Pennridge dominates Ephrata to reach PIAA-4A final

WEST GOSHEN >> Lauren McIntyre turned and was a little surprised.

The Pennridge junior had just received a pass from Abby Groff in the six-yard box and found herself practically on the mouth of Ephrata’s goal. So she just did what felt natural and shot it.

McIntyre’s goal in the final minutes of the first half lifted Pennridge to a 1-0 win over the Mounts in their PIAA 4A girls soccer semifinal Tuesday night at West Chester East.

“I didn’t want to over-hit it or hit it right to the goalie, so I just looked up, found the corner and placed it,” McIntyre said. “Coming into the game, we were all really confident and after getting that goal, we knew we just had to play together and be confident.”

The score belittles just how dominant the Rams (21-3-1) were in their victory over Ephrata. From the first tap, Pennridge imposed its will with a physical edge and ball movement that had Ephrata playing a lot of time in its own defensive third.

Pennridge’s midfield set the tone. Ashley Groeber and Maddie Anderson were strong in moving the ball around while junior Chance Hendricks flew around the field making tackles, slinging passes and bombing shots on goal.

“I knew once we won our last game, we were coming out here and getting through to the state final,” Hendricks said. “We wanted it more than anyone we were going to play tonight. They were really worried about our forward presence so that created a lot of time for myself, Maddie and Ashley for a lot of shots.”

It also didn’t take long for Pennridge to start putting pressure on Ephrata’s defense but it took a little longer to make chances out of them. Rams right back Maddie Angelo was active early, spraying a couple crosses in that would have been prime chances if any teammates had been able to reach them.

The sophomore defender said the Rams saw Ephrata wasn’t giving the forwards a chance to turn so they adapted by playing through the middle and the outside backs. Angelo made her mark that way by playing the ball to Abby Groff that set up McIntyre’s goal.

“Honestly, I just knew we needed a score before the half or the second half would be a little rough,” Angelo said. “I was just looking for Abby or anyone else in the middle who I knew would finish that ball.”

Groff, the team’s leading scorer, took Angelo’s ball and made a quick read of the situation.

“I was in the 18 and originally, I thought I was going to shoot but I saw two defenders right in front of me and if I would have shot it, it would have gone right to one of them,” Groff said. “I saw her wide open and I passed it.”

The senior sent a perfect diagonal ball to McIntyre, who buried the shot to the corner with 1:12 left in the half.

Pennridge continued to dominate the second half by staying strong in the midfield and keeping the ball in Ephrata’s end. The Mounts had a few more chances going up, but the Rams backline, especially central defenders Molly Groff and Sarah Williams, were able to shut them down.

Rams coach Audrey Anderson said she would have liked another goal, but Hendricks and Angelo said they were confident in making the lead hold up. Hendricks said exploiting the space Ephrata was leaving in the midfield and shooting helped her side maintain control.

“It’s always good to have a nice cushion, but Maddie (Anderson) and I just alternated staying back so we wouldn’t let anything up through the middle,” Hendricks said. “We had a 1-0 lead, we didn’t really need another goal. But playing that whole half with a lead put us in good position to win the game.”

McInytre admitted she was surprised how much possession her team had, adding she expected a more even game. But, the junior went on to say it was a performance indicative of her team’s best attributes.

“It really shows what we have,” McIntyre said. “I feel like we always come out and give it our best and when we do that, we always perform well.”

Pennridge is making its first state title appearance since 2011, when it lost to Peters Township. The Rams will have a familiar foe on Saturday (4 p.m. at HersheyPark Stadium) in SOL Continental opponent Souderton. During the regular season, Pennridge won the first meeting 1-0 and the teams tied 0-0 in their second meeting.

“All of our hard work finally paid off,” Groff said. “You really can’t get much better than this.”

“It’s a great feeling, I’ve been dreaming about it since I was a little kid, as I’m sure everyone else here did, it’s a great group of girls,” Hendricks said. “Hopefully we can set a higher bar, it’d be great if we actually won. Hopefully we go and kick some butt out there.”

PENNRIDGE 1 0 – 1

EPHRATA 0 0 – 0

Goals: P – Lauren McIntyre (Abby Groff)