Upper Dublin rallies late, beats Wissahickon in 2OT

LOWER GWYNEDD >> Upper Dublin couldn’t write a more dramatic finish.

Facing their cross-town rival and needing a win to improve their district playoff chances, the Cardinals trailed Wissahickon for most of the second half. Sophomore Anna DiMartile tied the game in the final minute of regulation and scored again with 3:44 remaining in the second overtime to give Upper Dublin a 2-1 Suburban One League Liberty Division win over the Trojans Tuesday afternoon at Wissahickon High School.

“Very excited,” DiMartile said, “especially for the seniors. This might be their last time playing Wiss ever. It’s always a tough game with them. We’re just glad that we pulled out the win.

“I can’t take credit. I only went in for how many minutes? My team worked so hard to get me those goals. Thankful for them and all of them who helped.”

“It’s huge,” UD coach Chuck Gesing said. “It’s a neighborhood rivalry game. We know we’re going to get their best, they’re going to get our best. All our girls know all their girls. From a neighborhood perspective it’s huge. From a playoff perspective they’re high up there. We struggled at times, but today we looked sharp. Hopefully that leapfrogs us a few spots and makes it a little easier. We have a tough road ahead.”

The game-tying goal came with less than 50 seconds remaining. DiMartile got the deflection after Lilli Kleiman hit the post and DiMartile knocked it in to tie the game in the 80th minute.

“Attack the goal at that point,” she said. “We really had nothing to lose. We were just going in, trying to get the ball into the back of the net and that’s what we were able to do.

“Everything went blank and I just hit the ball into the goal. I just had to punch it in. I have to give credit to Lilli Kleiman for taking the shot. I just finished what she started.”

After a quiet first overtime, Upper Dublin (8-5-1, 7-5-1 SOL Liberty) started to generate chances in the second extra session. Back-to-back good chances on a free kick and a corner kick were stopped, but the Cardinals continued to apply pressure. They got the ball back into the box and DiMartile was alone with the ball and an open net. She stayed calm and put it away to win the game and start a celebration.

“(DiMartile is) a phenomenal athlete who is a really good soccer player,” Gesing said. “She’s just getting sharper and sharper as the season is going on. In practice the last few times she’s looked sharper, she’s been able to take people on one-v-one, break them down and we saw that and thought this was a prime spot for her.”

“That big diagonal pass while we’re clearing and unorganized is dangerous,” Wiss coach Chris McDaniels said. “It’s always going to be dangerous and they capitalized on it twice.”

Upper Dublin entered the game ranked No. 27 in the District 1-4A standings. The top 28 teams qualify for the playoffs.

After a scoreless first half, Wissahickon (10-4, 9-4 SOL Liberty) took a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute. Kylie Friedman passed up the right side to Lannah Werynski, who crossed it back into the box. Sage Stelzer was there to head it into the back of the net.

UD had a few good opportunities four minutes later during a corner kick sequence, but couldn’t score. The Cardinals also hit the crossbar while facing a 1-0 deficit in the 68th minute.

Wissahickon’s Sophia Yeh made her first varsity start in goal and kept the Trojans in it. She made 13 saves.

Upper Dublin has regular season games against Abington, Plymouth Whitemarsh and Hatboro-Horsham remaining before the playoffs start on Oct. 25. Wissahickon, who was ranked No. 8 before this game, has games against Quakertown, Abington, Plymouth Whitemarsh and Lansdale Catholic.

Upper Dublin 2, Wissahickon 1 (2OT)
Upper Dublin 0 1 0 1 — 2
Wissahickon 0 1 0 0 — 1
Goals: UD: Anna DiMartile 2. W: Sage Stelzer.
Saves: UD: Jordyn Levine 6. W: Sophie Yeh 13.