"It was a beautiful cross from Carly Pickford, and I had the best feeling when I saw the ball go in."
The Bucks fell to 3-7 overall and 2-6 in the conference despite outplaying the Maidens (9-3, 8-3) for a good portion of the game. The Bucks defense kept North Penn scoreless for all but the final five seconds of the first half.
Then, the Maidens' Michelle Holweger hit a free ball from the 30-yard line and Pickford managed to put it on her stick and notch the first goal.
The Bucks ended up outshooting North Penn, 6-3, and had a 5-2 edge in corners in the first half but couldn't put the ball in the cage. West goalie Jessica Meisinger turned away five shots in the half.
The Bucks picked up their pace in the second half, outhustling the Maidens and keeping the ball in the North Penn half of the field most of the time. With 7 minutes, 51 seconds to go in regulation, Heather Zezzo tied the score.
By then, the Bucks were dominating play. They had a pair of offensive penalty corners within three minutes before Zezzo's goal.
Less than two minutes later, Zezzo fired another shot on goal, but Meisinger-McDonald made another of her 13 saves in the game.
"We did not play well, especially in the second half," Marger said. "Fortunately, we worked hard in the overtime."
The Bucks had two corners in final three minutes of the game but failed to score.
"We dominated in the second half," West coach Alison Stone said, pointing to the 29 shots her team had in the game. "Against Quakertown, we had 50 shots but only got three goals. It's frustrating as a coach. It's not that we're playing poorly. We just can't seem to score."
Before the 7-on-7 overtime, North Penn coach Carrie Jankowski talked with her coaches to decide what the team's strategy would be.
"We had quite a discussion as to who to put out there," the coach said. "We played well in the overtime."
The Maidens need wins over Central Bucks South (Thursday) and Souderton (Oct. 14) to keep their title hopes alive.
"This is the strongest conference [in the Suburban One],"" Jankowski said. "We're going to need some help, but I think we have a shot at the district playoffs.
North Penn 1 0 1 – 2
Central Bucks West 0 1 0 – 1
Goals: NP-Carly Pickford, Juliamae Marger; CBW-Heather Zezzo.
Saves: NP-Shannon Keen 6; CBW-Jessica Meisinger 13.
Contact staff writer Don Beideman at 267-815-0733 or dbeideman@phillynews.com.
