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Shenk lifts Pennridge girls into final

Pennridge's Megan Shenk spent the end of last week working on her corner kicks, and it paid off when she scored on such a kick Saturday in a 1-0 win over Strath Haven in the PIAA Class AAA girls' soccer quarterfinals.

Pennridge's Megan Shenk spent the end of last week working on her corner kicks, and it paid off when she scored on such a kick Saturday in a 1-0 win over Strath Haven in the PIAA Class AAA girls' soccer quarterfinals.

Hoping to give her a further boost of confidence, Rams coach Jorge Rodriguez inserted Shenk to take a corner kick less than five minutes into overtime of their semifinal battle Monday night with Owen J. Roberts at Harriton.

Once again, the junior midfielder came through. She curled a shot into the net for a 2-1 victory that put the Rams in the state championship game on Saturday in Hershey.

This is the farthest that Pennridge (24-1), the District 1 champion, has gone in the history of its girls' soccer program. The Rams will meet the winner of the other semifinal, between defending state champion Peters Township and Upper St. Clair, for the state title at 3 p.m.

"I thought my shot against Strath Haven might have been aided by the wind, so I wanted to make sure this one got in on its own," said Shenk, who now lines up differently for her corner kicks. "I've been really working on them."

Rodriguez didn't want to hear anything about wind-aided kicks - Saturday or Tuesday.

"She just doesn't know how good she is," said the coach, who took the Rams to the state quarterfinals last season before they lost to Archbishop Wood on penalty kicks. That was the Rams' previous best.

Even Wildcats goalie Cassie Popp had to admire the shot that went just over her reach.

"I can't begrudge her the goal," Popp said. "It was just a beautiful corner - out of my reach in the upper."

The Rams took a 1-0 lead with less than three minutes gone in the game when freshman Marissa Sheva scored. The Wildcats (19-7), seeking their third appearance in the state final (they won in 2003), tied it on a goal by sophomore Holly Sullivan with 15 minutes, 16 seconds to go in regulation.

"We were trying to use our possession game and our speed to take the ball outside," said the Rams' all-everything player, Stevi Parker. "Especially when we went into overtime."

It worked, giving Shenk the opportunity for the winning corner kick.

"We had our chances - in regulation and in overtime," Wildcats coach Joe Margusity said. "Sometimes the ball doesn't go in the net."

His team had a very emotional season with a rough start in its first games and the loss of sophomore Kelsey Kramer, who died in an automobile accident.

"You've got to love the spirit and resiliency of this team," Margusity added.

Owen J. Roberts   0 1 0 – 1

Pennridge   1 0 1 – 2

Goals: OJR-Holly Sullivan; P-Marissa Sheva, Megan Shenk.

Saves: OJR-Cassie Popp 5; P-Ashley Schoellkopf 3.