Phoenixville, Spring-Ford advance to PAC Final
Two late goals lift Phantoms past Upper Merion, 2-1
After losing to Phoenixville twice during the regular season, Upper Merion looked primed to get revenge in the Pioneer Athletic Conference semifinals Tuesday evening.
The Vikings had a onegoal lead and a couple opportunities to add to that early in the second half, but all of that changed in the 45th minute.
Carlos Garcia was given a red card after hitting an opponent and the Vikings were on the defensive the rest of the game that turned into a 2-1 Phoenixville win at Owen J. Roberts’Wildcat Stadium.
Phoenixville’s Yair Ibarra tied the game in the 55th minute when his shot — that may have been intended to be a cross — found the top left corner and Greg Flamma tallied the game-winner in the 75th minute when he buried a rebound into the back of the net.
“I thought we weren’t sharp,” Phoenixville coach Mike Cesarski said. “That’s a credit to UpperMerion— the style they chose to play against us made it difficult to break them down on the back. It’s a credit to their kids and their coaching staff. We really had to find our rhythm in the game. Definitely going up a man helps, but even in the first half we dominated posses-
In the second half, the Warriors got on the board once again when Hoover intercepted a pass around midfield, took the ball the distance and fired a shot past the Phoenixville goal- keeper for the 2-0 lead.
“When you get somemomentumand you get a goal, the whole team’s energy rises so that helped get us moving,” said Hoover.
Hoover got on the board once again with just over seven minutes left in the game, firing a rocket into the net off a corner insert from Owens, giving the Warriors a 3-0 lead and a spot in the PAC championship game.
The Warriors advanced to the championship game for the first time since the 2008 season, which was the last time they won the title.
“They have responded well to it,” said Warriors’ head coach, Sarah Quintois of her team’s unbeaten season. “We try not to talk about being undefeated and all those things and take it game by game.”
Phoenixville’s first-year head coach, Claire Emplit, knew that the game would be a challenge coming in but praised her team’s performance, especially the efforts of the defense and keeper Tyler Hall, who fin- ished with 21 saves.
“Eloise (Woodall) had four amazing stops beyond the post on those corners, so she really kept us in the game,” said Emplit, “We talked about passing better to each other in the second half, which I think they came out and did and we were able to generate some more offense.”
TheWarriors will look to continue their perfect season Thursday when they take on two-time defending champion Owen J. Roberts.
“It makes us stay humble still,” said Hoover. “We know that every game is a new game. Every team is just as hard and has just as much of a chance to beat us.”