Connelly uses space to spark LC

Crusaders advance past Cardinal O’Hara in PCL quarters

LANSDALE >> The first time Lansdale Catholic’s girls’ soccer team played Cardinal O’Hara this fall, it felt a little pinned in.

The Crusaders had been forced to play the first contest on their much narrower JV field due to field conditions, but back on their regular pitch Thursday afternoon, they could open things up again. LC did just that, getting its wide players into actual wide spaces and opening up the over-the-top ball that wasn’t there in the first meeting.

It also played right into Taylor Connelly’s strong suits and the midfielder responded with a pair of goals as No. 2 seed LC topped No. 7 O’Hara 3-1 in their PCL quarterfinal game.

“We had more success pushing it out wide then going forward rather than just going forward and trying to force it out wide,” Connelly said. “It comes down to a lot of work on timing, making sure your pass isn’t behind them because they’re so fast and then being there to support if they have to cut it back in.”

Lansdale Catholic put a lot of pressure on the Lions early, drawing two corners and a save from O’Hara keeper Kerry Patterson in just the first four minutes. Kellie Gillen, who forced Patterson into the first save, was denied a goal on a terrific leaping stop by Patterson on a shot she palmed off the crossbar.

That initial flurry gave Connelly a few ideas and the senior also noticed O’Hara’s midfield was giving her a fair amount of space to operate in. If she

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GENE WALSH — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE Lansdale Catholic’s Taylor Connelly scored two goals in Thursday’s win over Cardinal O’Hara.