Towamencin – After falling short of a win just two days ago, the North Penn girl’s soccer team had a successful comeback Friday afternoon with the help of their efficient offense.

The North Penn Knights (3-3-1) secured a comfortable 3-0 win this afternoon in their crossover game against the Pennsbury Falcons (3-4-1).

“All around just great intensity tonight, we took the two there right from the start of the game. We were really attacking and aggressive, got a lot of really good shots, and I’m just really proud of the work rate and how hard everybody played today. It was just a great team win, everybody got out there, got some really good minutes, and contributed. So, it’s a good way to start the weekend,” head coach Mike Rio stated.

In the fast-paced first half, North Penn’s aggressive offense easily obtained the team an early lead. Senior Ella Broadhurst found the back of the net just five minutes into the first half, scoring the first point of the game. Only seven minutes after Broadhurst’s goal, junior Lauren Blanch took a shot on goal, only missing by a few feet. Blanch wasn’t satisfied, however, and came back for another shot, scoring the Knights’ second point of the game.

With the time left in the first half trickling to an end, North Penn still kept their offense strong. In a tight cluster formed on the ten yard line, junior Andie Salmon snuck in the Knights’ third and final goal of the game right at the end of the first half.

“I think that we did well today with shooting because I know that in the past we’ve struggled a little bit with it. In the games, we’ll be playing really well, we’ll be holding our own, but we don’t necessarily take the shots that we need to, and I think today that’s what we did to take the steps to win,” Salmon said.

As the second half commenced, pressure from the Knights’ offense immediately challenged the Falcons’ defense. The Falcons were able to hold their own against North Penn’s dynamic offense, though, and no further points were scored. The majority of the second half was spent with the teams in a defensive battle for possession of the ball.

“I think every team at halftime adjusts. Their coach is obviously watching us play, so he knows our strengths, and he’s telling their team how to defend us. So, it’s really important that we try to explore new ways instead of doing what we really like to do. It’s important to look to find a different way to score, which I think we definitely tried to get to some different people, it just really didn’t get in the back of the net,” Blanch explained.

Even though North Penn did not score in the second half, strategic passing and consistent teamwork displayed the Knights’ excellent ball control and time management throughout the duration of the game. 

“I thought we were connecting passes really well. A lot of times one person feels they have to do it all or something, and that mentality is just not good for a team environment, so I think we were just playing a simple ball. It might not be the fanciest ball through eighteen people but just the simple ball right to the girl five yards to your left so that she has a different angle to play a different ball,” Blanch said.

It didn’t take long for the Knights to recover after their Wednesday night loss. Confidence from every player who took the field was evident from the beginning of the game to the very last second.

“To be able to play an out of conference game and come out with a 3-0 win and have new goal scores helped us get our confidence back up and be ready for our next in conference game,” Broadhurst said.

North Penn’s next matchup will be on the road against Neshaminy on Tuesday at 3:30.