SOL Girls' Soccer Wrap (10-8-13)

Check out the results for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action.

American Conference

WISSAHICKON 4, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 2
The Trojans moved into second place in the American Conference alongside Upper Merion with a key win over the Colonials who fell to third place.  The Trojans were out to avenge their 1-0 loss to the Colonials on September 16, and they wasted no time getting down to business as Alyssa Ryan scored off a breakaway in the 11th minute. Ryan’s goal set the tone for the Trojans, according to head coach Shannon Franke. Franke’s team found the net 17 minutes later when Meghan Guzewicz scored to up the lead to 2-0.
“It was a hard fought goal that started with a beautiful cross by Madison Elwell,” said Franke. “It was volleyed from the penalty mark by Krysta Memis to the head of Brittany Gelman, and was finished with a nice offensive header by Guzewicz.”
The Colonials responded with back-to-back goals, the first in the 33rd minute and the second in the 52nd minute to knot the score 2-2. Emotions ran high in the second half as the two teams battled for the win but at 61:23, the Trojans earned a free kick that Ryan capitalized on to regain the lead.
“Mary Matthews hit a beauty of a kick from the middle third, Ryan got under it and turned and shot from well outside the 18 for a brilliant, far post goal,” said Franke. “Just perfect,  it’s a shot I will remember for a long time.”
Franke said Ryan’s electrifying  goal re-energized her squad who found the net again in the 72nd minute when Elwell drove in the insurance goal off a Ryan assist.
“Anna Chiodo-Ortiz, Elwell, and Ryan were true workhorses,” said Franke. “They won an amazing 51 out of 54 50/50 balls for us.”
Jen Bondarchuk turned away six shots in the victory for the Trojans, who upped their record to 6-2-2 SOL (6-4-2 overall) while the Colonials saw their record drop to 6-4-1 (7-5-1 overall).  The Colonials have another key matchup Wednesday as they square off with Upper Merion while the Trojans host a Cheltenham squad that is still searching for its first win.
WISSAHICKON  2-2   4
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH  1-1   2

SPRINGFIELD 1, UPPER MERION 1 (2 OT)
The Spartans battled the second place Vikings to a 1-1 tie after a 100-minute double overtime contest.
“It was back and forth,” said coach Suzette Wolf. “Both teams had a lot of shots and a lot of missed opportunities.”
The Spartans got on the board first midway through the first half when Emily Giampetro converted a Caroline Page corner kick into a goal. The Spartans held onto that lead until the 70th minute when the Vikings registered the equalizer.
“We sort of felt like we had it because we were dominating the second half,” said Wolf. “Ultimately, we ran out of steam.”
The Vikings employed a strategy that has worked for them this year, pulling keeper Gabby Legendre in the final minutes of the game to put her in their mix of attackers. Almost as soon as Legendre made the switch, she was awarded a penalty kick and she powered the ball into the back of the net past Spartan keeper Yulia Conway.
Wolf admits, much of the game came down to the keepers, who both turned away excellent shots. Conway had a particularly outstanding showing as she recorded 20 saves.
“(Legendre) really played well,” said Wolf. “Yulia had a great game also. She is the motivator for our team. She is our leader, she really talks and communicates well.”
Wolf praised the junior keeper who has been plagued with injuries the past two seasons, causing her to miss a good bit of last year’s season and three games in 2013. The Spartans, who are now 3-6-1, host Norristown Wednesday and finish out their week facing Upper Dublin who is currently first in the league. The Vikings, now 6-2-2, share the number two spot with Wissahickon and prepare to host the now third-place Colonials on Wednesday for an important matchup. 
SPRINGFIELD  1-0-0-0
UPPER MERION  0-1-0-1

National Conference

CR SOUTH 0, PENNSBURY 0 (2 OT)
The Falcons and Golden Hawks were hoping for an outcome with a definite winner after tying 0-0 in their first matchup, but this battle ended in an identical scoreless draw.
“It really was a pretty even game,” said Pennsbury coach Kim Voorhees. “ I don’t think either one of us had much more possession than the other. In the first half, they had the ball for 20 minutes, then we bounced back and controlled the ball.”
The Falcons marked this one on their calendar, hoping to come out with the win and get closer to the number two spot in the conference, and although defensively they kept the Hawks off the board, they have struggled to put the ball in the back of the net in recent outings.
The Falcons’ stingy defense has allowed just four goals all season, and Tuesday’s game was no different.
”Defensively, we have been really solid throughout the season, and Emily Edwards and Caroline Foley stepped up big for us today,” said Pennsbury coach Kim Voorhees. “We only have one loss technically, and now it’s just finding the right combo to put one away.  I am happy with how they played and the fight they put up.”
The Falcons’ best chance to get on the scoreboard, according to Voorhees, was in the second half when Uche Onuoha beat her defender down the sideline and made it to the middle to take the keeper one-on-one, but her shot ended up in the arms of Hawks keeper Anna Didonato (4 saves).
“For both teams, there was never that moment that was the chance that got away,” said Voorhees. “The only time I felt we had more possession was the last overtime. We were in their half knocking it in but couldn’t get any good opportunities.
Courtney Bennett picked up three saves for the Falcons, who played their fifth double overtime game and whose record is now 5-1-4 in the league (8-1-4 overall). The Hawks remain above the Falcons in the standings with a 7-1-2 record (8-3-2 overall).
Both teams are back in action tomorrow as the Hawks host Bensalem and the Falcons welcome Council Rock North.
“It should be interesting,” said Voorhees. “Tomorrow needs to be a win. We are feeling a little mentally defeated with all the double overtimes. Getting a win would be huge, and we haven’t scored a goal for some time now. We need someone to put away a couple tomorrow and get our confidence back.”
CR SOUTH  0-0-0-0   0
PENNSBURY 0-0-0-0   0

CR NORTH 7, TRUMAN 0
The Indians have been in a scoring slump, scoring just two goals in their last seven contests, but that scoring drought officially ended on Tuesday afternoon. The Indians, who had not won in three weeks, finally got not only a convincing win, but one that involved six different goal scorers. Delaney Smith opened up the scoring (Lara Garzilli assist). Michaela Finneyfrock used a Bri Colombo assist to up the lead to 2-0 before assisting on the next two goals scored by Colombo and Tori Hill. Colombo turned a Grace Meinster pass into a goal to give the Indians a 5-0 lead and Kayla Robinson added an unassisted goal before intermission. In the second half, Kiki Glatz closed out the scoring off a Robinson assist. The Indians upped their record to 4-3-3 (5-5-4 overall) and face Pennsbury, who sits just above them in the standings, Wednesday afternoon. The Tigers fall to 0-10 (3-11 overall) and host Abington on Wednesday.
CR NORTH   6-1   7
TRUMAN  0-0   0

NESHAMINY 3, ABINGTON 0
Megan Schafer helped the Redskins roll to a 3-0 league win over the Ghosts, scoring two of her team’s three goals. Jess Kelly was the first to find the back of the net with a goal in the 2nd minute of play (Stephanie Donahue assist). Schafer then responded two minutes later off a Katie Suchodolski assist before scoring the final goal in the 49th minute with Gabby Farrell registering the helper. Keeper McKenna Mullin was credited with the shutout for the Redskins who upped their record to 10-0 SOL (13-0 overall). The Ghosts fell to 2-6-2 SOL (3-8-2 overall) and travel to Truman Wednesday while the ‘Skins prepare for William Tennent.
NESHAMINY  2-1   3
ABINGTON  0-0   0

Continental Conference

QUAKERTOWN 4, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
The first time the Panthers met the Titans this season, the Panthers picked up their first win over CB South in program history, and Tuesday night they had a repeat performance. The Panthers, who downed the Titans 4-3 in the last matchup, never let the Titans on the scoreboard this time around.
“Honestly, I think we have stressed that everyone understands their role and performs in their role,” said Panthers coach Mike Koch. “We have a ton of heart and we definitely worked really hard.”
In the 32nd minute, Jami Soriano sent a ball to Shannon Gibat who headed the ball to Katie Crouthamel. Crouthamel was able to use another head ball to put the Panthers on top 1-0. The rest of the game belonged to the Panther’s leading scorer, Gibat, who scored a true hat trick with three unanswered second half goals within six minutes to bring her season total to fifteen.
“Shannon is a special player, and every game, every coach in the league puts at least two players on her,” said Koch. “That’s how remarkable she is that she is still getting these goals.”
Gibat first connected in the 30th minute on an unassisted goal, then again in the 33rd minute off a Soriano assist and once more in the 36th minute when she converted a Hailee Stauffer assist into a goal. Erinne Finlayson was credited for the shutout for the Panthers with six saves while Emily Polcino turned away eight shots for the Titans.
Koch is more than pleased with his team’s performance as a whole as they sit in fourth place in the extremely competitive Continental Conference, boasting the best record they have ever had since the current league alignment.
“These kids have earned their results, they are a working group,” said Koch. “What we weren’t good at, we are getting better at all the time. It’s hard to find kids to buy into their roles and into the team in this day and age.”
Not only is the Panthers squad as a whole running on all cylinders, but Koch commended the play of Crouthamel, Gibat and Soriano.
“Katie is a freshman who is looking to follow the same path as Shannon, and they are working together as forwards nicely,” said Koch. “Jami does all those little things that don’t show up in box scores. I move her all over the place and even tonight she recognized she could better help as center mid instead of outside mid, and we made the adjustment and it worked out well.” 
The Titans, who travel to Hatboro Horsham tomorrow, saw their record fall to 3-5-2 in the league (4-7-2 overall). The Panthers evened out their SOL mark at 5-5 (7-6 overall). They will play two more back-to-back games this week at North Penn and then at CB East on Thursday.
“We want to continue to come back and fight,” said Koch. “We are hoping we can bring the same level of energy in the next two games.”

CB EAST 4, NORTH PENN 0
Zan Patella led the Patriots to the convincing win over the Maidens on Tuesday afternoon, scoring two goals and adding one assist. Patella was the first to score in the 24th minute off an Emma Loving assist. Then in the 50th minute, the roles were reversed as Loving used a Patella assist to score. Ten minutes later, Kristen Murphy turned a Shaun Kane pass into a goal before Patella closed out the scoring in the 73rd minute (Erin Lutz assist). Paige Marcinkowski and Lauren Burrell combined for the shutout in goal. Patriots coach Paul Eisold praised the defensive efforts of Abby Emmert and Emily Horn as well as the midfield play of Annie Axenroth, Maddie Myrtetus and Paige Weiss. The Patriots upped their league mark to 7-0-3 (11-0-3 overall) with a three-point lead over an idle Pennridge squad, making this week a crucial one. The Maidens, whose record dropped to 1-6-3 (2-8-3 overall) host Quakertown tomorrow while the Patriots travel to Souderton for a matchup under the lights.
CB EAST 1-3   4
NORTH PENN  0-0   0

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