Observer-Reporter Headliner: Canon-McMillan girls soccer
An emotional Canon-McMillan girls soccer coach David Derrico embraces Addie Roman and Aideen O’Donoghue after they helped the Lady Macs win the first girls’ state soccer championship in school history. Roman scored the golden goal in overtime as the Lady Macs defeated Central Bucks South, 1-0, for the title.
Canon-McMillan girls celebrate after receiving their trophy for winning the PIAA soccer championship by defeating Central Bucks South, 1-0, in overtime.
Canon-McMillan celebrated its first PIAA championship for girls soccer when the Lady Macs edged Central Bucks South, 1-0, in the Quad-A final played Nov. 19 in Hershey.
There was no hiding the emotions of this day.
One look at the photo in the newspaper the following morning, and the sentiment on the face of Dave Derrico, told readers all they needed to know about the importance of this soccer match.
Forget the unbearable weather, which cut the temperature some 25 degrees and dropped rain and hail on the field at Hersheypark Arena that November day.
Forget the stomach-churning, ulcer-producing first two halves that produced exactly zero goals.
All that mattered was the bright scoreboard that showed the final score:
Canon-McMillan 1, Central Bucks South 0.
The program’s first state title not only brought tears of joy but wiped away the sting of losing in the final two seasons before.
“I was so happy for them. They worked so hard and did everything I asked of them all season,” Derrico said. “I pushed them a little bit. As we got going, my coaches and I realized we had the potential to go all the way again. I made them do extra work. I always make our teams do extra work in the season and postseason but this season, I was tougher on them on their practices. But they did everything I wanted them to do.
“And I didn’t have one gripe. All season long, they had the attitude to work extremely hard and be focused on that result. Everything I could throw at them, they handled.”
Sophomore Addie Roman buried a shot into the corner of the net with 4:25 remaining in the first overtime to give Canon-McMillan an historic victory over in the PIAA Class AAAA championship match.
The victory not only earned the Big Macs a gold medal but made them the Observer-Reporter selection for the Sports Headliner award at the Tri-CADA Coach of the Year Banquet.
The team will be honored at the Coach of the Year Banquet, which will be held at 5 p.m., Sunday, April 23 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in the Meadow Lands.
Tickets for the banquet are $35 each and are on sale at Washington High School, 201 Allison Ave., Washington, PA, 15301. Reservations can be made by calling athletic director Mike Bosnic at 724-223-5085, ext. 2091. All proceeds from the banquet benefit Special Olympics.
The game-winning play started when the Big Macs were awarded a throw-in deep in Central Bucks South territory, and it was three underclassmen who teamed up for the golden goal. Junior Madison Whipple triggered the play with a spot-on throw-in to junior Jaiden Williams, who noticed Roman unmarked at the top of the 18-yard box.
“My defender didn’t even see me,” Roman said after the game. “I knew where Jaiden was going to pass the ball and I was able to take my time with it.”
The overtime win was a pleasant reversal of fortune for Canon-McMillan, which was making its second appearance in the state final in three seasons. The Big Macs lost to Central Bucks West in overtime in the 2014 Class AAA final.
Canon-McMillan reached its second state final by defeating Erie McDowell, 2-1, WPIAL champion Norwin, 3-1, and speedy, highly skilled Cumberland Valley, 4-1, in the PIAA tournament. All three wins were over district champions.
The win over Norwin was especially satisfying because the Knights defeated Canon-McMillan in the WPIAL final. But the Big Macs were playing that game without one of their best players, Sabrina Bryan, who missed three postseason matches with an injury.
“Losing Sabrina when we did was bad luck for us. It was a blow to us,” Derrico said. “We had some younger players pick it up for us. Addie Roman is just a sophomore and she scored some critical goals for us. Annabell Thomas was the same. We have some other talented forwards who picked it up.”
Overcoming all the adversity and opponents this season led to the great celebration of winning a state title.
“I was so happy,” Derrico said. “It all came pouring forth when the girls came up and hugged me after the game.”