Southeastern Pa. girls’ soccer notes

Owen J. Roberts will retire Kelsey Kramer's No. 17 jersey before its girls' soccer game against Methacton on Monday afternoon.

Kramer, who had her first varsity start last Wednesday afternoon, was critically injured in a one-car accident that evening and died Friday morning.

Kramer, a 16-year-old junior, had gone out to buy nail polish when she apparently lost control of her car and struck a tree in East Coventry Township.

"The girls cried for three days," said Wildcats coach Joe Margusity, who wasn't sure what to expect Monday when the team played its first game since the tragedy. "Kelsey was so excited about starting and went home to tell her parents."

Margusity received permission from the PIAA for team members to wear purple t-shirts with her number on them. Purple was Kramer's favorite color.

The Wildcats started slowly against Pottsgrove but finally came on for a 5-0 victory Monday in a Pioneer Athletic Conference game.

"I could see their anger and frustration [at the accident] finally coming out," the coach said. "The human spirit picks itself up. They could finally take a sip from the cup of life again."

The Wildcats scored three goals in a 10-minute span.

Margusity described Kramer, who also played club soccer for Coventry, as the "nicest kid, so full of life."

Margusity said the school community and the community at large have provided tremendous support to the players. The school had grief counselors on hand at Reading Hospital, where Kramer was taken after the crash. A scholarship in Kramer's honor is to be established at the school.

"Fortunately, the soccer team is real tight," said Margusity, whose team will wear purple head bands for the rest of the season.

Moves to pay off? Radnor coach Joe Caruolo has moved senior Natty Miller to an attacking position up front to add more punch to the team's offense. The Red Raiders scored just nine goals in their first nine games.

Caruolo pointed to his team's game against Garnet Valley in which the Red Raiders jumped out to a 2-0 lead but didn't score again and Garnet Valley scored three times in the final nine minutes to pull out a win.

"We had a challenge," he said. "We had to make a move."

Miller has scored seven goals, four in the Red Raiders' last four games.

With Moira Mahoney and Kristen Norden forming the backbone of the team, Caruolo says Radnor has a good shot at the District 1 playoffs.

Big game coming. Mark your calendars for Oct. 5. That's when unbeaten Strath Haven, ranked No. 1 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, and Conestoga, ranked third, will collide at Conestoga.

The teams feature some of the top players in the area. Gina DiTaranto leads a very sound Strath Haven squad, and Salena Williford paces a very athletic Conestoga side.

Because the Central League plays only one round of head-to-head games during the season, the league title could be on the line in this one.