GIRLS SOCCER: Upper Dublin edges Hatboro-Horsham to secure SOL Liberty title

HORSHAM – The Upper Dublin girls soccer team struggled finding a way to break through against Hatboro-Horsham until the ball reached Brooke Smith in the second half with an only open goal ahead of the freshman.

“I sometimes miss the net so thank God I was right in front of the net,” Smith said. “I had time to just tap it in.”

Kayla McNamara’s low cross into the 18-yard box was deflected by the Hatters goalkeeper but Smith proceeded to knock it in with 22:57 remaining in the second half. The goal was the only one visiting Upper Dublin collected Wednesday afternoon but it was enough for the Cardinals to earn a 1-0 victory and with it secure the outright Suburban One League Liberty Division title.

“There was definitely a little bit of that pressure but again I felt like we were controlling the game,” UD senior Bridget DiMartile said. “And I knew that it was bound to happen, a goal for us and thankfully Brooke put it away.”

Upper Dublin sat in second behind Plymouth Whitemarsh by a point before taking over the top spot last Thursday as the Cards beat Abington 2-1 while PW fell 2-0 to Wissahickon. UD came into Wednesday leading by two points ahead of both PW and Wissahickon, meaning a win would give the Cardinals the title, a tie might have them share it while a loss could leave them empty-handed.

“I think it’s just a matter of no giving up,” DiMartile said. “Even though we did lose to PW twice and Wiss once, we were still able to come out on top, which is kind of crazy to think but it’s just the way the season went, I think it was kind of a crazy season. But just keep playing, keep working hard and just finishing our games.”

Smith’s tally in the 58th minute gave Upper Dublin (9-7-1, 7-3-0 division) its second Liberty championship in three seasons. Wissahickon posted a 2-0 win over visiting Quakertown to take second while PW lost 2-0 to Abington – the Colonials and Ghosts ending tied for third.

“I think this year we knew coming into it that I think any team could’ve had the title,” DiMartile said. “And, I mean, it kind of came down to it at the end. So it’s a good feeling, especially being a senior, my last year, getting to win the championship.”

DiMartile, a three-sport standout – a Michigan commit in lacrosse and last March helped the UD girls basketball team win the PIAA-6A title – spent Wednesday up top in the UD attack trying to break through but the Hatters (1-17-0, 0-10-0) were not going the Cards claim the Liberty crown easily.

“They were packing it in on defense a lot,” DiMartile said. “I felt like we were outnumbered up top, cause they were kind of sinking in. We had so much time and space on our defensive end so I think it was just a matter of finding that space when we were attacking to get a goal. But, yeah, I think they were definitely just packing it in which made it a little harder for us to find feet up top.”

In the first half, Upper Dublin – who beat Hatboro-Horsham 3-0 in their first meeting Sept. 22 – earned a number of corners but could not generate a quality chance on any. The Cards’ best opportunity to score before the break came when McNamara got behind the defense only for her shot to be denied by Hatters goalie Alaina Daniels, who took the ball to her head on the save and had to leave the game before returning later in the half.

“We definitely passed really, really well today but their defensive line was really pressurized because they knew that we could go at them,” Smith said. “So they stayed really tight in the back. So it was kind of hard to get our shots off, to get past them but we still got past them.”

Smith finally put Upper Dublin ahead 1-0 as the contest needed the second half’s midway point. McNamara got free down the left side then sent a cross into the box. The ball ticked off the diving keeper’s hands and into open space with Smith there to send it into the net with 22:57 left.

“Kayla was running down the line, she crossed it, the goalie touched it but the defender let it through her legs and I just tapped it in,” Smith said.

Hatboro-Horsham’s chance to equalize came on a free kick outside the top of the box. Courtney Rinius lined a curling shot around the left side of a four-player wall but the shot was snagged by UD keeper Evie Steigerwald.

Daniels later kept Upper Dublin’s lead at 1-0, diving to her left to stop a shot from Ella Shockey.