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GIRLS SOCCER: Sibling Rivalry Takes on the Pitch, Springside Chestnut Hill Tops Archbishop Wood

By Cole Nowak, 09/17/21, 4:30PM EDT

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Blue Devils offensive attack looks locked and loaded for another great season.

By: Cole Nowak

PHILADELPHIA – It is not every day when a brother and sister have the opportunity to square-off with one another on the playing field. Coach Maria Kosmin and Springside Chesnut Hill (SCH) played host to her brother, Tom DeGeorge’s squad from Archbishop Wood, last Thursday where Kosmin came out on top in the sibling rivalry 3-1.

“We were at dinner with each other the night before, it is just competitive. We all know each other, and he coaches a lot of girls on my team and has known them for a lot of years.  It’s fun, we are family but when we come here it is completive and we want to win. Wood is going to be one of the best teams in the Catholic league, so I am happy we had the opportunity to play them in order to give our team a hard time,” said Kosmin.

SCH’s offensive attack was creating opportunities from the outset, controlling the time of possession for a majority of the first half but Wood would stay steady on the defensive end limiting prime scoring opportunities. The Blue Devils would get on the board in the 17th minute on a gorgeous shot from 30 yards out by senior midfielder Lauren Sullivan.

“We know a lot of people on their team, and they know a lot on ours. I think today they knew what players we were trying to get the ball to. What was effective for us was the attackers that they did not know stepped up to the plate and did exactly what needed to be done. Coach Maria always emphasizes that there is no drop off between our starters to bench players,” said senior All-American watchlist and Syracuse commit Maya McDermott.

SCH Coach Maria Kosmin and Wood Coach Tom DeGeorge talk about their programs & friendly rivalry:

The second half yielded the same result. The Blue Devils continued to apply immense pressure on the Viking defense, finding the back of the net two more times to widen the margin. The Vikings would not lay down and gave the SCH defense a test in the game’s final minutes. Ava DeGeorge would find the back of the net to put the Vikings on the board, but it would be a little too late as the games scoring would stall there.

“I was proud of us for finishing to the end, when you are down 1-0 and they get the 2nd and 3rd goal it is difficult in the last 10 minutes when you have been chasing the ball the entire game,” said Wood head coach Tom DeGeorge.

Senior Maya McDermott talks about SCH's offensive strategy facing a familiar opponent:

Wood senior Alyssa DeGeorge was proud of the way the Lady Vikings battled until the final whistle:

It was a bit of a homecoming for Tom DeGeorge, as he served as his sister’s assistant coach for the Blue Devils for two seasons before landing the head coaching job with the Vikings. His time with Springside ended with a state championship being hoisted in 2017.

“We coached together for two years and the second year we won the state final for the first time ever for SCH. Coming from an aunt’s perspective, I have two nieces on Wood, a senior and sophomore and everyone knows how important they are in my life. To see what he is doing at Wood and how much they are impacting the team he built, it is fun memories to compete against them,” said Kosmin.

“When I coached here, Maria was great. We would drive together every day and stop at Dunkin Donuts. To win a state championship here was great and I have taken that to Wood in an attempt to build a great program and be successful,” said coach DeGeorge.

Kosmin and the Blue Devils came out on top in this bout, but I wouldn’t overlook what coach DeGeorge is building with the Vikings. For now, Kosmin has the family bragging rights.

SCH coach Maria Kosmin talks about what clicked offensively and addresses her talented program that's remained undefeated:

Wood Coach Tom DeGeorge says his team goal are to get back to the PCL Final and make a deep run in the state tournament: