Central Bucks South’s Lucy Keane scored twice in the first half, and Khloe Montini added another to lead the Titans to a 3-0 win over rival CB West on a drizzly Wednesday evening.
For South head coach Dana Cole, a quick start was essential for regaining some of the momentum from last season’s run through the 4A district and state playoffs that ended in the state final. Last weekend, South opened the season with a 1-0 win against a gritty West Chester Henderson team then came from behind to tie West Chester Rustin 2-2.
“We’ve been coming out flat, and we’ve been getting scored on and having to come back from being down,” she said, “we had to switch our formation to make sure that we’re generating more offense, using the whole field.”
Last season, West won the first meeting 2-1 by asserting their style, something Cole wanted to change straight away. “Today, we played our game, and that’s why we were able to capitalize.”
South controlled the game early with some crunching tackles and outstanding hold up play from striker Charlotte Manley, attacking West down the wings. Montini nearly put South on the board five minutes into the game on a solo run from midfield that took her deep into the penalty area with a burst of speed, but she pulled her shot wide of the far post. A minute later, Manley broke free down the right off the dribble and smashed a shot to the near post that beat West keeper Avery Jones but not the woodwork. The ball rebounded favorably to Keane in front of goal, and the senior midfielder made not mistake putting the ball into the back of the net.
Three minutes later, South doubled their lead with another solo run from Manley, this time beating two defenders around the left side. Her strike hit the target, and Jones made the initial save, but Montini crashed the net and tapped in the rebound.
Gaining a grip on the game, South continued to attack the flanks with defender Tenley Rogers making several dynamic runs down the left, combining with Manley and Montini, but the Titans were unable to convert. In the 24th minute, Manley got in behind the West defense down the right, and her cut back to Keane took a high bounce off the turf before Keane sailed her shot high.
Despite absorbing much of the pressure, West contained South’s attack for the duration of the half until Keane struck again in the final minutes. Following another combination through the midfield, Keane pulled up from twenty-five yards out and sent a dipping shot that beat Jones high and stretched the side netting to give South a commanding 3-0 lead.
West entered the second half with more bite going forward, and five minutes in, Sophie Borgmann had a good look at goal from a corner that South cleared away following a scramble in front of goal. Four minutes later, Manley made another run down the left side, this time cutting into the box past her defender, but her shot missed the near post by inches.
Fifteen minutes into the half, West nearly broke free when Ella Barrett raced toward goal, but defender Peyton Karpinski made a sliding challenge to deny Barrett from getting a shot off. As West relied on counters set pieces to pull a goal back, they couldn’t find the final touch around goal, while South continued to press for a third. In the 57th minute, Manley split the West defenders again, but keeper Annabel Witt stopped her low shot with a fine kick save, and Gigi Artman had a volley off a corner shortly after that just missed the far post.
As both teams changed players throughout the final ten minutes to get fresh legs into the game, West began to create more opportunities. Addison Herman had a challenging volley from around the penalty spot that she pushed wide then Borgmann and Nora Scribner had shots from distance that reserve keeper Grace Depman saved to preserve the clean sheet.
Manley was a standout performer for the Titans, creating a majority of the team’s opportunities by breaking down the West defense off the dribble or through combinations. The junior striker earned ECNL All-Conference this season with her club team FC DELCO and recently announced her verbal commitment to the University of South Florida.
“Charlotte just makes things happen,” Cole said, “Our first two goals were follow-up shots from something that Charlotte generated, that popped out. Instead of running away, we put it in the back of the net.”
CB South will prepare for their next match against Springside Chestnut Hill Academy on Friday, but with league games against CB East and Pennridge looming, Cole wants to keep her team in the present. “Trying to take it one game at a time and making sure I keep them focused because yesterday we had a strong practice, and we came out strong.“
CB West will be back in action against Pennridge early next week.
