Abington makes final push for playoffs, rolls past Bensalem

ABINGTON >> Head coach Katie Small said her Abington field hockey team had two goals coming into Tuesday night’s game against Bensalem.

“We wanted to score early and we wanted to work on our passing game and get the ball outside,” Small said.

Consider both goals accomplished. The Ghosts got a goal 29 seconds in, then piled it on, blanking the Owls, 6-0, as Georgia Wasekanes scored three times and co-captain Grace Terrizzi scored twice.

“We did just what we wanted to do,” the coach said. “We had played them before, and we knew they were very strong with their block-tackles, so we made sure we did our dodges.”

The Ghosts got their early goal, from Wasekanes, 29 seconds in, then refused to put on the brakes. Aileen Hughes doubled the Ghosts’ advantage at the 16:14 mark, then Wasekanes scored twice in 1:30 to build a 4-0 halftime bulge. Bensalem huffed and puffed, but had difficulty getting the ball past the midfield mark, eventually finishing with just two shots on goal. Meanwhile, the Ghosts kept their pedal to the metal in search of a District One playoff berth.

They entered the game trailing Pennsbury, Neshaminy and Council Rock South in the Suburban One League’s National Conference, but are optimistic about earning a district playoff berth.

“We came into the game sitting fourth in our conference,” Small said. “We’re playing the waiting game for the district tournament.”

Up 2-0 in the first half, the Ghosts saw Wasekanes blow the game open, then settled in to complete the shutout, although the Owls came close to breaking the shutout in the game’s final 90 seconds.In the second half, the Ghosts got two goals from Terrizzi in the span of 2:32, then settled in to enjoy the shutout.

ABINGTON 6, BENSALEM 0
Bensalem 0-0 _ 0
Abington 4-2 _ 6
First Half Scoring: 1. Abington, Georgia Wasekanes, 29:29. 2. Abington, Aileen Hughes, 16:14. 3. Abington, Wasekanes (Anna Joseph), 6:57. 4.Abington, Wasekanes (Natalie McNamara), 5:27.
Second Half Scoring: 5. Abington, Grace Terrizzi, 24:53. 6. Abington, Terrizzi, 22:21.
Shots: Abington 16-9-25; Bensalem 1-1-2.
Corners: Abington 15, Bensalem 2.