Boyertown edges Pope John Paul II; Owen J. Roberts slips by Perk Valley in close semifinals

BUCKTOWN >> Pam Wernersbach isn’t one for the thrillers.

“Let’s just say Pam doesn’t like exciting games,” said Boyertown’s head girls lacrosse coach, doing her best third-person discussion. “Pam likes blowouts and easy wins.

“Those work out much better for me … and my heart,” she added with a laugh.

Yet even Wernersbach had to love the final result of Tuesday evening’s matchup.

Boyertown rallied in the second half to claim a 14-13 win over Pope John Paul II in the opening round of the Pioneer Athletic Conference playoffs.

With the win, the Bears will face three-time defending champion Owen J. Roberts — a 9-7 winner over Perkiomen Valley — on Thursday night at Methacton.

The last time Boyertown found itself in the PAC playoffs, Jen O’Connor and most of her teammates were in eighth grade.

That season, the Bears continued their dominance over the conference and hoisted the PAC plaque for the 11th consecutive year.

Four years later and the Bears are ready to make the most of the chance in front of them.

“We tried to come into this game and act like it was any other game,” said O’Connor. “We’re a different team than they were in years past. But I think that this team is ready. We’re ready to leave our mark.”

O’Connor certainly left her mark on Tuesday’s matchup.

In a game that relied heavily on draw controls, O’Connor stepped into the circle during the second half and delivered positive results.

The Bears scored right off the draw twice during the second half, including a key score from senior midfielder Sydney Fox as Boyertown was amid a crucial three-goal swing to retake the lead at 10-9.

“I was trying to place it in spots that would set my teammates up well,” said O’Connor of the draws, “or I would self-draw if I could. Normally I know that if coach puts me there, it’s because she needs us to get the ball. I was just trying to fulfill my role.”

For the game, O’Connor and junior attack Amanda Diachynsky scored three goals apiece while senior Hayden Corcoran, junior Ashley Dierolf and Fox each scored twice. Junior attack Hannah Mitchell scored what proved to be the game-winner with 2:23 left on a drive through traffic while senior Kylie Webb had a goal and two assists.

Junior Sarah Didget took over goalkeeping duties in the second half and made three stops. The one of those three that stood out was a save against Pope John Paul II leading scorer Monica Rapchinski with just over three minutes to go.

“The kids worked hard the whole time, even when we weren’t executing things well,” said Wernersbach. “We worked to redefend, challenged for groundballs. Our intensity was there the whole game.”

For Pope John Paul II, Tuesday’s result meant a fourth straight season falling short in the semifinal round of the PAC playoffs.

Junior attack Grace Cobaugh and Rapchinski scored four times apiece while freshman Kallan Bustynowicz had a hat trick. She scored PJP’s final goal off a feed from Cobaugh with 2:10 left to make it a one-goal game. Senior goalkeeper Charlotte Williamson made eight saves.

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Danika Swech has been part of three Owen J. Roberts programs that got to hoist the championship plaque.

And now on Thursday, she and the Wildcats will look to make it a four-peat.

“We know what we’ve got to do,” said Swech. “We lost to Boyertown already during the regular season, so we’ve got to come out and give this game everything we’ve got.”

Going for the four-peat was far from a given Tuesday.

Although they never led, Perk Valley had an answer to everything the Wildcats threw their way — including the defensive scheme OJR had relied on all season.

“(Perk Valley) played us twice so they kind of knew what to expect from our defense,” said Swech. “So we switched back to our 8-man defense. That worked really well for us in the second half.”

Offensively, Swech led the way for Owen J. Roberts with three goals, including the final goal of the game to give her team a comfortable 9-7 lead with nine minutes left in regulation. Sophomore midfielder Hannah Delahaye scored twice and had a pair of assists while junior Eloise Gebert had two goals and an assist. Maddi Koury posted three assists while Kelsey Kilgallon and Charlotte Lasak each scored once.

Perk Valley junior Paige Tyson registered a hat trick with two assists while Riley McGettigan and Maggie Sell scored two goals apiece.

Sell scored with 26 second left in the first half, then came up with a major stop on OJR’s ensuing possession as PV took a 6-5 deficit into the half. She then opened up the second half with a score off a feed from Tyson 35 seconds in to even it up at 6-6.

From there, though, OJR slowed the game down and dominated the possession with goals by Swech and Gebert over the next six minutes to take a lead they’d never relinquish.

“This is a very tough team, a very talented team,” said Perk Valley head coach Lisa Clark. “We got down, but were never out of it. This loss hurts but it goes to show their character and who they are as a team.

“We’re young — I don’t think many people expected us to be here this year. We start one senior and the rest are underclassmen. There is still plenty of time left for this team.”