PHILADELPHIA-  Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH) Blue Devils girls’ soccer would rely on a quick start in the beginning of the first and second halves to help secure an Inter-AC League home win against Germantown Academy, 4-1.

“I think once you get the first goal, there is always a little bit of relaxation and you start to get more comfortable playing your game,” Springside Chestnut Hill head coach Maria Kosmin said. “Even though we had early goals, once Germantown Academy came back and tied one to one, we did not panic and we still played our game.”

Less than five minutes into the contest, Ella Thomson crossed the ball over to Lida Goloveyko in front of Germantown Academy’s goal. Goloveyko gathered possession and scored fairly easily against a helpless goalkeeper.

Goloveyko, like her coach, agreed on the significance of scoring early and first.

“In general, the first goal is always important because it sets the tone,” Goloveyko said. “So, I think that was a big moment for us, especially after our last game; just to get our energy back up.”

Goloveyko was referring to their previous game, in which they lost 1-0 to Agnes Irwin School.

From an offensive perspective for SCH, the team stalled for the next 25 minutes and could not formulate strong attacks on net. The few opportunities they had would be called off due to offsides. But primarily, Germantown Academy was able to keep the ball on SCH’s side of the field, passing and possessing efficiently.

SCH would face adversity with 24 minutes left in the half, as Jess Kolecki blasted a shot from 20 yards out that just snuck under the crossbar and out of the reach of SCH goalkeeper, Gracyn Lee-Torchiana, tying the game at one.

At the 16-minute mark, SCH began to pick up the offense, forming a few attacks and keeping Germantown Academy’s defense on their heels as they often had to tap the ball out of play to kill any SCH drive they thought could be brewing. With nine minutes left, there was a loose ball in front of the net that Germantown Academy was able to clear right before a Blue Devil jumped on the ball.

SCH’s offensive push would ultimately be rewarded.

With five and a half minutes left in the half, the Blue Devils earned a corner kick. Cali Smith aired the kick on net which was deflected by GA’s goalkeeper and one-timed by Jillian Major with her right foot, giving SCH a 2-1 advantage at halftime.

“I just knew I had to get to the ball to get up another goal so we can get some more after,” Major said. “Once we get a goal, I feel like more keep on coming, and it is harder to defend [us].”

As it would turn out, Major’s goal would be the game winner. The Blue Devils would not look back after halftime, outscoring Germantown Academy 2-0 in the final forty minutes of the game.

Like the first half, SCH would add an early goal into the half, this time only having to wait a minute and twenty-eight seconds. Ryleigh Bakley put a cross on net from the right side around from the outside of the 18-yard penalty box. GA’s goalkeeper was unable to handle to ball due to the wet conditions, and the ball trickled in the side of the net, 3-1 SCH.

During the 25th minute, SCH pushed the ball passed midfield into GA territory. Abigail Udowenko had a brilliant cross to freshman Deus Stanislaus in front of the net, where she headed the ball easily past the goalkeeper.

Kosmin said it was nice to see her team execute on drawn-out plays, and she was not surprised at the success the Blue Devils had in following through and recording timely goals.

“The goals that we have, and some of the practices and finishing drills that we do… we do a lot of repetition,” Kosmin said. “So, in moments like that, when we do execute from the midfield, out wide, and the cross, that last piece is there.”

Kosmin emphasized that it all had to be there at once, otherwise you have nothing, and that’s where you might start wondering about a shot that went too wide, or one that hit the crossbar.

“If you do everything right and that last finishing piece is not there, you’re not going to win games,” Kosmin said.

SCH would continue to get shots on net, while Lee-Torchiana had several strong saves to keep GA at a one goal disadvantage for the duration of the match.

The Blue Devils knew GA would use their physicality to help influence the match, so Goloveyko knew how important it would be to play strong and attempt to match GA’s physicality to offset their opponent. They also knew how important it was to defeat GA, since they did not want to have a 2-game skid against Inter-AC League teams. As a result, SCH dominated possession and field position for most of the second half.

“We focused on winning every 50/50 ball that we could. That was a huge focus for us going into the game in general but especially the second half,” Goloveyko said. “I think the mindset of being more physical and trying to get the ball really kept it in their half the rest of the game.”

After losing their last match against Agnes Irwin, facing the physicality GA brought, and doing the little work, Kosmin attributes SCH’s commanding win against GA to being able to overcome those obstacles.

"We knew coming in that GA was a very physical team and I know they can score goals from 20, 30 out, which is what they did,” Kosmin said. “Rebounding from the loss against Agnes Irwin… I think the girls did not like the way that felt… so no matter what your size, no matter what your age, doing the dirty work to get the ball on the ground, and I think they did a really good job of getting the ball on the ground. Once they did, they did not panic, and I thought things flowed really well.”

BRYN MAWR-  It would be a tale of two teams. For the Baldwin Bears, they would compete into a draw on homecoming, giving the Bears their first non-loss in league play. For the Agnes Irwin Owls, their undefeated Inter-Ac record would snap at two, keeping them at second in league play.

“It’s a great result for Baldwin,” Baldwin head coach Adrian Cox said. “Our girls had a great week of training, and I knew we needed an equalizer at halftime. I said, ‘keep staying compact defensively, staying organized, we are going to get a chance,’ and we buried our chance against a great Agnes Irwin team.”

For Agnes Irwin, who remain second in the Inter-Ac conference and have early hopes of winning the conference, feelings were not as positive.

“Honestly, we just did not play our best, we did not bring the energy,” Agnes Irwin co-captain Lily Fusco said. “We just didn’t show up today, so bottom line, I think we need to move on and do better next time.”

And it is easy to understand the Owls disappointment. The team was coming off of two strong Inter-Ac wins, one against league champion Springside Chestnut Hill, and one at Penn Charter. In both games Agnes Irwin was able to earn a clean sheet and shut them out.

Agnes Irwin came out strong. Jennifer Kelly got the ball outside the 18, dribbled in a bit, and shot lower right corner, beating Baldwin’s goaltender Sophia Gill through to the back of the net within the first three and a half minutes of the match.

Owls’ freshman Colby Costa would record a few shots on net early, and so would Payton Quinones. Baldwin would hold strong defensively to counter Agnes Irwin’s attack, and Zara Burke, Meg Davis, and Kyla Walker were all responsible for killing any threats from the Owls and clearing the ball out of their zone.

“I like that we had a really organized back four,” Cox said. We did a good job of defending… and weathered a lot of storms in this game. Agnes Irwin had a lot of corner kicks; a lot of shots on goal; possession, but we did a good job of battling and staying mentally tough.”

Baldwin’s Makena Lee would join the defensive party with her own quick steal in Owls’ territory in which she turned defense into offense and crossed the ball half way through the first half in front of the net where no Bear was there to put a shot on net.

Lee and Taylor Hoilett had possession around the 18, but Agnes Irwin defended so well that both Bears were not able to get a shot off. It would not be until a Fusco shot on net that went far right with nine minutes left in the half that the Owls would reintroduce a form of offense.

Both teams would get a few more shots to wrap up the half, but Agnes Irwin went into the pause up 1-0.

“Our defense did a good job with their conditioning and their fitness,” Baldwin senior Zoe Levine said. “They have so much grit back there. We have such a blend of old and young players and our eighth graders and freshman really stepped up today.”

Much of the second half was relatively quiet. Agnes Irwin certainly had opportunities offensively, as Baldwin resorted to keeping the ball to the sides and forcing Agnes Irwin throw- ins to try to kill drives. Costa, Fusco, and Sydney Strulson would continue to record shots, several of them extremely close; none of them went through, however.

While going scoreless in the second half, Agnes Irwin head coach Namit Deshpande was pleased with his team’s effort, especially compared to the first 40 minutes.

“I think the first half we were a little slow to get going,” Deshpande said. “In the second half our possession was really good. There were lots of moments when we could have put the ball in the back of the net, and as a collective group that is something we are going to continue to work on.”

With under nine minutes remaining, Baldwin’s Bella Ahn drew a foul 20 yards away from the goal. Her free kick landed feet in front of the net, as there was a skirmish for the ball. Finally, Lee was able to jump on the ball and shoot from with feet away, scoring easily to tie the game at one.

“I think we were doing a pretty good job of keeping a clean sheet,” Fusco said. “They scored off of a set piece where we just were not focused enough. Next time we just need to be ready and set up quicker.”

Baldwin’s homecoming crowd did not disappoint. Both bleachers were filled and lots of spectators sat and stood on the grass out of play throughout the length of the field. The Bears’ fan section was loud all game and erupted after Lee connected with Baldwin’s first goal in league play.

“The energy from the Baldwin crowd and well as the team kind of threw us off our game,” Despande said. They did a good job of controlling the atmosphere that we were playing in and got to our heads a little bit.”

From Baldwin’s side, the excitement of the match seemed to have given the Bears an additional push. For Levine, who has experienced several injuries this season, her ability to be a leader vocally gave the Bears a spark to keep going.

“I’ve been battling through injuries and been on the sidelines through most of it,” Levine said. “If I can turn into the biggest cheerleader I can be; anything to keep the team motivated; keep the team in the game, and no one puts their head down.”

Agnes Irwin would have opportunities in the remaining eight minutes of regulation, but ultimately would be unable to score. In overtime, they controlled most of both five-minute sessions, but with no goals to show for it. Defensively, they would continue to lock down and not give Baldwin any chances.

Agnes Irwin still stands near the top of the Inter-Ac standings and will be presented with two more league matchups next week. They are still undefeated in league play and were able to attract an interested crowd on Baldwin’s homecoming.

After Fusco was able to score the only goal against league champ Springside Chestnut Hill last week, which was also her first win against that school in her high school career, she remained determined as ever to get a title of her own at Agnes Irwin. She was ready to move on from the Baldwin game yesterday.

“Bottom line; we just need to move on and do better next time.”

Around the league Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (3-1) travels to take on undefeated Episcopal Academy (4-0) this afternoon.

Baldwin (0-2-1) is home against Germantown Academy (0-3) and Agnes Irwin(2-0-1) also plays at home against Academy of Notre Dame (2-1).