Peace scores twice, Pennridge holds off Souderton

EAST ROCKHILL — Pennridge’s early jump on Thursday proved to not only be advantageous but essential, as the Rams put in two first-half goals and then held off a Souderton Area squad that is rapidly coming into its own.

“Souderton looks really good. They’re strong in the middle, they’re fast, they’re quick, and every game is helping us get better,’ Pennridge girls soccer coach Audrey Anderson said following her team’s 2-0 victory. “It’s nice for us to be challenged in every game because if we get to the playoffs, we’ll be a better team because of it.’

The Rams are off to another tremendous start, improving to 2-0-2 in the Suburban One League’s Continental Conference and 3-0-2 overall.

Kennedy Peace scored both of Pennridge’s goals, the first one coming just 10 minutes and 39 seconds into the contest.

“We were looking for the splits, trying to play those through balls in so we could get behind the defense,’ Peace said.

Speed continues to be a tremendous asset for the Rams and so does cohesiveness. Despite a big number of new varsity players, the Rams know how to find each other on the field.

Constant pressure by Pennridge led to another score just before the half, as Carissa Manero connected with Peace to make it a two-goal Ram lead.

“Kennedy and all of our forwards did a great job today applying that pressure, getting the ball forward and attacking,’ said Anderson, whose team made it a busy afternoon on the turf for the Souderton defense and keeper Jaclyn Perry. “We just couldn’t seem to get more than two in there.’

The Rams very nearly made it 3-0 on a couple of occasions in the second half but Big Red — whether it was a save by Perry or a clear by a hustling defender — kept finding a way to stay within two scores.

And at the other end, Souderton Area’s offense came to life, with Rams keeper Kaitlyn Moran having to make three crucial saves to keep it a shutout.