Freshman comes up big for Unionville

At 5-foot, Unionville freshman Isabel McDonough - known to her field hockey teammates as Izzy - often gets lost in the crowd when there are 21 other players on the field.

Even when there are only 14 players on the field, as is done for an overtime period, it might not always be easy to spot her.

McDonough spotted a Brett Perkins overtime hit from the right side of the goal against sixth-ranked Conestoga on Wednesday. McDonough tapped the ball in to give the 11th-seeded Indians a 2-1 overtime victory over the host Pioneers in the second round of the District 1 Class AAA playoffs.

The win moved the Indians (15-3-1) into a quarterfinal Friday against 14th seed Perkiomen Valley, a double-overtime victor over third seed Council Rock North on Wednesday.

It was the fifth goal of the season for McDonough, who earned a starting berth about midway through the season.

"I saw if off my stick, but I didn't see the ball go in," an elated McDonough said. "I only knew it was in from the reaction of my teammates."

Naturally, they mobbed her, and once again, she was lost in a sea of bodies.

A win in the quarterfinals would assure the Indians of their first trip to the PIAA state tournament since 1993.

"As a freshman, my goal was to just help the team out in any way I could. I didn't expect to be starting, but I guess my hard work paid off," McDonough said.

Wendy Neary, Unionville's first-year coach, couldn't say enough about the freshman's contributions.

"Izzy's a firecracker," Neary said. "She goes all out all the time."

Junior Annabeth Donovan remembers losing to Plymouth Whitemarsh in the first round of districts last season, and also the team's not even making the playoffs when she was a freshman.

"This is a history-making event for Unionville," she said. "We have had the talent but just didn't get the job done."

The Indians, champions of the American Division of the Ches-Mont League, took a 1-0 lead against the Pioneers when junior Brielle Hartzell scored with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

The Pioneers (16-3-1), the Central League champions, had beaten Unionville, 3-2, during the regular season. The three goals came in the first 16 minutes of that game.

The Pioneers tied Wednesday's game, 1-1, in the second half on a goal by freshman Oliver Everts.

Conestoga had opportunities to score with three offensive penalty corners in the final 4:22 of regulation but couldn't convert. The Pioneers had an early corner in the seven-on-seven overtime but Everts' shot was blocked.

Everts then went 70 yards with the ball, but his shot went over the cage.

The Indians scored what appeared to be a goal off a corner with eight minutes to go in overtime but the officials disallowed it. Moments later, McDonough scored the winner.

"We didn't do what we've done all season," said Pioneers coach Karen Gately, whose team has had trouble getting past the second round in recent years.

"We started with nerves, and they got in our head. I told them before the game it was do or die. We played like we're capable of after we tied the game."

Unionville   1 0 1 – 2

Conestoga   0 1 0 – 1

Goals: U-Brielle Hartzell, Isabel McDonough; C-Oliver Everts.

Saves: U-Sam Carlino 4; C-Chloe Johnson 7.