Patriots top the Whippets

WEST GOSHEN — The Great Valley field hockey team faced its most trying test on Friday for the undisputed Ches-Mont League championship. And the patriots passed it with flying colors.



Off goals from Eryn Drabick and Zach Davis, the American Division winning Patriots recovered from an early deficit to defeat National Division champion Downingtown West, 2-1, at West Chester Henderson to take the league title, their first since 1983 before leaving the Ches-Mont.



"We knew coming in to this game that they (Downingtown West) have a lot of good, skilled kids and that we needed to do a good job of possessing the ball and turning our possessions into scoring opportunities to have a chance to win," said Great Valley coach Joe Tornetta.



"Downingtown came here to win the league championship and they are the team to beat. We're just little Great Valley trying to hang in there and our kids hung in there."



The hard-fought contest was just a primer of things to come for the two teams. The District 1 Class AAA playoffs begin on Monday with the number six-seeded Whippets (16-3 overall) hosting 27th-seeded Boyertown. Meanwhile, the No. 3 Patriots



(16-0) will have a first-round bye and will host either No. 14 Haverford or No. 19 Methacton on Oct. 8.



"This is just one step in a long journey," said Davis. "It feels great."



The Whippets began the contest with a bang. Just nine minutes into the game, senior Annie Comber buried a shot off the rush to give her team ane early 1-0 lead.



However, Great Valley didn't waver under the deficit -- it just became stronger and more aggressive. With 3:42 left in the opening half, Drabick countered the goal with one of her own, beating Whippets' goalie Liz Coyne (seven saves) off a corner, to lock the game at one at the half.



"These kids believe they can score," said Tornetta. "Getting the goal on the corner, just before the half, was huge for us. We have the confidence to know that we can score if we do what we're supposed to do."



Downingtown West came out of the half with intensity, forcing five corners and controlling the play. But the Whippets just couldn't capitalize.



"This was an intense game and we played hard," said Comber. "We just couldn't finish today. We had our chances but we just couldn't put away."



Downingtown West coach Liz Morrow was equally frustrated with the blown chances.



"My girls needed to execute and needed to finish," she said. "We had plenty of opportunities but there wasn't any finish. We need to be stronger in the circle and we need to score."



On the other side, the Patriots capitalized when it counted. At 14:48 in the second half, Colleen O'Malley took a shot from the top of a circle that was deflected by Davis and into the goal for a 2-1 Great Valley lead.



"Colleen had a nice drive in the center," Davis said. "I was able to tip it and when you can do that it usually goes in. "Downingtown was without a doubt the hardest team we've played this year. When you come into a game like this you always want to be more aggressive team and that was our plan from the beginning. Establish the passing game and control the game from there."



The second Great Valley goal was a heavy blow to the Whippets, who suddenly had little room to maneuver. The Patriots' aggressive style, mixed with an inability to be productive on hard-earned chances, caused Downingtown West to become visibly exasperated.



"We got frustrated and we let it get to us as the game progressed," said Comber. "We needed to just calm down and play our game. "We were able to win our league and that's something special, but losing today is a huge disappointment. We really wanted to win this."



Great Valley 2



Downingtown West 1



Downingtown West 1 0—1



Great Valley 1 1—2 Downingtown West goal: Comber. Great Valley goals: Drabick, Davis. Goalie saves: Coyne (DW) 7; Heston (GV) 8