Upper Perk moves past Wissahickon into District 1-2A semifinals

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RED HILL >> Upper Perkiomen’s five seniors wanted to finish their careers with a special season.

In order to do that, AiYi Young, Tori Williams, Micheala Grecczek, Jenn Fiorito and Carly Eidle felt this year’s team would have to have a special bond.

From the start of preseason workouts, the group made an effort to reach out to the squad’s younger players, doing simple things like getting to practice early to talk about everyone’s week.

“They made the connection on and off the field very strong this year,” junior Colleen Creneti said. “They made it a very strong point to have a close connection on the field…We just knew that we could count on each other, and we carried that on the field.”

 

The benefit of that bond Upper Perk’s senior group was so insistent on building was demonstrated in Thursday’s 3-0 win over Wissahickon in the District 1-2A quarterfinals.

An unselfish Indians attack tallied assists on all three goals on the way to advancing to Tuesday’s district semifinal against Bishop Shanahan and clinching a state playoff berth for the second time in three years.

“It feels really amazing,” Grecczek said. “We worked really hard for this. It was one of our goals right off in preseason, and we worked really hard to get to this moment.”

Upper Perk goalie Lynnsi Joyce (55) makes a save Thursday against Wissahickon. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)

Upper Perk’s crisp passing resulted in some point blank scores Thursday for a team that had been relying on its defense as of late. Creneti slammed in a score for the Indians’ first goal off the game with 14:05 left in the first half after Kylene Gooch passed it to her right in front of the net.

Gooch picked up her second assist late in the first half, one-touching a pass from Bella Carpenter to Ashlyn Gatto on the other side of a goal for an easy tip-in score to give Upper Perk a 2-0 halftime lead.

The Indians sealed the win with 4:11 left in the game, when Sydney Crossin tipped-in a pass from Takoda Wells. All three goals started with Upper Perk corners.

“We have a really good connection on and off the field, and it really shows with our passing that we work really hard in practice for it,” Grecczek said.

 

“I just see a lot of teamwork,” Upper Perk head coach Jamie Warren said. “They’re fun to watch because they really work together well and come up with the ball.”

The Indians had Wissahickon on the defensive from the early moments of the game, tallying eight of their nine corners in the first half.

Trojans’ senior goalkeeper Meghan Reilly weathered the storm admirably making four of her 12 total saves before the midpoint of the first half to keep the game scoreless. She continued to keep Wissahickon alive until Upper Perk’s third goal, coming out of her cage on multiple occasions to stop an Indians’ rush.

“She played amazing,” Wissahickon coach Lucy Gil said. “She was having a little bit of a rough spot in the beginning of the season. She pulled it together. I just love when she’s super aggressive like that. She just takes control of that circle, and I love that.”

Wissahickon goalie Meghan Reilly (51) watches the ball come toward her Thursday against Upper Perk. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)

While stuck defending its own goal in the first half, Wissahickon flipped the pressure on Upper Perkiomen for a good stretch during the final 30 minutes of play, when they had four of their five corners. It looked like the Trojans had cut the deficit to one around the 12-minute mark before the goal was disallowed.

Gil said seniors Hannah Havrilla and Grace Ball were responsible for the added pressure on the Indians in the second half. The Trojans forced two tough saves from Upper Perk sophomore goalie Lynnsi Joyce and a defensive stop from junior Bella Carpenter.

“What we noticed was our passes weren’t getting through, so we decided to get our ball handlers involved,” Gil said. “They were able to cut through some of (the Upper Perk defenders) and at least get some corners and a little bit of offense going.”

 

Wissahickon’s win over Harritton on Tuesday ended a span of six straight seasons ending in the first round of districts.

Reilly, Havrilla, Ball and fellow seniors Lauren Donofrio and Tess Clugherz will hope to keep their final season alive in the district playback bracket against Mount St. Joseph on Saturday. The Trojans need two wins to earn District 1’s fifth state playoff spot and the program’s first state appearance since 2012.

Upper Perkiomen is trying to follow the footsteps of the 2013 squad that won a Pioneer Athletic Conference championship before winning a district championship and a state playoff game.

“It would be so cool if we could do what they did six years ago,” Grecczek said.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Cerenti added. “We’ve always been talking about doing it, but this year that we actually are accomplishing it is a really good feeling.”

Upper Perk’s Kylene Gooch, left, and Wissahickon’s Alena Doll run afte the ball Thursday. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)

Owen McCue

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