Pennsbury coach praises players' effort

Although Pennsbury lost to perennial power Emmaus, 2-1, in the opening round of the PIAA Class AAA field hockey playoffs Tuesday, Falcons coach Brooke Bergmann said that her players can be proud of their performance.

"It hurts to lose but we played outstanding hockey," Bergmann said. "We had a couple of mistakes and Emmaus took advantage of them, which good teams do."

Bergmann, who stepped in for Tracy Larson this season while Larson was on maternity leave, said the Falcons modified their game to cope with Emmaus' style.

"We knew they're a passing team," Bergmann said. "So if we spent the game chasing the ball, we'd run ourselves into the ground. We tried to intercept their passes."

The game was played on an artificial surface at Whitehall High School, site of the state championship game. Emmaus plays on a similar field while Pennsbury, the District 1 fifth-seed, plays mostly on grass.

The Pennsbury coach said it was clear that Emmaus was used to playing on the artificial turf.

"We had to adjust our game but we didn't make wholesale changes," Bergmann noted.

This season, Pennsbury won its first Suburban One League National Conference title since 1999. The Falcons were a No. 7 seed in the District 1 playoffs where they lost to eventual champion Central Bucks South in the quarterfinals.

Although impressed by Emmaus and Parkland, the District 11 runner-up, Bergmann said she likes Central Bucks South's chances for a state title.

"You can't count South out," she said. "They're doing whatever it takes to win."

District 1 Class AAA teams found it tough going in the opening round of the state playoffs. Joining Pennsbury as first-round losers were second-place finisher Owen J. Roberts, Wissahickon (third place), and Radnor (sixth).

Central Bucks South and Great Valley (fourth), were the lone winners in the first round of states.

The pairings for the state playoffs do not change from year-to-year - no seeding is done - so some District 1 observers feel it pays to be the fourth-place team out of the district for opening-round play.

This season, Great Valley is the fourth-place team out of the district and managed to beat District 12 champion Archbishop Prendergast, 2-0, in the PIAA's opening round.

The Patriots will meet Parkland at 1 p.m., Saturday at Exeter. Central Bucks South will take on Hempfield at 1 p.m., Saturday at Gov. Mifflin High in Shillington.

In Class AA action Saturday, District 1 champion Villa Maria Academy will travel to Whitehall to take on Oley Valley at 11 a.m. District 12 representative Archbishop Carroll goes to Hershey to meet Selinsgrove at 11 a.m.

The Shipley field hockey team continued its dominance of the Friends League this year, rolling to its fourth championship in the five years it has been a member of league. In winning their second straight title, the Gators put the icing on the cake by finishing unbeaten (15-0) for the first time.

"We only graduated three seniors last year - two starters - so we felt we had a good chance of winning again," coach Katie Whelan said. "Going unbeaten was special."

Included in the Gators' record were nonleague wins over Lower Merion, Baldwin, Penncrest, Harriton and Springside.

"We had a strong class of seniors," Whelan added. "Six of them started."

The Gators got balanced scoring, too. Seniors Jill Keeney and Brooke Truckey registered 10 and 11 goals, respectively, while sophomore Avery Safford led the team with 13. Out of 15 players Whelan carried on the varsity, all but two scored.

"We had hopes of 15-0," said Keeney, who is considering St. Joseph's, Villanova, and Fairfield to continue playing. "But the schedule wasn't easy."

She said that when the record reached 8-0, the players didn't talk about the winning streak for fear they would jinx themselves.

"It was crazy, but we didn't talk about it until we got to the semifinals," Keeney said.

The Gators beat Westtown, 4-2, in the championship game.

"It was an incredible senior season for me," said Sam Wolfson, who played several positions for the Gators.

Wolfson is looking at Elon and Richmond for next year.

"I might give hockey a try as a walk-on," she said.