Phoenixville girls soccer showing promise
Blend of strong seniors, newcomers has Phantoms 7-1 in PAC
PHOENIXVILLE>> The girls soccer team figured to be one of the top squads at Phoenixville Area High School entering the 2016-17 school year, and the Phantoms have lived up to that billing under fourth-year head coach Tim Raub.
Phoenixville currently has a 7-1 record for second place in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division behind only Pope John Paul II, which is the lone division school to knock off the Phantoms thus far.
The Phantoms’ latest PAC victory was a 2-1 outcome against Upper Perkiomen on Sept. 28. In that one Dakota Graham’s goal in the 50th minute lifted the Phantoms to a victory over the Indians.
Phoenixville trailed early, but Gabrielle Perrotto scored in the 39th minute to tie the score. Goalkeeper Yadira Cruz helped keep the score that way with four saves until Graham provided the game-winner.
The Phantoms will compete in Class AAA for the upcoming District 1 playoffs and are still hoping tomake a late-season rush.
Phoenixville has played a rugged non-league schedule against big schools, with hopes of learning lessons that will benefit the local girls in the long run. Phoenixville led host Haverford late in the game before falling, 2-1, in overtime. The Phantoms played PAC Liberty foe Boyertown tough in what was a 1-0 contest most of the way before bowing, 3-0, at Washington Field. Finally, Phoenixville and Souderton played to a 1-1 tie in another home encounter on the morning of Sept. 24.
“We’re young,” Raub said after a recent game. “We start three freshmen and we play a lot of sophomores. We have four stellar seniors. The young kids don’t understand the rigors of high school varsity soccer, and they have to learn from the upperclassmen.”
The seniors are Graham, a forward
who plays on the outside; defender Sophia Kopko and midfielders Kaitlyn Casiano and Julia Brown. They are all experienced, talented players who have college soccer ability.
The Phantoms have also played a large number of games in a short period of time, namely four games in one week, which is quite different from the 10-game middle school schedule that is more spread out. That is a tough adjustment for the younger players regarding the stress in a sport that requires so much running up and down the field.
“High school is a different mindset when you play four games in one week,” said Raub. “It is a tough thing to do.”
Kopko has been the anchor of the defense with her stops as well as her deep kicks on clear outs toward the opposite end of the field.
“We have a very young team,” said Kopko. “The only way to mature is to play good teams like Haverford and Boyertown and at the end of the season see what we took away from them at the end of the season. That will help us at districts and hopefully states.”
Boyertown’s defensive strategy against the highscoring Perrotto was to focus some defenders on the skilled sophomore forward.
“They dropped a lot of girls back on Gabrielle,” said Kopko. “But I think we did a good job of getting the ball to her regardless. We held up pretty well.”
As expected, the Golden Panthers and Phantoms have controlled the Frontier Division. One of Phoenixville’s recent victories was a 6-0 affair against newcomer Upper Merion.
“We had a lot of good team chemistry this game,” Graham said following the shutout of the Vikings. “We had a really good first 15 minutes. “We had a lot of help from the younger classes with shots and early crosses. We had a goal for each goal was a teaming buildup. It was a team effort.”
Perrotto has been an active scoring threat in the middle of the forward line throughout the season.
“We definitely put a lot of pressure on to keep the ball and make a good passes,” said Perrotto. “When people took a shot, we definitely followed up with shots that kept the opportunities going. We played as a team (against Upper Merion). We definitely look bonded as a team from the preseason. We are working well as a team, and every game we are improving.”
The Phantoms have started several goalies, including sophomore Hannah Sands (concussion), Cruz, a senior; and senior Dina Corraro.