SOCCER:
Rock gets in Pennsbury's way
By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor
The Pennsbury boys as well as first year head coach Tom Stoddart have gone on record saying that anything less than a state championship will be disappointing as the outcome to their fall 2009 campaign.
“The coaching staff is real confident with us. They know what we can do,” stated senior backfielder Brian Powers. “We just want to live up to our potential this year.
“Anything less than a state championship, we’ll be pretty upset with.”
Thus far, the Falcons have put most of their money where their mouth is, winning six of their first seven battles, five via shutout.
In its SOL National Conference opener Sept. 15 at CR North however, Pennsbury stumbled, falling, 2-0, to the Indians.
Steve Neumann scored off an assist from Eric Mazurkiewicz with 15 minutes left in the half, and Matt Cannon scored an insurance goal with five minutes remaining, giving the Rock first blood.
Pennsbury put 15 shots on the net but couldn’t get one past North keeper Phil Marks.
“It was a frustrating game--one of those games where nothing went right,” stated Falcon backfielder Brian Powers.
Shocked at losing its league opener, Pennsbury needed a moment to get the ship righted, says Powers.
“We were surprised and disappointed. We know we shouldn’t lose a game this year,” stated Brian. “To come out and play as poorly as we did and not have anything go our way.
“It took us a couple days to get back on track--to realize we still had the team.
“That was just one game.”
Since the battle at the Rock, the Falcons have won three straight in the SOL, with their latest victories a pair of 1-0 triumphs over Abington and William Tennent, respectively.
On Sept. 21 in enemy territory, Corte Rumph was the only player to score in a 1-0 victory over Abington. According to Powers, Pennsbury outshot the Galloping Ghosts, 31-7, and didn’t get a ball into the back of the net until the latter stages of the contest.
“It took a lot of work to get that one goal,” stated Powers. “We had a lot of chances; it was just another one of those days where we couldn’t put one in.”
The Falcons eventually did put one in at Abington and two days later in a home pairing with Tennent. Again, it was a hotly contested battle, with the Panthers edging Pennsbury on shots, 11-9. Senior Eddie Adams was the only player to put a ball into the back of the net in that one, scoring unassisted in the 88th minute of play giving the Falcons their second 1-0 victory in three days.
The win pushed Pennsbury to 6-1 overall, 3-1 in the SOL National Conference.
***
Lost in the shuffle of what promises to be an intense league season was Pennsbury’s non-league victory over Strath Haven, a perennial power in District One and statewide. The Falcons faced deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 and came back both times to win, 3-2. Adams, Jimmy Ockford and Kyle McDonald reached the back of the net for Pennsbury.
According to Powers, Mike Mulcahey dominated the midfield and right backfielder Shawn Caven had a strong game on defense, shutting down the Strath Haven striker.
“[Shawn] had some real big shots and he shut them down,” stated Powers. “He’s been strong for us this year. He’s one of those players--he’s been real surprising.”
***
TRIO LOOKING FOR No. 1
Two years ago, Pennsbury got picked off in the district quarterfinals by eventual state champion Downingtown West. Last year, the Falcons had their wings clipped by Neshaminy in a District One AAA second round matchup.
Three 4-year varsity players—Adams, Drew Hutchins and Powers--have but one goal in mind for the current campaign.
“This is a big year for us. We really wanna get to states and honestly, our main goal is to win states,” stated Powers. “We think we have the team this year to go all the way.”
***
POWERS TO LEHIGH
Back in May, Powers made a verbal commitment to Division I Lehigh University. Brian, who plans to major in business/ marketing, says he was looking at the academics first, then soccer.
“Everything just fell into place right away--the money, the situation definitely played a big part, how good of a school it was,” stated Powers.
Of course, the fact that Lehigh hasn’t had a losing season in 11 years didn’t hurt. In 2006, the Mountain Hawks made it to the Sweet 16 after posting a school record 15 wins and a No. 13 national ranking.
Powers isn’t the only player going D-I. Hutchins has committed to Stanford. Ockford—to Mount St. Mary’s where he will join 2009 CR North graduate Ryan Tessler. Adams, meanwhile is looking at Marshall, Duquesne and Rhode Island.
***
INJURY FRONT
The Falcons are battling injuries on the defensive front with MF Kyle McDonald and R-BF Mike Mulcahey both nursing sprained ankles. Mulcahey missed the win over Tennent. McDonald has been playing through his injury, despite some swelling he’s experienced after games.
In the Sept. 23 battle against Tennent, Powers chipped a bone in his arm in a collision with Hutchins. All three have been sitting out practice and central defender Sawyer Waters has missed three games with a strained quad.
“We’ve been decimated defensively by injuries,” stated assistant coach Chris McCormick “But the kids are stepping up so we’ve still been able to win games.”
The Falcon defense has surrendered just four goals on the season.
***
Notes: The rematch with CR North is set for Oct. 5 at Macclesfield. That’s senior night for Pennsbury.
Sports Editor
The Pennsbury boys as well as first year head coach Tom Stoddart have gone on record saying that anything less than a state championship will be disappointing as the outcome to their fall 2009 campaign.
“The coaching staff is real confident with us. They know what we can do,” stated senior backfielder Brian Powers. “We just want to live up to our potential this year.
“Anything less than a state championship, we’ll be pretty upset with.”
Thus far, the Falcons have put most of their money where their mouth is, winning six of their first seven battles, five via shutout.
In its SOL National Conference opener Sept. 15 at CR North however, Pennsbury stumbled, falling, 2-0, to the Indians.
Steve Neumann scored off an assist from Eric Mazurkiewicz with 15 minutes left in the half, and Matt Cannon scored an insurance goal with five minutes remaining, giving the Rock first blood.
Pennsbury put 15 shots on the net but couldn’t get one past North keeper Phil Marks.
“It was a frustrating game--one of those games where nothing went right,” stated Falcon backfielder Brian Powers.
Shocked at losing its league opener, Pennsbury needed a moment to get the ship righted, says Powers.
“We were surprised and disappointed. We know we shouldn’t lose a game this year,” stated Brian. “To come out and play as poorly as we did and not have anything go our way.
“It took us a couple days to get back on track--to realize we still had the team.
“That was just one game.”
Since the battle at the Rock, the Falcons have won three straight in the SOL, with their latest victories a pair of 1-0 triumphs over Abington and William Tennent, respectively.
On Sept. 21 in enemy territory, Corte Rumph was the only player to score in a 1-0 victory over Abington. According to Powers, Pennsbury outshot the Galloping Ghosts, 31-7, and didn’t get a ball into the back of the net until the latter stages of the contest.
“It took a lot of work to get that one goal,” stated Powers. “We had a lot of chances; it was just another one of those days where we couldn’t put one in.”
The Falcons eventually did put one in at Abington and two days later in a home pairing with Tennent. Again, it was a hotly contested battle, with the Panthers edging Pennsbury on shots, 11-9. Senior Eddie Adams was the only player to put a ball into the back of the net in that one, scoring unassisted in the 88th minute of play giving the Falcons their second 1-0 victory in three days.
The win pushed Pennsbury to 6-1 overall, 3-1 in the SOL National Conference.
***
Lost in the shuffle of what promises to be an intense league season was Pennsbury’s non-league victory over Strath Haven, a perennial power in District One and statewide. The Falcons faced deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 and came back both times to win, 3-2. Adams, Jimmy Ockford and Kyle McDonald reached the back of the net for Pennsbury.
According to Powers, Mike Mulcahey dominated the midfield and right backfielder Shawn Caven had a strong game on defense, shutting down the Strath Haven striker.
“[Shawn] had some real big shots and he shut them down,” stated Powers. “He’s been strong for us this year. He’s one of those players--he’s been real surprising.”
***
TRIO LOOKING FOR No. 1
Two years ago, Pennsbury got picked off in the district quarterfinals by eventual state champion Downingtown West. Last year, the Falcons had their wings clipped by Neshaminy in a District One AAA second round matchup.
Three 4-year varsity players—Adams, Drew Hutchins and Powers--have but one goal in mind for the current campaign.
“This is a big year for us. We really wanna get to states and honestly, our main goal is to win states,” stated Powers. “We think we have the team this year to go all the way.”
***
POWERS TO LEHIGH
Back in May, Powers made a verbal commitment to Division I Lehigh University. Brian, who plans to major in business/ marketing, says he was looking at the academics first, then soccer.
“Everything just fell into place right away--the money, the situation definitely played a big part, how good of a school it was,” stated Powers.
Of course, the fact that Lehigh hasn’t had a losing season in 11 years didn’t hurt. In 2006, the Mountain Hawks made it to the Sweet 16 after posting a school record 15 wins and a No. 13 national ranking.
Powers isn’t the only player going D-I. Hutchins has committed to Stanford. Ockford—to Mount St. Mary’s where he will join 2009 CR North graduate Ryan Tessler. Adams, meanwhile is looking at Marshall, Duquesne and Rhode Island.
***
INJURY FRONT
The Falcons are battling injuries on the defensive front with MF Kyle McDonald and R-BF Mike Mulcahey both nursing sprained ankles. Mulcahey missed the win over Tennent. McDonald has been playing through his injury, despite some swelling he’s experienced after games.
In the Sept. 23 battle against Tennent, Powers chipped a bone in his arm in a collision with Hutchins. All three have been sitting out practice and central defender Sawyer Waters has missed three games with a strained quad.
“We’ve been decimated defensively by injuries,” stated assistant coach Chris McCormick “But the kids are stepping up so we’ve still been able to win games.”
The Falcon defense has surrendered just four goals on the season.
***
Notes: The rematch with CR North is set for Oct. 5 at Macclesfield. That’s senior night for Pennsbury.
Labels: Pennsbury
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home