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The Pennridge Rams (11-0-1) entered Tuesday morning as one of two unbeaten teams left in the District One 4A girls soccer class. They ensured that on Monday evening after a 9-0 win over perennial rival Quakertown. Nine different Rams found the back of the net in a match where Pennridge was up 3 at halftime.
The Pennridge defense posted its eighth clean sheet of the year. The Rams, who have cruised through their crossover games – the closest was a 3-0 win over Council Rock North – were favored as they took on Bensalem in a Wednesday late game. The match concluded SOL Patriot crossover play.
“When you have 10 players on the field defending, which is what we try to do here, it doesn’t matter if you are a defender, forward or midfielder. When you lose the ball, get it back,” head coach Audrey Anderson described. “The second we lose the ball, we need to put immediate pressure on that player on the ball so we can be organized defensively.
“We have a great senior class,” Anderson continued. Syracuse-commit “Anna Croyle has been in the centerback role since her freshman year as a starter. For her to have that much experience and be able to teach that to the younger players only helps us as we move forward.”
Expectations were high for Pennridge, who advanced to the state final last year and returned nearly every player. Five Rams are headed to Division I schools and a sixth, Lindsay Balmer, recently committed to Division II power West Chester.
The Rams may have exceeded those expectations. Pennridge has outscored their opponents 66-4. Six Rams – Tori Angelo (11), Liv Grenda (10), Caitlyn Peace (seven), Riley Williams (five), Gabriella Howley (four) and Addy Mills (four) have scored as more or as many goals as the Rams’ opposition. And talk about depth: 19 different Rams have a goal this fall.
“When you have one player scoring all of the goals or one way of scoring goals, it’s easy to defend,” Anderson pointed out. “Last night, we had nine different goal scorers. When you have players willing to be coached and work on specific things that we are trying to polish throughout the season for the postseason, it does put a smile on your face when you see it’s not just the same player scoring goals. Its multiple players scoring multiple goals in multiple games. We’re excited about how we’re scoring goals. Set pieces have been good to us this year.”
Pennridge opened the season with a 4-0 win over Owen J. Roberts, a squad the Rams defeated 2-1 in last November’s district seeding game. Against defending district champion Neshaminy, the Rams sailed to a 5-1 Sept. 21 win. The “W” also gave Anderson her 200th career victory, in just 11 ½ seasons and against a paltry 35 losses.
The Rams’ lone blemish was a tough 1-1 draw at Central Bucks East on Sept. 6. The Patriots entered Tuesday rated 11th in the district power rankings.
Central Bucks West trailed Pennridge by just half a game in the SOL Colonial at press time, but the Rams control their own destiny to claim all or part of their eighth straight division title.
“This group is very determined. Not that other teams aren’t, but they show up every day to practice and work as hard as they can,” Anderson noted. “They want to get better. They have had the taste of winning the (2020) state championship. They have the experience. Now it’s just fine tuning little things to make sure that we put ourselves in a spot to be back in the state championship.
“And they generally have a great time,” she continued. “Last night after our game the entire varsity and JV went to the Perk just to hang out. When you enjoy doing something, you tend to do it a little bit better.”
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