Towamencin- The North Penn Knight’s varsity soccer team started the playoffs off right by cruising to a victory of Radnor High School by a score of 3-0.
The Knight’s scored three goals in the first half and never looked back as they were in control of the ball for the majority of the game.
“I thought we played well. I thought we came out and played a very good first half,” said head coach Paul Duddy. “Anytime you can get to a 3-0 lead, you’re in pretty good shape. We played with a lot of discipline, played some pretty good soccer.”
The eighth seeded Knights were led by senior Curtis Washburn, who scored the final two goals of the game.
“[The two goals] were good,” said Washburn. “The first goal was right on the line. the second goal was kind of lucky, but it still feels good.”
The Knights could not have gotten the win had it not been for the stellar defense behind the offense. Senior goalie Dylan Eiger had a relative easy night in goal as Radnor took very few shots on goal. Senior Mike McCollough led the defense. Throughout the entire game McCollough was weaving by the opposition and setting up many scoring chances for the team.
“I just really try to get my teammates involved in the game and try to score as many goals as possible,” said McCollough.
When asked what his thoughts about the shutout were, McCollough summed it up with two words: “Great Defense.”
The playoff atmosphere may have been the initial boost that really got the team started.
“Before the game we were psyched to play. We knew we had to come out hard and score. And now we need to take the momentum into the next game,” said Washburn.
North Penn’s next opponent will be a tough Downingtown West team, who are seeded 9th in this year’s playoffs. According to Duddy, the team will make few adjustments to prepare for Thursday’s matchup.
“We’ll change some things up but continue to do what we did for the most part. We’ll work hard in practice tomorrow like we always do.”