Check out the results for SOL boys/girls lacrosse teams in action Wednesday. To view photos of the Pennridge/Upper Perk and Souderton/Wissahickon games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Boys
American Conference
Upper Merion 9, Upper Moreland 8
Upper Merion had endured a tough three-week stretch. Without a win in their previous six games – dating back to March, the Vikings needed a spark.
With his team down 5-3 the half, Brady McCormick gave his team the spark they needed.
“I blew up at them at halftime,” the Vikings’ coach said. “I told them that we had completely forgotten how to win and forgot how to do the little things right and that the little mistakes were killing us.”
McCormick’s speech seemed to work, as the Vikings outscored the Golden Bears 5-0 in the third quarter en route to a one-goal over the host Bears. It also didn’t hurt that the Vikings were finally somewhat healthy, as several starters returned from injury on Wednesday.
The Vikings (3-6, 3-4) were led by Evan Wickersham’s three goals, while Paulie Salamy, Tyler Thornton and Nick Freda each scored twice.
“It was a long time coming,” McCormick said. “We had been struggling a lot with injuries and just being healthy today helped. We had all but two of our starters there. When we lost to Springfield on Monday, we were missing six starters. Even one of our freshmen who was filling in dislocated his kneecap, so it was kind of a mess.”
With four starters back in the lineup, it took a bit of time for the Vikings to get things going. Upper Moreland led throughout the first half before Upper Merion came out on fire after the break.
“The way we were playing, we should’ve won the first half,” McCormick said. “They finally came out really aggressive, and we were looking to do work in the third quarter and it helped us to win for sure. I’m happy to see them bounce back and get a win.”
Thornton also added a pair of assists, while Freda tallied one. Steve Ferguson led the Vikings with four assists, while senior goalkeeper Troy Minnich stopped 16 shots to earn the win.
“If Troy didn’t have the first half saves that he did, there’s a chance we just fell apart,” McCormick said. “He’s been a rock all year. He’s had a lot of goals against, but he’s seeing the ball so often. He’s easily getting double-digit saves almost every game and he’s just been phenomenal for us even if the scores don’t always show it.”
Upper Moreland (3-7, 3-5) was led by Joe Colbridge, Tim Smith and Matt Sippel, as the trio scored two goals apiece. Joe Travato and Brendan Costello each scored once.
Upper Merion 1-2-5-1—9
Upper Moreland 2-3-0-3—8
Wissahickon 16, Cheltenham 2
Wissahickon rolled to a big win over the host Panthers.
Jack Shea led the Trojans (8-2, 6-1) with four goals and an assist, while Jake Brown, Keith Sharp and Eric Kaufmann each scored twice. Thomas Clements and John Esposito each tallied a goal and two assists, while Sam Kale dished out five assists. Austin Brush, John Carrozza, Pat Halligan and JD Scannapieco all scored one goal apiece. Kyle Wolf and John Dickson each tallied a pair of assists.
The Trojans scored 12 goals in the first half and led from start to finish. Cheltenham dropped to 0-6 overall and in conference play.
For the Panthers, Erek Cunningham had a goal and assist, and Thomas Hipwell also had a goal. David Friedman was credited with eight saves in goal.
Wissahickon 6-6-0-4—16
Cheltenham 0-0-2-0—2
Haverford School 15, Upper Dublin 5
Going against the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation according to every lacrosse poll and ranking is a tough task for anyone. For the previously undefeated Cardinals, the test proved to be too tough, and Upper Dublin suffered its first loss of the year.
After an even first quarter, Haverford School broke the game open in the second, scoring five goals to go into halftime with a 5-0 lead over the visiting Cardinals in a non-conference meeting.
The Cardinals remained close until late in the first half, trailing 3-1 with just over three minutes to play, but Haverford took over.
“It was a good start,” coach J.P. Banks said. “It was just at that time we had been playing well, and we made some small mistakes. When you make those mistakes against a well-coached school like that, you’re going to wind up with problems.”
Haverford was paced by Forry Smith and Dox Aitken, who scored four and three goals, respectively.
The Cardinals (8-1, 7-0 SOL) were led by Michael Mullen, who scored two goals. Michael Sowers scored a goal while adding an assist. Connor Wall and Evan Scott each scored once, while Nicholas Vernacchio and Max Winebrake each added assists.
“I think at points we played very well today, but we were able to watch what happens when you make small mistakes that turn into big problems against a great team that capitalizes on every opportunity they get,” said Banks. “I think anytime you go out on the field, you try to learn what happens out there, and I think this will give us plenty of opportunities to look at things and find out where we need to get better.
“I guess it’s a blessing for us that it happened in April and it will show us some things we need to do to get better as a team and as a coaching staff.”
Upper Dublin goalie Bobby McPeak stopped nine shots in net.
The Cardinals get back to conference action on Friday afternoon at Norristown (3:30 p.m.).
Upper Dublin 1-0-2-2—5
Haverford School 1-5-4-5—15
National Conference
Pennsbury 8, Harry S. Truman 6
It has been a tough season for Pennsbury.
After seven games, the Falcons had zero wins to show for their hard work, and that was in large part due to a futile offense.
Jared Petty struggled to find the offensive rhythm that earned him second team All-SOL National Conference recognition last year. All that changed against Harry S. Truman, as Petty scored three times and helped Pennsbury to its first win of the season against the host Tigers.
“Jared finally found the back of the net and got back to where he was in 2014,” Pennsbury coach Drew Artin said. “He was taking on a lot more of a leadership role this year, especially in this game, and he kind of had his coming out party today. Our whole offense really hasn’t been putting up the numbers we expected.”
Matt Roth added two goals for the Falcons (1-3, 1-7), who led 4-2 at the half. Hunter Lake and Mike Montgomery each scored goals, while goalkeeper Ben Abraham stopped 11 shots to earn the win.
“Obviously, it feels great (to get our first win),” Artin said. “The guys are happy, I’m happy for them and the whole coaching staff is happy. I know we put in a lot of work and I think we definitely deserved it.
“It’s been a long time coming throughout the whole season, and we’ve been waiting for this one. We hope to build off of it. I think we were finally starting to click in every aspect of the game, and everyone is kind of finding their roles and understanding that they have to work together more this year than any other year. They’re coming together as a team.”
For Truman (4-5, 0-3), Kyle Morris led the way with three goals. Freddy Baez, Ricki Train and Jake Sutchko each scored once, and goalkeeper Ross Koenig stopped 18 shots.
Holy Ghost Prep 14, Neshaminy 6
It was a tough afternoon for the Redskins when they took on Holy Ghost Prep in a non-league contest.
The Redskins were led by Matt Magdelinskas’ three goals. Kevin Goetz added two goals and two assists, while Cale Kitchenman scored once and dished out an assist as well. Mason Zeberlein and Justin Moranski each tallied assists.
Anthony Bickle stopped 14 shots in net for Neshaminy, which fell to 4-6 overall.
Holy Ghost Prep was led by Alex Yake’s five goals.
Continental Conference
Central Bucks South Remains Undefeated With Hotly Contested Win Over Crosstown Rival CB West
(Submitted Article)
Doylestown, PA: In a classic match-up of crosstown rivals, Central Bucks South defeated Central Bucks West 7-6 in a hotly contested SOL Continental boys lacrosse game on Wednesday night at War Memorial Field.
The game started with CB West jumping out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by Morgan Kratzke and Luke Durkin, but the Titans quickly countered with five consecutive goals on scores by Chris Tanner, Brendan McGrath, Austin Naessens, Jake Henze, and Dillon Kelly. The Bucks then closed out the first quarter with a goal by Will Ross to make it a 5-3 game.
Led by defenders Pat and Tim Kiel and outstanding goaltending by Steven Hogan (19 saves), the Bucks then shut down the potent Titan offense, holding them scoreless for two quarters while tallying three of their own on a goal by Will Ross and two scores by Jason Willis to take a 6-5 lead into the fourth quarter.
As the intensity of the game turned up a notch, Titan standout midfielder Jake Henze raced end-to-end off a Bucks’ turnover to tie the score at 6-6 with 9:54 left in the game. The two teams traded multiple possessions before CB South defender Kevin Witchey caused a turnover that led to the game-winning goal by the Titan’s Ian Vogt with 5:24 remaining.
CB South held the Bucks scoreless in the fourth quarter thanks to standout defense by Witchey, Henze, Timmy Ross, Jake Lautt and Joe Vitelli, who was also outstanding in clearing the ball during key Titan possessions. Also key to the CB South win was goalie Robbie Richick who was credited with nine saves and FOGO Ryan Jacobsen, who won 11 of 17 draws and helped the Titans maintain possession down the stretch.
With the win, the Titans improve to 8-0 (6-0 SOL) and remain atop the Continental Conference standings, while the Bucks drop to 4-6 (3-3 SOL).
CB South 5-0-0-2—7
CB West 3-1-2-0—6
CB South
Jake Henze 2g, 1a, 4gb
Brendan McGrath 1g, 1a, 4 gb
Chris Tanner 1g, 1a
Ian Vogt 1g
Dillon Kelly 1g, 4gb
Austin Naessens 1g
Jamie Renneisen 1a
Ryan Jacobsen 11/17 FO
Joe Vitelli 4gb
Robbie Richick 9 saves
CB West
Jason Willis 2g, 1a
Morgan Kratzke 2g
Will Ross 1g, 1a
Luke Durkin 1g
Clark Hawes 2a
Shane Early 1a
Steven Hogan 19 saves
Central Bucks East 12, Souderton 3
Central Bucks East traveled to Souderton Wednesday evening to take on the Indians and came away with a convincing 12-3 win, improving their record to 8-1.
The Patriot offense had 31 shots on goal, and the scoring was led by Matt Vetter and Ryan Brown who each had three goals and two assists. Owen Griffin had two goals and two assists while Grant Porter, Mike Ott, Dustin Buchanan, and Chris Ragel each chipped in one goal apiece to round out a balanced scoring attack.
Mike Ott won 9-of-13 face offs. Matt Vetter led the Patriots with five ground balls, while Dustin Buchanan, Mike Eveland, and Matt Krumenacker had four ground balls each. Buchanan and Krumenacker were each credited with two caused turnovers. East’s goalies had a solid night in the cage, Sean McGovern had four saves and Ryan Cataldo had three.
The Patriots will be defending their home turf Friday afternoon when they host Pennridge.
Central Bucks East 4-3-3-2—12
Souderton 1-0-1-1—3
Hatboro-Horsham 10, North Penn 8
With a new District One playoff system in place, Hatboro-Horsham coach John Kurek recognizes how big each and every game against district and conference teams is this year. Heading into Wednesday’s game against a North Penn squad with a similar record, the Hatters’ coach knew a win would be huge.
The two teams were deadlocked 4-4 at the half, but the Hatters held a 6-4 edge in the second half, earning the win in a key conference game at North Penn.
“It was a good game,” Kurek said. “With everything in District One being the way it is with the new playoff system, and trying to get a good seed being so important, our kids knew how big today was.
“It was a district game and a league game and we always play them tough. I’m proud of the win. It was a good character win.”
Logan Eldridge led the Hatters with three goals while Pierre Armstrong and Conor McPoyle each added two goals and one assist. Tony Zollo and Chris Hammel both had one goal. Kurt Dick was credited with 11 saves in goal in a winning effort.
The Hatters improved to 5-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play, while North Penn fell to 4-5 and 2-4, respectively.
“Rick (Smith) is a good coach and he does a good job over there,” Kurek said of the Knights’ coach. “It was close, but the kids pulled it out and did well.
“Our offense really kept things going. Our defense had a tough time stopping them on different possessions, but every time they scored, our offense would answer quickly. It was a great team win."
Hatboro-Horsham 3-2-3-2–10
North Penn 3-1-2-2–8
Girls
Central Bucks West 18, Council Rock North 10
The Bucks used a strong second half to earn the conference win, rallying from a 7-5 halftime deficit to outscore the Indians 13-3 in the second half.
“We started out flat again and couldn’t find the net,” West coach Tara Schmucker said. “Their goalie played well, but again, our initial shots have been right to the goalie in our last couple games.
“We got back on track with a lot of hustle on the re-defend, draw control possessions and seeing the open girl on attack. Finley Ueland had three caused turnovers and Paige Savard had two, which helped ignite the offense.”
Another key to the comeback was the Bucks’ ability to control the draw in the second half.
“Jacq Fitzgerald and Bryn Boylan stepped up on draw controls in the second half with five apiece,” Schmucker said.
Schmucker credited Meghan Darcy – who had three caused turnovers and four ground balls – for playing a solid defensive game.
Boylan (four goals, three assists) and Elle Ueland (four goals) led the attack. Meghan Tillger and Finley Ueland both finished with the hat trick. Tillger also had an assist. Maddie Maio added two goals and an assist, and Paige Savard and Olivia Fitzgerald both had one assist.
For the Indians, Devon Mela and Claire Jarema led the attack with three goals each. Mela also had an assist. Anna Lehman added two goals and one assist. Gretta Rolli had a pair of goals.
Margaret D’Auria was credited with 10 saves in goal for the Indians.
Central Bucks West 5-13—18
Council Rock North 7-3—10
Souderton 14, Wissahickon 9
The Indians and Trojans were deadlocked 4-4 at halftime, and with 15 minutes remaining in regulation, the visiting Indians found themselves starting at a 7-5 deficit. Things changed dramatically in the final 15 minutes as the Indians closed out the game with a 9-2 tear to earn the important non-league win.
“The key in the second half was taking control of the ball in the midfield and not having turnovers on our transition ball,” Souderton coach Kelly Kelly said. “We were able to gain possession of the ball more.
“During the first half, Wissahickon slowed the ball down and possessed the ball for the majority of the half. Our defense did a nice job of playing as a unit and being there for the second slide. We’re very happy with the win.”
Natalie Bulgier and Amber Lambeth both scored five goals to lead the Indians. Krista Schneider added a pair of goals while Ally Sonn and Carlie Doughty both had one goal.
For the Trojans, Emily Vervlied had four goals, Carolyn Wilde had two goals and one assist and Lauren Irvine added one goal and two assists. Claire Tarzia and Lana Doskicz each had one goal. Shannon Stagliano had two assists.
“Possession was key,” Wissahickon coach Patty Kovacs said. “(We) fought hard to earn a 4-4 halftime score. Souderton continued to fire on goalie Julie Silverman, and Wissahickon played fierce defense to keep the ball out of goal.
“Unfortunately, Souderton had more successful shots on goal and was able to pull out a win. (We) stayed strong throughout the entire game and played as a team, never letting down.”
Souderton 4-10—14
Wissahickon 4-5—9
Upper Merion 18, Cardinal O’Hara 6
Julie Reinert had a big game, scoring five goals and assisting on another. Allison Shuster had three goals and two assists while Francesca Lindelow added a hat trick. Lizzy Goernemann and Katie Schauble both contributed two goals, and Anna Davis had a goal and an assist. Scoring single goals were Natalie Chiapetta and Marion Fortino.
Jordan Cabahug-Almonte was credited with four saves on 10 shots. Davis had a pair of interceptions and Reinert had one.
Cardinal O’Hara 3-3—6
Upper Merion 12-6—18
Upper Moreland 15, Lower Moreland 3
Delaney Smith connected for the hat trick, including her 100th career goal. She also controlled the midfield with six draw controls and three ground balls. Sydney Bachmayer had a hand in eight goals, scoring five and assisting on three others. Samara Santry had three goals and one assist, and Allison Felicetti scored two goals and added a pair of assists.
Emily Zanine, Melissa Felicetti and Madison Pisut controlled the defense in a game that saw the Golden Bears allow just three goals. Zanine had four caused turnovers, and Felicetti had three to go along with three ground balls. Pisut had three caused turnovers and two ground balls and also scored a goal.
Pennridge 10, Upper Perkiomen 8
Jess Csaszar scored three goals and assisted on three others to lead the Lady Rams. Jen Rodzewich also had three goals to go along with one assist and one draw control. Devan Rimmer had two goals and four draw controls, and Maddie Dachowski added a pair of goals. Grace Loughery was key for the Lady Rams in the midfield with eight draw controls to go along with one assist.
The two teams were deadlocked 5-5 at halftime. The Lady Rams won it with a 5-3 second half.
Upper Perkiomen 5-3—8
Pennridge 5-1—10
About the Author
