Upper Perkiomen holds on, Boyertown comes back to reach PAC final

RED HILL >> One team pulled off an epic comeback, another held off one in Tuesday’s Pioneer Athletic Conference Final Four contests at Upper Perkiomen.

A few minutes after Upper Perk halted a late Perkiomen Valley rally for a 3-2 victory, Boyertown booked its championship date with the Indians when Remi Lloyd scored an overtime winner off an assist from Katelyn Dulin to take down Methacton, 2-1.

“That was amazing, especially my senior year for us to be going to the finals against Upper Perk, it’s an amazing feeling and we all started crying,” Lloyd said. “It was great.”

Remi Lloyd,left, scored the game-winner off an assist from Katelyn Dulin in Boyertown’s OT win over Methacton. pic.twitter.com/5wy3g33rLW

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) October 19, 2021

FINAL: Boyertown 2, Methacton 1. … Bears win it in overtime! pic.twitter.com/MjKBbP7kBJ

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) October 19, 2021

 

The Bears (14-3-1) fell behind 1-0 with three minutes left in the third quarter when Bayla Plower scored off an assist from Sam Fuchs for Methacton (15-4).

Boyertown’s deficit nearly rose to two in the middle of the fourth, but a one-on-one breakaway save by Sarah Yoder, who made five in the game, kept things tight.

Not long after, Dulin, who was playing with cramps in both of her calves, tied the game off an assist from Lauren Eves with five minutes remaining.

“Sarah did amazing,” Dulin said. “We had so many chances down here (on offense). I felt like one of them had to go in and it happened.”

PHOTO GALLERY: PAC Field Hockey Final Four 10.19.21

The OT winner came just after the seven-minute mark in the extra period when Dulin streaked down the right side of the field and found Lloyd in front of the cage in transition.

“I knew she was going to pass it to me. I was in the right spot, and it just happened perfectly,” Lloyd said. “I knew as she soon as she passed it to me, ‘This is going in and everyone’s going to run out and hug me.’ I knew from the second she passed it.”

Upper Perkiomen (17-1-1) grabbed a 3-0 lead on Perkiomen Valley (8-8-1) in the second quarter of its semifinal. 

Abby Rodenberger, Jess Traynor and Ashlyn Gatto with assists from Takoda Wells and Jade Traynor to give the Indians a three-goal cushion at halftime that lasted into the fourth quarter.

“From the first quarter to the second quarter, we really brought our intensity, and we realized we needed to pick it up,” Jess Traynor said. “After that first goal, we just kept on going and really wanted it on the attacking end.”

Perk Valley’s Kiki Rotay scored the final of her two goals with 3:28 remaining to pull the Vikings within one, but Upper Perk survived that late push.

“We just tried to make sure to play smart passing, and on the defensive end kind of stepping back and not diving right in,” Jess Traynor said.

Coming off two straight league titles, Upper Perkiomen hopes to become the first PAC team to win three straight league since Owen J. Roberts accomplished the feat from 2009-11. Phoenixville (1990-92) is the only other program to win three consecutive league titles.

“We’re ready for the three-peat, definitely,” Jess Traynor said. “We would be the first program to tie Owen J. with three in a row in the PACs. We would really like that. That’s a big thing for a smaller school like us.”

The Bears’ run to the championship comes after a number of years at the bottom of the division and league standings. Boyertown’s only PAC title came in 2002.

“I think it’s great for the future girls who are playing here,” Lloyd said of the Bears’ resurgence this season. “I think it’s a great example, and I can’t wait to see what they do next year.”

“Ever since I was a little girl, I was coming here watching the games, and my dad said, ‘It should be your goal to play in the final,’ and here we are,” Dulin said. “I’m really excited.”

NOTES >> PV goalie Liz Gaffney kept her team in the game with 23 stops. Upper Perk’s Lynnsi Joyce made three saves on the other end. Methacton’s Gabby DiPrinzio made five saves, including a sliding stop in the fourth quarter, in the Warriors’ loss.