The ball seemed to escape unscathed, but it took Madison Hornig of Mount St. Joseph's (left) and Emily Rosenberger of Plymouth Whitemarsh a little while to recover from this collision. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

The Mount St. Joseph Academy offense clicked in a Saturday soccer match last weekend, when the host Magic overcame nearby non-league rival Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, 5-1.

The outcome was still in doubt early in the second half, when the Colonials cut a 2-0 MSJ halftime lead to a single point. Mount St. Joe pulled away late, finding the PW net three times in the last 24 minutes and ending the affair with five different goal scorers.

The Mount markers were distributed among seniors Paige Comtois, Regan Fitzgerald, and Angela Gervasi, junior Grace DiGiovanni, and freshman Madison Hornig. In goal, senior Kieran Glowacki limited the visitors to a single point by making 13 saves in the net.

With the win, Mount St. Joe evened up its overall record at 4-4, while remaining 2-3 within the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies.

The Magic split a pair of league games earlier last week, first beating Merion Mercy 4-0 on Tuesday, and then having that score turned around on them by Villa Maria two days later.

In Saturday's match, first-year Mount head coach Bill Naydan (a former assistant) said some improvements the Magic had been focusing on in practice were put into effect in a game situation.

"The last few practices," he related, "we've been talking about making sure we move the ball well, and that we're working quickly and with 100 percent intensity. I think that all came together today."

The Magic attacked from the outset, although their first corner kick, about five minutes in, came to naught. It was a different story with the next corner. The Magic didn't get a shot directly off of the restart, but they kept the ball in the vicinity of the 18 and kept it from being cleared upfield.

On a clinically precise play, Comtois gathered in the ball in the right side of the box and crossed it to the far post, where DiGiovanni was waiting to apply her noggin to the nugget. The Magic were on the board 11 minutes and 22 seconds into the contest.

Plymouth Whitemarsh then pushed up the field, seeking the equalizer. Mount senior Gwyn Manchester stopped a rush by Colonials junior Ali Diamond, and around the middle of the period PW had two corner kicks, although neither yielded a shot on goal.

At the other end the visitors' starting keeper, sophomore Haley Zygmunt, foiled the Mount on several shots, but the hosts would notch a second goal before the half was over. It came on an outside shot from the left flank by MSJ's Fitzgerald with only 1:34 on the clock.

The sun was emerging at this point, but the field and the ball were still wet from early morning showers, and after Zygmunt initially got her hands on Fitzgerald's ball, it slipped through her fingers and rolled into the cage.

Plymouth Whitemarsh almost trimmed the Mount's lead back to a single goal before halftime, though. The Colonials worked the ball up the field and in to junior Victoria Betterly just a few yards from the left post. She took a close-range shot, but MSJ's Glowacki had been able to scramble over in time to spoil this excellent opportunity for the visitors.

"She had a great game today," Coach Naydan said, "especially with that great save on a point-blank shot. I think learning under Charlotte Sands (a four-year starter in goal who just graduated) for three years helped her develop into a true varsity keeper."

The Colonials came out aggressively for the second half, and soon broke up the MSJ shutout. Trying to fend off an early attack, the Mount committed a hand ball violation inside the 18, and on the resulting penalty kick senior Ragan Ebersole drove a high shot past MSJ's Glowacki, making it 2-1.

Briefly, the momentum seemed to be with the Colonials as they tried for the tie, but before long Mount St. Joe seized the initiative. On a Comtois shot PW keeper Zygmunt almost lost her grip on the ball again, but this time held on. Around 15 minutes in, Zygmunt made another nice save, tipping a header by Gervasi wide of the goal.

The Mounties began to make their onslaught count with 23:27 remaining in the game, notching their first insurance goal. On a ball sent up from the midfield by Gervasi, Comtois dribbled past a defender and launched a shot that hit the right post. Unfortunately, PW's Zygmunt also hit the post while trying to save it.

Comtois tucked in the rebound of her own shot, and Zygmunt (five saves total) had to leave the game, yielding the cage to senior Morgan Jerin (three saves).

Five minutes later it was 4-1 as Hornig, the freshman, blasted the ball from out on the right wing into the far side of the goal.

Coach Naydan was happy to see his players spread the scoring around, and noted "We talked about winning as a team, and not trying to do too much individually."

One player who makes all the Mounties around her better is fourth-year starter Ashley Pyne, a skilled and tenacious midfielder who will sign with La Salle University. Gervasi has also made her college choice, opting for Ursinus College.

It was Gervasi who accounted for the final goal of Saturday's game with just 57 seconds remaining, heading the ball in off of a serve by senior classmate Julia Hawthorne.

Coach Naydan said that in addition to Glowacki's strong performance in goal, the Mount has benefitted from stalwart defensive play by senior Allie Carpenter and juniors Maddie Feeney and Deirdre Regan.

On Saturday Carpenter was a bit under the weather and was used sparingly, and junior regular Megan Prue was missing altogether.

Naydan noted, "That created more playing time for girls like Ella Patackis [a junior] and M.K. McDonough [a sophomore], and they came in and fitted in seamlessly."