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GIRLS' SOCCER: Penn Charter Soccer Wins Inter-Ac Garners Top Seed in PAISAA Tournament

By Angela DelVecchio, 11/05/18, 9:45AM EST

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PHILADELPHIA—What a season for the William Penn Charter girls’ soccer team.

The Quakers host and impressive 14-1-1 overall record and a 9-1-1 league record.

Penn Charter won the Inter-Ac on October 30th after a 4-0 shutout against Academy of Notre Dame. This was the Quakers fourth title since 2013.

The Quakers also garnered top seed in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association Tournament and will face the winner from round one of today’s game between Academy of Notre Dame and Friends Central School on Tuesday, November 6.

Penn Charter’s defensive teamwork proved positive all season, with offensive work from high scorers sophomore Janae Stewart, junior Sara Shipon, and seniors Ally Paul and captain Emma Maley leading the way.

Penn Charter tied 1-1 in overtime in the September 14 league opener against Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. The Quakers then went on a 9-game winning streak, shutting out three teams in the process.  On October 26, Baldwin School ended that streak with a 4-3 victory over the Quakers. Ironically, just two weeks prior, Penn Charter beat the Polar Bears in overtime by the same score.   

With such tough contenders in the Inter-Ac League, the Quakers had high hopes of making it to the top of the leader board and that determination paid off.

“At the beginning of the season our goal was to win the Inter-Ac. We knew it was a tough challenge, but we set our minds towards the Inter-Ac as motivation for practices and out of league games. Our team this year is determined. We all push each other to be the best we can,” said senior center midfielder and captain Emma Maley.

“I feel very proud to be an Inter-Ac champion with my teammates! We fought hard and long to overcome very talented teams,” said sophomore forward Janae Stewart. “Being placed number one seed in the PAISAA Tournament makes us want to work harder because it is not enough to just win the Inter-Ac, we want to go all the way and win the state tournament as well.”

Stewart touts her team’s chemistry as part of their successful season.

We thought of each other as more than just teammates but as a family. As a family, we did everything we could for each other. We played our hearts out in the final seconds of overtime in an early-season victory against Baldwin and maintained defensive composure to hold off the powerful Pennington team in a preseason upset victory. We picked one another up when we made a mistake and celebrate each other in times of success,” said Stewart.

PC senior captain Emma Maley vs. Episcopal Academy (photo- Alexandra Conroy for PSD).

Below- PC sophomore Janae Stewart drives ball to net from an Emma Maley assist scoring the overtime winning goal on Oct. 4 against Baldwin School (photo- Zamani Feelings).

Maley, who has been a starting member of her varsity team since freshman year, knows what it means to have that pressure of being the team everyone wants to conquer.

As the number one seed we understand that everyone is out to beat us. Working hard in practice, making sure we stay in shape and healthy, and staying focused is how we are going to prepare for that. In soccer, anything can happen, so coming out each game knowing it could be our last is definitely something that is going to motivate us for the tournament. We need to take our determination and positive energy from the Inter-ac into the state tournament,” said Maley.

 

PC's Janae Stewart's overtime game winning goal vs.Baldwin (video- Zamani Feelings for PSD).

For Stewart, being number one is motivation.

Winning the Inter-Ac is proof that we are one of the teams to reckon with, and that we are a great team! We need to use this mentality and bring our passion to our PAISAA games and show the other teams why we are the Inter-Ac champions,” said Stewart.

Penn Charter will have one more league game to play against Germantown Academy on November 10, during GA/PC Day.

 

Penn Charter game day photos by Zamani Feelings and Alexandra Conroy