SOL District Girls' Soccer Preview (Opening Round)

10/26/15 1:22pm Posted by editor

Dan Beck’s preview gives an in-depth look at the SOL teams and their opponents in this week’s District One Tournament.

District One AAA Playoffs
The summer training, the preseason camps, and hard fought regular season comes to a head the next two weeks. Playoff time. The power rankings—which we may never fully understand—have spoken, laying out the 28-team field. The one-and-done bracket is set and it includes 11 Suburban One League teams. CB East and Pennsbury will rest until Thursday, gifted first round byes. The other nine will start Tuesday. Three games will feature an SOL vs. SOL scenario, an odd twist of fate for the deep conference. One quadrant of the bracket doesn’t include an SOL team, and the quadrant headed by Pennsbury includes just the Falcons. On the other hand, CB East leads a bracket with six of seven teams hailing from the SOL. When all is said and done, five teams will advance to the PIAA state tournament. Here’s a look at the teams and matchups for the District One AAA playoffs:

#1 Central Bucks East Patriots (Bye)
CB East will enjoy a bye on Tuesday before opening up on Thursday against either Wissahickon or Abington. The Patriots earned the #1 seed, guaranteeing them a home game in the District One AAA playoffs until the semifinals. While everyone knows the name Emma Loving, East has a complete team that will make it a threat all throughout the postseason. Bri Talbot has three game-winning goals, and while Loving attracts the attention of defenses, Talbot has been able to find the net.

  • 17-0-1 overall
  • 13-0-1 in league play; SOL Continental Champions
  • Regular season wins over #19 Upper Dublin (4-0), #6 West Chester Henderson (3-0), defending Class AA state champion Villa Joseph Marie, #24 Central Bucks South (1-0 & 1-0), #8 Pennridge (3-2 & 1-0).
  • Only blemish a 1-1 tie on October 21 to #25 Souderton
  • Last season: Lost in PIAA state semifinals to Canon-McMillan, 2-1.
  • Offense led by arguably the state’s best player, senior UPenn-commit Emma Loving. Bri Talbot and Paige Weiss have been solid up front as well. Hannah Zach is an underrated threat at midfield.
  • Will face winner of #16 Wissahickon vs. #17 Abington on Thursday in Holicong

#17 Abington at #16 Wissahickon
Abington GhostsAbington won just five games in 2014, so when the Ghosts opened up 2015 with a win against the reigning state champions, CB West, it would have been easy to see that as an anomaly. The Ghosts have proved this season that you would be wrong if you thought that. Time and time again, Abington has proved to be more than a formidable playoff team. The Ghosts have hung tough in the SOL National and gone outside the conference to pick up some big wins. They’ve done all this despite hardly ever playing this season at 100 percent because of injuries. The only question is how Abington wasn’t awarded a first round home game.

  • 12-5-1 overall
  • 8-5-1 in league play; Fourth place in SOL National
  • Regular season wins over CB West (3-2) #11 Neshaminy (2-1), Upper Dublin (3-2), #25 Souderton (1-0)
  • Last season: Didn’t qualify for District One AAA playoffs
  • Strong non-conference wins and experience could bode well for Ghosts
  • Speedy Julia Guarini, along with a host of players like Camryn Lexow, Toni Washington and Maddie Doyle lead the way for the Ghosts.

Wissahickon Trojans
Wissahickon searched all season for its “signature win.” The Trojans got it late in the season on October 19, on its senior night no less. It was a 1-0 win over visiting Upper Dublin, preventing the Flying Cardinals from clinching the SOL American outright that night. The Trojans will look to ride that momentum into Tuesday’s playoff opener. Wissahickon was just 1-3 outside of the SOL American, but the Trojans quick front line could matchup well with a strong Abington team, making for what should be an exciting game.

  • 12-5-1 overall
  • 11-2-1 in league play; Second place in SOL American
  • Regular season wins over Springfield (Montco) (8-4) and #19 Upper Dublin (1-0)
  • Last season: Lost in District One AAA first round to Plymouth Whitemarsh, 2-1
  • Maddie Elwell, Talia Abrahams, Mady Foglia, and Krysta Memis lead the Trojans’ charge offensively
  • Keanna Haney has been strong in net all season.

#25 Souderton at #8 Pennridge
In a battle of SOL Continental foes, Pennridge and Souderton have split the season series; Souderton took round one with a 1-0 win on September 18, while Pennridge won the second meeting on October 13, 3-0. The familiarity these two teams have with each other makes for one of the more intriguing matchups of the first round.

Souderton Indians
Souderton started out 2015 as one of the league’s biggest surprises. Since then, they’ve turned into one of the district’s most feared teams, ending their league schedule with a tie against #1 CB East. The Indians have battled injury and illness in the latter half of the season, which has been up-and-down to say the least. Still, they can match up well with any team and will certainly be a team to watch if they can upset the Rams in the first round.

  • 9-7-2 overall
  • 6-6-2 in league play; tied for fourth place in SOL Continental
  • Key regular wins over #6 West Chester Henderson (2-1), #8 Pennridge (1-0), #21 Mount St. Joseph (2-1), #27 North Penn (2-1), #24 CB South (2-1)
  • Tied #1 CB East on October 21, 1-1.
  • Last season: Didn’t qualify for District One AAA playoffs
  • Tori Dowd, Cara McCausland, Ellie Andrade, Bree DiRenzi and Meredith Moore led an Indians offense that is full of playmakers.

Pennridge Rams
You can’t start a Pennridge playoffs preview without mentioning the past two years. In 2013, 12th-ranked Pennsbury knocked out the Rams in the second round after a first round bye. Last year, 28th-ranked Owen J. Roberts shocked the fifth-ranked Rams in the first round, 2-1. The Rams are probably sick of hearing about that. This season may be different, though. First of all, they returned most of their team from last season. Secondly, Pennridge has suffered four losses and a pair of ties headed into the playoffs. Maybe the battle-tested Rams got its defeats out of the way early? We’ll see on Tuesday. Souderton will provide more than enough of a first round test.

  • 11-4-2 overall
  • 8-4-2 in league play; Second place in SOL Continental
  • Key regular season wins over #24 CB South (4-2), #16 Wissahickon (6-1), #25 Souderton (3-0)
  • Last season: Lost in District One AAA first round to Owen J. Roberts, 2-1
  • Sisters Kennedy and Kouri Peace lead the attack up front for the Rams. Jess Milligan, Erin Stevenson, and Katie Fischer have provided valuable contributions as well.

#24 Central Bucks South at #9 Downingtown East
Central Bucks South TitansCB South came up just short in a number of games this season. If a bounce or two went their way, the Titans could have had two victories over CB East, and it would be looking at a much higher seed than 24. Instead, South has a tough first round matchup with Downingtown East. But the Titans come from the SOL Continental, where it doesn’t know the meaning of an “easy game.” Coach Betsy Bullock also scheduled a number of tough nonleague opponents. Her team is more than ready for a battle, and with one of the area’s top goalkeepers in Sophia Boggs, the Titans certainly have it in them to make a nice run this postseason.

  • 10-6-2 overall
  • 7-5-2 in league play; Third place in SOL Continental
  • Key regular season wins over #27 North Penn (4-1 & 2-1), #23 West Chester East (1-0) and 14-6-1 Archbishop Wood (1-0)
  • Close defeats at the hands of CB East (1-0 both times), Souderton (2-1) and Villa Joseph Marie (2-1)
  • Ties with #8 Pennridge on October 8 and Souderton on September 21.
  • Last season: Lost in District One AAA second round to Great Valley, 3-1
  • Offense led by Aleksa Peev (8 goals and 3 assists) and Kylie Walsh (5 goals and 7 assists)
  • Goalie Sophia Boggs has been clutch for the Titans in net, registering 8 shutouts.

Downingtown East Cougars

  • 12-5-1 overall
  • 8-4-1 in Ches-Mont League play; fourth place in Ches-Mont National Division
  • Key regular season wins over #4 Spring-Ford (1-0), #23 West Chester East (2-1), Villa Joseph Marie (3-0)
  • Lost to #6 West Chester Henderson in double overtime, 3-2, on October 1.
  • Last season: Lost in District One AAA first round to West Chester East, 1-0.
  • Offense led by Aliza Trasatti (11 goals), Emma Steigerwald (11 goals), and Maddie Baxter (8 goals)

CB South coach Betsy Bullock says: “The Lady Titans are looking to Aleka Peev and Kylie Walsh to lead them offensively in the postseason. [Peev] has played both forward and center mid and is productive from both positions. Walsh is a tenacious forward who is our assists leader with 7 assists. Goalkeeper Sophia Boggs has kept us in every game with her stellar play.”

#2 Pennsbury Falcons (Bye)
When a player like Caroline Foley goes down, most teams would shudder. Not Pennsbury, though. While Foley is crucial piece of the Falcons’ potent offensive attack, the team responded by having even more players step up during the month of September. Foley returned to score a pair of goals in Pennsbury’s SOL National-clinching win over rival Neshaminy. One of those players to step up was sophomore Cara Thomas. Thomas moved up late last season after playing most of the season on JV. This year, she’s been a vital cog for the Falcons on varsity, even scoring a hat trick in her team’s first meeting with Neshaminy, a 6-3 win. Look for Foley, Thomas and a handful of others when Pennsbury opens up the playoffs on Thursday against either Radnor or Penncrest, as the Falcons look to win their second straight District One title.

  • 17-1-0 overall
  • 13-1-0 in league play, SOL National champions
  • Key regular season wins over #28 garnet Valley (5-1), #17 Abington (4-1 & 4-2) # Council Rock North (4-0), Neshaminy (6-3 & 3-0)
  • Only loss came against Council Rock North (2-1) on October 6.
  • Last season: Won District One AAA Championship; Lost in PIAA AAA quarterfinals to CB West, 2-1.
  • Offense led by Caroline Foley, Cara Thomas, Riley Rudd, and Kelly Amador.
  • Nany Santiago has been strong in net all season long.
  • Will face the winner of #15 Radnor-#18 Penncrest Thursday at home

#19 Upper Dublin at #14 Council Rock North
Upper Dublin Flying CardinalsJohn Topper didn’t take it easy on his girls when he constructed his nonleague schedule. The Upper Dublin coach scheduled three playoff teams—Abington, Phoenixville, and CB East. The Flying Cardinals dropped all three of those games, but it has at least made Topper’s team no stranger to tough opponents. The SOL American champions will get another one Tuesday with Council Rock North. Maybe the fourth time will be the charm.

  • 13-4-1 overall
  • 12-1-1 in league play; SOL American champions
  • Key regular season wins over Springfield (Montco) (1-0 & 7-0) and Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-2 & 6-1)
  • Last season: Lost in District One AAA first round to Phoenixville, 5-2
  • Sizzy Lawton, Paige Lawton and Lexi Schneider will provide trouble for teams on the offensive end.

Council Rock North Indians
Last year, Central Bucks West rode all the way to Hershey and a state title win after earning the 13th seed in the District One AAA tournament. The Bucks’ MVP? Goalie Grace Bendon. Council Rock North will come into the playoffs with a similar seed to that 2014 West team—14th. The Indians’ MVP? Goalie Jeri Belardo. Belardo, along with a stout North defense, have allowed just six goals in their last 15 games. North will look to write a similar script to the 2014 Bucks this year. It looks like they have the cast to do so.

  • 11-4-3 overall
  • 9-3-2 in league play; third place in SOL National
  • Key regular season wins over #17 Abington (1-0 twice), #2 Pennsbury (1-0), and #21 Mount St. Joseph (8-1)
  • Ties to Neshaminy (1-1) on October 13, Council Rock South (0-0) on October 15, and Haverford (0-0) on October 17
  • Last season: Lost in District One AAA first round to CB South in PKs.
  • Goalie Jeri Belardo has registered 10 shutouts on the season
  • Offense led by Becca Margolis (6 goals and 4 assists), Tori Hill (4 goals and 15 assists), Mia Scalamandre (4 goals), and Kayla Robinson (14 goals and 5 assists)

Council Rock North coach Wendell Beres says: “The good news for us is that we know a few of their opponents and we’ve been able to get some information on [Upper Dublin] and we’ll be ready to play. Last year we were the #6 seed and were probably ranked a little too high. In the old system, we would have been higher than 14, but the power rankings put us where they did and as I told my team, the 13 and the 14 seed at districts last year both made it states. That will be our goal. Upper Dublin will be a tough opponent, but at this point in the season I’m pretty happy with our group and we’re excited to get Tuesday underway. I think Upper Dublin will be organized and they’re going to work hard.”

#27 North Penn at #6 West Chester Henderson
North Penn MaidensThere might not be a team more ready for the postseason than North Penn. On October 6, the Maidens sat at 3-7-2 with their only shot at making the playoffs likely being to finish the season a perfect 6-0. North Penn did exactly that, snagging one of the last two spots in the postseason. The Maidens will go for their seventh straight win against West Chester Henderson, which lost two of its three games against SOL Continental opponents. Could North Penn make it three?

  • 9-7-2 overall
  • 6-6-2 in league play; tied for fourth in the SOL Continental
  • Key regular season wins over #7 Strath Haven (2-1), Central Bucks West (2-0), #8 Pennridge (1-0), #25 Souderton (2-1)
  • Last season: Didn’t qualify for District One AAA playoffs
  • Forward Amelia Eshraghi has come on strong this season, including the game-winning goal against #8 Pennridge.
  • Hannah Lambert has been big in goal, keeping the Maidens in nearly every game they have played.
  • Will face winner of Neshaminy-Phoenixville with a win

West Chester Henderson

  • 15-3-0 overall
  • 12-1-0 in league play; Ches-Mont League National Division champions
  • Key regular season wins over #23 West Chester East (1-0), #9 Downingtown East (2-0), and #10 Downingtown West (2-0)
  • Last season: Lost in District One AAA first round to Strath Haven, 3-2.

#22 Phoenixville at #11 Neshaminy

Neshaminy Redskins
Fifty-eight. That’s how many goals Neshaminy has scored this season. Its prolific offense, led by Gabby Farrell, has been on display all season averaging 3.2 goals per game. It still seems like Neshaminy may be flying under the radar this season. Depth is Neshaminy’s strength. While it’s easy to focus on the playmaking ability of Farrell, a freshman, Brooke Mullin, has stepped up. The forward is second on the team with 12 goals and will create problems for Phoenixville.

  • 12-5-2 overall
  • 10-3-1 in league play, second place in SOL National
  • Key regular season wins over #17 Abington (6-0), #14 Council Rock North (1-0), #10 Downingtown West (2-0)
  • Last season: Lost in District One AAA first round to Council Rock South, 1-0
  • Playmakers abound on the Neshaminy offense. Led by senior Gabby Farrell (21 goals and 7 assists), freshman Brooke Mullin (12 goals and 5 assists), sophomore Jackie Ziegler (7 goals and 8 assists), and junior Maggie Daeche (6 goals and 3 assists).
  • Defense headed by sophomore Nicole Palmer and senior Dani McGlynn
  • Will face winner of #6 West Chester Henderson-#27 North Penn with a win.

Phoenixville Phantoms

  • 12-6-0 overall
  • 9-4-0 in league play; Pac-10 Frontier Division regular season co-champions
  • Lost in Pac-10 Final Four semifinals 1-0 to #5 Boyertown
  • Key regular season wins over Bishop Shananan (1-0), #19 Upper Dublin (1-0), and Pope John Paul II (3-1)
  • Last season: Lost in District One AAA second round to Conestoga, 2-1
  • Dakota Graham leads the Phantoms with seven goals and one assist.

Neshaminy coach Chelsea Lovelace says: “We haven't seen Phoenixville play, but they have had great results and finished at the top of their league.  I think it really comes down to getting our girls prepared to play.  This is what we worked towards all season so we really have to make sure we are focused and ready to grind it out for 80 or so minutes.  I have so much confidence in this team that I think if we come out Tuesday and work for each other all over the field, we will get the result we want.”

Oh so close…

After spending the entirety of the season inside the top 28 of the power rankings, William Tennent (9-7-2, 6-6-2 SOL) found itself on the outside looking in on Sunday. The Panthers finished the season ranked unlucky #29. Despite wins over playoff-bound teams Council Rock North and Radnor, Tennent will look to next year.

District One AA Playoffs
Both AA teams in the SOL will be represented in the District One AA playoffs. Upper Moreland and Springfield both grabbed the final spots in the postseason. Both teams will play first round games on Wednesday. If the Bears and Spartans can get by their respective opponents, the familiar foes will face each other in the second round.

#7 Upper Moreland at #2 Gwynedd Mercy – Wednesday, October 28
Upper Moreland BearsWhen we talk about battle-tested teams when it’s playoff time, it’s hard to forget about Upper Moreland. The Bears compete in the SOL American, playing against mostly AAA—bigger schools. The only exception is, of course, Springfield (Montco), which is also playing in the AA playoffs. Keep that in mind, as Upper Moreland takes on GMA in the first round.

  • 8-7-3 overall
  • 6-6-2 in league play; fifth place in SOL American
  • Key regular season wins over Springfield (Montco) (1-0), Cheltenham (1-0 & 3-1) and a 1-1 tie against Plymouth Whitemarsh
  • Offense led by Brianna Byard (7 goals), Samantha Cancel, and Maggie Finn
  • Goalie Kim Benge has registered four shutouts on the season.

Gwynedd Mercy Monarachs

  • 9-3-0 overall
  • Key regular season wins over Wissahickon (4-1), Villa Joseph Marie (3-2 OT) and Archbishop Wood (2-1)

#6 Springfield (Montco) at #3 Lower Moreland
Springfield (Montco) SpartansSpringfield will look to right the ship against Lower Moreland. On October 5, the Lions handed the Spartans a 5-0 defeat. Three weeks have past since then, and hopefully for Springfield, coach Suzette Wolf will bring a different game plan as her team looks to avenge that loss. Springfield’s experience against solid AAA opponents should help them get ready.

  • 8-7-1 overall
  • 8-5-1 in league play; third place in SOL American
  • Key regular season wins over Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-0), Wissahickon (1-0) and #7 Upper Moreland (3-0)
  • Lost to Lower Moreland 5-0 on October 5.
  • Led on the field by sweeper Lindsey Smith

Lower Moreland Lions

  • 8-2-0 overall
  • 5-2 in league play; second in Bicentennial Athletic League Independence Division
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