Despite a loss in the District One Class 2A playoffs, Upper Perkiomen's field hockey team entered the week in contention for the PIAA Championship Tournament.

Jade Traynor, right, dribbles past a Gwynedd Mercy  Academy defender.

The team needs consecutive victories to qualify, beginning with a home game on Nov. 1 against Marple-Newtown.
            "I'm confident we are going to bounce back," head coach Meghan Griffin said a few days after her team's 3-0 road loss to Gwynedd Mercy Academy on Oct. 26.
            According to Griffin, the No. 5 seeded Indians couldn't take advantage of some early scoring opportunities in their quarterfinal-round defeat. She said the No. 4 seeded Monarchs, who led 1-0 at halftime, executed better.
            "We could have won if we played better," Griffin said. "We had some missed opportunities. I don't think they were our toughest opponent this season."
            The Tribe (15-6) earned six penalty corners, but couldn't avoid its first shutout loss of the season. According to the coach, Gwynedd Mercy defended some of the opportunities, and her team flubbed some others.
            Upper Perkiomen, which qualified for the Pioneer Athletic Conference playoffs, is shooting for the fifth seed in the district tournament. A win over the No. 9 seeded Tigers, who lost 7-0 to Villa Maria Academy in the quarterfinal round, would keep the team alive for a fifth-place game, which is scheduled for Friday.