Upper Perk strikes early, downs Norristown

WEST NORRITON >> It did not take long for Upper Perkiomen to separate itself from Norristown on the soccer pitch Tuesday afternoon at Norristown Area High School.

Indians sophomore midfielder Kayleigh Durning scored eight minutes into the game and Upper Perk was quickly on its way to a 4-0 win in their season finale.

“This is our last one of the year,” Upper Perk coach Mike Freed said. “It was a nice chance we had — we have 10 seniors, seven of them are here — gave them all the starts and everyone who came — tried to get everyone some playing time. Nice way to finish the season with a win, get everyone lots of time and nobody gets hurt or any of that kind of stuff.”

Senior forward Jenna Wismer tallied the assist on the first goal and scored the second. Sophomore midfielder Taylor Kearney scored the final two goals and sophomore midfielder Jessie Fisher had a pair of assists.

Upper Perkiomen’s junior goaltender Rachel Morelli stopped all nine shots she faced.

“The first half we came out scared,” Norristown coach Lisa Noce said of her team that allowed all four goals in the opening 40 minutes. “We were not playing strong and not working with each other. In the second half, we kind of got into the swing of the game and saw how moving the ball was effective.”

Norristown goaltender Patty Fortescue kept the game from turning into a total blowout.

The senior stopped 26 of the 30 shots she faced and influenced a handful more by cutting down angles and forcing the Upper Perk forwards to shoot high and wide.

“She definitely saves us back there,” Noce said. “She has great hands, great anticipation and speed.”

This is Fortescue’s first year playing soccer for Norristown. She plays for the basketball team and Noce thought that made her a good fit for goalkeeper. The coach pointed to her athleticism and ability to see the field as her best qualities.

The loss drops Norristown to 1-14 on the season. Despite the tough sledding, Noce has seen some improvements.

“Without question,” she said. “We have four returning players this year. So it’s really just building up from scratch and having the girls work together. As the season has progressed, they kind of see how each other plays and kind of know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I’ve definitely seen some improvement and we are only losing four seniors so I can only see more improvement going into next season.”

The Eagles season wraps up Wednesday with a home game at 3:30 p.m. against Plymouth Whitemarsh.