North Penn looks ahead after beating Council Rock South

Senior Bobby Dougherty said she and her North Penn field hockey teammates look forward to playing top-seeded Central Bucks South on Wednesday in the second round of the PIAA District 1 Class AAA playoffs. It's a little matter of payback for the Maidens.

North Penn lost to South in a playback game that decided the last spot from the district for the state playoffs last year. The Maidens dropped both of their Suburban One League Continental Conference games with the Titans this season. Dougherty said they thought they should have won both conference games. They lost by scores of 3-2 and 2-0.

"We'd like to even things up a little," said Dougherty, who scored a pair of goals Monday in a 3-0 opening-round win over visiting Council Rock South. "Wednesday's our chance for redemption."

Dougherty picked up her 12th and 13th goals of the year in the second half to ensure the win after 16th-seeded North Penn took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Juliamae Marger with 11 seconds to play in the first half. The victory boosted North Penn's record to 12-5.

As the top seed, Central Bucks South (15-1) drew a first-round bye.

The Golden Hawks had trouble mounting a consistent offense, especially in the first half, and ended their season with a 12-7 record.

The Hawks, playing good defense, thwarted North Penn on four offensive corners in a six-minute stretch early in the game but missed a big opportunity to score at the 18-minute mark.

Alexis Carroll's shot on a wide-open goal from about 10 yards out went wide of its mark.

North Penn outshot the Hawks, 21-4.

"We made quite a few defensive saves," Hawks coach Lisa DeFeo said. "But North Penn made some good decisions and we didn't react. We've come back from deficits, so I wasn't worried about their first goal."

Asked whether getting a goal on Carroll's shot might have made a difference in the game, DeFeo shrugged. "Converting that might have made a difference, but it doesn't always happen."

Marger's goal, which proved to be the winner, came after three consecutive offensive penalty corners - the first with about two minutes to play in the half.

Council Rock South   0 0 - 0

North Penn   1 2 - 3

Goals: NP-Bobby Dougherty 2, Juliamae Marger.

Saves: CRS-Kelly Schlupp 11. NP-Shannon Keen 3.