Downingtown East girls’ soccer team rolls past Downingtown West
Downingtown >> As the Downingtown East girls’ soccer team warmed up before its game against host Downingtown West Thursday evening, the upcoming game had all the earmarks of a closely-fought contest between the two neighboring squads.
The Cougars entered the game ranked No. 4 in the PIAA Class 4A District 1 rankings, while the Whippets (6-2 overall, 4-1 Ches-Mont) were rated 10th.
In front of a packed house in the first half, D-East kept up a relentless attack, gradually building a 5-0 lead by halftime. The Cougars continued the pressure in the second half and left the field with a 10-0 win.
The victory gave Downingtown East a 9-1-1 record, an undefeated Ches-Mont League record and a current seven-game winning streak. The Cougars have not lost since a 2-1 defeat to Council Rock South Sept. 3.
D-East head coach Craig Reed said, “We talked to the girls before the game tonight about getting good pressure on the ball, keeping the ball in their half and creating chances early on, and we were fortunate to create a lot of [early] chances and gain momentum.
“Obviously, Downingtown West is a good team that’s had a good season, and we were fortunate to get a couple of early goals. We kept the ball and moved the ball pretty well today.”
Less than nine minutes into the game, Cougar senior Ella Marrollo took a pass from sophomore Caroline McDonald deep in Whippet territory and fired a shot into the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
“Ella’s a dangerous player, she fights and battles for everything she gets,” said Reed. “She made a great run on that goal, made a nice play getting around the defender and finished well.”
Marrollo said, “We really worked well as a team today, and Caroline gave me a good pass. We knew West was going to come out hard, and we had to come out harder by scoring the first goal. When we went ahead [1-0], that got our momentum up high.”
McDonald, who scored five goals Thursday, added, “I think the key for us tonight was getting an early goal and getting the momentum going. The past couple of games, we’ve started strongly, and we wanted to keep that going tonight.”
D-East kept the ball in Whippet territory for much of the next 10 minutes, then freshman Lauren Riemold battled through tight defense to score in the 20th minute to make it 2-0.
Reed said, “Lauren brought the ball down in a tight area with good composure and had a nice finish. Lauren’s a good player who has big responsibilities for us both on offense and in defending, so she doesn’t always appear in the scoresheet.”
In the 30th minute, D-East senior Lexie Jobrey broke free, scoring on a one-on-one to make it 3-0, then less than two minutes later, McDonald tallied the first of her five goals to give the visitors a 4-0 lead.
Just 1:36 before halftime, McDonald booted a high shot into the top of the net for a 5-0 lead.
A smiling McDonald said, “Downingtown West is a good rivalry, they’re a good team and a good opponent. I think everyone was super-excited for this game, more than usual.”
The Cougars didn’t rest on their laurels after halftime, getting a goal from senior Rebekah March three minutes into the second half to go ahead 6-0. At that point, five different Cougars had scored.
Reed said, “It was good to see different people scoring for us, we’ve had that all season, different people stepping up and contribute and scoring some big goals for us.”
During the pre-season, Reed had mentioned that the Cougars featured good depth, as they did in 2018, and following a victory against Kennett earlier this month added, “We have 20 players on varsity, and we’ve played all 20 in many of our games this season. We have a deep team, and we trust them all out there. It certainly helps, particularly as the season goes on, to be able to rotate a lot of players in.”
Thursday, McDonald scored her third goal in the 46th minute, then tallied two more in the next five minutes to make it 9-0.
“Caroline’s good off the ball, which helps her find space in dangerous areas,” Reed said earlier this month. “She is a very, very smart player who creates a lot of space with her movement and technique, and has good players around her who give her chances to score.”
D-East sophomore Olivia Binns finished the Cougars’ scoring with a goal in the 64th minute.
Reed said, “I’ve really been impressed by our players’ work ethic this season. They train really hard, and have a great attitude.”
On the Downingtown West side, Whippet assistant coach Meghan Brogan saw the game’s result as a learning experience for their youthful squad.
“We have a young team, with a lot of freshmen, and we’re learning,” noted Brogan.
Downingtown East 10, Downingtown West 0
Downingtown East 5 5 – 10
Downingtown West 0 0 – 0
Downingtown East goals: McDonald 5, March, Reimold, Marrollo, Jobrey, Binns.
Goalie saves: DE – Buchheit 2, Sims 1; DW – Seckinger 4, Walter 2.
