Falcons Play Spoiler on Senior Night

Pottstown hosted rival Pottsgrove Wednesday night in a PAC-10 Frontier Division contest. A revamped Falcon's lineup took to the field and walked off with a 7-0 win over the Trojans, keeping Pottstown winless in league play.

Tori Coyle did not start for the Grove, coming in off the bench, while Molly Chiodo took over in goal for Allie Neel.

"We had some players hurt," said Falcons head coach Steve Mellor. "One with a concussion, our goalie, and forward Tori Coyle, just wear and tear from a long season. She just got to have a rest tonight. We started without some of the usual starters; it's good to get everybody playing time."

This edition of the Mervine Street Showdown held extra weight, serving as the Blue and White's senior night.

"The senior class is special to me because I was hired the same year that they were freshmen," Pottstown head coach Gary Mock said. "This is my last hurrah with that class. So that is kind of special to me, that I came to them, spent four years with them, saw each and every one of them grow and achieve different things and get better on the field. I talked to them before the game, and I said I'm going to miss each and every one of you."

After a quick offensive burst from the Grove's Jaid Mark, Pottstown came on strong, controlling midfield and keeping steady pressure on the Pottsgrove defense. While keeping the ball in front of Chiodo and company, the Trojans could not seem to get an open shot. Pottsgrove had fewer, but better, shots on goal in the game's early goings, and they capitalized.

Mark found the net on an assist from Sara Sheppard to open up scoring. Pottstown responded with another increase in defensive pressure, as well as smothering individual defense. The Trojan bench was electric, screaming and cheering every Pottstown play, even when behind, a stark contrast to the restrained and quiet Pottsgrove bench. A second goal from Megan Monzo, off a pass from Coyle, did little to dampen their spirits.

"We're a young team," Mock said, "And I think that's what we've got to work on. If we keep the enthusiasm up-because we're not winning games right now-that's what we've got to do. We've got to keep the bench up so that for the people on the field it stays energized. If that happens I think we do pretty well."

The Falcons' aggressive attack lead to a smattering of offside calls as well as open looks, keeping Pottstown in the game. Strong first half play from goalie Dakota Thorne helped limit Pottsgrove's lead to a surmountable 2 at intermission.

"She's a senior keeper," Mock said. "She's only a second year player. She does a great job, she just doesn't have a lot of the experience. That's where we get hurt, is the experience. Knowing when to come out and when to stay … she did a great job in goal for the first half."

The second half decidedly belonged to the visitors, as the Falcons began to turn the tide and break down the Pottstown front. A missed penalty kick for Pottstown was followed up by a second goal from Mock, a two point swing that had the visitors ahead 3-0 early. Hannah Steffenino converted her penalty kick to stretch the Falcons' lead to 4, but the Pottstown sideline remained as bombastic as it had been when the game began. That unfailing resolve began to finally cool, as a Lily Read header widened the gap to 5-0. Amy Cherico then took an excellent pass from Allison Weller and finessed it past the Trojan's second half keeper, Morgan Wambold, for the 6-0 lead. Wambold had played aggressively to that point, coming out to stifle Cherico's shot numerous times before finally giving up the goal.

"She's not even a keeper," Mock said of Wambold. "We threw her in today. She played the JV game, played really well, and we decided she was very aggressive and to giver her a shot in there, maybe groom her for next year."

Emily Bowen scored one more goal for the Grove as the game wound down. Mellor attributed the Falcons' second half dominance to simply cleaning up the game and regaining focus.

"We were just doing the little things wrong (in the first half)," Mellor said. "We were offsides way too much, we weren't playing smart. Too many touches. I just told the girls to limit the touches, get it forward, try to split the defenders and get a couple goals."

Coach Mock and his buoyant team walked off the field with an air not typically found when losing, particularly on senior night to a rival.

"The one thing we don't do is ever quit," Mock said. "We never quit in any game … we're down by six, seven, and we're still running hard, trying to score. They never quit, and that makes me proud of them."