FIELD HOCKEY: Early goals by Walsh, Fisher help Methacton upend Souderton and reach district semifinals for first time since 2021

WORCESTER — In field hockey, penalty corners can be a team’s best friend. The higher-probability set pieces give offenses a leg up in putting the ball in the back of the cage, and come postseason time, any and all advantages must be exploited in the name of victory.

In Friday afternoon’s District 1-3A quarterfinal matchup against visiting No. 5 Souderton, the fourth-seeded Methacton Warriors inundated the Indians with corner after corner right out of the gate in the first quarter. Two of those corners yielded a pair of early goals courtesy of seniors Nicole Walsh and Calie Fisher that would more than hold up for the rest of the game. The Warriors, riding an ultimate 18-1 edge in corners, wore Souderton down with constant pressure near the Indians’ goal to the tune of a 3-1 victory that sent Methacton to the district semis for the first time since 2021.

Postseason success is not unfamiliar terrain for this program or its class of 13 seniors. This marked the sixth straight district quarterfinal appearance for Methacton, and the senior class has won a pair of Pioneer Athletic Conference championships and gone to the state tournament in each of the past three seasons. But something about this current group feels different, like it’s capable of more hardware than those that came before it. In 22 games this season, the Warriors have lost only twice and are riding the burgeoning belief that they can beat anybody that lines up in front of them, which in Tuesday’s semifinal will be top-seeded Villa Maria Academy, already the winner of two district games by seven-goal margins.

On Friday, it all started with the unrelenting pressure that led to so many chances in the Methacton (18-2-2 overall) offensive zone.

“Being dominant in our offensive 25 is the most important aspect of the game,” said Fisher, whose first-quarter tally gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead. “When you control the game that much it really brings the other team’s momentum down.

“Getting corner after corner pushes their motivation down and ours up to keep scoring. Corners are so important because you don’t always have that many opportunities. Our big thing is focusing on taking the opportunities we do have and making sure we execute.”

Methacton set up shop deep in Souderton’s zone and refused to budge for much of the game. With 9:11 left in the opening period, Adriana Hopple inserted a corner onto the stick of Lea DeWan, who took a straight shot at the net that Walsh was able to tip past the keeper into the cage for a 1-0 advantage. Less than three minutes later, Hopple sent another insert to Fisher, who converted the straight shot that doubled the lead to 2-0 with 6:14 on the clock.

“We practiced it,” Walsh said. “For their corners they set up in a box where the stroke is usually open, so our plan was a straight shot or a quick pass around to tip it in, and I just saw it wide open for a tip. This means so much to us and we’ve been looking forward to it. Every game we say to just win this quarter and let’s keep going slowly by winning each quarter before we think about the overall game.”

The second and third quarters proceeded without any goals, though Methacton kept the pressure on and piled up chance after chance. Souderton took its first and only penalty corner of the game in the fourth quarter, which was also about the time Methacton added to its lead when Ceci Rehak scored off an assist from Ally Mitchell with 13:35 left.

Souderton (16-4) avoided the shutout when Brooke Wagner slipped a shot past Methacton goalie Maddie McKenney with 11:11 remaining, but by then the damage was done. As consistent as Methacton’s offensive pressure was, the defensive intensity was equally as impressive. The Indians did not spend much time in the Warrior half of the field, and when they did not many meaningful offensive chances were generated.

“We knew they were going to be a strong team that would come out really hard, so as soon as they entered the 25 we talked about getting them right back out of it,” Walsh said. “Just channel them and play good defense without fouling so they don’t get any corners. That played a huge role in us staying calm, relaxed and able to control ourselves.”

Despite the setback, Souderton’s season did not end on Friday. Instead, the Indians will attempt to take the same path to states that Methacton took the past few years through playbacks. Souderton will host Garnet Valley on Tuesday, with a win sending the team to next month’s PIAA Tournament.

For Methacton, the stakes are higher now but the mission remains the same. Villa Maria has not lost in over a month, and most of their wins have not been particularly close. In fact, the Hurricanes were ranked third in the nation in the most recent national top 25 high school rankings released by MAX Field Hockey. Winning will be challenging, but doable; if the Warriors happen to lose, they will regroup for this dynamic senior group’s last stand in the state tournament.

No matter what, immense excitement and optimism lies ahead.

“We are just going to give it our all no matter what,” Walsh said. “We know it’s most of our last games, so we want to end as best as we can. We’ve been playing together for so long that we don’t want the season to end and are going to give it our all to keep it going.”

“We’re such a connected team,” Fisher added. “So as long as we play together, I think we’ll be fine.”