Zach Davis Knocks in the Game Winner vs D West

MALVERN — Great Valley field hockey continues to be a thorn in the side of Downingtown West.



The No. 3 Patriots put together another scrappy effort on Friday, defeating the visiting sixth-seeded Whippets 2-1, in a District 1 Class AAA quarterfinal game.



"It feels great," said Great Valley coach Joe Tornetta. "We had doubters and naysayers wondering if we could get the job done. Well we got it done today."



The win advances the unbeaten Patriots (18-0) to the semifinals, where they will face No. 2 C.B. South on Nov. 4, at a site and time to be determined. More important, the vcitory gives Great Valley . a PIAA Class AAA state tournament berth, its first since the Pats captured the state title in 1979.



"It is incredibly exciting," said Great Valley's Zach Davis. "We really wanted this and especially against Downingtown. It's the best feeling."



The Whippets' season is not yet over. They will face seventh-seeded Pennsbury in the consolation bracket, with the winner advancing to states.



"The team is very upset about losing," said Downingtown West's Stef Pirri. "We were pumped up coming into the game and played well. It was just some minor mistakes that killed us."



Looking to avenge a 3-2 loss to Great Valley in the Ches-Mont League championship game, Downingtown West (18-4) came out firing on all cylinders. However, the early pressure didn't result in goals. At 24:48 of the first half, a muffed Whippets' corner landed on the sticks of the Patriots, who quickly wheeled up the field on an odd-man rush. Patriots' forward Eryn Drabick got the ball to Emily Hager, who tapped it just outside the goal mouth. Rachel Orlow jumped on the loose ball, pushing it past Liz Coyne (eight saves) for the 1-0 lead.



"We came alive when we needed to and we got it done," said Tornetta. "They came out and took it to us a bit but we had a positive finish."



The opening goal set the Whippets back, but didn't slow them down. At 18:34, Pirri blasted a shot from the top of the circle, cleanly beating Christina Heston (five saves) to tie the game at one. It was Pirri's sixth goal in three playoff games.



"They are one of the best teams we have seen all year," said a frustrated Pirri. "I don't know what happened to us today. We were doing some good things and were really dominating at points. Our defense just came apart at the wrong times."



Both team's chipped and fought for every yard, but with 4:46 remaining, Great Valley turned the tide for good.



After in-bounding a corner in the Downingtown zone, G.V.'s Cara Hobson managed to center the bouncing ball past a defender to a waiting Davis, who pounded it in for the winning score.



"I don't remember the exact details because the ball bounced around a lot," said Davis, who also scored the game winner in the Ches-Mont championship game. "The pass landed right on my stick, it was perfect. I got my stick on it and put it between the goalie and the post.



"The game was frustrating at times for us but we came to win. And no matter what, we were going to do what it took to make that happen."



Great Valley 2, D'town West 1



Downingtown West goals: Pirri.



Great Valley goals: Davis; Orlow.



Goalie saves: Coyne (DW) 8; Heston (GV) 5.