Check out the results for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Thursday.
By Jarrad Saffren
We don’t keep records in books anymore. We keep them on screens. With that in mind, another week of Suburban One League boys soccer games is on the screens. Six weeks down, one to go. Thursday’s results and recaps are below.
SOL American
Cheltenham 3, Upper Moreland 0
The Panthers’ offense broke out of a slump to earn Cheltenham a much-needed victory.
Jake Ruckett notched two goals and Eli Tomasic scored on a penalty kick.
“We focused on finishing and being ready when the opportunity arises,” said Cheltenham coach Chuck Gesing, whose team led 1-0 at the intermission.
Panthers’ keeper Justin Grady stopped eight shots to earn the shutout.
Cheltenham won for just the second time in seven games. The Panthers scored three goals in their previous six games.
Cheltenham (6-6-1, 6-5-1 SOL) hosts Christopher Dock Friday at 3:30 p.m. Upper Moreland (4-10-1, 3-8-1 SOL) gets the weekend off before busing to Norristown Monday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
Cheltenham 1-2 3
Upper Moreland 0-0 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5, Springfield 0
The Colonials got back on track after losing to Upper Dublin by a goal on Tuesday.
The defending American champions cannot catch Upper Dublin and Wissahickon with only two league games left for each. but PW is still firmly nestled near the top of the district power rankings.
At 12, the Colonials are the highest-ranked American team, four spots ahead of Upper Dublin and five ahead of Wissahickon.
The young guns led PW against Springfield. Sophomore Gavin Hendrick netted two goals and freshman Richard Veon also scored two. Junior Zach Finkelman blasted the other.
Zach Zygmunt had a relaxing afternoon in goal, stopping the only shot he faced.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-3-2, 7-3-2 SOL) travels to Cheltenham Monday to take on the Panthers. Springfield (2-12, 1-11 SOL) goes to Upper Merion Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. start.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3-2 5
Springfield 0-0 0
Upper Dublin 4, Upper Merion 1
Upper Dublin won its sixth straight game and kept pace with Wissahickon atop the American standings. Upper Merion lost its third straight game after winning four of five.
Nick Browndorff and Anthony Wisdo both scored twice, Browndorff in the 29th and 78th minutes, Wisdo in the 62nd and 66th minutes.
The Cardinals are seven points ahead of second-place PW, but the Colonials remain four spots higher in the district power rankings. That should change next week, as the Cardinals beat the Colonials 2-1 Tuesday.
Upper Dublin (10-4, 10-2 SOL) plays West Chester East Saturday and Wissahickon Monday in a battle for sole possession of first place. Upper Merion (6-6-2, 5-5-2 SOL) plays Penncrest Saturday.
Wissahickon 3, Norristown 0
The hottest team in the SOL American met the third hottest team in the SOL American. Wissahickon entered on a six-game winning streak, Norristown on a three-gamer (Upper Dublin had won five in a row coming into Thursday).
True to form, the first-place Trojans held serve against the seventh-place Eagles, keeping pace with first place Upper Dublin, who also won Thursday.
Andrew Pilleggi put the Trojans on the board with a goal in the fifth minute, and in the 34th minute, Darien Williams found the back of the net to send the Trojans into halftime with a 2-0 lead. Alex Escude added a goal in the 55th minute to close out the scoring. Zach Reiner and Eddie Fortescue each contributed an assist.
For the Trojans, Brad Schwartz and Zach Reiner each made two saves in the shutout win. Reiner played the last 20 minutes. Norristown keeper John Gonzalez recorded three saves. The Trojans held a 7-3 advantage in shots.
“I wouldn’t say we dominated,” said Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm. “But we kept the pressure in their half.”
Wissahickon (10-3, 10-2 SOL) battles Neshaminy Friday at 3:30 p.m. Norristown (4-11, 3-9 SOL) clashes with Upper Moreland Monday afternoon.
The Trojans also play Upper Dublin Monday in a game that should decide the conference title.
“That was a good game last time,” Malcolm said. “It could have gone either way, but we managed to get the goal and the shutout.”
Norristown 0-0 0
Wissahickon 2-1 3
SOL National
Harry S. Truman 2, Bensalem 1
It was bound to happen for Truman this season. The Tigers stayed so close in so many games, losing six contests by one goal.
“Those were to very good teams that are going to make districts,” said Truman coach Jack Kinlock. “To get a win against a quality team like Bensalem is huge for us going forward.”
Kinlock was elated to give his seniors their 15 minutes in the sun.
“(Keeper) Fernando (Mendez) and all of the senior leaders are terrific players, and more importantly, they’re terrific kids and they absolutely deserve today,” Kinlock said.
So what actually happened?
The Owls got on the scoreboard first, but Carlos Chirines booted home a goal to make it 1-1 at halftime. Then, both teams played 39:48 without scoring. Finally, with 12 seconds left, from 35 yards out, Fatih Aydin ripped the ball over the keeper’s hand, and Truman popped the proverbial corks.
As usual, keeper Fernando Mendez gave the Tigers a chance, making eight saves and one game-saver.
“He saved a breakaway with about seven minutes left to keep us in it,” said Kinlock.
Despite Truman’s 1-12 record, and the midseason departures of various juniors and seniors, Kinlock likes where his program is going.
“We have eight to nine sophomores who’ve seen significant varsity time, four of which are starters,” the Tigers’ coach said. “Most of the players who left were juniors and seniors. That said, Fernando is irreplaceable, so we have to get better in all other aspects of the game so that we don’t have to rely on our goalkeeper keeping us in contests next year.”
Truman (2-11, 2-10 SOL) will take on Abington at home on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.), and Bensalem (7-7-1, 5-7-1) will host William Tennent on Monday at 3:30 p.m.
Harry S. Truman 1-1 2
Bensalem 1-0 1
Abington 2, William Tennent 1
With Thursday’s win and Pennsbury’s upset loss to Neshaminy, Abington moves ahead of the Falcons and into first place for the first time all season.
Tennent struck first, at 35:52, when Lorenzo Amaro smoked a shot into the back of the net. Fifteen minutes later, Juan Castillo answered for Abington. Three minutes after Castillo’s equalizer, Matt Bachman rocketed home the game winner.
First place seems to change hands every week in the wild SOL National. Pennsbury held it for a while. North took over two weeks ago. Pennsbury retook it last week. Pennsbury and North shared it through the weekend. Pennsbury regained sole possession Tuesday night. And, finally, Abington joined the carousel near the end of the ride.
Abington (10-4, 8-4 SOL) plays Harriton Friday at 3:45 p.m. William Tennent (9-7, 6-6 SOL) buses to Bensalem Monday for a 3:30 p.m. start.
Abington 0-2 2
William Tennent 0-1 1
Neshaminy 1, Pennsbury 0
Neshaminy won for the fifth time in six games and climbed above .500 in league play for the first time since being 1-0.
In overtime, Dan Grindrod curved a free kick toward the box. Dylan McDonald dove and headed the ball into the net.
“We played a very solid defensive game, limiting Pennsbury’s big guns looks at the goal,” said Neshaminy coach Tom Foley.
Pennsbury is now one point behind Abington for first-place. Neshaminy is five points back with two games left for each team.
Neshaminy (6-7-1, 6-5-1 SOL) hosts Wissahickon Friday at 3:30 p.m. Pennsbury (8-4-2, 7-3-2 SOL) goes to Central Bucks South Saturday morning to play the Titans.
Neshaminy 0-0-1 1
Pennsbury 0-0-0 0
Council Rock North 3, Council Rock South 0
Nick Guarna scored before halftime, Max Mykhylyk scored twice after the intermission, and North cruised to a convincing win over its archrival to keep possession of the Unity Cup.
Billy Storm made four saves to record his eighth shutout of the season. South keeper Nolan Gaudet stoned a penalty kick early in the first half to keep the Hawks close.
The Indians moved into a second-place tie with Pennsbury, one point behind Abington.
CR North (10-3-2, 7-3-2 SOL) plays Abington Monday in a showdown for first-place. CR South (5-9, 4-7 SOL) battles Pennsbury on the same day.
Council Rock North 1-2 3
Council Rock South 0-0 0
SOL Continental
Pennridge 2, North Penn 1
The Rams came close to pulling off a big upset in both meetings with CB East, falling short each time. They finally came through against the Knights.
“The 31 just beat the three,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont, referring to the district power rankings. “We don’t get many more chances here. The last four teams we play are in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. This was our last chance against a team ahead of us.”
“My motivational speech was, ‘This is a district playoff game, you’re in control. If you lose this you have to depend on other teams.’ We could be 10-8 and still not get in.”
Twenty-eight teams make the playoffs. Valimont said the Rams still have work to do.
“We can’t throw up a goose egg next week, but this helps,” he said.
North Penn crushed Pennridge 4-1 in the first meeting between the teams. Valimont remembers it vividly.
“Their best player (Mike) Kohler was in sandals at halftime. Their third-stringers were in,” he said.
The coach told his players that the first loss was an anomaly.
“We battled really well with CB East,” said Valimont. “I told these guys ‘If you can play with East you can play with North Penn.’”
Pennridge broke the ice in the first half when Kenny Estep fed Cayce Giblin, who kicked the ball into the upper 90. North Penn missed an opportunity to tie the game when Brody Giblin batted away a point blank shot by Mike Kohler.
“We left him open for two seconds,” Valimont said. “I had a flashback of Evan Vare, how he just buried it on us.”
Early in the second half, Rams freshman Matt Stevenson was taken down hard in the box. On a direct kick, he then cranked the ball into the upper 90 to put Pennridge up 2-0. “That was as good as his restart goal against CB West,” said Valimont, referring to a goal that he compared to a “goal that you see on Saturday in one of those Premier League games.”
North Penn got on the scoreboard with three minutes remaining when Collin Jerome turned a Noah Kwortnik pass into a goal.
Pennridge (7-7, 5-7 SOL) meets Hatboro-Horsham Monday at 3:30 p.m. North Penn (10-3-2, 7-3-2 SOL) battles La Salle Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
Pennridge 1-1 2
North Penn 0-1 1
CB East 5, Quakertown 0
CB East won. It’s been a familiar sentence this year and for the last 12 years. Now, the Patriots are two wins away from their first undefeated, untied regular season.
“It’s a rarity when someone goes undefeated with no ties,” said CB East coach Mike Gorni, who added that the Patriots have never done it overall, only in league play.
In Thursday’s win, Justin Chomik netted two goals, and three other Patriots—Evan Vare, Tre Jones, and Austin Daniels—added one each. Keeper Austin Prime played 60 minutes and made two saves. Backup Karl Vandlow played 20 minutes and stopped one shot.
Gorni said his players are aware of the situation but are not putting any pressure on themselves.
“We’ve had a number of bad games,” the Patriots’ coach said. “You have to be good, and you have to be a little fortunate or blessed. You’re playing two and three games in a week, you’re not going to be great every game. Professional athletes aren’t great that often. You can’t expect high school kids to be either.
“At the end of the day, you want to win every game you have. But if we have a loss, that would be ok too. As long as we get to where we want in districts and states.”
CB East (16-0, 12-0 SOL) hosts CB West Monday and Souderton Wednesday. Quakertown (2-14, 0-12 SOL) goes to CB South Monday for a 7 p.m. start.
Central Bucks East 3-2 5
Quakertown 0-0 0
Central Bucks West 1, Hatboro-Horsham 0
All it took was one goal for CB West.
Joel Acaster scored the game’s only goal with an assist from Jack Tilley, and Dylan Smith made one save to earn his ninth shutout of 2015.
CB West (11-5, 7-5 SOL) travels to CB East Monday for a 3:30 p.m. showdown with the Patriots. Hatboro-Horsham (7-9, 5-7 SOL) clashes with Pennridge on the same day and time.
Central Bucks West 1-0 1
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0 0
Central Bucks South 2, Souderton 0
CB South improved to 7-1-1 in its last nine games and jumped back ahead of North Penn into second-place.
Colin Green scored with an assist from Kevin Berntsen in the 37th minute, and Colin Fagan followed nine minutes later, turning an Eric Pataki pass into a goal.
Billy Gorman recorded his third shutout of the season.
CB South (10-4-1, 8-3-1 SOL) takes on Pennsbury Saturday morning. Souderton (2-12-1, 2-9-1 SOL) plays North Penn Monday.
Central Bucks South 1-1 2
Souderton 0-0 0
About the Author
