Vincentian ends Bentworth’s season
Bentworth’s Rori Schrieber heads the ball during the first half of Bentworth’s WPIAL playoff match against Vincentian Academy during her freshman season in 2016.
Bentworth's Morgan Hawley works to gain control of the loose ball in the first half of Bentworth's match against Vincentian during the WPIAL Class A consolation match.
Bentworth's Hannah Roberts (5) works to get the ball away from Vincentian's Lauren Donnelly (29) in Bentworth's zone during the WPIAL Class A consolation match.
BALDWIN — The most successful season in the Bentworth girls soccer program ended Wednesday night with a 4-2 loss to Vincentian Academy in the WPIAL Class A third-place consolation match.
Moments after, coach Tyler Hamstra shared his thoughts.
“I thought it was a little uninspiring in the first half for both teams and once we woke up, it was 3-0,” he said. “We dug too much of a hole and I think (Vincentian) wanted it a little more tonight.”
Vincentian (15-3-2) took a 3-0 lead in the first half as Lauren Donnelly scored twice, with 24:21 and 21:40 to play before intermission, and CeCe Liguori added a tally with 13:58 to play before halftime.
Hamstra talked about Donnelly’s two goals in less than three minutes.
“That’s the game,” he said. “I thought we were capable of pulling a comeback but the third goal hurt.”
Just when it seemed that the young Bentworth team (17-3), with six freshmen starters, was done, it fought back.
Freshman Jocelyn Timlin took a 40-yard crossing pass from freshman Paige Marshalek and beat Vincentian junior goalkeeper Ella Kozel to make the score 3-1 with 3:41 to play in the half.
Rori Schreiber, another of the Bentworth freshman starters, scored with 32:59 to play in regulation when she rebounded a direct kick by Marshalek.
Bentworth had the momentum, but it could not tie the score despite peppering Kozel with six shots and constant pressure over the next 10 minutes.
With 11:21 to play, Vincentian sophomore Elizabeth Gorman scored on a breakaway goal off of a pass from Donnelly to give the Lady Royals an insurance goal that they ultimately would not need.
While the loss was still fresh for Hamstra and his young team, he pondered a question about a hypothetical.
If told before the season that the team would be ranked as high as second in the WPIAL, win the section, make the semifinals, and have the chance to play for a PIAA berth, would he have taken it?
“I would have taken it,” he said without hesitation. “This feels more like a disappointment than the (a 3-1 loss to Shady Side Academy in the WPIAL semis) but maybe we left everything mentally, physically and emotionally in that game.
“But I would have taken this season in a heartbeat before the season.”
Bentworth will return eight starters next season.