Jarrad Saffren recaps all of Wednesday’s SOL boys soccer action. Upper Moreland/Wissahickon photo provided courtesy of Kathy Leister. Check back for a gallery of game action as well as Keith Clemens’ photos of the Pennsbury/CR North game…CLICK HERE.
By Jarrad Saffren
Eight Suburban One League boys soccer teams played conference games Thursday.
Two—Abington and Central Bucks East—played a non-conference conference game.
Two first place-second place showdowns—in the National and American—highlighted the docket.
The results and recaps are below.
SOL American
Upper Dublin 1, Hatboro-Horsham 1
Upper Dublin coach Derek Preist kept saying that Hatboro-Horsham was a threat.
“Everyone talks about us, Plymouth Whitemarsh and Wissahickon as the contenders in this league. And the three of us have won the league in recent years,” Preist said earlier in the season. “But Hatboro-Horsham will be right there this year. They will give us a game when we play them.”
Preist was prescient. Upper Dublin was 7-0 coming into the game.
Hatboro-Horsham is still undefeated in conference play at 4-0-2. Upper Dublin, with one more win and one less tie, remains in first.
“Big picture it’s a good result for us,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Kyle McGrath said. “We went on the road and got a point against the league leaders. I’m looking forward to the return game in a few weeks.”
The teams play at Hatboro-Horsham on Oct. 18.
The Hatters controlled the ball in the first 10-15 minutes. But the Cardinals scored in the 14th. A Hatters center back tapped the ball to keeper Stephen Doney. But Doney was not expecting it. Jerry Bardol ran behind him and blasted it into the net.
“We had a couple opportunities to go up 1-0,” McGrath said. “We took it to them at the beginning. We were still encouraged at halftime because of how well we played.”
Upper Dublin blitzed Hatboro-Horsham in the first eight minutes of the second half. Doney held firm.
“They took it to us,” McGrath said.
Then, in the 48th minute, Danny Bateman raced out on a breakaway and toed the ball to Danny Harmon. He spun it past UD keeper Jason Stone.
Hatboro-Horsham created chance after chance for the rest of the game but could not score. Neither could Upper Dublin.
“We kept kicking the ball right at the keeper,” McGrath said.
Stone made 10 saves. Doney made nine.
“That’s a lot of shots on target and a lot of chances missed by both teams,” McGrath said. “It was a good game.”
“The boys are a little disappointed because I thought we had the better of the play for long stretches,” McGrath said. “But overall I’m satisfied.”
Hatboro-Horsham (6-1-2, 4-0-2 SOL) battles Central Bucks West Saturday night. Upper Dublin (7-0-1, 5-0-1 SOL) plays at Upper Moreland Tuesday at 3:30.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-1-0-0 1
Upper Dublin 1-0-0-0 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2, Cheltenham 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh needed a win after three straight conference losses.
The Colonials got their win. But coach Jeff Heaton was not satisfied.
“It was a sloppy game for us. We had a defensive lapse and they got a semi-breakaway for their one score,” Heaton said. “But getting a win at this point was big for the team. We’ve been struggling with scoring.”
PW’s Kenny Diamond scored an unassisted goal in the 45th minute, putting the Colonials up 1-0. Brandon Cohen scored an assisted goal five minutes later, putting PW up 2-0. Kyle Blumenthal got the assist.
Heaton brought in more players—16—than he did in previous conference games. He also kept bench players in longer.
“That quickened up the pace and kept the guys fresh in the second half,” Heaton said.
Most of PW’s defenders are seniors. Sophomores and juniors make up the rest of the lineup.
“Inexperience played a role in our offensive slump,” Heaton said. “We also don’t have a prototypical big striker up front. We forced the ball wide more today and got a lot of crosses in.”
Former PW coach Devon Landgraff left the team a month before the season to become Upper Moreland’s athletic director. Heaton said the sudden transition “has not been that big of a deal and had nothing to do with the losing streak.” Heaton did coach most of PW’s players on the Colonial Soccer Club’s U18 team.
“I’ve communicated with Devon a lot over the past year and a half,” Heaton said.
Cheltenham’s Zach Garraffi scored in the 70th minute. Garraffi popped a bouncing ball over the goalkeeper’s head.
“We answered and just could not equalize,” Cheltenham coach Chuck Gesing said. “We were pushing a lot in the second half but came up a little short.”
Freshman Lou Ledeka stopped five shots for Cheltenham. He was starting for the injured Justin Grady.
Grady separated his shoulder last Thursday against Quakertown. Gesing expects him back next week.
Gesing was happy with his team’s effort Thursday.
“Very happy, very, very happy,” Gesing said. “We have lots of injuries, including to our starting backs and goalkeeper. It’s tough to keep teams off the board with those injuries.”
PW (3-5, 3-3 SOL) plays Quakertown Tuesday at 3:30. Cheltenham (1-5, 1-4 SOL) takes on Hatboro-Horsham on the same day and time.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-2 2
Cheltenham 0-1 1
Wissahickon 3, Upper Moreland 1
Wissahickon won its third straight game and second straight conference game.
Wissahickon’s David Goldstein scored two goals. Trey Schwartz had one.
Ryan Lowry scored for Upper Moreland.
The Trojans have outscored their last three opponents 11-1. Their previous four games were decided by one goal, three losses, one win. They tied Council Rock North in their season opener.
Wissahickon has established itself as the fourth best team in the American behind Upper Dublin, Hatboro-Horsham and Plymouth Whitemarsh. The Trojans lost to all three by one goal. They play each one more time.
Wissahickon (4-3-1, 3-3 SOL) plays Radnor on the road Friday afternoon. Upper Moreland (3-4-1, 1-4-1 SOL) battles Upper Dublin Tuesday at 3:30.
Wissahickon 2-1 3
Upper Moreland 0-1 1
SOL National
Pennsbury 2, Council Rock North 1
Pennsbury scored two goals in four minutes and handed CR North its first loss of 2016.
The Falcons improved to 4-0 in SOL National play. The Indians are still in first place because they have one more win.
“It’s a huge win for us,” Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart said. “Hats off to Council Rock North. On the balance of 80 minutes, they may have been the better team today. But we took opportunities when we needed to and (goalkeeper) Nate (Slotnick) saved us when we needed him to.”
Nick Guarna gave CR North a 1-0 lead in the first half. Pennsbury did not answer until the 60th minute. Javier Sosa boomed a free kick past the keeper.
“He is a great weapon to have as a free kick specialist,” Stoddart said. “I’d imagine he’s spent tons of hours with a soccer ball at his feet shooting on goal.”
Sosa has four goals in 2016 and two in his last two games.
Three minutes later, Pennsbury’s Metiss Mendis raced down the end line and floated the ball up for Josh Panaro. He headed the ball into the net.
“We can be that type of team. We can attack and score at any moment, which makes us a dangerous team,” Stoddart said. “We don’t need balance of play at all times to be able to score.”
Both keepers—Slotnick and CR North’s Anthony Caruso—“made quite a few huge saves,” Stoddart said.
Pennsbury (8-0, 4-0 SOL) hosts Truman Tuesday at 3:30. CR North (5-1-1, 5-1 SOL) plays Truman next Thursday at 3:30.
Pennsbury 0-2 2
Council Rock North 1-0 1
Neshaminy 6, Harry S. Truman 1
Neshaminy broke a two-game conference losing streak. The Redskins lost their last two games to first place Council Rock North and second place Pennsbury.
The losing streak pushed coach Tom Foley to change his lineup. Foley moved center back Dylan McDonald to midfield and outside back Luke St. Pierre to center back.
“It was nice to get a feel for who should play where,” Foley said. “It was good to get them acclimated to new spots. Luke did a nice job in place of Dylan. And we needed more stability in the midfield. Dylan gets it to our forwards better because he’s such a good ball winner.”
Neshaminy scored four goals in the first 22 minutes.
Dan Grindrod scored from 25 yards out in the fifth minute. Chase Rider assisted.
McDonald headed the ball into the net in the ninth minute. Jon Albarran threw the ball up for McDonald.
In the 15th minute, Grindrod kicked the ball on goal. Rider put away the rebound. McDonald capped the decisive flurry in the 22nd minute, rocketing the ball in from 20 yards out.
McDonald scored again in the second half, his third goal. Some cultures, including ours, call that a hat trick.
Vince Hosephros assisted on McDonald’s third goal, which came in the 51st minute. A Grindrod shot set up another Neshaminy goal later in the second half. Jack McCourt put away the rebound this time.
So, to recap: McDonald scored three goals. Rider had a goal and an assist. Grindrod had a goal and two rebound assists.
“We really possessed the ball well today,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said. “Everyone who stepped on the field today contributed to the win.”
That, in every culture, is called a team.
Harry S. Truman’s Zakarlu el-Khiam scored in the 76th minute.
Neshaminy is tied with Abington in third place.
Neshaminy (5-3, 3-2 SOL) battles Council Rock South Tuesday at seven.
“That will be the real test for our new lineup,” Foley said. “South gives us fits, whether they are good, bad or mediocre. Truman was in a real defensive posture and conceded possession a lot.”
South beat Neshaminy twice last year. The Redskins made the District One Class AAA playoffs. The Golden Hawks did not.
Truman (1-5, 0-4 SOL) plays Conwell-Egan Saturday morning.
Neshaminy 4-2 6
Harry S. Truman 0-1 1
Council Rock South 1, Bensalem 1
Both teams could have used a win to stay close to the National’s big three (CR North, Neshaminy, Pennsbury).
Both teams also could have used a win against one of the other four National teams.
Council Rock South, though, was happy to salvage a tie. Tyler Teufel scored with five minutes left to send the game to overtime, where neither team scored. Kevin Bowers assisted on Teufel’s goal. Those two also hooked up, Bowers assisting, Teufel scoring, in South’s 2-1 win over Archbishop Wood on Sept. 15.
Bensalem took a 1-0 lead about 20 minutes into the second half.
CR South keeper Kevin McNamee kept the Hawks in the game by making eight saves.
Bensalem and CR South are tied in fifth place at 1-3-1 in National play.
CR South (4-4-1, 1-3-1 SOL) takes on William Penn Charter Friday at four. Bensalem (2-4-1, 1-3-1 SOL) plays Abington Tuesday at 3:30.
Council Rock South 0-1-0-0 1
Bensalem 0-1-0-0 1
Abington 2, Central Bucks East 1
Abington pulled off an impressive win over the Continental's first place team and perennial champion.
Abington (5-2, 3-2 SOL) battles Harriton Saturday at four. CB East (5-2-2, 4-1-1 SOL) takes on CB South Tuesday at 3:30.
SOL Continental
North Penn 2, Central Bucks South 1
The final score was a lot closer than the game. North Penn controlled this one from start to finish.
“We’re only the second team to score on North Penn this season,” Central Bucks South coach Don Brady said. “They controlled the ball for most of the game.”
“We definitely controlled it. We had a lot of the time of possession,” Knights coach Paul Duddy said. “But it’s always a tight game when we play South. This was a very fast game. It was a typical conference match.”
North Penn took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute. Mike Kohler scored. Luke McMahon assisted. CB South tied the game in the 65th minute. Jake Helwig scored. Colin Fagan assisted.
The Knights scored the game winner eight minutes later. This time Kohler assisted and McMahon scored.
“They were great tonight. They are both very good players,” Duddy said. “Kohler is one of the best players around. Luke McMahon is a great striker, he’s got speed, he can finish. He’s having a good year so far.”
Kohler has six goals and nine assists in six games.
“Mike is okay with doing all the work, beating people and then giving the ball up,” Duddy said.
McMahon has four goals and four assists. He sprained his ankle at the end of Thursday’s game. Duddy expects him to miss Saturday’s game against La Salle.
“It’s not too serious though. It’s not broken, which is the most important thing,” Duddy said. “We shall see.”
North Penn keeper Bobby Dean made four saves Thursday. CB South’s Brady Day stopped six shots, two on breakaways.
“He had an awesome day,” Don Brady said. “North Penn has really good speed and did a great job transitioning from winning the ball to getting forward.”
North Penn (6-1, 4-1 SOL) goes to La Salle Saturday for an 11 a.m. start. CB South (3-4-1, 2-1-1 SOL) hosts Coatesville on the same day and time.
North Penn 1-1 2
Central Bucks South 0-1 1
William Tennent 5, Pennridge 0
William Tennent won for the second time in three conference games.
The Panthers have scored nine goals in those two wins, and zero in three conference losses.
But they are definitely competing in their new conference. William Tennent lost to first place Central Bucks East and second place North Penn by one goal. It beat third place Central Bucks South.
Pennridge is not one of those contenders at the moment. The Rams dropped to 0-4-1 in Continental play. They have allowed 15 goals in four losses.
Four Panthers scored Thursday. Mike Masella netted two. Mike Albers, Matt D’Ambra and Randy Showmaker also scored. William Tennent goalkeeper Brendan Hanratty earned his second shutout of 2016.
William Tennent (3-3, 2-3 SOL) plays Souderton Tuesday at 3:30. Pennridge (2-4-1, 0-4-1 SOL) hosts Plumstead Christian Saturday at seven.
William Tennent 3-2 5
Pennridge 0-0 0
Central Bucks West 2, Souderton 1 (OT)
Marcos Urffer picked a great time to score his first goal of the season.
Urffer blazed a penalty kick past the keeper seven minutes into overtime.
Central Bucks West won its second straight conference game.
“It was a very good high school game tonight. It was exciting. They have some really talented individual players. They are technical, quick, and if you give them space, they’ll break you down,” CB West coach Stefan Szygiel said. “It could have gone either way. Both teams had quality chances. If that game ended up 2-1 Souderton, I wouldn’t have been surprised. There were good chances for both teams to take the lead. We both had one great chance in OT.”
Souderton took a 1-0 lead in the second half when Louis Orellana scored off a pass from Ethan Bell in the 54th minute. CB West tied the game in the 60th minute. August Meyer scored off an Urffer assist. Urffer may not have scored before tonight. But he did have five assists. That was his sixth.
“Six assists in seven games is good production. I’m happy to see him performing statistically,” Szygiel said. “But he continues to work on his defense too. He knows it’s not just about his stats.”
Meyer is up to three goals.
Meyer and Urffer got the glory. But two midfielders made it possible.
“There are two guys in the midfield I have to mention: Tarin Morris and Carson Snyder. They are making everything click for us and controlling the lines,” Szygiel said. “It takes six or seven games usually to figure out who we are. But those two guys in the midfield, that’s definitely who we are.”
Szygiel is not overstating the importance of Thursday’s win.
“Any league win is an important win. But I can’t say any big wins are going to happen until the second half of the season when things get tighter,” Szygiel said. “I saw progress in my team. We want to be playing our best ball in October and in the playoffs. We are heading in that direction.”
CB West (4-2-1, 3-2-1 SOL) goes to Hatboro-Horsham Saturday for a 7 p.m. start. Souderton (3-4, 1-4 SOL) plays Garnet Valley Saturday morning.
Central Bucks West 0-1-1 2
Souderton 0-1-0 1
Tune in to 610 WIP this Friday Sept 23 from 5:30-6PM. CB West Boys Soccer Coach Stefan Szygiel will be on air to discuss the topic "Where has the 3 sport athlete gone?"
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