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Glued shoes earn Maddie Fanning hat-trick as Strath Haven advance
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Glued shoes earn Maddie Fanning hat-trick as Strath Haven advance

ROYERSFORD — The agreement reached Saturday between Strath Haven coach Gino Miraglia and forward Maddie Fanning included clear conditions.

If the freshman scored two goals in the Panthers’ PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal against Cocalico, Miraglia would buy his new cleats, putting out to pasture a vexing pair whose right boot needed duct tape loops to maintain a Annoying stud plate attached.

Only Fanning was able to put an end to the deal, as her third goal came home thanks to a new strip job, cobbled together with temporary shoemaker Katie Trout on the bench.

“I don’t know. They might be my lucky ones,” Fanning said after a 4-0 win at Spring-Ford. “I might have to use them for states.”

If Fanning continues to score, that could include two more games for the District 1 runner-up Panthers (18-4). They made quick work of District 3 runner-up Cocalico (15-6-2) behind a quick, opportunistic attack led back and forth by Fanning.

His first two goals were about being in the right place at the right time, avoiding bounces off the crossbar. He cashed in on a plan that quickly became evident: use their superior speed to get to the baseline, then wreak havoc in the Eagles’ box.

“I feel like that’s kind of our goal,” midfielder Carly Thase said. “Our strength as a team is that speed and willingness to have the ball. So every game we go to, we look to press as hard as we can. And a lot of times it is, it’s just a fight with the ball, and we win.

Fanning opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Thase rattled the crossbar near the penalty spot, a move created by Tessa Dignazio’s run down the right wing. The rebound found Fanning, who pushed it home.

In the 20th, Alice Rieger sent a 40-yard free kick which hit the bar, with the goalkeeper trying to pick out the top corner of her counterpart, Molly Barrett. The carom caused chaos, and while Barrett repelled Annie Dignazio’s attempt to push him over the line with his head, Fanning found the loose ball at the far post and slotted it in.

“Sometimes I just have an idea of ​​where the ball is going to go,” Fanning said. “But usually, depending on the shot and the quality of the goalie, I make the run.”

Fanning completed the hat trick with 10 minutes to play with a more conventional rip, which may have put a strain on the tape’s work. Annie Dignazio reached the baseline on the right wing and teased a dangerous cross that forward Brittan Devault touched to Fanning at the far stick to feed her laces.

Haven forced eight saves from Barrett. Fanning, her twin sister Kenzie Fanning, Tessa Dignazio and Ava Hurwitz challenged the Eagles’ backline for speed all day, allowing Thase, Annie Dignazio and Ruby Lane to spot passes from midfield and dictate play. Hurwitz added the fourth goal with two minutes remaining, the sophomore firing a howitzer from 28 yards out that left reserve goalie Annika Fontana with no shot.

Haven still needed Rieger to produce a moment of genius among his five saves. It happened in the 33rd minute, on a free kick from Cocalico center back Emma Strunk. The ball looked destined for the top corner, but Rieger leapt to her left to coax it from the junction between post and bar, then steadied herself to catch a head-high follow-up from Kira Lehman.

Haven’s defense held off the big three of Cocalico, Lehman, Chloe Martin and Liv Smith, who combined for 39 goals this year. With the exception of a dangerous serve from Smith onto his excellent right foot, they were mostly confined to less dangerous areas.

This victory keeps Haven’s race going. Tuesday’s first-round victory was the Panthers’ first since 2011, after losing in the first round in their last three trips to the United States. Now they’re halfway to a title…which still leaves at least one more bus ride for Maddie Fanning to do some online shopping.

“It shows everyone that they’re playing for something bigger than themselves,” Thase said, without referring to the potential impact on Fanning’s shoe collection. “You look beyond everything you want and you think, oh, I want it because Maddie Fanning wants it. I want it because Katie Trout wants it. You are doing something beyond yourself.