PAC Girls Soccer Championship Preview: Boyertown vs. Spring-Ford

Boyertown and Spring-Ford meet for the Pioneer Athletic Conference girls soccer championship at 7 p.m., Thursday night at Owen J. Roberts.

A breakdown of the matchup: 

Boyertown (1) vs. Spring-Ford (3)

Records >> Boyertown: 9-1 PAC Liberty, 12-1 PAC, 18-1 overall, PAC Liberty champion, No. 3 in District 1-4A rankings. Spring-Ford: 8-2 PAC Liberty, 11-2 PAC, 15-4 overall, No. 10 in District 1-4A rankings.

Road to the final >> Boyertown scored three first-half goals and got a big night from junior forward Samantha Goffice (two goals and an assist) in a 4-0 win over Upper Perkiomen in the PAC semifinals Tuesday … Spring-Ford broke a deadlock in its PAC semifinal with Pottsgrove in the 66th minute on senior Ella Curry’s penalty kick and added another a minute later through junior Emily Higgins in a 2-0 victory.

PAC playoff history >> Boyertown is the four-time PAC champion (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015). Its most recent previous visit to the PAC playoffs was a 2017 semifinal loss to Owen J. Roberts, 3-2. … Spring-Ford is three-time PAC champion (2013, 2014, 2016) and has made the Final Four six straight seasons. The Rams fell to Owen J. Roberts 1-0 in last year’s championship. … The two programs have met in the finals two previous times: 2013 (2-1 Spring-Ford win) and 2015 (1-0 Boyertown win).

Head-to-head >> Boyertown and Spring-Ford split in the regular season. Head coach Mo Hadadi’s Rams won on their home turf on Sept. 12. Boyertown and veteran coach Bill Goddard got its win on Oct. 3, 3-2 in overtime when Camilla Kuever knocked home the rebound of Mikayla Moyer’s free kick a minute into the second overtime. 

Rams at a glance >> The midfield of senior Ella Curry (16 goals), junior Hope Flanegin and junior Molly Thomas is the engine of Spring-Ford and is arguably the toughest unit in the PAC. The trio supplies the Rams’ attacking thrust along with Ally McVey and Emily Higgins. Defensively, S-F features holding midfielder Katie Sites in front of Caitlin Norwood, Grace Sharkey, Kaitlyn Mulle and Raven Wellington. Three-year starter Riley Wallace.handles goalkeeping duties.

Bears at a glance >> Junior midfielder Camilla Kuever (17 goals, 8 assists), a German exchange student who is a member of the U16 national team, has completed the puzzle for the Bears with her playmaking ability shouldering a load that has raised the level of the collective. Pacey junior forward Samantha Goffice (19 goals, 9 assists) leads the league in scoring and is a constant threat. Goffice is aided going forward by junior Kayley Mattis (4 goals, 4 assists), freshman Samantha Devlin (12 goals, 6 assists) and sophomore Emma Beidler. Senior Madison Monka (3 goals, 4 assists) pairs well with Kuever in the midfield while junior Mikayla Moyer (2 goals, 9 assists), who delivers set pieces, and senior Morgan Kline are flanked by Courtney Actis and Breanne Tinney to form the back four in front of senior goalkeeper Madison Gallagher. The Bears have scored 68 goals and allowed only 15 to date.

Matchup >> The battle centers around Boyertown and Spring-Ford’s respective midfields and the desire to be on the front foot and dictating play. The Rams often seem to have an extra body in the midfield – sometimes by design, sometimes by quality – whereas the Bears can occasionally feel light in that department, which may require some adjustment from the top seeds. There’s no shortage of speed on either team, though Boyertown’s co-fastest player, Goffice, even concedes to the Rams’ overall pace. “Their speed is a really big challenge for us. I think our defense, they did a really good job of shutting that down the last time we played them,” Goffice said after Tuesday’s semifinal. “We might not be as fast as them, but we know how to close them down.” Both back fours are mostly first-year starters and will need to be on their games even with experienced and tested multi-year starting goalkeepers behind them.

Prediction >> It’s only fitting the two best teams in the PAC meet for the championship and Boyertown and Spring-Ford are certainly that. Spring-Ford could very well be entering as the defending champion after last year’s narrow loss to Owen J. Roberts. It’s a memory that the Rams are surely motivated to reverse. There’s a belief that the Rams have the most cumulative talent, but there’s no denying the most in form team. Boyertown has scored four or more goals in eight of its last nine matches and have irresistible moments that look title-made. … Boyertown 2, Spring-Ford 1.