The 2011 PAISAA Girls' Soccer Champions
For the second consecutive match, the varsity girls' soccer team avenged an early season loss to win their PAISAA tournament match on Thursday, November 10, 2011. In the semi-final on Tuesday, the girls beat Germantown Academy in penalty kicks to advance to the finals, a decisevely different result than the 5-1 loss the girls suffered at GA on September 17. The PAISAA final against Episcopal Academy, the only other team to beat the girls this season, was much less nerve-wracking as the girls cruised to a 4-0 victory courtesy of first half goals from Mary Edwards '12 and Sara Graham '13 and second half goals from Lizzie Sullivan '12 and Deanna Mayza '13. Hill improved to 17-2-1 (4-0 MAPL) with the victory, and has won 14 consecutive matches since a 3-0 loss at Episcopal on September 24.
According to head coach Ryck Walbridge, the difference between the team in September and the team now is simple: team chemistry.
"We were a team (today)," Walbridge said in an interview for The Pottstown Mercury with Dennis Weller. "We played them really early in the season and we weren't a team yet. We have good players. They've been playing well. It's all about being a whole unit."
Goalkeeper Julia Hernan '15 made eight saves and recevied great support from the strong defensive unit of Shannon '12 and Megan '13 Ruane, Emily Sitko '13 and Courtney Logar '15 to record Hill's 10th shut-out of the season.
The girls' conclude their season on Saturday, November 12 against arch-rival Lawrenceville. A win or a tie against the Big Red would give Hill its second consecutive girls' soccer MAPL championship. The match kicks off at 1:30 p.m. at Lawrenceville.
The varsity boys' soccer team dropped their PAISAA Championship match 2-0 to a Haverford School team that has been ranked in the top 15 in the nation for much of the season. Despite the loss, Hill played a much more competitive match against the 'Fords than in the previous meeting between the teams, a 4-0 Haverford victory on September 10.
"They've been ranked in the top 15 in the country all season for a reason," said head coach Chris Drowne '89 in an interview with Weller. "The first time we played them, they took us apart. Today we made them play at as high a level as they're capable of playing."
The loss snapped Hill's 12 match unbeaten streak and dropped the team's record to 15-4-1 (4-0 MAPL) on the season. A win against Lawrenceville on Saturday would clinch the MAPL Championship for Hill and help ease the sting of the PAISAA Championship loss. Both Hill and Lawrenceville are 4-0 in the MAPL, making Saturday's match a "winner take all" for the MAPL.