Recap
WORCESTER – Methacton scored five goals on penalty corners, including twice in the final two minutes of the second quarter to take a 3-0 halftime lead as the fifth-seeded Warriors topped visiting No. 12 Haverford 5-1 in the District 1-3A field hockey second round Wednesday night.
“I think it’s just when we earn a corner, we have to fully lock in,” Methacton junior Lizzie Wan said. “And make sure that we have stick on the ground, our A game is right on to the corners and it just gets very, very serious when it’s a corner.”
Giada Catoia scored twice for the Warriors (17-3-1), who advance to the district quarterfinals for a fourth consecutive season. Methacton visits No. 4 Boyertown – which earlier Wednesday beat No. 13 Kennett 5-2 – Friday with the winner clinching a PIAA tournament berth.
It will be the fourth meeting this season between the Pioneer Athletic Conference sides, Boyertown winning the first two before Methacton topped the Bears 1-0 in the conference championship game last Thursday.
“I think it’s just a big rivalry,” Warriors coach Amanda Parrezzi said. “They’re going to be excited and geared up to play and we’re going be excited and geared up to play. We know what we’re facing, which I think can help make you feel a little more motivated to get that win and maybe even a little bit more comfortable going into the game because we do have a little bit of that background knowledge on them.”
“I think we’re going into Friday’s game hungry. OK, they are currently winning the series 2-1 and we want to even it up 2-2.”
Alice Cleary scored the lone goal in the third quarter for the Fords (15-5-0), who were trying to reach the district quarters for the first time since 2017. Monday’s 2-1 first-round victory over Springfield was Haverford’s first district win since 2019.
“They play tough ‘til the end, they always have the entire season,” Fords coach Christa Taylor said. “And I’ve never had to ask ‘em to play hard so that’s always been something that they’ve done for us.”
After a scoreless opening quarter, Ceci Rehak gave the Warriors the 1-0 lead, knocking a ball into the cage at 8:20 in the second quarter.
Wan doubled the advantage on Methacton’s next corner opportunity with a nifty tally, batting the ball out of the air and in with 1:45 left before the break.
“I was on the tip and the ball hit against the bottom of my stick and it flung up and then I hit it back in with my stick.”
The Warriors made it three goals on three straight corners when Lily DeWan’s shot took a deflection and found the cage with 30.6 seconds.
“That’s what I told the girls, you take that away, maybe it’s a different game,” Taylor said. “But Methacton’s a good team. They had – I told these guys – things that we normally might get away with, with like a pull right or like a quick move of trying to split a double tonight. So they’re very talented in terms of their defensive skills and kind of shutting us down a little bit that way.”
Cleary pulled the Fords to within 3-1 on a corner in the third, collecting a ball and putting a shot around the keeper and in at 5:58.
Methacton, however, regained the three-goal lead before the end of the third, Catoia shot on a corner getting through a crowd and into the cage at 1:46.
Catoia collected her second to make it 5-1 with 6:51 remaining in the fourth off a shot from the top right of the circle.