Towamencin- The North Penn Knights senior night against Bensalem’s Owls was filled with emotion on the field. However, the Owls still overpowered the knights and claimed a Suburban One victory in Crawford Stadium.

The North Penn Girls soccer senior night was a back and forth battle the whole night until the girls were forced into overtime. With four minutes and one second on the clock left, Bensalem charged North Penn’s goal. The ball found the back of the net giving Bensalem the 2-1 win and ending the night bittersweetly for the Knights and their seniors. 

Despite falling to an aggressive Bensalem team, the Knights played a tough game. Both the Owls and the Knights scored within the first 20 minutes of the game. Both defenses held firm leading up to overtime.

“They were really fast up top and kinda kept getting behind us…I think the girls battled hard and we just kinda came up on the wrong side of the results,” Coach Mike Rio stated.

North Penn’s lone goal was scored by junior Lauren Blanch.

“I thought we did good for the majority of the game. We created some opportunities but we just couldn’t find the goal. And props to them for finishing at the end and getting the win,” Rio explained.

Despite the loss, the Knights’ seniors put together a strong effort on the night in which they were honored. 

“Riley [Saxman]  had a really good game up top. She was running and working hard. I think the backline, especially Marissa [DaCosta] and Grace [McGarry] played well in goal. They saved a couple that could have easily made the score a little different. I thought Lauren and Haley [Decker] did a really good job holding down the middle for us,” Rio said.

Even though Bensalem had two goals, senior Anna Fiore made a number of saves. With 18 minutes and 30 seconds left in the second half, Fiore made an incredible breakaway save that could have changed the course of the game if it had played out differently.

“Making those big saves is definitely, first, awesome to do and then having the whole student section there just absolutely cheering for you is just a whole different feeling. You just can not stop smiling when it happens,” Fiore exclaimed.

The turning point of the game seemed to be when the girls went into overtime and the real pressure was on.

“I think our mentality going into it was that we knew we had the home field advantage but at the same time, we needed to hold each other up…to just work as a team. We just need to come on with a positive attitude and if we could do that we could take them on but it just didn’t end up in our favor,” explained senior Riley Saxman.

The girls were so close to a second goal multiple times throughout the night. Multiple players hitting the crossbar and almost scoring, especially attempts from Blanch.

Senior Night being the highlight for many of the seniors seasons, this night still meant a lot to them all.

“I literally did not focus once in school today…I was just so jittery the whole time. I was so excited…From the morning…in the school…to the night and to the game, it was just an incredible experience no matter the result,” explained Fiore

Overall the girls played well and as a team; this game just slipped between their fingers in the last moments. Their next game will be this Wednesday, October 6th, against Council Rock North.