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By Christiaan DeFranco
TOWAMENCIN — A big part of North Penn’s game is playing fast. This time, it was the Downingtown East Cougars who were darting around the field.
“Playing fast, getting our ins and outs, bringing it up on the right side and playing good defense, those are keys for us,” the Cougars’ Kirstyn Kolinsky said.
Kolinsky scored a first-half goal as No. 11 Downingtown East went on the road and upset No. 6 North Penn 2-1 in the second round of the District 1-3A field hockey playoffs Wednesday night.
The Cougars (14-6) will face No. 3 Central Bucks West (17-2) in Friday’s quarterfinal.
“I think it’s always important to get on the board first, especially in the first half,” Downingtown East coach Courtney Evans said. “It sets the tempo for the game and the expectations. I think it can be crucial in any game you play.”
Kolinsky’s goal came with 12:47 left in the second period. Faith Fuqua, with an assist from Isabella Beck, added a dagger 3:34 into the fourth that put Downingtown East up 2-0.
Paige Shearer scored the only goal for North Penn (14-4-1).
The teams combined for 26 shots on goal. Goalkeeper Anna Powers had five saves for the Cougars, while Kiley Moister had four for North Penn.
“I don’t think it was our best performance tonight,” North Penn coach Shannon McCracken said. “Downingtown East played a great game. They were a tough competitor.”
Many North Penn players were in tears after the game.
“It just shows we had a really special team this year, and it’s really tough on these kids,” North Penn coach Shannon McCracken said. “One of these teams comes along once every few years. The team culture this year, the way they played for each other, it was very selfless, ‘we before me’ play. And they just connected, and that’s something they’re going to take with them.
“They just had an incredible season,” she said. “Tonight doesn’t define the season that we had. It was a great season.”
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Email Christiaan DeFranco at cdefranco@thereporteronline.com. Follow him on X at @the_defranc, or go to ChrisDeFranco.com.
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