Plymouth Whitemarsh starts fast, holds off Wissahickon

WHITEMARSH >> Plymouth Whitemarsh scored less than two minutes into its Suburban One League American Conference game against Wissahickon Wednesday night and led the rest of the way.

The Colonials had two three-goal leads trimmed down to one, but they were able to control possession late and add an insurance goal with 2:30 left to beat the Trojans, 6-4, at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.

Plymouth Whitemarsh built its first three-goal lead right away. Ella Clark scored 1:59 into the game, Meghan Wendler added a second goal 15 seconds later and Liv Reilly made it 3-0 after just 4:25.

Emma Greenberg scored Wissahickon’s first goal and assisted on a give-and-go with Alexa McCabe to get the Trojans within one, 3-2, late in the first half and that score would hold until halftime.

The Colonials (5-6, 4-3 SOL American) scored quickly to start the second half. Freshman Maite Jayo found the back of the net just 2:21 after the break and scored her second less than six minutes later to make it a three-goal game again, 5-2.

“(Jayo) is so tough with the ball,” Wendler said. “She drives no matter what. She’s one of our biggest scorers and I’m so proud of her for stepping up. It’s important for the younger kids to step up, too. She carries the team with her like a lot of the upperclassmen try to do. I think it’s good that we have such a good relationship with everybody because it helps us trust each other with the ball in tough situations at the end like that.”

Greenberg scored to get the Trojans (5-6, 4-3 SOL American) within two less than a minute later and Sophia Stehlik made it a 5-4 game with 9:34 remaining.

That’s as close as PW let it get. The Colonials dominated possession the rest of the way, including when Reilly’s second goal made it a two-score game with 2:30 remaining.

“We try to practice possessing the ball in tough situations like that,” Wendler said. “We give it to players we trust. Freshmen, too, they really stepped it up, especially Maite – she plays with me and Brianna (Reynolds) in the midfield. We were able to compose ourselves in the end and pull the win out. I’m just really proud of us today.

“Last year we were tied, I think it was overtime, with Wiss and (Reilly) finished the goal, too. It’s a big moment for her and everybody else, too. We get so excited. It’s just a bunch of relief, weight lifted off our chest. We know we have to go and get that draw and still bring it down and stay composed, which we try to tell everybody.”

Wiss was able to get the ball a few times while trailing by one, but couldn’t get the ball forward and set up their offensive attack.

“Our youth shows up again in moments when we have an opportunity to tie the score up,” Wiss coach Chuck Wurzbach said. “We just turned the ball over too many times tonight. Just unforced errors. It’s tough. I think this is the kind of game we can learn from. If we can just clean some of the stuff up we should be OK.”

Trojans goalie Ava Fell kept her team within striking distance. The freshman made 12 saves in the game, including the 100th of her career.

“We’re really fortunate right now we have an amazing goalie,” Wurzbach said.

“You put a freshman in goal and you play some of these teams that are really, really good and she steps up every single game. It’s impressive, her mentality. She made some great saves at the end to keep us in. It’s amazing what she may be by the time she ends her high school career.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh 6, Wissahickon 4

Wissahickon 2 2 – 4

Plymouth Whitemarsh 3 3 – 6

Goals: W: Emma Greenberg 2, Alexa McCabe, Sophia Stehlik. PW: Ella Clark, Meghan Wendler, Liv Reilly 2, Maite Jayo 2.

Assists: W: Emma Greenberg, Alexa McCabe, Sophia Stehlik.

Saves: W: Ava Fell 12. PW: Addi Stein 4.