Malone’s brace rallies Pennridge past Abington in District 1-4A quarterfinals

EAST ROCKHILL >> Leah Malone learned pretty quickly not to expect things, but to anticipate them.

So when Meghan Kriney threw the ball in quickly late in the second half against Abington, she thought Abby Groff might hit it but didn’t expect her to. Instead anticipating where the ball might end up if Groff didn’t get it, Malone found herself with a wide open avenue toward goal.

The freshman cashed that one in to tie things up, then anticipated her way to a second goal in overtime as No. 3 Pennridge rallied past No. 6 Abington 2-1 Saturday morning in the District 1-4A girls soccer quarterfinals.

“I just wanted to make a difference, I know I didn’t want to lose and no one else on this team wanted to lose,” Malone said. “It’s important when I do get time to do my best to try and play well for them.”

Pennridge (17-2-1) will be on the road in the district semifinals on Tuesday against No. 2 Conestoga.

Malone spent most of Saturday’s match on the bench, but with the Rams down a goal inside the final 10 minutes of regulation, coach Audrey Anderson told her to warm up. Anderson said she liked the way the freshman forward can hold the ball at her feet and connect, two things the Rams needed and it felt like the right time.

A player who’s been a part of the forward rotation all season, Malone wasn’t hesitant when her opportunities came either.

“I felt like it was a make-or-break moment for her to see that she’s valued and we trust that she can get the job done,” Anderson said. “I thought with the way the game was going, having her up there working and able to hold onto the ball was what we needed.”

The game was played in less than ideal conditions, with a strong wind running down the spine of the field. Abington (16-4-0) had the wind at its back in the first half but more importantly was the way the Ghosts played.

A few weeks back, the Rams took the Ghosts apart in a 5-2 nonleague game but the Abington defenders were much more composed and sure of themselves on Saturday. Having the wind seemed to help too, as Abington drew five corner kicks in the first 16 minutes.

Their breakthrough came with about 12 minutes left in the half. Cam Lexow made a run through the midfield and into the defensive third and with a defender on her, managed to get off a shot that stayed low and slotted past Rams keeper Mary Kate Levush.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed with the result but our girls played very hard,” Abington coach Rick Tompkins said. “Pennridge is a very good team and Audrey has a really good way of coaching that team, they controlled the ball and they didn’t panic even when down.”

The Rams had a good look late in the half when Lauren McIntyre headed an Ashley Groeber free kick on frame but Ghosts keeper Ashley Hopper made the save.

Anderson said she felt good only being down a goal at the half. Not only was her team getting the wind in the second half, but it was a chance to get the players together and settle them.

“I felt confident we were going to score in the second half, although I thought we would score more than one goal but this is a good lesson for us,” Anderson said. “This is the first time we’ve come back from being down in a game to win.”

Pennridge controlled most of the second half, keeping the ball on Abington’s side of the field but couldn’t create a truly dangerous opportunity. Still, the defenders knew they just had to keep the Ghosts locked down and eventually, the attackers would break through.

Senior center backs Molly Groff and Sarah Williams were very strong for Pennridge, especially containing Abington’s Casey Touey. Groff made a lot of the initial challenges while Williams was particularly good at advancing out of the defensive end with the ball on her feet.

“We had to match up better defensively and in the midfield, we had to deny them the ball and connect with each other,” Williams said. “We had to find that space and play to feet. We couldn’t kick it big every time, or else we would tire out our forwards.”

Hopper was solid in net for Abington with seven saves as the Rams hunted for an equalizer. Groff was unlucky in the game, with a couple good efforts going wide and another saved by Hopper, but the senior kept hustling up top and in turn helped open the room for the tying goal with 3:23 left on the clock.

“I thought Abby was going to hit it but you have to learn to anticipate the ball going over the target so that’s what I did,” Malone said. “I had a pretty touch toward the net and I knew I just had to kick it on frame and maybe it would go in. I just wanted to put it past the keeper because I had a defender on my left side and the keeper was coming out.”

The win sends Pennridge to the PIAA tournament for the second time in three seasons. Abington drops into the district playback bracket, with a new change in the state bracket sending six District 1 teams on, so the Ghosts will have to win one more game.

Malone stayed on the pitch to start overtime and both she and Williams felt very confident they were going to score in extra time. The freshman was able to chase down a through ball, getting enough of a touch on it just before colliding with the keeper to send it skipping across the turf and into the net with 6:10 left in the first overtime.

“The ball got played to Abby and I knew I could at least try to get past their defenders,” Malone said. “I did, their keeper started coming out so I was able to touch it past her again, kind of like the first goal.”

“There’s just something so special about this team,” Williams said. “We all want to work hard for each other and win for each other, so that was the ultimate goal.”

PENNRIDGE 2, ABINGTON 1
ABINGTON 1 0 0 – 1
PENNRIDGE  0 1 1  – 2
Goals: P – Leah Malone (Meghan Kriney), Malone (Abby Groff); A – Cam Lexow.