TOWAMENCIN – After a strong start to the 2014 season, wins have recently been a little tougher to come by for the Lady Knights soccer squad. Those struggles continued with a 3-1 loss against CB East on Monday.
The Patriots struck quickly once the game started, scoring two goals – both off of set pieces, and played a very physical game.
North Penn took one back thanks to a goal by sophomore midfielder Anna Pedicone, but eventually fell, marking the third game in a row without a win.
“We just ran into a little dry spell,” commented Coach Jim Dehner, “confidence is still there.”
However, the team took a huge blow along with the loss. Senior starting goalkeeper Laura Leonard had to come off the field injured with only few minutes left in the game, having to be replaced by sophomore Lauren Donnelly.
“Lauren’s a good goalie, so she will be fine,” commented junior fullback Liz Volz. “She was shaky at first but she will be better, and hopefully Laura will be better too.”
While the optimism is still high, losing a starter in a key position like goalkeeper is no small chink in the armor.
“Losing Laura, it was demoralizing,” stated Coach Dehner, “if she is unavailable for the rest of the season, everyone else needs to take an even bigger step.”
It wasn’t a dream start for the Knights, as they were dominated instantly. Early pressure led to the CB East corner, which was headed in from near post to take the lead within five minutes. A few minutes later, the away team added another goal, as the free kick near the half circle connected with one of the Patriot’s attackers to calmly head it into the back of the net.
It easily could’ve been a 3-0 deficit, but senior fullback Stephania Bresadola’s heroic turned the tide of the game. On the 13th minute, the CB East striker rounded the North Penn keeper and took a shot into the open net, only to be saved on the line by hustling senior.
From there on, the Lady Knights began to come back to life, as they were aggressive and energetic, chasing after every loose ball and pressuring the defense.
Their effort eventually paid off as North Penn cut the lead in half in the 23rd minute. Sophomore Riley Houlihan whipped in a free kick that was headed down by sophomore forward Alexis Henderson. The loose ball was fired into the net by Pedicorie.
However, the game was sealed off at 73 minutes when the ball bouncing around the box was settled by the CB South striker who struck the ball top right.
North Penn looks to get their season back on track on Wednesday at home vs. Quakertown.