It was a great way to kick off September at Falcon Field for Pennsbury's second game of the season. Coming off of a huge win against Truman, the orange and black were ready to face the Bensalem Owls, another Patriot division opponent. Using their "THE TIME IS NOW - No One Waits" mantra, Pennsbury set the tone right away by earning a penalty corner in the first four minutes. PHS did not convert on the corner opportunity, but did connect from the field two minutes later when Ryan Burdette took a shot on goal and Regan Rodriguez cleaned up the rebound and found the back of the cage. The Falcons went up 2-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter when Abby Iacona scored with an assist by Rodriguez. Pennsbury held the two goal lead through the second quarter, but could not get another one by Bensalem's brick wall of a keeper, Hailey Fricke, for the full 15 minutes. It was not for lack of trying or having opportunities - Fricke is a beast in the cage.
"Our forwards were pounding shots at the goalie and she just kept making saves. She came out to meet the ball, was agile and aggressive, and made our girls work really hard to add to the scoreboard," explained Pennsbury head coach, Traci Curtis.
A little more than halfway through the third quarter sophomore, Allie Fouss subbed in for the left forward and scored right away on a great pass from Iacona from the right. "Fouss literally ran onto the field straight to where she needed to be and put one past the keeper perfectly. Before the game I had actually practiced the execution of scoring on the left with Fouss and she applied it immediately, Curtis said. "That's what we love about these girls - they are sponges and so dedicated to being great. They work hard for the greater good."
The Falcons didn't let up and had momentum going into the fourth. Seven minutes in, Iacona shot a bullet at Fricke and sophomore, Lily Fanini grabbed the rebound and snuck it past the keeper making it a 4-0 game. Iacona iced the cake two minutes later with an assist from Ava Pinto to put PHS up 5-0. That scored held until the final buzzer.
"Pinto and Rodriguez are a great combo who communicate so well and work the right side of our field with strength and poise. They make a lot happen," said Curtis.
"Abby Iacona is an all around play maker - distributing, cutting, and putting the ball on cage with a lot of power," said Curtis of the stand out junior.
"Our defense is a solid unit who works well together. They took a risk and pushed up playing very offensively today and that is a style we will use throughout the season when we are able to apply it," Curtis explained.
"I have to give so much credit to the Bensalem goalie who was really fun to watch. We tallied 35 shots on goal and she saved 30 of them with strength and determination," said Curtis. "She forced us to get creative and continuously adjust the entire game."
Curtis adds, "Early season games are exciting as we meet up with each team and gain a better understanding of ourselves as a unit. We are still experimenting and discovering our chemistry. We love having unending strong combinations to use. We are moving forward one step at at time - moment by moment."
The Falcons will travel to Neshaminy on Thursday for an afternoon battle against the Skins.