phillyburbs.com

PERKASIE — The coach and players thought they were a little sloppy early on, but it was hard to tell by the end result.

Utilizing a stingy defense, along with pinpoint passing, the Pennridge Rams thumped the Pennsbury Falcons, 5-0, in the opening round of the PIAA District One Class AAA girls soccer tournament Tuesday evening.

The fourth-seeded Rams, who allowed just one shot through the game’s first 60 minutes, advanced to Thursday’s semifinals, where they’ll host fifth-seeded Central Bucks West at a time to be determined. The Bucks defeated 12th-seeded Central Bucks East, 3-2, in double overtime. The loss to Pennridge ended the season for the Falcons.

“Our intent the whole time was to not start slowly,” said Pennridge junior midfielder Tattie DePaolo, who had a pair of second-half goals.

“In the second half we definitely stepped it up and settled down. The whole team was playing together and playing like we can.”

The Rams struck first just over six minutes in when sophomore Bridgette Hess connected with a beautiful shot from about 35 yards out that slipped under the crossbar to make it 1-0.

Seven minutes later, another sophomore, Mollie O’Brien, took a feed from Shannon Cardie and knocked it home to double the lead.

“It took us a little while to start connecting,” Pennridge coach Jorge Rodriguez said. “But the girls are sticking to the plan and it’s great to see the things we’ve been working on happening on the field.”

For all intents and purposes, Pennridge put the game away nearly four minutes into the second half when DePaolo netted her first goal off a pass from senior Olivia O’Neill to make it 3-0.

The Falcons had their best chance with 19 minutes left when Kaitlyn Wylie bounced a long shot off the crossbar that teammate Taylor Dugan corralled, but her follow sailed just over the net.

Advertisement “We had that opportunity and that would have made it a 3-1 game, but we just missed on it,” Pennsbury coach Chris McCormick said. “And then Pennridge came out and put two more in, so you have to give them credit. They are a very strong team.

“I think Neshaminy and Pennridge are going to be in it (the district tournament) for the long haul.”

DePaolo headed home her second goal with 10 minutes left, and Marissa Kunkle concluded the scoring three minutes later.

“Our defense has played really well all season and the coach tells us to incorporate the defense into the offense,” DePaolo said. “And (defenders) Bridgette and Marissa both had goals for us. They all do a really good job.”



Pennridge 5, Pennsbury 0

Pennsbury...................................... 0 0 - 0

Pennridge....................................... 2 3 - 5

First-half goals: Bridgette Hess (Pennridge), unassisted, 6th minute; Mollie O’Brien (Pennridge), from Shannon Cardie, 13th minute.

Second-half goals: Tattie DePaolo (Pennridge), from Olivia O’Neill, 43rd minute; DePaolo (Pennridge), from Stevi Parker, 69th minute; Marissa Kunkle (Pennridge), unassisted, 73rd minute.

Shots: Pennsbury 4, Pennridge 14. Saves: Cassie Meade (Pennsbury) 5, Shannon Zickler (Pennridge) 1

Records: Pennsbury (8-12); Pennridge (15-3-1).