They got off to a fast start.
But they couldn’t sustain it.
The Quakertown field hockey team saw its season come to an end in Monday’s opening round of the District One Class 3A tournament with a 5-2 loss to Spring-Ford at Quakertown’s QNB Field.
The first quarter was fast and furious.
The Panthers, seeded 15th in the tourney, took an early lead less than three minutes into play, capitalizing on the first penalty corner of the evening and scoring on their first shot on goal. Alex Bevan-Xenelis scored on a ball from Kiera Gallagher.
The 18th seed Rams tied it up about five minutes later, also on a corner but with 2:22 to go, Quakertown again took advantage of a corner. Gallagher scored with an assist from Casey Rosenberger.
But again, Spring-Ford put in the equalizer a minute later on another corner, so the period ended with the score knotted at 2-2.
Spring-Ford took a 3-2 lead into halftime, and converted on the second of two penalty strokes awarded in the third quarter. The Rams scored on a corner with 7 to go in the fourth for the final tally.
“It’s disappointing to lose but I think we really came far as a team and really built ourselves up,” said Gallagher, a junior midfielder who also runs the 800 meters for the track team.
“We really improved from the beginning of the season and I think that’s something to be proud of. It’s something to look forward to next year, that we can keep building it up. We’re losing a lot of good people but we also have good people coming back so I think we’ll be pretty good next year.
“We want to make it past the first round next year.”
Gallagher has already committed to play field hockey at Kutztown, where she will major in special education.
This is Quakertown’s second consecutive postseason appearance after an extended playoff drought.
“It was nice for us to score first and get the energy going right away,” said Quakertown junior center back Megan Roth, who also plays lacrosse. “They got it back but then we got it a second time and it was nice to know that we still had the energy to keep going and not give up.
“We knew they were going to be a tough team to play and it would be hard to win. We knew we had to come out and play as a team and I think we did that.
“We did a great job passing and that’s something we can bring into next year. We bonded a lot more this year than we did last year and it definitely showed.”
After opening the season 0-3, Quakertown ends the year 10-7-2 overall.
“We struggled in the beginning of the season,” said Bevan-Xenelis, a senior midfielder. “I’m so proud of how we played together and got to the playoffs for the second year in a row. I feel like we’ve proven that we belong here.”
She will continue her playing career at Wingate in North Carolina, where she plans to major in sports management.
In other Class 3A first round games, No. 17 Council Rock South defeated No. 16 Plymouth Whitemarsh, 2-1.
All of the scoring occurred in the fourth quarter. The Golden Hawks took a 1-0 lead on a corner when Megan Rafter deflected a shot from Breanna Gable into the cage.
The Colonials evened it up less than two minutes later, but with 4:11 remaining in regulation, Kylee Hager netted the winner for the visiting Golden Hawks.
Central Bucks South, the 20th seed, fell to No. 13 Kennett, 2-0, but the Titans can look back on the 2022 campaign with pride. CB South was not a sure bet to make the playoffs, but the Titans went 4-1-1 in the final two weeks of the regular season to push into the postseason.
Kennett had a 5-4 advantage in penalty corners and both teams took eight shots on goal. CB South goaltender Emma Kraft made six saves.
CB South ends the season 9-8-2.
In Class A action, third seed Faith Christian defeated sixth seed Villa Joseph Marie, 6-3, in the first-ever postseason appearance by the Faith, which is in its first season as a varsity program.
Gracie Longacre had a hat trick for Faith, while Greta Peper, Dani Burns and Amaly Klock each contributed a single tally.
The Lions (10-4) travel to second seed Dock Mennonite (15-3), which had an opening-round bye, in the semifinals on Thursday at 7 p.m.
New Hope-Solebury, the Class A top seed, had an opening-round bye. The Lions (16-2) will host fifth seed Pope John Paul II (11-7-1), a 1-0 winner over fourth seed Jenkintown, in the semifinals on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Thursday’s winners are guaranteed a berth in the PIAA regional qualifier with District 12 and will play in the district title game on Tuesday at Springfield (Montco) at 3:30 p.m.
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