Boys/Girls SOL District Soccer Preview (Second Round)

Eight SOL boys soccer teams and seven girls team will be in action in Thursday’s District One AAA Tournament.

BOYS
#16 WISSAHICKON at #1 GREAT VALLEY
Great Valley

• 19-0 overall
• Won Ches-Mont American Conference (13-0)
• Beat #5 West Chester Henderson 2-0, #10 CB West 1-0, #18 Downingtown West 2-0, #20 Conestoga 1-0, #24 Sun Valley 2-0, #14 West Chester Rustin 2-0, #12 Unionville 2-1 and #22 William Tennent 4-1.
• Allowed only six goals all season and opened year with six straight shutouts.
• Opening round bye

Great Valley players to watch: Jay Nunez (sr., mid), Michael Sprinkel, Jake Miller, Jon Fuydal (keeper).

Wissahickon

• 14-5 overall
• Third place SOL American Conference (10-4)
• Beat #4 CB East 2-0
• Won five of last six games
• Defeated 17^th-seeded Pennsbury, using a goal by Cole Kropnick in the 19^th minute. Neal Guaglianone posted the shutout in goal.

Wissahickon players to watch: Neal Guaglianone (keeper), Cole Kropnick, Shane Fallen, Sam Hunt, Matt Knittel, Jason Bugis, John Carrozza (keeper), Alex Chiodo-Ortiz, Zach Scannapieco, Joe Maiale, Tommy McHale, Devon Memis and Alex Tappen.

#9 BENSALEM at #8 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH
Plymouth Whitemarsh

• 15-2-2 overall
• Tied for first SOL American Conference (13-1)
• Swept #16 Wissahickon and beat Upper Dublin 2-0
• Won last six games, four of which came in shutout
• Defeated 25^th-seeded Harriton 1-0, using a goal by Kenny Almack midway through the second half.
• First postseason win in over three decades for the program.

Plymouth Whitemarsh players to watch: Alex Bilodeau (Jr., center), Brett Paul (keeper), Taij Rosen, Austin Betterly, Dylan Ensslin, Kenny Almack, Dominic Wlodarczyk, Cam Johnson

Bensalem

• 15-3 overall,
• Second place SOL Natioanl Conference (11-3)
• Swept #22 William Tenennt and beat #17 Pennsbury 1-0, and #14 West Chester Rustin 2-1 
• Won last six games
• Defeated 24^th-seeded Sun Valley 5-1 for first postseason win since 1997. Chris Juergensen scored a pair of goals, and Eric Corry, Brian Kilcoyne and John Averona each added one goal.

Bensalem players to watch: Chris Juergenson, Chris Kilcoyne (keeper) Alec Rosenfeld, Mike Henry, Jimmy McDowell, Elan Fingles (mid), John Torres, Jack Lee, Omar Luvigno, Brian Kilcoyne

#20 CONESTOGA at #4 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST
Central Bucks East

• 14-3 overall
• Won SOL Continental Conference (12-2)
• Beat #7 North Penn 2-1, #10 CB West 1-0
• Swept both #15 CB South and #27 Souderton
• Won last seven matches
• Won 11 in a row in Continental Conference play after a 1-2 start.

Players to watch: Ryan Ware, Ryan Gleason, Kyle Clow, Broock Weiss, Dan Chilson (keeper), Evan Ware
Conestoga

• 15-4 overall
• Tied for second place Central League (8-2-1)
• Beat #5 West Chester Henderson, 3-0, Oct. 5. Also defeated #25 Harriton 1-0, #23 Radnor 2-0 and #12 Unionville 1-0.
• Lost to top two seeds in districts, Lower Merion and Great Valley, by 1-0 scores
• Notched a 1-0 opening round win over 13^th-seeded Perkiomen Valley, thanks to a goal by David Zipkin in the 62^nd minute. The Pioneers held an 8-2 advantage in shots over the Vikings.

Conestoga players to watch: Thijs Everts (sr., mid)

#26 RIDLEY at #10 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST
Central Bucks West

• 11-5-3 overall
• Third place SOL Continental Conference (8-3-3)
• Beat #4 CB East 1-0, #11 Upper Dublin 3-1 and #28 Souderton 1-0
• Earned a 1-0 opening round win over Radnor. Joel Klapper scored the game winner with seven minutes remaining.

CB West players to watch: Joel Klapper, Jared Kelly, Redd Brown (keeper), Stephen Werner,  Conrad Urffer, Brady Boylan, Kyle Schechter, Chris Van Pelt, Ethan Acaster.

Ridley

• 13-4-2 overall
• Sixth place Central League (5-4-1)
• Beat #23 Radnor 1-0 and #28 Interboro 4-3
• Three of four losses were to district playoff qualifiers
• Upset seventh-seeded North Penn in penalty kicks (5-4) after battling to a 1-1 tie at the end of two overtimes.

Ridley players to watch: John Saunders, Andrew Kelly, Pat O’Neill (keeper), Romario Elbasani

#14 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN at NESHAMINY (5 p.m.)
Neshaminy

• 15-0-3 overall
• Won SOL National Conference (11-0-3)
• Swept # 17 Pennsbury and #9 Bensalem and beat #15 Central Bucks South 1-0, #22 William Tennent 2-1, #16 Wissahickon 2-1 and #18 Downingtown West 2-0
• Allowed only one team (Holy Ghost Prep) to score one than one goal against it in a match

Neshaminy players to watch: Kenny Herrmann, Chris Watson (keeper) Dylan McDonald, Nick Tucci, Dan Grinrod, Devlin Mettee, Jamen Rowan, Pat Raykovitz, Zach Rider, Bobby Lutz, Dan Martin, Zach Albarran
West Chester Rustin

• 14-5 overall
• Second place Ches-Mont American Conference (9-4)
• Beat #19 Strath Haven 2-0 and #24 Sun Valley 3-0  
• All five losses were to district playoff qualifiers
• Upended 19^th-seeded Strath Haven 3-2 in the opening round. Ryan Fincher scored the game winner in the 73^rd minute. Rustin also received goals from Shane O’Neill and Nate Engleke.

West Chester Rustin players to watch: Jesse Martinez (keeper), Jay Balch, Brendan Garcia, Bryan Boro, Alex Cohn, Justin Lucker.

#27 SOUDERTON at #22 WILLIAM TENNENT
Souderton

• 8-9-2 overall
• Fifth place Continental Conference (5-8-1)
• Beat #13 Perkiomen Valley 2-1 and #15 CB South 2-0
• Won final four matches of the regular season
• Stunned sixth-seeded Spring-Ford with a 5-4 win in penalty kicks after battling to a 1-1 tie through two overtimes. Tyler Strozeski scored in regulation. Nick Stulb, DJ Rostron, Tyler Eckardt and Andres Silva converted penalty kicks with Dan Sullivan finding the net with the game winner in sudden death.

Souderton players to watch: Tyler Eckardt, Tylor Strozeski, Nick Stulb, Justin Rodzewich, Dan Sullivan, Jordan Rawa, Nate Verso, Jack O’Leary,

William Tennent

• 9-7-2 overall
• Fourth place SOL National Conference (6-5-3)
• Swept #17 Pennsbury and tied #3 Neshaminy, 1-1, Sept. 18
• Upset 11^th-seeded Upper Dublin 3-1. Tony Ciarlante scored a pair of goals, and Johnny Ciarlante had one goal.

Tennent players to watch: Johnny Ciarlante, Tony Ciarlante, Brian Note, Ben Zeitz (keeper), J.R. McCabe, Andrew Hughes, Jeremy Hefle, Dan Miller

GIRLS
#17 WEST CHESTER EAST AT #1 NESHAMINY
West Chester East

• 13-5-1 overall, 10-4-1 Ches-Mont League
• Fourth place Ches-Mont league
• 9 game winning streak after dropping their season opener to #8 Spring-Ford 3-1
• Beat #13 Downingtown West 4-0 in regular season
• Defeated #16 Haverford 3-1 in first round, using goals from Hannah Specht, Hayley Eshleman and Marina Morton.

Neshaminy

• 17-0 overall, 14-0 SOL
• 2012 and 2013 National League Champions
• First time in school history that a girls soccer team was undefeated in regular season
• Posted 13 shutouts
• Only allowed 3 goals all season, all from district qualifying teams
• Reached PIAA Class AAA State Semi-finals in 2012 before losing to Cumberland Valley
• Opening round bye

Key players:Megan Schafer (Sr., Forward who leads team with 23 goals and 16 assists), Gabby Farrell (So., Forward), Katie Suchodolski (Sr., Midfielder), Fran Donato (Jr., Midfielder), Jess Kelly (Sr., Defender), Amy Heller (Sr., Defender), Nicole Nisivoccia (Jr., Defender), Maggie Daeche (Fr., Defender), McKenna Mullin (Sr., Keeper)
Coach Rachel Clemens says: “We are eager to play in the district one playoff tournament and are hoping to make a long playoff run.”

#12 PENNSBURY at #5 PENNRIDGE
Pennsbury

• 10-4-4 overall, 7-3-4 SOL
• Third place National Conference
• Lost 3-0 to #3 Strath Haven to close the regular season
• Tied #10 Council Rock South 0-0 in a league game
• Only allowed six goals the entire season
• Defeated #21 Garnet Valley 1-0 in first round. Jady Peto scored the only goal in a win that was highlighted by the Falcons’ defense.

Players to watch:Uche Onuoha (Jr., Forward), Sarah McDonald (Sr., Keeper), Courtney Bennett (Sr., Keeper), Caroline Foley (Fr., Central Defender)
Coach Kim Voorhees says: “We are looking forward to a successful playoff run. The first half of the season was great for us, and we had a bit of a lull in the second half. The playoffs have reenergized us and we are really excited to get back to the soccer we were playing at the beginning of the season. We are confident that we will be able to come together and find success as a team in the playoffs.”

Pennridge

• 15-0-3 overall, 11-0-3 SOL
• Continental Conference Champions for the fourth consecutive year
• 10 shutouts
• Defeated #6 CB East 3-2 to clinch league title
• Upset by CB West in District I semifinals in 2012
• Opening round bye

Key players:Jackie Stevens (Sr., Forward), Andrea Caya (Sr., Midfield), Audrey Butcher (Sr., Midfield), Julia Rufe (Sr., Defender)
Coach Audrey Anderson says: “We are excited to be back at districts, and hoping for a long post season.  We are made up of 11 seniors but have looked to our younger players to play some big roles on the field. I expect Pennridge to play hard and fight in every game.”

#9 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST at #8 SPRING-FORD
Central Bucks West

• 9-2-5 overall, 7-1-5 SOL
• Third place Continental Conference
• Tied #6 Central Bucks East 0-0 and #5 Pennridge 1-1
• Beat American Conference Champs #14 Upper Dublin 1-0
• Lost 3-2 to #4 Boyertown
• Made it to PIAA Class AAA State Quarterfinals in 2012
• Beat #24 Bishop Shanahan 3-1 in the opening round of districts, using goals by Shae McCarty and Kelsey Horst to open up a 2-0 halftime lead. Gwen Harvey added a second half goal.

Players to watch: Shae McCarty (Jr., Midfielder), Grace Bendon (Jr., Keeper), Emily Grove (Sr., Midfielder), Gwen Harvey (Sr., Defensive Midfielder), Kelsey Horst (Sr., Forward), Zoe Traficante (Sr., Defensive Midfielder)
Coach Jorge Rodriguez says: “This team has enough returning players from last year's team to have the experience of being through this before.  We're hoping that combining that experience along with a good organized soccer we can be competitive in the tournament.”

Spring-Ford

17-1-1 overall, 11-1-1 PAC-10

• Liberty Division Champion
• First ever league title
• None of the players had ever been in a PAC-10 Final Four match before this year
• Defeated #4 Boyertown 2-1 in PAC-10 championship, handing them their only loss of the season
• Cruised past #25 Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-1 in the first round. Megan Giannopoulos led the way with two goals and one assist while Gabrielle Vagnozzi, Brianna Cirino and Aley Kate McKinely each added single goals.

#10 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH AT #7 WC RUSTIN
Council Rock South

• 11-4-2 overall, 10-2-2 SOL
• Second place National Conference
• Took #1 Neshaminy to overtime in their 1-0 loss, and are one of two teams to score a goal on the top seed
• Lost to #7 WC Rustin 1-0 and to #2 Downingtown East 2-0
• All four of their losses come from teams ranked in the top ten
• Scored six or more goals in five games
• Blanked #23 Wissahickon 6-0 in first round. Jesse Magee scored a pair of goals, and Taylor Dillon, Nikki Caffey, Shannon Boyle and Lindsay Hirsch each scored one goal.

Players to watch:Taylor Dillon (Sr., Forward), Nikki Caffey (Jr., Offense), Alyssa Palio (Sr., Midfielder), Gabi Rosenfeld (Sr., Midfielder)
Coach Kimmy Francis says: “I’m excited about the second round. If we show up and we are the Council Rock South that knocks the ball around and has the energy to play a full 80 minutes, then we can come out on top.”

WC Rustin

• 14-2-3 overall, 11-1-3 Ches-Mont League
• Second place Ches-Mont League
• Only two losses are a 2-1 loss to #6 Central Bucks East in their first game and league loss to #2 Downingtown East 4-0
• Shutout 4 opponents by seven points or more, 13 shutouts in total
• Defeated #26 Harriton 4-0 in opening round of Districts, using goals from Ashlyn Kearney, Mackenzie Moore, Cassie Cheeseman and Maddie Moran.

#20 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH AT #4 BOYERTOWN
Council Rock North

• 6-7-4 overall, 6-5-3 SOL
• Fourth place National Conference
• One of two teams to score on #1 Neshaminy in the regular season
• Had a seven-game stretch where they didn’t win a game, but finished the season winning 3 of 5
• Lost to rival #10 Council Rock South 4-1 in last game of regular season
• Upset #13 Downingtown West in penalty kicks 4-3 in round one after battling to a 0-0 tie after two overtimes. Anna Budney, Emily Mackin, Michaela Finneyfrock and Tori Hill each converted penalty kids.

Players to watch:Bri Columbo (Sr., Midfielder and team's leading scorer), Tori Hill (So., Midfielder), Delaney Smith (Sr., Midfielder), Anna Budny (Sr., Defender), Michaela Finneyfrock (Jr., Midfielder)
Coach Ginna Lewing says:“We are excited to be back in the District Playoffs and when we show up and play and play with heart, we can compete with everyone. Our team is thrilled to compete in such a talented and strong District and eager to compete.”

Boyertown

• 15-1-2 overall, 11-0-2 PAC-10
• Three straight league titles before losing to Spring-Ford (2-1) in PAC-10 championship game 
• Only loss of season is their championship loss
• Both ties from District qualifying teams, tied #8 Spring-Ford 1-1 in first game of regular season and #15 Owen J Roberts 1-1
• Currently on a 14-game winning streak that includes 8 shutouts
• Defeated #9 Central Bucks West 3-2 in a non-league battle
• Opening round bye

#11 CONESTOGA AT #6 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST
Conestoga

• 12-3-4 overall, 11-1-3 Central League
• Second place Central League
• Lost to #10 Council Rock South in season opener 1-0 and only league loss is to #2 Downingtown East 1-0
• Tied #20 Council Rock North to close out regular season
• Beat #22 Mount St Joseph’s 2-1 in OT in first round. Monica Borzillo scored the game winner in the 84^th minute. Katelyn Perz also scored.

Central Bucks East

• 15-1-3 overall, 10-1-3 SOL
• Second place Continental Conference
• Only loss came from #5 Pennridge
• Shutout #14 Upper Dublin 4-0 to end regular season and beat #7 WC Rustin 2-1 in season opener
• Only allowed five goals in league play and posted eight shutouts
• Eliminated in first round of PIAA State Playoffs in 2012
• Shut out out #27 Interboro 5-0 in their first postseason match. Shaun Kane connected for her second hat trick of the season. Nicole Pannella and Kennedy Cusato also added goals.

Players to watch:Shaun Kane (Sr., Forward), Emma Loving (So., Forward), Annie Axenroth (Sr., Midfielder), Nicole Pannella (Sr., Midfielder), Kristen Murphy (Jr., Midfielder), Holly Moyer (Sr., Defender), Abby Emmert (Sr., Defender), Paige Marcinkowski (Sr., Keeper)
Coach Paul Eisold says: “This CB East team continues to win and be competitive, challenging the best teams in the area. The dynamic duo of Emma Loving and Shaun Kane have produced over 25 goals and 18 assists. Many players have stepped up adding quality goals in a timely manner. The setbacks this team has under gone this season makes them a contender this post season. When East is running full blast on all cylinders, be prepared for an entertaining game.”