Check out the preview capsules for Saturday's second round of boys' soccer games. Six SOL soccer teams will see action in this weekend's District One AAA tournament.
It’s been nine days since Neshaminy played Council Rock South in its regular season finale, but the Redskins have been waiting a whole lot longer than that for Saturday’s District One AAA second round game. The wait has actually been 367 days.
That’s how long it’s been since the Redskins – then the district’s number three seed – were upset by 14th-seeded West Chester Rustin 1-0 in the second round of last year’s district tournament after an opening round bye.
“The last couple of years have been disappointing in the district, so what we really want to do is make a good run in the districts and qualify for states,” coach Tom Foley said. “Being 14-0 in the league was absolutely fabulous because that doesn’t happen every year, but we really want to make a deep run into the district playoffs.”
This year’s National Conference crown was the third consecutive for a Redskins squad that boasts a strong senior nucleus.
“We’ve had the same core of players for three years now, that being James McCourt, Devlin Metee, Jamen Rowen and Kenny Herrmann,” Foley said. “Jamen has been our rock defensively, along with Devlin. James slipped back into that stopper area, and he’s been a big distributor.”
Herrmann has scored 15 goals to lead the ‘Skins offensively.
“They’ve been around for three years now, and it’s nice to have the experience,” Foley said. “I attribute that to a lot of our success.
“We’ve been fortunate to get two or three good underclassmen every year, and that helps.”
A pair of sophomores – Dylan McDonald and Dan Grindrod – have stepped into the center midfield and made important contributions. McDonald has scored 10 goals,
“Danny Grindrod, the last three or four games, has really done a good job kind of quarterbacking the team and putting everybody in motion,” Foley said. “It’s been a mix of everything.
“We’ve had some older kids play and then we have some younger kids really step up and play for us. It’s been really nice.”
Thanks to a miscalculation in the original district seedings, the Redskins as well as third-seeded Wissahickon and fourth-seeded Central Bucks East have had a longer than expected layoff between games.
“I don’t know how it’s going to impact us,” Foley said. “You never like that bye in the first place, so that sometimes throws you for a loop.
“And we didn’t know for sure who we were playing. We’re on our third potential matchup in three days.”
The Redskins will host 15th-seeded Great Valley in a second round game Saturday at noon.
#2 NESHAMINY vs. #15 GREAT VALLEY
Neshaminy
- 16-2-0 overall
- 14-0 SOL National Conference champion
- Regular season wins over #17 Pennsbury (2-1 & 2-1) and #28 Abington (3-2 & 3-0).
- Recorded six shutouts.
Neshaminy players to watch: Jamen Rowan, senior defender; Kenny Herrmann, senior forward; Devlin Metee senior, defender; James McCourt, senior midfielder.
Great Valley
- 13-4-2 overall
- 8-4-1 fourth place Ches-Mont American Division'
- Defeated #23 Downingtown East (1-0), #18 Owen J. Roberts (3-1), #26 central Bucks West (2-1).
- Recorded eight shutouts this season.
How they got here: Kyle Hoops scored a pair of goals – the second on a penalty kick – to lead the Patriots to a 3-1 win over 18th-seeded Owen J Roberts in a game they trailed 1-0 at halftime.
#3 WISSAHICKON vs. #14 SPRINGFIELD (DELCO)
Wissahickon
- 15-2-0 overall
- 13-2-0 Second place SOL American Conference
- Regular season wins over #5 Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-0) and #16 Radnor (2-1).
- Knocked #2 Neshaminy from the ranks of the undefeated with a 2-1 win on Sept. 12.
Wissahickon players to watch: Cole Kropnick, senior attacker; John Carrozza, senior goalkeeper; Devon Memis, senior midfielder.
Springfield (Delco)
- 12-7 overall
- Regular season wins over #8 Penncrest (1-0), #13 Strath Haven (4-1), #16 Radnor (1-0), #21 Lower Merion (2-1), #24 Marple Newtown (3-2)
How they got here: Defeated 19th-seeded Harriton 2-0, using goals from Nick Jannelli and Danny Korinth.
#4 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST vs. #20 METHACTON
Central Bucks East
- 16-2-0 overall
- 13-1-0 SOL Continental Conference champions
- Defeated #9 North Penn twice (1-0 & 2-1)
- Defeated previously undefeated District 2 power Coughlin (3-1)
- Won first 12 conference games; didn't allow a single goal until the seventh game of the season.
Central Bucks East players to watch: J.R. Eisold, Brian Gilligan, Evan are, Alex Parasky.
Methacton
- 13-6-0 overall
- 8-5-0 third lace Pac-10 Liberty Division
- Beat #4 Central Bucks East (2-0), #18 Owen J. Roberts (1-0) and #27 Perkiomen Valley 1-0.
- Recorded six shutouts this season.
How they got here: Methacton received a pair of goals from Justin Ardman in its 2-1 upset of 15th-seeded Strath Haven.
#5 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH vs. #21 LOWER MERION
Plymouth Whitemarsh
- 17-2-0 overall
- SOL American Conference champions (13-1-0)
- Split regular season series with #3 Wissahickon
- Responded to first defeat of season with six consecutive shutouts of opponents.
Plymouth Whitemarsh players to watch: Alex Bilodeau, senior; Cameron Johnson, senior; David Reina, senior; Austin Betterly, junior.
How they got here: The Colonials received goals from Skyler Goldstein, Cam Johnson and Dominic Wlodarczak in their 3-1 win over the 28th-seeded Ghosts.
Lower Merion
- 12-6-1 overall
- 6-4-0 sixth place Central Athletic League
- Regular season wins over #13 Strath Haven (1-0), #20 Methacton (1-0), #24 Marple Newtown (6-1), #25 West Chester East (1-0).
- Recorded 10 shutouts this season.
How they got here: The Aces used a goal by Ryan Tillman with 5:25 remaining in the first half to upset 12th-seeded Boyertown.
#17 PENNSBURY at #1 UNIONVILLE
Pennsbury
- 13-4-2 overall
- Second place SOL National Conference (11-3-0)
- Regular season wins over #23 Downingtown East (3-0) and #28 Abington (3-0).
- Closed out the season with three consecutive shutouts; finished the regular season with nine total.
Pennsbury players to watch: Colin Marks, junior midfielder; Eric Gaglairdi, senior goalkeeper; Alex Kardos, senior, midfielder; Alex Tennant, senior defender.
How they got here: The Falcons used a goal by Keion Randolph (Will McCullough assist) in the opening minute to edge Radnor 1-0. Keeper Eric Gagliardi recorded nine saves in his 10th shutout of the season.
Unionville
- 16-0-2 overall
- Ches-Mont American Division champions (13-0-0)
- Beat #9 Conestoga, #10 Bayard Rustin 1-0, #11 Kennett 3-0, #15 Great Valley 3-2, #25 West Chester East 3-0.
- Recorded nine shutouts this season.
#7 NORTH PENN vs. #10 West Chester Rustin
North Penn
- 16-3-0 overall
- 12-2-0, second place in SOL Continental Conference
- Beat #26 Central Bucks West twice (3-0 & 6-1).
- Two of the Knights’ three losses came at the hands of #4 CB East
- Defense has not allowed a goal in the past four games and only allowed more than one goal twice all season long.
North Penn players to watch: Drew McMenamin, senior defender; Kevin McKenna, senior forward; Nick Miller, senior midfielder; Brad Deckel, senior midfielder.
How they got here: The Knights used a goal by Mike Kohler (Kevin McKenna assist) with 6:02 remaining in the first sudden death overtime period to defeat #26 Central Bucks West.
West Chester Rustin
- 15-4 overall
- 10-3 second place Ches-Mont American Division
- Regular season wins over #6 WC Henderson (2-1), #11 Kennett (3-2), #15 Great Valley (3-0), and #23 Downingtown East (2-1)
- Four-game winning streak after losing a pair of games that snapped an eight-game winning streak
How they got here: Rustin received a goal from Chris Boyd in the 76th minute to defeat 23rd-seeded Downingtown East. Rustin took a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute on a goal by Dan Andersen (Ryan Fincher). Liam Grady had 13 saves.
About the Author
