TOWAMENCIN — North Penn entered the District 1-3A playoffs knowing the old adage “it’s hard to beat a team three times” when its first-round opponent was Suburban One League Colonial Division rival Central Bucks East.
The teams were very evenly matched in the regular season with both games being decided by one goal. The second matchup went to overtime and took place just before the six days before the playoff meeting.
The third matchup followed the same formula as the first two. No. 13 North Penn defeated No. 20 Central Bucks East, 2-1, at North Penn High School Monday evening.
“We were saying that it’s really hard to beat the same team three times,” North Penn captain Kylie Barwis said. “We were watching film and doing everything that we could to make sure that we came out on top today…. We knew that CB East was going to come out strong and they were going to come out ready, especially because we played them so recently, but we came out more ready and prepared.”
“It’s hard to beat a team three times,” North Penn coach Shannon McCracken said. “That’s always in the back of your mind in any sport, but we knew a lot about them and we made some adjustments in this third game that really helped us. One-goal games, it’s fun. Our division is really good. It’s fun to play the division games throughout the season that feel like playoff games.”
The Knights will visit No. 4 Methacton, the Pioneer Athletic Conference champion, in the second round Wednesday at 6 p.m.
North Penn’s Kylie Barwis, 24, drives down the field as Central Bucks East’s Brynn Williamson, 20, defends during their District 1-3A first round game on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
North Penn (11-8) got the scoring started late in the second quarter. On a penalty corner, Devon Crowley inserted to Tallie Smink. Smink hit the ball hard on the ground in front of the net to Cissy Lewis, who deflected it to the left to Barwis, who redirected it into the back of the cage.
“That was one of the plays that we’ve been working to execute on all season,” Barwis said. “It was really exciting to finally get it as a team – the passing and finishing in the corner.”
“That’s one of my favorite corners that we do in practice,” McCracken said, “but sometimes you don’t score on it because it’s tough to score on corners sometimes because the ball has to go to the right place. They executed it beautifully and it was a fun goal.”
The Knights held the 1-0 advantage for the final 5:37 of the second quarter and the entire third quarter. They doubled the lead early in the fourth.
North Penn’s Cecilia Lewis, 2, and Central Bucks East’s Kate McCauley, 8, and goalkeeper Cam Puhalla, 00, vie for the ball during their District 1-3A first round game on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
When East’s goalkeeper left the cage to kick a ball away, North Penn’s Paige Shearer hustled to be the first to the rebound. She got to the ball and quickly passed to Lewis at the far-side of the cage and Lewis was able to finish it for a 2-0 lead.
“Paige does a really nice job in front of the goalie to make things happen for us,” McCracken said. “Cissy had her stick down and it was textbook. That was a great goal.”
The Patriots trimmed their deficit back to one with 3:45 left on the game. On a penalty corner, Katie Szczypiorski inserted to Brynn Bonargo, who immediately took a shot. The ball deflected high into the air off of a defenders stick and landed in the cage for a CB East goal.
Central Bucks East’s Brynn Bonargo, 25, with the ball as North Penn’s Tallie Smink, 36, defends during their District 1-3A first round game on Monday, Oct. 20,
East took a timeout with 2:41 left in the game and was able to possess the ball deep in North Penn’s end in the final minutes, but wasn’t able to score an equalizer.
“We told our whole entire team to get back, which we don’t normally do,” Barwis said. “We made sure every single girl was marked and that we’re all being gritty back in our defensive circle and really having our sticks down and not causing any fouls.”
“We had good confidence tonight,” McCracken said. “That carried us in those last couple of minutes.”
East goalkeeper Camryn Puhalla finished with 12 saves and had some impressive stops to keep the game close. Halfway through the first quarter, she stopped a breakaway to keep the game scoreless. Two minutes later, North Penn had a great scoring opportunity, but Szczypiorski was there to make a defensive save. Puhalla denied two more good looks in the second quarter to keep it a one-goal game at the half.
East’s season ends with the loss. The Patriots finish the year with a 9-10 record, which was an improvement from 2024’s 5-10-3 mark.
Central Bucks East’s Sydney Lafferty, 2, with the ball against North Penn during their District 1-3A first round game on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
North Penn 2, Central Bucks East 1
Central Bucks East 0 0 0 1 – 1
North Penn 0 1 0 1 – 2
Goals: CBE: Brynn Bonargo. NP: Kylie Barwis, Cissy Lewis.
Assists: NP: Cissy Lewis, Paige Shearer.
Saves: CBE: Camryn Puhalla 12. NP: Kiley Moister 9.
Penalty Corners: CBE: 4. NP: 9.
Originally Published: October 20, 2025 at 10:13 PM EDT