It’s OK to get defensive talking about Central Bucks West girls soccer.
West (6-1) has opened the year with nearly as many shutouts (three) than not (four). The Bucks have yielded just five goals all fall.
In an important crossover game last Wednesday, West kept previously unbeaten Council Rock North off the board for 80 minutes and then some, handing the Indians their first loss in a 1-0 overtime win.
Each shutout took on its own personality. Goalkeeper “Cam (Nocito) was huge on corner kicks against Council Rock North. She punched or caught everything she could,” described first-year coach Bree Benedict. “Against Souderton, it was more of a possession oriented game so our backs were responsible for connecting their passes and providing us with depth. With North Penn, I think we were very disciplined. We got behind the ball. Our center mids made sure that they recovered.”
Defense is Benedict’s bread and butter. She was a highly decorated keeper for both West and Penn State Abington.
“One of the fortunate things I realized with coming back to West is that defensive mentality has been here since the ’90s,” Benedict noticed. “They really pride themselves on defense. For us, we try to keep a compact shape and keep everything in front of us. The more numbers behind the ball that we can get, the better off we’ll be.
“We’re really fortunate to have Cam Nocito in goal,” Benedict continued. “Our backline has been fantastic with Cece Funseth and Janelle Blokker at center back. They’re both young but they play smart.” Funseth, Blokker and Nocito are all sophomores or juniors.
Offensively, the Bucks have shared the wealth. Emery Sterling (four) and Kate Weyer (two) are the only West players with multiple goals although nine different Bucks have scored. In Tuesday’s 2-1 win over a tough Council Rock South squad, it was Rian Detweiler scoring late in the first half for her first goal of the season and Sterling adding another early in the second for the scoring.
Mackenzie Gausch has one goal on the season, but both she and Sterling are dynamic forwards who have created a lot of scoring opportunities. Sterling scored the game-winner on Sept. 6 – her birthday – in a 2-1 win over Central Bucks South.
Despite finishing last year in the bottom half of the District 4A power rankings and slipping into the 28-team playoffs as a 26 seed, the Bucks got hot and advanced all the way to the state elite eight. Filling the void of the strong, but since graduated, senior leadership was an early concern of Benedict’s staff.
“Any time you take over a team and you don’t have a lot of time beforehand – in high school, there is only so much you can do beforehand. Our biggest question mark was who is going to step up as a leader,” Benedict said. “Which seniors or juniors were going to step up and fill the shoes.
“But captains Eva Wierzbowski, Weyer, Alexis Castro and Ava Brunner have stepped up as massive leaders. What is so special about it is that they are not in your face, screaming and getting negative about mistakes in games,” Benedict continued. “They are the most positive kids in the world. Ava is going to Pitt and Kate is going to VCU. You don’t typically get that from Division I soccer players. Sometimes, they have a little bit of a bite to them with their teammates. But I’ve never met nicer kids.”
West’s states history runs deep – the Bucks have eight PIAA titles – and Benedict wants to make sure that her current roster can appreciate the legacy to which they are connected.
“I’m introducing them to some alumni from our 2014 state title team and showing them some of the history and tradition. We’re trying to get them to get behind because that might have gotten lost a little bit. It is special,” Benedict shared. “I don’t know of many other programs that can say that they have eight state championships.”
West hosts Bensalem in a Thursday night crossover, and hosts unbeaten Conestoga on Saturday in a possible deep playoff preview.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
