Saucon Valley sophomore goalie Audrey Holland once again came up big for the Panthers.
On a very windy Wednesday evening the Saucon Valley Lady Laxers again made the trip to Freedom High School. Last week, the Panthers held off a late Patriot run to hold on to a 12-10 victory in a driving rainstorm. This time Mother Nature brought bright skies and sunshine along with menacing 20 m.p.h. winds. This time the Panthers defeated the Patriots 16-9. With the victory the Panthers improved their record to 10-3. With the victory the Panthers solidified a lock on the District XI #1 seed for the upcoming tournament.
Panther freshman Salome Carr played great defense against the Lady Patriots.
It was a tight game as the Panthers and Patriots traded goals throughout the first four minutes of play. The Panthers benefitted from Katherine Naiburg’s quick score only :37 seconds into the game. Saucon also got net from Helen Kreschollek’s unassisted goal at 21:58. The Lady Patriots answered to knot the score 2-2 at 21:07.
Saucon Valley extended their lead as they scored back to back goals for the first time in the game. Maddie Zyck took a great pass from Maddie Stump and deposited it into the Freedom goal at 19:59. Then, :30 seconds later, “Battle-Kat” Naiburg drove hard toward the Freedom goal and finished in fashion to give her team a 4-2 advantage. Freedom kept battling and was rewarded at 16:42 with an Abby Rowan goal. Naiburg had the hot hand for the Panthers and scored again at 13:41 courtesy of a laser-pass provided by sophomore Siobhan Coakley. A little over a minute later Freedom scored again to keep it a tight contest with Saucon Valley having a 5-4 advantage.
Kat gets knocked down. Kat gets back up again. Nobody can keep her down!
The Panthers started to hit their stride. Freshman Camryn Zavacky took a great entry pass in the arc from Naiburg. Zavacky faked one way only to quickly pivot back the other and unleash a shot which hit its mark. Saucon extended their lead at 6:49 when Maddie Stump alertly hit Kiele Riefenstahl on the run who deposited a roller into the goal. Kat Naiburg, soon after, found the cutting Helen Kreschollek who finished for a score. With 6:32 remaining, the Panthers built an 8-4 lead
Saucon sophomore Brooke Riefenstahl makes the catch to start the attack.
Freedom was not done as Abby Rowan drove hard and placed a little jump shot at close range into the top shelf of the Panther goal. Saucon Valley would have the last words of the half though as Brooke Riefenstahl curled all the way around the Freedom goal and hit her own little jump shot. Then, with only :27 seconds left, Kiele Riefenstahl fed Kreschollek who was looking for the ball in the arc. Kreschollek caught, turned and fired for her third goal of the game. Saucon Valley looked good and led at halftime 10-5.
Lil ‘ol Kiele Riefenstahl getting a lot of attention deep in the offensive zone.
Goals were a little tougher to come by in the second half, but Camryn Zavacky got things going when she converted a pass from Kiele Riefenstahl into a point for the Panthers at 22:10. It wasn’t until 16:04 that Freedom was able to break through the Panther defenses and get a score. Naiburg again caught the cutter through the arc with a great pass. Maddie Zyck took Naiburg’s feed and buried it into the back of the net. Then with 14:23 remaining in the game Battle-Kat hit a sweet left-handed jumper as she crossed the face of the goal. Naiburg’s score at 14:23 gave the Panthers a 13-6 advantage.
The Panther midfielders were tough in slowing down Freedom’s transition to the attack.
Freedom scored the next two goals at 9:01 and 8:00 to cut the Panther lead to 13-8. However, at 6:31 Naiburg hit another crafty shot. This time she drove into the 8-foot arc area, spun away from the pressure to her left and then unloaded a bounce shot that hit home. “Mad-Dog” Stump followed at 5:28 when she went top-shelf off a free start. Zavacky also converted a free start into a Panther point when she immediately ripped a liner past the goalie. Freedom hit late with :38 seconds left to play to close out all scoring. Saucon Valley left Freedom with a 16-9 victory. The Saucon Valley Panthers earned their tenth win of the season with a good victory over a quality opponent.
Maddie Zyck passes to Maddie Stump as the Panthers keep possession and work the ball for a good shot.
Lady Panther Goal Scorers v. Freedom Patriots
- So. Katherine Naiburg (5)
- Jr. Helen Kreschollek (3)
- Fr. Camryn Zavacky (3)
- Jr. Maddie Zyck (2)
- So. Brooke Riefenstahl (1)
- So. Kiele Riefenstahl (1)
- Sr. Maddie Stump (1)
A pack of proud Panthers picking up their goalie after another solid performance.
UP NEXT: The 10-3 Saucon Valley girls’ lacrosse team will be back in action on Wednesday, May 10th when they travel to Moravian for a game that means very little to the Panthers in terms of playoff seedings. Saucon Valley has solidified their place as the Independent Division champions and have secured the #1 seed in the upcoming District XI tournament. Moravian Academy on the other hand is battling for position against Southern Lehigh and Allentown Central Catholic.
Good Luck Panthers, the Source is with you!
