Ward scores 100th, Rams roll over Perk Valley

With 98 goals in her pocket, it was a forgone conclusion that Spring-Ford junior Maddie Ward would reach the 100-goal milestone in what has thus far been an amazing career for the Rams.

With Ward's name missing from the scoresheet more than 35 minutes into Wednesday's 13-3 win over Liberty division rival Perkiomen Valley, it seemed the Vikings' plan to double and triple cover Ward was working.

Well, it was. Sort of.

The attention that the Vikings were paying Ward may have kept her from tickling the twine, but it allowed Spring-Ford's Ally Stevens, Brittany Hagan, Leanne Shaw, Kira Czensler and Sasha Wozniak room to operate in the Perk Valley zone and to build a 6-1 halftime lead.

“I expected much more from Perk Valley,” said Rams head coach Amy Short. “Yes, we won by ten goals, but I still was not totally satisfied with our performance. We had a couple of breakdowns that we have to work on. I think this was just one of those games for them (PV).”

As all great players do, Ward and her teammates made some adjustments following the intermission. It wasn't long before Ward had assisted on two goals and ripped her own shot past Perkiomen Valley net minder Kate Jacobsen (14 saves) to pull herself to within one of the century mark.

“Us winning the game is much more important than me getting two goals,” said Ward, who recently committed to play NCAA Division I lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts.

“We needed to get back to even in the league after the Methacton loss. That was awful. Our goal has to be to win the rest of our league games,” Ward said.

The Spring-Ford sideline erupted when Ward notched her 99^th tally, and with the clock running every time she touched the ball the anticipation could be felt throughout Coach McNelly Stadium.

With 2:00 remaining, Ward made a break for the net after snatching a feed from Kira Czensler and was fouled by Vikings senior Rachel Palumbo, awarding Ward an 8 meter shot. Ward promptly buried it in the Perk Valley net to take her place in Spring-Ford lacrosse history.

“We all wanted Maddie to get it today,” said Sasha Wozniak, who posted two goals and an assist. “She is such a great teammate and we all love her.”

“It says something about what kind of player she is,” said Smart. “She knew she was one away, yet she was still feeding her teammates the ball right until the end. A lot of kids would not do that. I am very proud of her and it’s great to know I have her again next year as well, but this team is much more than one player.”

Spring-Ford celebrated Ward’s achievement with contributions from eight different goal scorers, including two goals each from Wozniak, Anna Charlebois and Leanne Shaw.

Perkiomen Valley seniors Grace Malizia, who is bound for Bloomsburg University, and Amber Gansz scored for the Vikings with one and two goals respectively, but that was all that Perk Valley could muster again the Rams defense.

“I am so excited right now,” said Ward. “We won the game and I was glad I got to score my 100^th here in our home opener. We have a lot of young girls that have really made an impact on the team, which makes it tough for teams to game plan for us. I have been very fortunate and I hope that continues as we try to win the PAC-10.”

Spring-Ford evened its league mark at 2-2 with the win while Perkiomen Valley dropped to 1-3.

SCORING