Amato finishes the build-up as Wissahickon edges Upper Dublin in double overtime

UPPER DUBLIN >> It was a win a couple matches in the making.

All season, the Wissahickon girls soccer team came close to a breakthrough win but just couldn’t quite find that last push to put it away. The potential was there and the Trojans knew it, but actually translating the effort into three points in the table seemed always just out of reach.

On the road at their biggest rival, Carly Amato felt like it was time to change that script.

The senior co-captain scored a terrific goal with six minutes left in the second overtime, lifting Wissahickon to a 2-1 win over Upper Dublin in a match that could have gone either way Thursday afternoon.

“Kylie (Friedman) was at the top of our formation, we did a quick give-and-go, I shot it and it went into the back corner,” Amato said. “We decided to shoot more outside the 18 because they were closing down and we couldn’t dribble through their defenders.”

Amato’s eighth goal of the campaign was a huge one for the morale of a Wissahickon team that wants to make a run at a District 1 playoff spot. Wiss came into Thursday’s match on the heels of a 3-0 loss to Abington, but not a result the Trojans felt they were far off of.

Likewise, an overtime loss to Hatboro-Horsham earlier in the conference cycle showed them how close they were, but there was still something holding them back. When Wiss coach Chris McDaniels took over last fall, he knew there was talent on the roster, but it needed some melding and organizing.

“That was the first time I think we came out of a really hard-fought battle back-and-forth,” McDaniels said. “To be honest, it would have been fair 2-1 the other way, the game was even back and forth. What stands out for me first off was we made no mistakes in the back today.”

For Upper Dublin, Thursday’s match was a familiar tale in a season where the Cardinals are asking a score of new players to fill crucial roles. The Cardinals created many chances, earning 10 corner kicks and putting seven shots on goal, but they only finished one.

There have been games where UD has clicked in the final third, but consistency in the attacking end is often the hardest thing to maintain, moreso with a younger side. Freshman Alex Devers went down with an injury in the second half, also taking away one of UD’s top pieces in front of goal.

“She’s only a freshman but she’s our most experienced forward at a high level of play so you ask other people to step up who haven’t been in that spot and they did a great job,” Cardinals coach Chuck Gesing said. “The only thing we didn’t do was score. We got the corners, we got it in deep, the defense was worlds better and I was happy with the midfield defensively. Offensively, we still have to work on our spacing, but it was there for the taking.”

UD’s defending was solid, but a bit of a breakdown led to Wiss punching home the first goal. A free kick by fullback Eliana Bailey bounced in the box, leading to a shot for Amato. Her effort was saved by Upper Dublin keeper Rachel Adelman, but Friedman was there to tap in the rebound as it skittered along the goal line.

“The younger players like Anna May and Kylie Friedman, I think I work well with them,” Amato said. “They’re not afraid and they’re a huge help on the field.

Even swamped by a high number of set pieces, the Wissahickon defense was strong all afternoon. Senior goalkeeper Quinn Klessel quarterbacked the effort, making six saves, coming off her line well and putting up a firm defense against the Upper Dublin corner kicks.

“Out of the corner kicks, I don’t think we really let up anything there,” Klessel said. “We headed everything out, which is something we’ve been working on a lot. Anna Schools and Margo Kasenchar really did well at getting the ball out quickly. There was a lot of communication between us and we’ve been working on that in practices.”

Klessel couldn’t do anything about UD’s equalizer. Senior Laura Pendleton worked a nice one-two combo with right winger Anna Desch in the corner, with the junior midfielder rifling a missile of a cross into the box where senior Mia Wright headed it home.

Desch, who brings blistering pace to the pitch, was a creator all afternoon. Gesing said the junior has been a big part of the attack but like the rest of the team, the Cardinals want her to go after more for herself.

“We look for her over and over again and she was really effective,” Gesing said. “We can’t always go toward her but she was so dangerous today. I keep trying to get her to turn the corner and go to goal herself but she’s done a fantastic job getting us in behind.”

Upper Dublin keeper Rachel Adelman was terrific, making eight stops including a fantastic denial on a rocket by Wiss’ Natalie Ryan in the first overtime.

Klessel said there’s been a lot of communication and positive energy this season, which helped the players build the belief they could win a difficult matchup on the road.

“After the Hatboro game and losing in this situation, it was something we had to have,” Klessel said. “This is how Hatboro beat us, so we wanted to come out strong and feel the way they did after that game.”

“This is just something we wanted,” Amato said. “We want to go to the playoffs, so we knew this would be a big result for us. We had a mentality to beat Upper Dublin at their place and we’re happy with the result.”

WISSAHICKON 2, UPPER DUBLIN 1 (2OT)
WISSAHICKON 1 0 0 1 – 2
UPPER DUBLIN 1 0 0 0 – 1
Goals: W – Kylie Friedman (Carly Amato), Amato (Friedman); UD – Mia Wright (Anna Desch, Laura Pendleton)