FIELD HOCKEY: Wissahickon edges Quakertown, takes sole possession of 1st in SOL Liberty
LOWER GWYNEDD – For an instant, the chance to break a 1-1 tie in the fourth quarter felt too overwhelming for Wissahickon’s Kayla Pak.
But the senior embraced the moment of pressure and helped the Trojans edge Quakertown in Wednesday night’s contest for sole possession of first place in the SOL Liberty Division.
“I just went with it,” Pak said.
A shot by Carley Lehman hit the left post, the rebound bouncing behind the goalkeeper and past a Panthers defender to Pak, who sent the ball into the back of the cage with 4:21 remaining.
“I was very nervous,” Pak said. “I didn’t think it would go in but I hit it with the reverse and it just went right in.”
Quakertown earned a penalty corner with no time left in regulation but Sienna Miller blocked a shot and cleared the ball away and Wissahickon held on for the 2-1 victory.
“It’s always a tough game, us versus Wissahickon,” Quakertown coach MacKenzie Moser said. “It’s great competition. We put forth the best effort, nothing to hang their heads about, I mean, it’s a really tough game. We had opportunities we just didn’t capitalize on all of them but it was a great game.”
The teams’ first matchup Sept. 29 ended in a 1-1 tie. Even atop the standings at 34 points, not much separated the sides Wednesday until 4:19 in the second quarter when Noelle Koop knocked a shot in on the first corner for the Trojans (12-3-1, 12-1-1 SOL Liberty).
“They’re just really aggressive, they’re really physical with it and I feel like they try to get in our heads,” said Koop of Quakertown. “Especially when we were at their turf, all their parents and stuff they were screaming at us at it made it really hard for us to focus and keep our heads in the game.
“But I think this time cause we were here and we had our fans cheering for us, it made it a lot easier mentally.”
The draw with the Panthers ended the Trojans’ win streak in games that count towards in the SOL Liberty standings – division contests and crossovers with the SOL Freedom – at 41. Wissahickon proceeded to drop two of its next three, falling to Springfield Montco last Tuesday and North Penn last Friday.
But Monday, the Trojans earned a 5-2 win over Upper Dublin with Wednesday’s victory giving them the opportunity to claim a third straight outright division title.
“I think winning on Monday was kind of like what turned us around cause we can finish out the season strong,” Koop said. “So I guess we’ve kind of been in a slump but then winning this I feel like it definitely will carry the momentum into our last two games.”
Quakertown (12-3-1, 11-2-1) found offensive momentum after the break, breaking through to pull even on its fifth corner of the third quarter – Cassidy Landis’ shot finding the back of the cage at 8:28.
“Second shots are what we’ve been practicing a lot,” said Moser, in her second season with the Panthers. “If the first shot doesn’t go in, be pressuring those pads and make sure you’re looking those posts, especially when a goalie comes down, you know, look at that post, look for the left or the right, for sure.”
Pak eventually broke the deadlock in the fourth – corralling the ball and scoring after Lehman’s try hit the left post.
“I think we were just more prepared this time,” Pak said. “And we knew what was coming so we were just ready for everything.”
Wissahickon, eighth in the District 1-3A rankings, finishes the regular season with a pair of road division games, visiting Abington 3:30 p.m. Friday then is at Plymouth Whitemarsh 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Quakertown, which has gone 2-2-1 since winning 10 of its first 11, sits 10th in the district 3A rankings. The Panthers visit Hatboro-Horsham 3:45 p.m. Friday then host Abington 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“We still have two more games so again we’re going to go into both of those two games with heads held high and go from there and then hopefully playoffs,” Moser said.
The Trojans took a 1-0 on their first corner chance, a pair of shots denied but a clearance try by the Panthers went to Koop, who let go a shot that went into the cage at 4:19 in the second quarter.
“The coaches always tell me to lift the ball and I kind of like in that moment just thought I need to lift it,” Koop said. “And I just lifted it in and I just watched it bounce in.”
Quakertown equalized on a corner in the third, the ball inserted to the right side of the circle then sent to its middle, with Landis eventually knocking a ball at 8:28.
