Check out the results for SOL boys/girls lacrosse teams in action.
American Conference
Upper Dublin 12, Wissahickon 4
Another conference game down for Upper Dublin and another game without any problems for the first-place Cardinals.
Going against the only team with any shot at catching them in the conference standings, the Cardinals improved to 13-0 in the American Conference after a convincing victory over the Trojans under the lights at Wissahickon High School.
Upper Dublin (15-1) was able to jump out to an early lead, going up 3-1 after one quarter before taking a 5-1 lead into the half. In the third, a six-goal effort solidified things for Upper Dublin, which was led by Michael Sowers’ three goals and four assists.
The win gave Upper Dublin its third consecutive conference title.
“The beginning of the year, we had several goals that we laid out and we accomplished our first goal,” Upper Dublin coach J.P. Banks said. “I’m proud of the way they boys came out tonight. We played a very good game, and to win our third (conference championship) in a row is a great accomplishment for us.”
Michael Mullen and Paul Chung scored two goals apiece, while Mullen drew an assist and Chung won a whopping 16-of-19 face-offs. Evan Scott, Zach Hanson and Connor Wall all scored goals for the Cardinals, while Jack Rapine assisted on one.
Upper Dublin goalkeeper Bobby McPeake stopped 12 shots in net while allowing three goals in a strong outing before being replaced late in the game by Sean Bowers, who recorded two saves.
With the team’s first goal in the books, the next one is to get a good seeding in districts.
Upper Dublin, which has to face a tough Springfield-Delco team this Friday, has never won a district title.
“We got to play a real quality opponent tonight, and hopefully, we can build off of things we did and build momentum going into the remaining two games this season and the playoffs next week,” Banks said. “I think (districts) is why we all do this. It’s something we’ve never won, and it’s a long-term goal to advance and to last long into districts.
“We hope to get our first opportunity to make the state playoffs. We want to compete in districts and that’s why the kids put in such hard work in the offseason. You have to have goals so that you can have something to reach for.”
Wissahickon, which fell to 12-3 overall and 10-2 in conference play, received goals from Alex Chiodo-Ortiz, Nate DeGroat, Eric Kaufmann and Sam Kale. Jack Myers stopped 17 shots in net.
Upper Dublin 3-2-6-1—12
Wissahickon 1-0-1-2—4
Upper Moreland 6, Upper Merion 5
The Golden Bears travelled to Upper Merion High School and escaped with a one-goal win on the Vikings’ Senior Night. With the win, Upper Moreland improved its conference record to 5-7 with two games to play (6-9 overall). The win avenged a one-goal loss to the Vikings in an early season meeting of the conference foes.
Upper Merion fell to 5-13 overall and 5-9 in conference play with the loss.
National Conference
Council Rock North 17, Neshaminy 4
A big effort from three different players with the first name ‘Zach’ helped lead the Indians to a dominating victory over visiting Neshaminy.
Four goals from Zach Horbal, three from Zach Bark and two more from Zach Connors propelled the Indians (6-6, 6-3). Ben Hoefer scored three times as well, while Jack Early scored once and had a team high five assists.
Connor Sullivan and Lars Trice also tallied goals for CR North, while goalkeeper Brett McDonald stood tall, stopping 12 shots to earn the win.
CR North broke things wide open in the second quarter, outscoring the Redskins 4-1 and taking an 8-4 lead into the half before outscoring the Redskins 9-0 in the final 24 minutes of play.
The Redskins (5-9, 3-5) received two goals from Matt Magdelinskas, as well as one apiece rom Kevin Goetz and Cale Kitchenman.
Neshaminy 3-1-0-0—4
Council Rock North 4-4-3-6—17
Non-league
Souderton 11, Archbishop Carroll 5
In non-conference contest at Archbishop Carroll High School, Souderton was able to come out with a convincing victory, thanks to a tremendous effort in net from goalkeeper Remi Reeves, who stopped 14 shots.
Greg Gibbs led the Indians (6-9) with four goals and an assist, while Trent Breneman added two goals and one assist. Anthony Potts scored twice, Jake Phaup scored once and added two assists and Sean Curan and Adam Booz also tallied goals for Souderton.
Gibbs also led the Indians with five ground balls.
The Indians led 7-0 at the half and cruised through the final two quarters.
Holy Ghost Prep 8, Central Bucks South 7
Despite taking a 7-5 lead into the final quarter, Central Bucks South could not hold on and lost by the slimmest of margins in a non-conference game at Holy Ghost Prep High School.
The Titans (12-4) led 6-3 at halftime and still led by two after three, but the fourth quarter belonged entirely to the Firebirds, who got a great effort from their goalie in the final 12 minutes.
Chris Tanner led CB South with five goals and an assist, while Brendan McGrath scored once and assisted twice. Dillon Kelly scored once, while Evan Falkowski assisted on another goal. Goalkeeper Robbie Richick stopped 15 shots in net for the Titans.
Central Bucks South 3-3-1-0—7
Holy Ghost Prep 3-0-2-3—8
Girls
National Conference
Central Bucks West 12, Souderton 11
They’ll remember this night for a lifetime.
They won’t forget how – after watching a late four-goal lead slip away – they refused to be broken. They’ll recall how their defense, worn down by a dangerous Indian attack, stood tall one last time, and they’ll picture Katie Holt running the ball out of the defensive end to give the Bucks one last chance at a shot for the game winner.
They’ll hold onto the memory of Meghan Tillger with calm but dogged determination taking a shot that found the net with 31 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock. And they undoubtedly won’t forget the final 23 seconds with Souderton in possession but unable to get a final shot on goal.
But what they’ll remember most was – at the sound of the final horn – making a mad dash for a jubilant celebration with goalie Molly Naylor. With Tuesday’s exhilarating win over the defending champion Indians, the Bucks had given themselves a chance to earn a piece of history.
Both Souderton and West boast identical 7-1 records in conference play. If both win on Wednesday – the Indians will travel to Central Bucks East and the Bucks will host Pennsbury, the two teams will share the SOL National Conference crown. For the Indians, it would be a share of their second consecutive title. For the Bucks, it would be a share of their first since 2001.
For the team’s four seniors – Tillger, Elle Ueland, Jacq Fitzgerald and Paige Savard, the night was especially significant.
“The past couple of years – and even watching our older sisters – we never really beat Souderton or North Penn, and coming in our senior year and being able to come out with wins against those two teams – especially Souderton, undefeated in the league – to come out with a win and be tied with them with one more league game to go, that’s huge for us,” Ueland said.
The win was West’s first over the Indians since April 20, 2012. Last year, the Bucks lost by 10 to an Indian squad that rolled through the conference season without a loss and brought a 17-game winning streak in conference play into Tuesday’s game.
“New year, new team,” Savard said. “We have a lot of new players, and our returning players – we clicked really easily.
“Seeing the 7-0 (for Souderton) on SuburbanOne and just to get that to 7-1 is so gratifying.”
The game itself was a roller coaster of emotions for both sides.
The visiting Bucks appeared to be in complete command when – after taking a 6-3 halftime lead – they opened up an 8-3 lead after back-to-back goals by Finley Ueland and Bryn Boylan in the opening minutes of the second half. But the Indians had other ideas, making it an 8-6 game after back-to-back-to-back goals by Brittany Roynan and a pair by Natalie Bulgier.
The Bucks appeared to have regained command after a 3-1 burst. It began with Boylan and Souderton’s Krista Schneider exchanging goals, and then – after a nifty Boylan interception near the Indians’ goal – it was the sophomore standout finding Jacq Fitzgerald for the score. Two minutes later Tillger found Finley Ueland for a goal that put the Bucks on top 11-7 with 7:28 remaining.
Again, the defending champions responded, reeling off four unanswered goals in a dazzling two-minute span. It began with a free position goal by Juliana Ofalt, and then it was Bulgier finding the net on a free position. Ofalt won the ensuing draw, setting the stage for a Roynan goal 38 seconds later.
West coach Tara Schmucker called a timeout, but Souderton won the draw out of the timeout, and then it was Roynan somehow avoiding the Bucks’ defense and finding the net with 4:13 remaining to knot the score 11-11.
“We’ve been down before, and our senior class and our group of girls are so tenacious,” Souderton assistant coach Lauren Whiteside said. “They’re going to keep fighting and doing what they can.
“If our first half had been like our second half, I thought it would have been a different game. We started to find each other on the field and actually possess the ball in the second half. In the first half, CB West had control of it three quarters of the time. You can’t score and you can’t win if you don’t have the ball, and that’s what we told them at halftime.”
The final minutes of the game had fans from both sides on the edge of their seats. Both goalies came up with a save as both teams had their opportunities. It was the Bucks – and Tillger – with the final word, and the Bucks’ senior captain had just one thought as she made her move toward the cage.
“I hope I don’t miss,” Tillger said.
She didn’t miss, but the game was far from over. Maddie Maio and Roynan both went down after a nasty collision going for the ball. The Indians were awarded possession with 23 seconds remaining but never managed a shot.
“That feeling of seeing the clock with five seconds and knowing we’re up – it was just amazing,” Elle Ueland said. “To know we beat them is the greatest feeling.”
West coach Tara Schmucker had nothing but praise for her squad.
“I’m so proud of them for a lot of reasons this season,” the Bucks’ coach said. “When we played top teams in the past, we’d just be more intimidated, we’d come out flat.
“They have not done that this year. Whether it was Souderton, Owen J Roberts, CB South or North Penn, I just thought they came out really strong, which I’m really proud of. They never gave up the fight, and they kept adjusting the whole game, and I thought that was a key thing.
“I’m just proud that they came together and they never get frustrated with each other. They’re a really great group of girls to work with.”
The key, according to the team’s seniors, was teamwork and intensity.
“After the Owen J Roberts game (a 10-9 West win), we came out with such intensity, and we have just tried to keep that going,” Elle Ueland said. “When we play like that, we don’t get down on ourselves, which is really big.”
“We keep reminding each other of OJR,” Savard added. “We want to walk off the field feeling like we did after North Penn and OJR. That was huge for us – that was the best feeling.”
“When we play like a team, we’re completely different,” Tillger said. “Everything clicks. It’s awesome.”
Final scoring stats show Finley Ueland leading the Bucks with four goals while Boylan had a hand in five with three goals and two assists. Fitzgerald had a pair of goals, and Tillger had one goal and two assists. Elle Ueland had one goal and one assist, and Maio added a single goal. Boylan and Tillger had five and four draw controls respectively.
“Finley had some smart challenges and good shots today,” Schmucker said. “On defense, Katie Holt played a solid game with two caused turnovers and three ground balls.
“Defensively – although the hard drives from Souderton were difficult to defend, the girls got some big charge calls and rebounds to help keep us in the game.
“I have to acknowledge the whole team, honestly. At any point in time, we have 12 girls on the field that can make an impact and that is what makes this group to special to coach.”
For the Indians, Roynan had four goals – all in a superb second half. Bulgier added three while Schneider, Ofalt, Carlie Doughty and Amber Lambeth each had one.
While the Bucks improved to 12-4 overall, the Indians are 15-3, but in Tuesday’s fierce battle of wills, it was the Bucks who would not be denied.
“It can never be duplicated – that’s the great thing about sports,” Fitzgerald said.
While it can’t be duplicated, it’s a safe bet Tuesday’s win will be replayed in their memories for a long, long time.
Central Bucks West 6-6—12
Souderton 3-8—11
Central Bucks South 16, Council Rock North 4
The visiting Titans opened the game with an 11-1 first half tear on the way to a win that keeps them in sole possession of second place in the conference standings with one game remaining.
Sarah Poli was part of nine goals, scoring five and assisting on four others. Courtney Dietzel added three goals and two assists while Kasey Dietzel had three goals and one assist. Krysta Reading contributed a hat trick. Eva Muzika had two assists while Tori Wigand had one.
For the Indians, Claire Jarema had three goals while Devon Mela had one.
Erin Putnam turned away five shots on goal for the Titans.
Central Bucks South 11-5—16
Council Rock North 1-3—4
North Penn 16, Interboro 4
The Visiting Maidens opened up an 8-3 halftime lead and then allowed just one goal in the second half while doubling their scoring from the first half to earn the decisive non-league win.
“We had another well-rounded showing offensively with multiple people scoring and many assists,” coach Heather Mellow said. “Our defense really stepped up in the second half.”
Emily Schulze led the way for the Maidens with four goals and one assist, and Makayla Bowman also had a five-point night, finishing with three goals and two assists. Kaitlyn Phifer added two goals and two assists while Sydney Lear had two goals and one assist. Jenn Delongis and Bri O’Donnell both contributed one goal and one assist while Nina Siegler and Julia Keffer each had one goal to close out the scoring.
Michelle Dyck was credited with seven saves in goal while Kyra Novak had five.
North Penn 8-8—16
Interboro 3-1—4
Perkiomen Valley 16, Pennridge 11
The Vikings opened up a 10-6 halftime lead on their way to the non-league win. Maddie Dachowski led the Lady Rams with four goals and two draw controls. Jess Csaszar added a hat trick, one assist and two draw controls. Emily Price, Devan Rimmer, Grace Loughery and Casey Hefner each added one goal. Rimmer also had one draw control while Hefner had one assist. Jen Rodzewich had four assists.
Perkiomen Valley 10-6—16
Pennridge 6-5—11
Continental Conference
Springfield Township 14, Cheltenham 13 (OT)
The Spartans won a thriller on Tuesday night at Cheltenham.
Molly Fitzpatrick scored four goals to lead the Spartans while Zoe Edalatpour had three goals and one assist to go along with four ground balls. Lindsey Smith had a hat trick and two draw controls. Emily Giampietro contributed one goal and two assists, and Jameson Krewson added one goal and one assist. Christine Campbell and Caroline Pape both scored one goal. Pape also had five draw controls.
Marley Berger led the defense with four caused turnovers while Ellie Hamilton had two caused turnovers and two ground balls. Bailey Krewson had three caused turnovers, and Allison Yoder had two caused turnovers.
Aly Evans was credited with six saves in the win.
Springfield 8-5-1—14
Cheltenham 5-8-0—13
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