Monday games can be so unpredictable as anxious coaches are left to wonder how their team will show up after the weekend. The PHS field hockey staff had an additional concern as today was the first time their team had a home game directly after school and were forced to navigate the later dismissal time since moving to later school start times. Sounds like no big deal, but it is and made for a super rushed warm up in preparation for facing CB East. The Falcons were entering the game riding the wave of a three game winning streak the week before and were looking to make it four in a row. They did not know what to expect from East this season, but they did know that it is always an extremely tight game with them no matter what. The Pennsbury captains won the toss and chose direction, which gives the ball to East at the start for the first half. The Patriots wasted no time to attack and earned a penalty corner in the first two minutes. The Falcons defense denied the opportunity, but it was a wake up call that it was time to get to work. The entire first quarter was back and forth with both teams missing chances in the circle and some close calls in the defensive ends. The first buzzer rang and the score was locked at 0-0 perfectly reflecting the even match up across the board. The Falcons changed that in the first five minutes of the second quarter. "The events leading up to the first goal began with a transfer from the right to the left side of the field," explains coach, Traci Curtis. "Payton Worth sent the ball out of the transfer for Ryan Burdette to pick up and Burdette did just that and earned a free hit. She sent the ball to midfielder, Leila Curtis, who continued the progress upfield with a long ball to Abby Iacona. Iacona drew defenders and dumped out wide to Mallory Harrison who reversed it straight into the circle. Iacona made a great cut to meet the ball on pads, got a deflection around the goalie and Regan Rodriguez finished with a tap into the goal on the right side." Curtis emphasizes, "It was a great series of connections, communication, and everyone contributing to the goal by doing their specific job." "Regan Rodriguez has come in clutch for us on the right and is playing consistently strong field hockey. Mallory Harrison does whatever she is asked to do and is super versatile for us in the moment. Leila Curtis gets the job done in the midfield with great distributing and feeding while Worth, Burdette, and Iacona take everything to the next level." The Falcons took the lead 1-0 and were starting to get into a groove, dominating possession in the second quarter with amazing passing combinations up both sidelines. But all it takes is one moment and the game can change. "With 30 seconds left in the second quarter, East got a free hit coming into their attacking circle. They passed the ball back the mandatory five yards and their player shot it right to goal from the outside. A Falcons defender tightly marking her girl (who was looking to tip the ball) got her stick into the play to break it up, but it ended up deflecting into the goal and just like that it was a tie game going into the half," Curtis explains. "This was our game to lose. We were dominating possession and getting chances with attacking penalty corners," Curtis said. "It was obvious that this game was going to come down to one play." The score remained deadlocked 1-1 going into the fourth. And one play it was. On the Falcons' 12th penalty corner of the game, with about 30 seconds left in regulation, Abby Iacona took a reverse stick shot that catapulted off of her stick from just inside the circle and slammed into the far corner of the goal to put them up 2-1. The Patriots didn't mess around, they came down the field with force and almost tied it up again as the game clock ticked down to only seconds remaining, but goalie, Abby McCole and her defense did not allow anything to happen. "East played an incredible game and forced us to stay on our toes from start to finish," complimented Curtis. "It is always a great game when we face each other during the season and today was no different. The teams challenged each other on both sides of the ball and it was really fun to watch." That is four wins in a row for the orange and black taking them to 6-1 overall. They are set to host Upper Dublin on Wednesday at Falcon Field.