Villa Joseph Marie denies Upper Perkiomen in PKs of 1-3A semifinal
Villa Joseph Marie 3, Upper Perkiomen 2 (VJM 3-1 PKs) >> Upper Perkiomen dropped a heartbreaker in penalty kicks to perennial powerhouse Villa Joseph Marie in a District 1-3A semifinal Tuesday in Holland.
VJM opened the scoring in the 30th minute as Shea Riley headed in a corner kick. The Indians responded 8 minutes later as Sarah Straub ran onto a long diagonal cross from Sara Edwards and calmly sent her shot past the charging GK to knot the game at 1-1. Mary Kate Sitko put Upper Perk ahead 15 minutes into the second half with a low driven shot, assisted by Jada Roderick. The Gems, the defending District 1 champs and PIAA 3A runners-up last year, were not to be denied, tying the game less than 10 minutes later on a penalty kick for a handball.
Upper Perk concludes its season 18-4, the best record in school history. The PAC Frontier champions defeated Bishop Shanahan 2-1 in the second round to make the semifinals. Upper Perk’s seniors include Sam Kozminski, Gabby Neal and Lindsay Bieler.
