Girls Soccer: Gamber, Penncrest slip past Pope John Paul, back into district final

MIDDLETOWN >> The evolution of the Penncrest girls soccer team, with nine starters returning from its PIAA Class 3A qualifier a season ago, has been necessarily and beneficially gradual.

As the core has gained a year of experience without a direct heir to playmaking engine Gia Martyn, the Lions have adapted, piling on nuance to complement the quantum leap of Corryn Gamber’s transformation from authoritative central midfielder to an attention-demanding center forward.

And those changes have the Lions reascending the heights of the last campaign.

Gamber’s goal in the fifth minute Monday stood up, the third-seeded Lions resolutely withstanding extended stretches of attack by Pope John Paul II in a 1-0 win in the District 1 semifinal.

Penncrest (18-1) returns to the district final, where it awaits the winner of Tuesday’s semi between top-seeded Villa Joseph Marie and No. 4 Lower Moreland, postponed by wet field conditions Monday. Villa Joseph Marie trounced Penncrest, 4-0, in last year’s final.

Penncrest also secured one of the district’s two PIAA bids.

The fact that Gamber scored, her 22nd marker of the season, wasn’t the full measure of change from last year. But the setup was. Making one of dozens of diagonal runs at the defense, Gamber selected the proper path and found a ball arrowed in by right back Katie Sparling. Gamber took a touch to draw out goalkeeper Stacy Kormos before depositing into the back of the net.

That link between the back and the forward line has defined Penncrest’s stingy ways. Both Sparling and left back Kenna Kaut aggressively step into the attack and to cut out early balls in midfield. The calculation, even if an opponent occasionally leaks into space behind them, is that the degree of difficulty on the pass that would unlock the acreage is so high as to be not worth it. And cunning center backs Sarah Hughes and Shayna Polsky have the speed to intercept anything but a perfect pass.

“That’s why we try to push up and that’s why we try to draw them outside so that they’re not going into the middle,” Sparling said. “But when they come around, I’m very confident in Sarah and Shayna to get back and drop in, and then I’ll just drop in for them. I’m very confident in them.”

More than purity of style, the outside backs’ contributions cover for the youth in the center of the park. Polsky started the year in central midfield but dropped to defense when All-Delco defender Carly Dunford suffered a season-ending knee injury against Conestoga. The switch leaves the midfield Mullaney trio of the 4-3-3 to prioritize pressure to the ball and winning tackles over possession. That trait allows the backline to sit deep and absorb pressure, creating the illusion of space that the back four quickly clamp down on.

“As a holding mid, I usually try to switch the field and play balls over the top,” Pope John Paul’s Avery Cotter said. “But I couldn’t do that. I tried one and it got headed by them because they’re so deep. So we couldn’t do that. What we had to do was switch the field and build it up and have our central striker check to the ball and her do one-touch out wide and give-and-go’s.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

Penncrest’s Corryn Gamber, right, runs at Pope John Paul II’s Lainey Owens Monday. Gamber scored the only goal in a 1-0 Penncrest win in the District 1 Class 3A semifinal. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)