Gebert lifts Owen J. Roberts to OT win over Abington
BUCKTOWN >> Entering Thursday, they had no overtime experience.
They also had no experience in the second round of the district playoffs.
Never too late to try something new, right?
On Thursday night, Owen J. Roberts senior Maddie Gebert scored her first goal of the night just 16 seconds into the overtime period to lift the Wildcats to a 6-5 win over Abington in the second round of the District I playoffs.
Maddie Gebert 16 seconds into overtime! Owen J. Roberts defeats Abington, 6-5 in OT! pic.twitter.com/gp5cUoOvm6
— Thomas Nash (@Thomas_Nash10) May 20, 2016
Toeing the 8-meter line with the score tied and state playoff hopes on the line, Gebert stared down the Abington keeper and knew it was time to try something different.
“All the other 8-meters I took, I ran it in then shot it,” said Gebert. “Those hadn’t worked for me, so I knew it was time to change it up. On that overtime one, I just let it rip right from the whistle. I told myself, ‘If I make it, I make it. If I don’t, we can grab the rebound and set up our offense.’”
Gebert took one step and let it rip, sending it over the left shoulder of Abington keeper Kiki Brasher to seal it.
The result sends the Wildcats to the quarterfinal round of the district playoffs on Saturday where they’ll take on No. 19 Merion Mercy — winners over No. 14 Spring-Ford in the opening round Tuesday followed by an upset of No. 3 Great Valley in the quarters Thursday.
The loss ends Abington’s season at 16-4 overall after they finished 8-1 in Suburban One play. The Ghosts entered Thursday in the midst of a six-game winning streak dating back to the end of April.
This season marked the first time Abington made back-to-back district appearances since the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The Ghosts missed districts from 2012-2014. Though the 2016 season came to an end Thursday, head coach Amanda Kammes says Abington is far from done.
“We’re not done. We’ve got a whole new year next year,” Kammes said. “I hope we see them (Owen J. Roberts) again.”
Casey McCallister scored three times while Rachel Morris and Lindsay Baer each scored once. Brasher had eight saves in goal.
Owen J. senior defender Courtney Gerber was tasked with marking Abington’s standout midfielder Sam McGee (Saint Joseph’s commit) throughout the night. Gerber limited the versatile junior to an assist and just one free position — which was saved by Claire Hampton in goal.
“Courtney came up huge,” said Owen J. Roberts head coach Joe Tornetta. “We knew that if we could limit (McGee’s) scoring, our defense would be able to contain Abington. Without her, this would have been a much different game.
“That’s a really good team,” Tornetta added of Abington. “They play disciplined and smart. We played a great game. When you win 6-5, you know you played a great game.”
Owen J. led 3-0 and dominated the possession over the opening 10 minutes. The Ghosts settled in as the first half wore on, though, scoring four-unanswered and taking a 4-3 lead into the half.
Frankie Carroll scored OJR’s opening goal and added her second off a feed from Anna Dempsey to even it at 5-5 with four minutes left in regulation and push overtime.
“Anna looked at me and gave me a nod to go to goal,” said Carroll of the game-tying goal. “She gave me the ball in front of the goal and I just sent it toward the net. We knew if we could score there, we could win it.”
Dempsey and Kelsey Kilgallon each had a goal and an assist while Anna Lavelle had a goal and Kerry Huzzard had an assist.
Coming off a double-overtime 11-10 win over Strath Haven in the opening round Tuesday, that fresh experience seemingly could have been key for Abington.
They never really had that chance Thursday.
After a Ghost player moved early on the overtime’s opening draw, the Wildcats were granted possession. They never gave it back.
Gebert secured the ball and drove in front of the net where she was granted a shooting space call in front of the net.
“Space opened up in front of the goal and I took it in,” she said. “I probably shouldn’t have. We should have probably settled it down and let the offense set up, but I saw an opportunity and jumped on it.”
As a result of Gebert’s game-winner, OJR is another step closer to trying something new — a berth in the PIAA playoffs.
NOTES >> Hampton made four saves to move to 3-0 on the season since Sara Maute went down in the PAC-10 Final Four. … Gebert clanged one off the post in the waning seconds of the first period. … Tornetta would have had a chance to play against his daughter, Mia, had Great Valley been able to advance past Merion Mercy.
