Abington serves as a wakeup call to Neshaminy (GALLERY)

LANGHORNE – Every team, no matter how strong, occasionally needs a wakeup call. The Neshaminy girls soccer team got theirs in their second encounter with Abington, a team they had thumped by a 6-0 score earlier in the season. The second time around, the Ghosts pulled off a stunning 2-1 upset.

Prior to the Abington encounter, Neshaminy had gotten good news. Pennsbury, the team they trail in the Suburban One League (SOL) National Conference race, proved human. Maggie Daeche, junior tri-captain, summed up her team’s mood. “Before the game, we heard that Pennsbury had lost to CR North. We were excited and thought the SOL can be in our hands if we just keep going.”

Perhaps the Redskins were too overconfident and lost sight of what they needed to do to build on their impressive 7-1 league mark.

“We know how we can play and we know where our strengths and weaknesses are. The Abington game shook us up a bit because no one really showed up and no one was using their strengths.”

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Abington scored first with a little over six minutes left in the first half. Midfielder Camryn Lexow booted the ball by the outstretched hands of Neshaminy goalie Victoria Smith. With 30 minutes left to play, Neshaminy retaliated when Jackie Ziegler found the back of Abington net to knot the game at 1-1. The Ghosts went up for good, however, when Kailey Horton tapped in a rebound shot with 17:38 remaining.

The 2-1 loss aroused Neshaminy’s competitive spirit. “The Abington game was devastating. After the loss, we said now, we have to work twice as hard to come back. It was the fuel we needed to push us as hard as we could to win.”

Two nights later, Neshaminy got to see how big a shove they got when they took on William Tennent. This time, Neshaminy dealt the Panthers a 7-1 thumping. “In the Tennent game, we said we know what we can do. We really gained from that game. It brought our confidence back up. Tennent’s a good team and all the league teams are good. Beating them by that amount brings us back to what we can do. We know what we can accomplish and how we can finish the season.”

After falling behind 1-0 with only three minutes gone in the game, Neshaminy flexed its soccer muscles. Two goals by the Redskins’ Brooke Mullin put the visiting team up 2-1 going into halftime. Their talented forward Gabby Farrell then took matters into her own hands, scoring three unanswered goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Jackie Ziegler iced the win with two more tallies.

Maggie praised her teammates’ hustle and determination. “In my opinion in every game when the goalie punches the ball out, whoever wins the headers will dominate the game. In the first couple of minutes, we weren’t winning as many head balls as we should. As soon as they scored their goal, we stepped up and started winning the 50/50 balls. Then, we dominated.”

The victory definitely proved reassuring. “We all gave a sigh of relief. We knew what we can do. The Abington game was a shock. It was like ‘Oh God, what are we doing?’ After Tennent, we were all happy and singing on the bus ride home. We were really happy.”

The game put Neshaminy back on course to what they hoped was a big season. “This year’s team is very different. When I came in as a freshman, we were 25-0. We had all the pieces of the puzzle. Last year was definitely a rebound year. We were trying to define everyone’s roles. This year, I think everything has fallen into place again. We are trying to play to the best of everyone’s ability. We have knowledge of what everyone can do and we play to their strength.”

The coming week should test that cohesiveness as Neshaminy takes on Council Rock North followed by archrival Pennsbury.

“North is a very tough team and a big rival of ours. If we come out and play like we know how to play, we should be okay. They will put up a fight. If we play like we know we can, we can accomplish our season goals.”

Based on their showing against Tennent, Neshaminy is awake and ready to take on any challenge.