarah Quintois admits she would have liked to see her team light up the scoreboard a few more times, especially on corner opportunities.
“We’ve got to find a way to convert on the corners,” she said. “It could have been a much different game if we would have connected, but we know those goals will come with time.”
Still early in the season, Boyertown head coach Karen Kooker says her team needs to bring a better approach in order to control the tempo throughout the game.
“We were hesitant in our play,” she said. “We let them control the game. We let them get to the ball first, and once we got the possession, we had a tendency to dribble around too much rather than look to move it.”
Boyertown keeper Kaitlyn Berger made eight saves in goal, including three in the span of a minute midway through the second half.
Outside Looking In
A season ago, Methacton watched from home as Owen J. Roberts and Perkiomen Valley competed for the Pioneer Athletic Conference title. OJR and Perk Valley each finished the season with records of 11-2. Boasting a 9-3-1 conference record, the Warriors were ultimately eliminated by a 1-0 loss against PV late in the season.
“It was really frustrating knowing that we were that close,” said Hoover. “We were so close. Having to watch the championship game was hard. We felt like we deserved to be there.”
That loss surely will provide some motivation for the Warriors as they set their sights on making a run this season.
“Looking back at that should definitely fuel us for this season,” added Owens. “The championship game is definitely what we’re going to aim for much harder this year.”
The Warriors last competed in the PAC Final Four during the 2013 season.
“Every year, they want to make it to the Final Four,” said Quintois, “and I think we’re really feeling as a team that we’re ready to be there. We’ve got to continue to work toward that.”
Trends Continue
Methacton has now won five-straight against Boyertown, dating back to the teams’ first meeting of the 2013 season. During that run, the Warriors have outscored the Bears now 25-2.
Boyertown hasn’t opened conference play with a win now since the 2009 season when the Bears registered a 4-0 win over Perk Valley.
Up Next
Methacton will look to keep rolling against Spring-Ford on Friday at 3:45 p.m. Boyertown, on the other hand, will look to gain its first conference win of the season when the Bears travel to Perkiomen Valley at 3:45 p.m.
“We’ve got a tough stretch to start the season,” said Kooker. “There were some good things that we showed in this one. We’ve got to learn from this loss and get everyone on board.”
