After long delay, OT, Perkiomen Valley, Spring-Ford end in 1-1 tie

ROYERSFORD >> Perkiomen Valley goalie Liz Gaffney had about an hour to wait for one of the biggest plays of Tuesday’s Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division contest.

Following a lengthy lightning delay, Gaffney kicked away a Spring-Ford shot attempt off a corner insert on the first play of resumption with 5:16 left in overtime. It was one of the few true chances in an overtime period that finished without a breakthrough as the Vikings and Rams played to a 1-1 draw.

“It was really nerve-racking,” said Gaffney, who made six saves in the game. “I was really hoping that I got a good touch on it and cleared it out before they got the chance to get a rebound because they have really strong rebounds.”

The Perkiomen Valley (6-2-1 overall, 4-1-1 PAC Liberty, 5-1-1 PAC) and Spring-Ford (2-8-1 overall, 1-5-1 PAC Liberty, 2-5-1 PAC) field hockey teams entered Tuesday’s Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division contest on near opposite sides of the standings.

They looked like equal counterparts Tuesday with Spring-Ford holding a 6-5 edge in corners and both squads putting seven shots on goal.

The Vikings had the better of much of the first period Tuesday, earning three corners and twice testing SF goalie Katie McCreary to no avail. Right as the Rams started to gain momentum late in the first half, Kayla Minkon scored for PV to grab a 1-0 halftime lead.

The Rams earned three corners and had multiple shots stopped by Gaffney before finally finding the equalizer with 6:23 to play when Alexa Collins scored off a feed from Julia Corropolese.

It was a big moment for a team that’s found itself on the wrong side of five one-goal contests in 2021, including a 3-2 loss to the Vikings a Sept. 8 when PV’s Kaylee Molitor’s scored the game-winner with 36 seconds left.

“It was so exciting because that is what we’ve been looking for the past couple games,” Collins said. “It was really just a step closer to the goals we’ve been working on.”

No one came up with the clutch goal in Tuesday’s game as goaltenders Gaffney and McCreary (six saves) rose to the task on multiple occasions. Spring-Ford’s Eva Drumbore also hustled back on defense to stop a PV fastbreak in the overtime period.

Spring-Ford’s Corropolese did her best to find the ender, but her two shots on goal were turned away by Gaffney in the overtime period

“I definitely think it’s exciting when we get the chances and it’s frustrating when we miss them, but I think we played a really great game with the opportunities that we had,” Corropolese said.

The first 11 and a half minutes of overtime were played in torrential downpour before the officials suspended play for lightning strikes in the area.

Following the hour delay the two teams had five minutes to warm up before a hard-fought final 5:11 of play.

“It was definitely nervous going into this high-pressure situation where we needed to make a play or the game would be over,” Gaffney said. “We all felt that and we all realized that we just needed to step it up.”

The Vikings trail Boyertown (7-2-1 PAC, 5-1-1 Liberty) by a half game in the Liberty Division standings in a division race that also has Methacton (4-1 Liberty, 6-1 PAC) right in the mix.

“It’s definitely good that we’re able to recognize and step up in these high-pressure situations because this definitely isn’t going to be the last overtime we have this season,” Gaffney said. “Just being able to realize the urgency and the intensity that we need to play our best during these sessions, it’s really helpful to know that we’ve been put in this situation and we’re only going to improve from there.”

With five games left in the league and eight overall, the Rams will have to hope Tuesday’s draw can propel them on a red-hot run to close the season in order to factor into the postseason picture.

“I think definitely just finishing in the circle and playing as a team and just keeping up how we’re playing,” Corropolese said of what the Rams need to do moving forward.

“I’m really proud of us tonight and I’m really looking forward to the rest of our season,” Collins added.