Knoch, Mars soccer move on
WEXFORD — Knoch couldn't find the answer to solve Quaker Valley goalie Morgan Felt, but that didn't prevent it from eventually finding a solution.
In Saturday's WPIAL Class AA first-round girls soccer playoff game, the Knights peppered Felt with shots, only to be turned away.
With 2:01 remaining in regulation, junior midfielder Allee Oskin took a free kick off the foot of Ruthanna Leffler and buried a shot past Felt to give the Knights a 2-1 victory at Newman Stadium.
The Knights (11-6-1) advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will face Mars, an 11-0 winner over Yough in the preceding game, on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
Oskin's winning goal was made possible when Melissa Spreng scored the equalizer with 21:03 left to play.
Until then, Felt had rung up 12 saves, including 10 in the second half.
"When we started the second half (down 1-0), you could feel the momentum shift," said Knoch coach Steve Perri. "I could feel a goal was going to come. I didn't know if it would be in that first minute or the 40th minute.
"Maybe we lost a little bit of it, but I honestly thought we would score. ... That's how it's been all year. We create tons of chances, but it's been hard to get goals," Perri added.
Oskin's goal came when she was able to take Leffler's kick in front of the net off the second bounce and slipped it past Felt.
"I just tapped it over," explained Oskin.
The Quakers (12-6-1) tallied the first goal of the game with 10:43 left in the first half when Greer Monahan corralled a ball that Knoch goalie Storm Hajek scrambled out to retrieve.
Perri took Hajek out of the game a few minutes later and inserted Maranda Tano. The team's starting goalie, Liz Hallahan sat out the game with a concussion she suffered last week.
Knoch nearly tied the game with 35 minutes to play when Felt tipped a shot just behind the back of the net, but finally broke through on Spreng's goal.
Amanda Sharbaugh's corner kick hit a defender in front of the net before Spreng settled the ball and scored.
"That let us get back in the game," said Oskin. "We needed another goal and we kept on working hard."
Hajek and Tano combined for four saves as the Knights defense limited the Quakers with opportunities of their own.
"I had expected this to be a fairly even game," said Perri. "You can look at the results and see who's better, but I expected us to be the better team ... Our team as a whole had more (options). We had five or six players and they had one or two."
"They played a phenomenal game," said Quakers coach Mike Pastor. "This was a 7-10 matchup and by all intents and purposes, was an even game ... They were the better team today."
When Dana Wonderly scored just 53 seconds into the game, it was only a sign of things to come for the Planets, who would tack on three more goals over the next 7:17 to take control."I didn't know much about their team, but I did know their coach (Tim Dayton) plays a strong defensive style," said Mars coach Blair Gerlach."You never know what to expect in the first round. You talk about the playoffs and then when it comes, you're like 'Oh my, the playoffs are here. we can't make any mistakes.'"The Planets have outscored their opponents 142-7 and registered their 13th shutout, including seven in a row.The early 4-0 cushion against the Lady Cougars (7-10-1) made it easier for Mars (19-0) as Mani Brueckner, Karli Paracca and Crysta Ganter recorded goals.Paracca would finish with two goals, as would Brueckner (along with two assists) and Amber Fichter.Alanna Haefner, Olivia Haefner and Katie Nelson also added goals for Mars, who received play from all 34 of its players."They're a great group, they really love the game and work hard for each other," said Gerlach. "It sounds like a cliche, but they really do care about each other. The senior class has made the playoffs every year."The girls have bought into the idea that whoever steps onto the field is a senior. A lot of the younger kids got a lot of experience this year and there are kids that played in Class AAA the past two years."The personnel changes out there, but the level doesn't go anywhere ... They know how to play in a tight situation," Gerlach added.
