Photo courtesy of Carl Gulbish
When champion meets champion, fireworks can be expected.
Defending PIAA 4A champs CB East and District 1 champions Pennridge delivered a show Wednesday night in their first league matchup of the 2026 girls soccer season. Mackenzie Peters and Quinn Reilley scored just over a minute apart late in the second half to break a 3-3 tie and lead East to a 5-3 victory.
Over the last seven years, East and Pennridge have won a combined total of eight district and state championships. East also won the district trophy in 2024 and Pennridge earned a district-state cup double in 2023.
The win put CB East (7-0-1, 4-0 SOL) firmly on top of the competitive SOL Colonial division, while Pennridge fell to 3-2 after losing their second-straight game this week against top division opposition.
Two days after beating state finalist CB South, East came out and asserted control of the game by attacking the flanks through Mia Forney on the right and Taylor Roumy on the left. Roumy broke the game open four minutes in when Peters hit her in stride after a Pennridge giveaway and, the East forward slotted the breakaway past Pennridge goalie Liv Buckman to take the early lead.
The state champions kept their momentum going, and in the 10th minute doubled their lead. Forney and Mattie Williams combined down the right, and Williams looped a ball from near the sideline that sailed over Buckman and into the far corner.
East continued to pressure the Pennridge back line with another chance from Roumy and a long distance strike by Kiera Sleicher that missed the mark high, but the Rams began to grow into the game and create some chances of their own. Mim Foster-Swartley got free at the back post on a Mikayla Loux corner but couldn’t find the frame with her header. Then, a minute later, Kenzie Metzler hit Kylie Manville on the break, and Manville’s shot from distance skipped past East keeper Maddie Thompson and into the net to pull Pennridge back into the game.
The Rams responded with an emotional boost for the next couple of minutes until East regained control and established possession again. Five minutes after conceding, East almost extended their lead when Sleicher drove a free kick into the box that Reilley took out of the scrum and snapped a shot that Buckman saved with quick reflexes. With just under ten minutes to play in the half, Williams dribbled out of traffic and laid a pass off to Roumy, who tested Buckman from distance.
Sleicher put her stamp on the game in the final minutes of the first half with a golazo from the top of the box to give East a 3-1 lead. Rylie Leedy relieved the pressure from another bout of East possession and hit Sleicher with a pass twenty-five yards from goal. Sleicher took two touches to split three Pennridge defenders then sent a cracker into the top corner, leaving Buckman no chance. Sleicher now has goals in three-straight games.
After the half, Pennridge came out on the offensive and stunned the hosts with two goals inside the first ten minutes.
Loux’s corner bounced around the box and was kept alive by pressure from Jaylin Matusek, and Peyton Rabinowitz pounced on the ball at the top of the six to beat Thompson. The Rams pinned the hosts back again ten minutes later, and Rabinowitz then set up Georgia Moyer in front to tie the game at 3-3
For several minutes following the goal, Pennridge continued to pressure fifty-fifty balls and drive forward, carrying their emotional intensity, but East settled down and started to regain their edge. In the 61st minute, Forney beat her defender around the right side and found Peters cutting in front of goal. Peters’ first-timer hit Buckman at the near post, and the Pennridge defenders steered the ball away to safety. A minute later, Peters slipped a through-ball to Ella Roumy, but Buckman came out fast and closed down the tight angle. Three minutes later, Taylor Roumy dribbled around the left side and ripped a shot that hit the outside of the upper corner, missing by inches.
The winner from Peters came two minutes later after Ella Roumy made a surging run through the middle and split the center backs with a perfect ball into the box. Peters timed her run and got onto the pass just before Buckman’s challenge and beat the Rams keeper for the 4-3 lead.
Right after the restart, East stormed back down the field again, and Reilley took a cross off the hop and tapped it over Buckman for the insurance goal. In the game’s final minutes, East kept possession in the Rams’ end and created enough chances to prevent another comeback.
Pennridge head coach Lucas Kriner drew some positives from the loss, especially the way he team battled to start the half and get back into the game. “That second half was really special up until the two other goals we conceded,” he said after the game. “I think we felt like we ran with them. We’re not going to say it’s a moral victory, but we’re going to say that there were moments of this game where we had them on their heels, and we should be proud of that.”
Despite the losses this week, playing against two quality opponents in one of the toughest leagues in the state, Kriner looks forward to the return legs for a chance for a different result.
“As long as we keep improving, the expectation for our program is we like to be at the top of this league, and we can be there if we continue to level up and play like we did tonight.”
Since 2019, Pennridge has won 4 district titles and 2 state titles, the most successful run of any SOL team in recent years. Next week, they’ll host CB South and North Penn and hope to get back on track.
Currently, East remains the team to beat, and tonight’s performance displayed many qualities of an experienced team defending a state title but also a team adjusting in the early season to being everyone’s target.
“We made a meal out of the game, which is a shame,” CB East coach Jake Nesteruk said after the game about letting their opponent back into the game. “They’ve got a great program history. They’re going to give you a good game. I think we learned a lot about ourselves, and yeah, we made it harder, but I’m really thrilled for the kids to show their discipline and to stick with it and stay focused and earn a result.”
East, ranked No. 3 in the latest United Soccer Coaches national poll, displayed an even more balanced attack than in previous games, picking up goal contributions from multiple players, something Nesteruk thought was huge for his team. “We were so much of a threat going forward that it felt like every time we touched the ball we could score.” Though Forney, Sleicher, and Roumy all played a large role in the game, having additional players step up will make it even more difficult for teams to use focused presses or double teams to slow down East’s big three.
“I’m really thrilled to see Mackenzie Peters get that go-ahead goal, and then Quinn Reilley has been working so hard for that one to finally drop, it’s really good to see that one go for her as well.”
East will have another big district test on Saturday when they host Conestoga. East ended Conestoga’s season last year in the first district playback and has won every game since.
