Conestoga earns PIAA berth, tops CB West in District 1 5th place game

BERWYN >> In Thursday afternoon’s PIAA District One Fifth-Place Playoff game that meant a state berth or a season finale, Conestoga girls head coach Amy Orcutt left nothing to chance.

“I felt the key to the game was possession,” Orcutt said. “That meant controlling draws, getting groundballs and no turnovers on offense.”

The Pioneers followed the plan to perfection.

With Liz Scott controlling virtually every draw, the Pioneers scooping more than their share of groundballs and with senior attack Monica Borzillo scoring six goals and assisting on three more, the Pioneers dominated foe Central Bucks West, 16-4, to earn the final state berth out of District One.

Conestoga opened up an 8-0 lead in the first half, then coasted to the victory, ending what was a Cinderella season for the young Bucks, who were proud of their season and looking ahead to the years to come.

“What we did this year was really unexpected,” said Bucks head coach Tara Schmucker. “We had six new starters in the lineup and the girls just played so well, and it’s something they should be proud of.”

Conestoga wasted little time putting its possession first plan into effect. Before the game was 7:00 old, the Pioneers were on top, 3-0, and had no plans to look back.

“We came into the game looking to get on top early,” Borzillo said. “Then, once we got the lead, we wanted to slow the game down.”

The Pioneers did just that, but were able to do so because Scott was dominating the draws.

“She’s one of the best in the state,” Orcutt said. “She’s so strong, some of her one-handed grabs are unbelievable.”

With the lead and the ball the Pioneers just methodically broke the Bucks’ spirit.

“In that first 10 minutes our mindset just wasn’t there,” Schmucker said. “(Conestoga) just had so much of the ball control that we weren’t able to get back in the game.”

And the Pioneers goals kept coming.

After Borzillo got the game’s first two goals, Sondra Dickey made it 3-0, Rilee Scott made it 4-0 and Paige Loose pushed the advantage to 5-0 at the 16:19 mark.

West had a brief flare of excitement when Kelly O’Callaghan scored, but the goal was quickly waved off when O’Callaghan was judged to be in the crease.

Instead of being down four, West quickly found itself chasing seven goals when Borzillo scored back-to-back goals at 9:05 and 6:29.

“(Borzillo) has just been on fire,” Orcutt said. “She had her 100th career assist earlier this year and she’s been almost unstoppable since.”

“I think it started my sophomore year,” Borzillo said of her offensive proficiency. “I had been playing midfield, but I wanted to switch to attack. And once I moved there, I just got so much more confident.

“Between Liz Scott, Sondra and me, we push each other to get better. We don’t take criticism personally, we just use it to improve.”

West’s Casey Reichwein got the Bucks on the scoreboard with 3:44 left in the half, but the Pioneers scored three times in the first 6:37 of the second half, and the 10-goal clock was on.

“There are just a lot of positives from this season,” Schmucker said. “The experience of the playoffs is something we’ll be able to build on. And that experience will help.”

Meanwhile, the Pioneers were looking ahead to their state berth.

“It was one of our goals at the start of the season,” Borzillo said. “We should do well if we work together. That’s the key.”