FIELD HOCKEY:Donohue between the pipes at Cabrini

Cabrini College suffered a loss in its NCAA tournament opener Wednesday, Nov. 11 when it fell, 1-0, at 11th-seeded Christopher Newport University’s Captains Field.
Junior goalkeeper Caitlin Donahue, a Neshaminy HIgh School alum from Langhorne, posted six saves for the Cavaliers in the loss. CNU cageminder Emma Stout went without a save for the shutout.
Cabrini and Chris Newport played through treacherous weather conditions for the full 70 minutes. Temperatures in the high-30s to low-40s and a soaked playing surface provided obstacles for both squads.
However, Taylor Harrell’s goal in the 12th minute proved to be the game’s eventual winning tally. Christopher Newport outshot the Cavaliers, 9-1.
Cabrini had a number of good chances in the second, playing with the swirling winds and driving rain at its back--an advantage CNU benefitted from in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Maura Gordon recorded the Blue & White’s lone shot of the match, launching an attempt wide of the Captains’ cage.
Christopher Newport owned an 11-5 advantage in corners. Cabrini’s offense generated three penalty corners in the second half.
The Blue & White punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a dramatic 2-1 win versus Neumann University in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) championship match. Junior midfielder Shannon Mulhern scored the game’s winning goal with 23 seconds remaining in the second half.
A CSAC First Team honoree in 2008, Donohue started all 22 games in goal last season while posting a 1.67 goals-against average, an .806 saves percentage and 16-6 record. She also recorded three shutouts and notched 154 saves on the year.
Donohue is not the only area player competing for the Cavaliers. Freshman defender Paige Scharite, a Pennington School graduate from New Egypt, and sophomore Hannah Burke, a midfielder from Morrisville, also helped Cabrini to an 11-11 overall record and its first NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

Bristol's Dudley tallies for Widener

Danielle Dudley, of Bristol, scored a goal for Widener in the Pride’s 9-2 field hockey triumph over Shenandoah Oct. 24 at home.
Forward Jackie Eliot tallied twice and reserve Shelby Aaronson came off the bench to add two goals of her own, helping Widener push its record to 10-4, overall, 3-2 in the Commonwealth Conference.
The Pride finished its season at 11-5, 4-3 in the CC with a 7-0 loss to Lebanon Valley Oct. 30 in enemy territory.

SportsWrap: Pennsbury, Neshaminy, CR North,CR South still alive on the gridiron

Pennsbury senior Davonte Washington turns it upfield in last week's action vs. Neshaminy.

There are only a few varsity teams left playing in postseason action this time of year.
The Council Rock North girls volleyball team, this year's District One-AAA runner-up, won handily last night in the first round of states, outpacing Girls High 25-5, 25-6 and 25-9.
Senior setter Jackie Davies led the way with 19 assists, 5 kills and 6 digs. Sarah Kiely pitched in with 7 kills, 10 digs and 2 blocks. Caroline Anderson added 6 kills, 2 blocks and 5 digs. Rachel Friedman also contributed 8 kills to the Rock's state playoff win.
The Lady Indians move on to pool play on Friday Nov. 13 against Mount Lebanon, Allentown Central Catholic and the winner of Cardinal O'Hara and Spring Grove.
The Archbishop Wood girls fell Nov. 10 in their state soccer opener against Villa Jo Marie as the Jems took a 2-1 halftime lead on goals by Emily Market and Becky Pfender. A goal by Vikings midfielder Christine Ferrelle kept Wood in the game at the intermission but a goal after the break by Dominique Ponente sealed VJM's 3-1 victory.
Jems keeper Courtney Shaw made 7 saves for the Villa. Alyson Hop made 3 stops for the Vikings.
Pennsbury suffered a 2-1 loss Nov. 10 in its state field hockey opener against Emmaus. Sophomore Allie Brady scored the lone goal for the Falcons, who finished fifth in the district this year.
District One sub-regional action begins this Friday night in football with Pennsbury, Neshaminy, Council Rock South and Council Rock North facing off against some familiar, some unfamiliar foes.
At 7 p.m., Pennsbury will host Unionville, a team they have yet to play against this season. The SOL National champion Falcons went 9-1 this season, finishing with a 27-20 OT thriller against league runner-up Neshaminy. The Redskins host SOL National rival Abington. The Galloping Ghosts defeated the Redskins, 28-24, in a week four battle in Abington. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CR North will go up against North Penn, a team they shared a league rivalry with last season. The Knights went unbeaten in reclaiming the Continental Conference this year so Friday's game could get ugly fast. North Penn romped in every game it played this season including a season opening win over Bethlehem Liberty, a team that went to the Eastern Conference championship a year ago. CB South was the only team to keep the deficit under three touchdowns, and they lost 27-7 on their home turf.
Seeded 10th, Council Rock South might have a better time with No. 7 Ridley but they'll have to beat the Green Hornets down in Delaware County. That may be a daunting task but the Hawks have had to prove their mettle in previous match-ups this season.
Here's hoping they're able to do it again.

Council Rock Northalum tabbed All-Centennial

The Haverford College women's soccer team earned a number of individual honors Tuesday, Nov. 10 as announced by the Centennial Conference office in a postseason press release.
Sophomore Katie Van Aken, a Council Rock North alum from New Hope, and junior Maura Schiefer were tabbed for the First-Team All-Centennial squad, junior Michele Buonora was named Second-Team all-conference while senior Erin Dowling earned Honorable Mention league honors.
Haverford head coach Jamie Gluck, who in just her third season with the program has already led the Fords to three Centennial playoff berths, was voted the 2009 women's soccer Coach of the Year by the league's coaches. The team's third place finish in the 2009 standings was the highest since the 2005 season when the Fords finished in a tie for second place.
This is Schiefer's second all-league honor after finishing the 2008 postseason with a Second-Team all-league honor. Buonora was an Honorable Mention player last season and this is Van Aken's first postseason conference honor.
Van Aken paced the offensive attack for the Fords with nine goals and one assist. She was third in the league in goals scored, goals per game (0.50) and game-winning goals (4). Her 19 points for the year was sixth-most in the Centennial.
Schiefer helped spearhead a defensive back line that allowed just 16 goals over the season, fourth-fewest in the league. The Fords' goals against average of 0.86 per game was also fourth-best and their 10 shutouts was tied for second-most in the conference.
Buonora tallied three goals and added two assists for a total of eight points, third most on the squad. The lone senior of the bunch, Dowling, concluded her final season with identical statistics to Buonora's.
Gluck improved her career mark at Haverford to 29-20-6 with the 2009 season's 12-3-3 record. The team's 12 wins this year was fourth-most in program history.

Council Rock North:Attanasio lands on All-Conference Team

The Gettysburg College women’s soccer team had three players voted All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mention by the conference’s head coaches according to a release by the league office on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Senior Tara Gaston picked up her third-straight all-conference accolade, junior Sarah Yeager earned her second, and freshman Casey Attanasio, a Council Rock High School alum from Newtown, landed her first postseason distinction.
After earning first-team All-CC as a defender in each of the previous two seasons, Gaston dropped down to honorable mention following a position change on the field. As an attacking midfielder and team co-captain, she turned in her best offensive performance on the pitch, finishing second on the team with a dozen points on five goals and two assists.
A second-team all-conference selection last fall, Yeager started all 17 contests as the center back for Gettysburg’s defensive unit in 2009. She helped the squad finish top five in the Centennial Conference in nearly every defensive statistic, including fourth in shutouts (9) and fifth in goals against average (0.98). Yeager has appeared in 45 matches and has helped the team record a 0.91 goals against average.
Attanasio was one of four freshmen named all-conference this fall. She appeared in 15 matches as a forward, including 10 as a member of the starting lineup. Attanasio finished tied for the team lead with five goals, adding one assists for 11 points. Casey was third on the squad in both scoring and shots (30) and she tallied a pair of game-winning goals against Bryn Mawr and Lebanon Valley College.
Her best scoring output of the season came in her first conference affair against Bryn Mawr as she lit up the Owls for a pair of goals in the first 10 minutes of play.
Gettysburg finished 9-7-1 overall, including a 4-5-1 mark in conference play this season. The Bullets finished just outside the playoff picture, tying for sixth.

An inch meant a ton in World Series

Yankees win one for the shipper

By James D’Arcangelo
Correspondent
Every once in a while, much as you hate it, there’s some universal balance and poetic justice when the bad guys win and your team goes home without the trophy. And so it was when the Yankees beat the Phillies last week.
Shipping magnate George Steinbrenner made a lot of money as a Cleveland, then Tampa-based shipbuilder. But he earned his fame and a lot more dough as a dynasty builder in the Bronx, as owner of the New York Yankees. He revolutionized professional sports with the first push to big free agent signings, the push to stadium luxury boxes, the push for his team’s own TV network--and the first pushy owner to be suspended twice by his league commissioner (once, in 1990, he was banned for life for hiring a bookie to dig up dirt on one of his players).
But George is in very poor health and his 80s now, and very immobile (he had to be carted around new Yankee Stadium on Opening Day, an inauspicious-but-poor foreshadowing loss I witnessed), skipping all but a small handful of Yankees games this year. Given all of that, there was a sense of finality and a yearning for celebratory closure at the commencement of the World Series for George and Yankees fans.
George did his part, summoning the strength to be there in Yankee Stadium for the Series start. And, though Steinbrenner could not be present at the end, the Yankees did their part, assuring a championship would be there for him when the Series finished. Surely, whether you love or hate the Yankees and George Steinbrenner, like Derek Jeter, you have to respect him. In the early ‘70s, Steinbrenner bought a moribund Yankees franchise that hadn’t made the play-offs in nearly ten years and a beat up old Yankee Stadium that hadn’t been filled in just about as long. He has added eleven pennants, seven7 championships, a new stadium, nearly a billion dollars of value and whole lot of swagger to the Yankee franchise. Quite an accomplishment for a shipping guy from Cleveland.
The Series? Well, like all of baseball, the truly deciding games (3 and 4) were decided by a few small inches. And the Phillies fell a few inches short of the foot they wanted to get in the door of the dynasty establishment that a second championship would have brought.
To sum it up:
Game 1 – Cliff Lee nonchalantly shut down the Yankees, and Chase Utley opened up on the Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia with two home runs. Inches? In this one, the Phillies beat the Yankees by a mile.
Game 2 – This one was just lost by the Phillies or, rather, won by the Yankees. A. J. Burnett was Cliff Lee, Part Deux. Pedro Martinez was almost the “old Pedro” of the 90s and early 00s – but he turned out to be merely the old Pedro, good but not good enough. The Phillies met an immovable object and, well, we all know what happens when one hits an immoveable object.
Game 3 – if Cole Hamels had gotten the call on what appeared to be (per the FOX “strike box” graphics) strike three against Mark Texeira and had he thrown a fast ball to pitcher Andy Pettitte (instead of a curve ball), the Phillies probably would have won the game. But he didn’t and they didn’t. Yankees up two games to one and in control.
Game 4 – if Lidge could’ve gotten strike three past Johnny Damon - or if Carlos Ruiz could have held onto that third-strike foul tip by Damon - and ended the Yankees ninth inning, with Phil “I got his autograph when he was a Trenton Thunder player 13 months ago” Coke in Yankees bullpen, it’s safe to say the Phillies might well have won.
An inch here, a different pitch there, the Phillies could have been up 3-1, but were down 3-1. Though the Fightins came back to win Game 5 on the back, or, really, the swing of Chase Utley and his World Series-record-tying fourth and fifth home runs, the Series was effectively over. Back in New York, Game 6 was a formality as the Yankees romped, making Pedro look like their grand daddy. The Phillies’ reign as champs over. The Yankees’ rain of champagne for George Steinbrenner and their fans had begun.
Begrudgingly, I say “Good for the Yankees.” And good for the old Yankee Shipper. George, this one’s for you. You earned it.

Mee named Northeast-10 Setter of the Week

Bentley University junior Kelly Mee, a Council Rock High School South alum from Ivyland, has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Volleyball Setter of the Week for her outstanding performance in a pair of road matches last week.
Mee, in victories at Saint Rose and Le Moyne that secured the number three seed for Bentley in the upcoming conference playoffs, filled the stat sheet with averages of 10.43 assists, 1.29 blocks, 1.14 kills and 1.0 digs.
The six-footer amassed 30 kills, three blocks, three digs and three kills in a 3-0 sweep of Saint Rose, and accumulated 43 assists, six blocks, five kills, four digs and two aces in a 3-1 win at Le Moyne.
Mee is currently fifth in the Northeast-10 in assists, averaging 9.3, and amongst the conference’s setters, is tied for first in kills and is fourth in blocks. She’s averaged at least 10 assists per set in five of the team’s last seven matches after doing so only seven times in the season’s first 20 matches.
Bentley, 16-11, will take on Le Moyne College this Friday at 5 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 playoffs at UMass-Lowell.

Council Rock North:Team unity drives Rock to D-One title bout

CR North middle hitter Sarah Kiely is co-captain and one of the stats leaders for the Indians.

By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor
Before this season, Pennsbury was the perennial powerhouse in the Suburban One League (SOL) National Conference.
Council Rock North went out and beat the Falcons 3-1 the first time the sides faced off at the Rock. In a match that took place in early September, it was the very first league match of the season for both teams so maybe the sides were still getting their feet wet in varsity play.
Pennsbury exacted revenge when it outpaced the Indians 3-2 in a late-season matchup but lost to sister school CR South in the last week of the season. That opened the door for the Rock’s way to the league title. The Indians walked right through that opening with a 3-0 triumph over the Hawks that assured North the conference crown.
What’s more, the Indians needed the win in order to garner a more favorable seeding in district play.
Senior Sarah Kiely led the way for North with 9 kills, 8 digs and 4 blocks. Rachel Friedman pitched in with 9 kills and 23 digs. Jackie Davies contributed 28 assists, 2 kills and 14 digs. And Bailey Dowd added 8 kills to the Rock's cause.
Because of that win, North earned a No. 6 seeding and the Falcons were awarded No. 8, placing them in the same bracket as top-seeded Bishop Shanahan.
While North won all of its first three playoff pairings after receiving a first round bye, the Falcons fell 3-1 in a district quarterfinal match with Shanahan.
“It was intense because we knew what was on the line,” stated Kiely, of the win over the Hawks. “If we didn’t win that game, then our rankings for postseason wouldn’t have been as good as it was.”
And of course besting runnerup Pennsbury made the league championship that much sweeter.
“It was awesome to win over Pennsbury,” stated Kiely. “They win [the league] every year and last year they beat us for the league title so...”
After winning the league, North advanced to the D-One quarters with a 3-2 win over Strath Haven Oct. 29, outpacing the Panthers, 25-16, 25-18, and 15-6 in games one, three and five. Haven was a winner in games two and four, outpacing the Rock by identical 25-19 scores.
Caroline Anderson led the way to the playoff win with seven kills and 14 digs. Jackie Davies pitched in with 43 assists, and five kills. Bailey Dowd contributed 13 kills, and five blocks. Rachel Friedman added nine kills and 22 digs. Kiely came through with 16 kills, 15 blocks, four aces and 10 digs.
“Strath Haven put up a fight. The match was intense because their middle was hitting really well and we were blocking really well,” stated Kiely. “But some passes were great and some not so great; some sets were great and others weren’t.
“We were able to overcome the drought in that final game and we just pulled away with the win.”
In districts, the Indians had the advantage of having seen each of its first three opponents before the tournament tipped off. Earlier in the season, North faced off against Haven and Penncrest in midseason tourneys in addition to scrimmaging against St. Basil’s in preseason.
“Our seeding provided us with the perfect rout to the district finals,” stated Kiely. “I wish we could have placed higher but it really worked out for us in the end.”
In the D-One semis, Kiely came through with 13 kills and 5 blocks helping the Indians to a 3-1 win over 10th-seeded St. Basil’s. The win over Basil’s, who upset second-seeded Upper Merion, guaranteed North a berth in the upcoming PIAA tournament.
Though she deserved a lot of the credit too, Kiely was quick to commend her teammates for the fine job they’ve done getting the Rock into states.
She had this to say of Friedman, who contributed 17 kills to the Rock’s state qualifying win over Basil’s.
“We need her to win. She has the ability to see over the front row,” explained Kiely. “When she’s passing back row, she notices things with the other team’s defense so she tells me where to hit.”
A strong hitter, Bailey Dowd is the tallest on the team so she is counted on to block. But Dowd brings so much more to the Indians, said Kiely.
“She does a great job of getting everyone’s energy up and getting everyone pumped up for the games,” stated Kiely. “She has quite the hit when she’s on; she slams the ball on the floor.”
Libero Amanda Carmen is one of the best passers on the team and Davies is perhaps the best setter that North has ever had.
“She gives me different sets and she confuses the heck out of the opposing defense,” explained Kiely. “The blockers don’t know where she’s going and that’s a benefit.”
“I can go on about everyone. Those are just some people that bring different personalities to the team and help us achieve our goals
In their semifinal win over St. Basil’s, the Rock forged ahead with a 25-20 win in game one only to see Basil’s rebound with a 25-19 win of their own.
Tied at 16-all, a late run keyed by a Kiely block and two kills by Davies gave the Indians the win and all the momentum they needed to advance.
“That was the game-changer. We knew we had to win,” stated Davies. “This was the game that tells all. Whoever wins it, they were going to win the match.”
It was team unity helped the Rock pull through in the semis, said Davies.
“We don’t have just one or two stars, we’re a team,” said Davies. “We have amazing right sides, amazing outsides. Our defense will not let a ball drop without a body hitting the floor after it.”
There are seven seniors, three of whom--Kiely, Davies and Carmen--are scattered into the starting lineup. Lauren Malakoff plays back row as does Danielle Stewart, who comes in sometimes for Dowd. But it’s not so much their age but their camaraderie that makes North a cohesive unit that is successful on the hardwood, says Kiely.
“We’re friends--we all want to hang out together. That and the combination with the will to win just makes our team different because our chemistry works so well together,” sge said.
“The team chemistry just flows on this team,” said Davies. “All of us have so much drive and want so much to be the best we can.”
Tomorrow afternoon at Wissahickon, we’ll find out if they’re the best in District One.
Stay tuned.

Council Rock North:Starks get Rock ready to rumble

ESPN Baseball analyst Jason Stark (R) addresses the Council Rock North girls volleyball team on the eve of their district title bout with Bishop Shanahan as Indians assistant coach Lisa Stark looks on.

Council Rock North is getting set to face Bishop Shanahan tomorrow in the district title tilt. This season's Suburban One League National conference champions, the Lady Indians outpaced 11th-seeded Strath Haven, 3-2, in a District One Class AAA tournament opener before disposing of No. 3 seed Penncrest 3-1 in the district quarterfinals. From there, by the same score, the Rock defeated St. Basil's, a 10 seed that was coming off an upset win over No. 2 seed Upper Merion. The Indians won the semifinal match 3-1 so they'll face top-seeded Shanahan at 5 p.m. tomorrow in the district title bout at Wissahickon High School.

This weekend on WBCB

Tonight concludes the regular season to the varsity football season in lower Bucks. Neshaminy takes on Pennsbury at 7 p.m. at Falcon Field. The teams are tied atop the SOL National conference with identical 8-1 records. Both lost to SONL rival Abington.
Levittown-based radio station WBCB 1490 AM continues its fall broadcast coverage this evening, giving you the play-by-play. Kickoff is 7 p.m. with the pre-game show slated for 6 p.m.
To hear every play live, just tune in to 1490 on your AM dial.
Sister stations WHWH and WIFI will also broadcast high school football this weekend (see schedule below).
For a list of local games being broadcast by 'BCB and sister stations 1350AM WHWH and 1460AM WIFI, click here

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Fri., Nov. 6 Hamilton @ Notre Dame-1350AM 7:15 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 6 Palmyra @ Florence-1460AM 6:45 p.m. 7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 7 Nottingham @ Steinert-1350AM 10:45 a.m. 11 a.m.

Big weekend in Bucks football

By Rick Fortenbaugh
For BucksLocalSports.com
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there’s probably never been a night quite like this in the annals of Lower Bucks County scholastic football.
At the top of the list, of course, is the Neshaminy at Pennsbury game tonight in front of a monster crowd at Falcon Field.
All that’s on the line here is the Suburban One National League championship, bragging rights in Lower Bucks football and probably the No. 2 seed for the District 1 Class AAAA playoffs.
Next up is the Council Rock South at Council Rock North game. This is also a huge rivalry with all kinds of playoff implications. Rock South has already garnered its first playoff spot in the young history of its program, while Rock North will be looking to make sure it gets its second.
The amazing thing is there’s an excellent chance the Suburban One National League could very well end up with five of the 16 Class AAAA playoff berths. For one league to have nearly a third of the field is both impressive and probably unprecedented.
It doesn’t stop there, however. Conwell-Egan will play in the first round of the Philadelphia Catholic League Class AAA playoffs this evening, while Bristol and Morrisville have road games that also have playoff implications.

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Neshaminy (8-1) at Pennsbury (8-1), tonight, 7 p.m. — It really is anybody’s guess how this will go. Although Pennsbury wiped out its first eight opponents by wide margins, somehow it often didn’t look all that impressive. Sure enough, the Falcons stumbled on the road at Abington last week. The only losses for both Neshaminy and Pennsbury were to Abington. What makes this is strange is Abington also lost to both Council Rocks. If Abington coach “Tiny’’ Tim Sorber hadn’t messed up his timeouts against Rock South, his Ghosts would also be playing for a league title tonight against Truman. Neshaminy-Pennsbury can go either way. This will be about turnovers, execution and catching a break or two along the way.

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Council Rock South (7-2) at Council Rock North (6-3), tonight, 7 p.m. — It will also be jumping in Newtown as the sister schools wage their latest war in a series that has been dominated by the unexpected. Rock South is more of a ball-control team; Rock North is the better passing team. Both defenses have been similar, although Rock North has really turned it on of late by crushing Abington on the road and coming up one point shy against Neshaminy on Heartbreak Ridge. Like Pennsbury-Neshaminy, don’t even bother trying to analyze or handicap this cross-town collision.

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Conwell-Egan (5-4) vs. North Catholic (4-4) at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, tonight, 7 p.m. — North Catholic beat the Eagles in the regular season two weeks ago by the score of 19-15 in a contest that could have gone either way. Conwell-Egan is coming off a game in which Kerry McAnany scored four touchdowns. The Eagles are also looking for a semifinal playoff victory for the second year in a row.

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Bristol (5-3) at Lower Moreland (6-3), tonight, 7 p.m. — The records are similar, but it’s Bristol that would appear to be a pretty solid favorite. The Warriors, who are currently in the fourth spot for a playoff berth, have been peaking and just crushed Springfield-Montco. Lower Moreland lost to Springfield and had its hands full in an earlier game at Morrisville. The home team is also fighting for a playoff berth, but it’s Bristol with the better talent.

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Abington (6-2) at Truman (2-7), tonight, 7:30 p.m. — Despite missing out on some power points when a team backed out of a game earlier in the year, Abington looks to be in good shape for the playoffs as it enters tonight’s game in the ninth spot. Truman has made some progress this year under new coach John Iannunci. It’s also possible Abington may have a bit of a letdown after beating Pennsbury, keeping the score close.

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Morrisville (5-4) at Conrad Science (0-7), tomorrow, 11 a.m. — This a repeat of a game from earlier in the season in which Mo’ville won, 47-0. Unless the Delaware team has gotten a sudden influx of last-minute talent, look for more of the same from a Morrisville team that will be able to do anything it wants.

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William Tennent (1-8) at Bensalem (2-7), tonight, 7 p.m. — If nothing else, this represents a good chance for the Owls to finish up strong. (Bensalem is scheduled to play Norristown next week, but Norristown is in the playoffs). In fact, it’s a very good chance. The Tennent coaches do what they can, but some of the Panthers look like they belong on a JV field.

Wrublesky named A-10 All Academic

Four Saint Joseph’s field hockey players were chosen for Atlantic 10 All-Conference teams, it was announced on Thursday Nov. 5. The quartet is highlighted by senior Anne Schreuders, who was chosen for the First Team. Second Team honors went to senior Kellie Walter and sophomore Theresa Testa, while Schreuders, Walter, and junior Jen Wrublesky (pictured, right), a Neshaminy High grad from Langhorne, were tabbed for the All-Academic Team.
Schreuders earned First Team honors by leading the Hawks in goals (12) and points (31), tying for second in the conference in both categories. She has moved into the career top 10 in SJU history in goals (23), assists (18), and points (64). Her 12 goals this season are also tied for the eighth highest single season total in school history and her 31 points rank her in a tie for sixth.
After her hat trick provided all the scoring in SJU’s 3-0 upset of #10 Massachusetts on October 16, Schreuders was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on October 19.
Walter is tied for second on the squad with 19 points. She has five goals this season, giving her 19 for her career, while her nine assists increase her career total to 20, ranking her sixth in program history. She is also on the cusp of the top 10 in total points with 58.
Testa received her first career All-Conference honor after starting all 17 games this season. She scored three goals and added an assist. She was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week on October 26.
Wrublesky was chosen for the All-Academic Team after rounding back into form offensively as a junior. She has scored six goals, tying her for third on the team, and has added an assist for 13 total points.
The Hawks will take on Temple on today (Friday, Nov. 6) in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship. Game time is set for 3 p.m. at Garber Field in Amherst, Mass.

FIELD HOCKEY:Pennsbury seeking top five finish in D-I tourney

Senior Mia Reed (L) is the top offensive player at Pennsbury.

By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor
Pennsbury won their league this year, splitting a share of the Suburban One League (SOL) championship with Council Rock North.
While a one-goal loss to both the Indians and William Tennent prevented the Falcons from claiming the trophy all to themselves, Pennsbury is the only team from lower Bucks moving on to states. Seeded 13th in District One AAA play, Tennent was eliminated in a 3-2 loss to 20th-seeded Conestoga. Seeded ninth, the Rock was shut out, 3-0, in a second round pairing with 8th-seeded Radnor.
The 7th-seeded Falcons, meanwhile, blanked their first two district foes, defeating No. 26 seed Academy Park, 7-0, in a playoff opener and 23rd-seeded Strath Haven, 2-0, on a pair of goals by Mia Reed.
In a battle that took place under the lights in the rain at Truman’s turf field at Henry Morgan Stadium, Pennsbury went ahead when Reed tallied her first goal of the night off a feed from Jenn Taylor. The pair teamed up again after the break for that all important insurance goal.
“Sometimes when we score, we let up, so it was nice that we kept attacking the whole time,” stated assistant coach Tracey Arndt.
While Pennsbury stumbled in the district quarterfinal matchup with district finalist CB South, the Falcons punched their ticket to states Nov. 4 with a 1-0 triumph over 6th-seeded Downingtown West (18-5). Locked in a scoreless deadlock at the half, senior Jenna Allen got the game’s only goal and her 11th of the season with help from Reed and sophomore Ali Brady.
It looked like Pennsbury might claim a state berth earlier in districts when it faced off against CB South, a team it lost to in the regular season. Senior midfielder Melinda Feyko put a ball into the Titans’ cage in the first half and for the longest time, it looked like the Falcons would make the goal stand. With two minutes to go in regulation however, Sarah Hughes redirected a ball in the circle off a feed from Maddy Harding.
In overtime, Kelly Hamilton tipped the game in favor of South with the Titans second goal midway through the extra session.
Pennsbury actually had a chance to win the game in regulation after the Falcons were awarded a penalty stroke when a CB South player kicked a ball in front of the opponent’s cage. But Titans keeper Liz Lewallen made a fantastic save on the shot by Feyko to send the battle to an extra period.
“It was tough because we were winning the game for 45 minutes,” stated Arndt. “In some ways, it was crushing but we got another chance to make states with Downingtown and to our credit, we won.”
Arndt is glad she has taken advantage of the opportunity to share the 2009 campaign with her seniors--all 13 of them.
“I knew this was a special group and I knew they were capable of great things,” stated Arndt. “Sometimes their hockey is great and sometimes it’s not, but at the end of the day, they just don’t want their time together to end.”
The Pennsbury offense begins--and probably ends--with Reed, who has tallied 18 times thus far for the Falcons. While Allen has seen her goals total decrease over last year, she still is Pennsbury’s second leading scorer. Part of the reason is that at times, Jenna has been asked to play a midfield position.
“We rely on Jenna for her stick-work up top, her quickness and her ability to get a lot of pressure on the ball and come up with interceptions up front and go to goal,” stated Arndt. “She’s done a great job for us both up top and defensively.”
Sophomore Ashlyn Stevens is another player stepping up at Pennsbury, though her contributions have been mostly a surprise to the varsity staff. Ashlyn began the season on the JV team but was brought up to varsity in a midseason matchup at home. Stevens scored a goal in her very first game, twice in the Falcons first game at CR South and once in an ensuing win over the Hawks. She’s tallied seven times for Pennsbury thus far.
“She’s still raw in a lot of things that she does but she has that mentality of getting in the right spot and finding the cage and focusing on the ball,” commented Arndt.
“She doesn’t think about it, she just goes after it and does what needs to be done.”
In June, when 13 seniors depart the Pennsbury ranks, Stevens will be counted on to carry on the Falcons winning tradition.
“She’s been a great addition and it’s been nice that she’s been able to get all this [varsity] time,” said Arndt. “We’ll have to look to her as a leader next year when we lose all these seniors.”
If Pennsbury has been a standout this year on offense, defensively, the Falcons have been downright stingy. Pennsbury has won 11 games via shutout and has surrendered a goal or less in 15 of its contests.
A lot of the credit goes to keeper Caty Ritchie, who has shown dramatic improvement after working with goalie coach Jeannie Fissinger.
“Jeannie has come in and just dropped out of the sky for us and has been a wonderful addition to our team,” said Arndt.
Still, there are others. Right back Danielle Geller, the only returning varsity starter on defense besides Ritchie, has done well after being moved to a position in the center of the field.
Senior right back Marcie Paglione stepped up when junior center back Julie Kang suffered several injuries that have kept her off the field for large portions of the season.
Seniors Alyssa Cox and Jess Bulafka have also played a significant role in anchoring a defense that hasn’t surrendered more than three goals in any one game and hasn’t lost a game by more than one or two goals all season long.
At 7 p.m. tomorrow at Wisshickon in a battle for fifth place, the Falcons go up against Radnor, a team that knocked off Neshaminy, 1-0, and Rock North, 3-0, before falling in the district quarters to top-seeded Wissahickon, 2-1, in overtime.
“Winning here will help us with our goal of dragging this season out as long as we can,” explained Arndt. “It will be nice to know that while we got to states, we can also prove we are a top five team in the district.”
Six teams from District One make states. Arndt says the D-I brackets fell in an odd way this year. Most of the time, the district czars shape the brackets in a way that pits contestants against previously unseen foes. It didn’t work that way this year in this district with CR North, Neshaminy and Tennent all in the same bracket with Wissahickon and the Falcons in the same group as CB South. Ironically, Wissahickon was shut out 2-0 in the D-I semis by 4th-seeded Owen J. Roberts, which will face the Titans in the finale in a 5:30 p.m. pairing at Wissahickon.
Stay tuned.
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NOTES: While Taylor is the only player committed to taking her game to the next level, Reed, Allen, and Feyko could also play in college. Cuthbert and Bulafka have both expressed interest in playing at Overland College, a private school in Ohio.
“We have a lot of girls who are just realizing now that this—playing in college—is a possibility.”

'Shame Hopewell had to lose to lose this one

Hopewell Valley freshman Colby Husong goes low trying to defend the Bulldogs' end of the field.

By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor
Moments after seeing their season end in a heartbreaking triple overtime loss to Ocean Township, the tears streamed down the faces of the members of Hopewell Valley’s field hockey team.
Who could blame them?
Despite being outshot two-to-one in regulation, the Bulldogs took it to the Spartans through back-to-back overtime periods, outshooting Ocean, 8-1, in that time span.
“Everybody elevated their level of play in overtime. That was led by the seniors with a sense of urgency,” stated HoVal head coach Pam Edwards. “We only had a certain amount of time left and we really needed to try to get the ball down there and score."
Despite all their efforts, Hopewell could not get a ball past Ocean goalkeeper Laura Cummings. And the Spartans failed to get one past Bulldogs keeper Natalie Winters through 50 minutes of regulation and those two extra sessions.
Ocean finally got the win when it made good on four of its five penalty strokes and Cummings made waffle saves on a pair of Hopewell’s attempts. Ocean’s bench erupted when freshman Sarah Abdelaziz put a shot into the left side corner of the cage sending the Spartans home winners in an NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Tournament pairing Nov. 4 at Central High.
“It’s exciting, it’s disappointing, it’s frustrating--that’s how it went in this game,” stated HoVal co-captain Annie Rosenblatt, afterward. “I think it was a good game--an even match. We were in it the whole time but somebody has to win and somebody has to lose.
“Unfortunately it was us.”
At the end of regulation, the Bulldogs trailed in the shots category, 9-4. They had been out-cornered, 12-7. Only some nifty goalkeeping by Winters got them to overtime.
If Hopewell was outplayed in regulation, it certainly was not in the extra sessions. The Bulldogs were awarded three penalty corners and got off five shots in the first overtime. That’s one more shot for the black and gold than they tallied in regulation.
Though she was ridden off by a Spartan defender, sophomore Tess Brzezynski was the first Hopewell player sprung loose with the ball inside the circle. Rosenblatt was next but she couldn’t put the ball past Cummings, despite repeated whacks at the ball from the goalmouth. Senior Lauren Colasanti connected on a pair of bullets from the top right side of the circle but again, Cummings was equal to the task.
Rosenblatt next tried to lead senior Cassidy Straniero with a cross only to see her classmate ridden off by an Ocean defender. Annie’s next attempt at reaching the back of the cage saw her shot glance of Cummings’ glove side. From there, the ball danced tantalizingly in the goalmouth within reach of Straniero, who took a whack at it only to see it roll wide right of the cage.
“There were times when we were pounding away,” stated Edwards. “We just needed to get one last stick on the ball.”
The first overtime ended with sophomore Alicia Wagner’s end-to-end run. The second extra session began with the same play by junior Ellie Yusko, who fed Wagner standing a few feet from the goal line. Alas, Wagner’s shot missed.
Three more missiles launched by Straniero, Rosenblatt and freshman Colby Husong failed to connect. From the left side of the cage, Wagner then sent a cross over to Yusko on the right only to see Cummings make a successful diving attempt at poking the ball away.
Edwards, meanwhile, implored her team to get the shot off earlier.
“There were times when we were taking the ball in a little bit more and trying to shoot,” said the coach, “instead of getting to the top of the circle and just crack it.”
Again from the left side, Straniero sent a ball across the goalmouth. Had someone been standing on the right, HoVal would have advanced but again, no one was there.
“It’s obviously frustrating and we were really close. We controlled the possession through most of the overtimes,” stated Rosenblatt. “There’s not a lot to say except that we just really wanted to win then instead of having the game go to [penalty] strokes.”
And so ends another successful season for the Bulldogs. Last year’s Mercer County champions, HoVal got past Princeton this year 1-0 on a goal by Husong in the MCT quarters only to see its chance at a county repeat title evaporate with a 2-1 loss to Robbinsville.
The Bulldogs won their state opener 2-0 at home versus Lawrence on goals by Hussong and Wagner and finished the season at 16-4.
Though Hopewell will say goodbye to seven seniors on the team come spring, the Bulldogs return nine juniors to next year’s team including Winters, Yusko and defenseman Meredith Magafin.
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NOTES: With the win, Ocean pushed its record to 13-4-1. The Spartans finished third place in the Shore Conference and made it to the quarterfinals of the SC Tournament where they lost to Wall.