Jarrad Saffren recaps Thursday’s SOL boys’ soccer games.
By Jarrad Saffren
Headlines, headlines, here they are: The Suburban One League Continental Conference has a new king. For now at least. The SOL National may be the best conference in District One and possibly the Keystone State. And Hatboro-Horsham still loves the SOL American, like a lot.
North Penn beat Central Bucks East for the first time since 2013, when most of its current players were still in middle school. The National’s top four teams—Pennsbury, Council Rock North, Abington and Neshaminy—are a combined 32-6-1. Hatboro-Horsham improved to 6-0-2 against American opponents.
Steady rain, puddles, wind and mud affected all nine games on Thursday.
“It was a good soccer day,” North Penn coach Paul Duddy said. “Rain and wind. What more could you ask for?”
“The conditions were what the conditions were,” Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart said. “Both teams had to play in them.”
“We played great today considering the playing conditions,” Central Bucks South coach Don Brady said.
That is only a sampling. Just about every coach mentioned the weather as a factor on Thursday.
But soccer players are tough. They play in those conditions.
Only one of the 10 scheduled games was postponed on Thursday. Eight conference games went on as planned. One non-conference game did as well.
The results and recaps are below.
SOL Continental
North Penn 2, Central Bucks East 0
This was a huge win for North Penn.
Central Bucks East won the SOL Continental in 2013, ’14 and ’15. North Penn finished second all three years. The Patriots beat the Knights three times in 2015. The last win was a District One Class AAA quarterfinal that came down to penalty kicks.
“We’ve lost to them probably seven straight times. This was a big win for our upperclassmen,” Duddy said. “The boys are happy. It’s good for our confidence.”
The win catapulted the Knights past the Patriots and into first place. They have won six straight conference games. Five are left on the schedule.
“It would be very important to us to end that streak. Especially for our upperclassmen, I would love to see that happen this year,” Duddy said. “Central Bucks West, Central Bucks South and Souderton could knock us off. That’s the way the league is. William Tennent was a one-goal game the first time we played them.”
North Penn took a 1-0 lead with two minutes left in the first half. Mike Kohler kicked the ball off a defender’s foot at the 25. The ball deflected back to Kohler. He dribbled past the defender and blazed the ball past the keeper.
“That’s a tough time to give up a goal. Kohler was coming in fast and it was a bit of a lucky break,” Duddy said. “But once he was one on one with the keeper, there was no surprise he finished it.”
The score remained 1-nil until the 66th minute. Nate Baxter pushed the ball through defenders to Luke McMahon. He booted it into the net.
CB East hit the post on a direct kick with five minutes left. North Penn could breathe after that.
“There was a lot of excitement on our side. No doubt about it,” Duddy said. “The boys enjoyed it. But I said, ‘We’ll see them again in districts.’ CB East is as good as always. They are just great.”
“We’ve been on the other end of this score line a lot over the last four years,” Duddy said. “It’s not a time for big heads. There’s a lot of soccer left in this conference.”
North Penn is known as an explosive offensive team.
But Thursday was a defensive win. Keeper Bobby Dean made six saves.
“Our team defense was very good today. Our four defenders played very well. If you shut out a team like East, you are doing okay,” Duddy said. “Noah Kwortnik is our leader back there. Carter Houlihan, Eric Szilagi and Matt Murphy played great too.” Murphy came in and played outside right back after an injury.
East keeper Karl Vandlow stopped eight shots. “Both keepers made a lot of saves,” Duddy said. “That’s indicative of a close game.”
North Penn (8-2, 6-1 SOL) earned its biggest win of 2016, maybe its biggest win in years. Now Duddy wants to avoid a letdown.
“We’ll get back to training tomorrow,” the Knights’ coach said. “We have Archbishop Wood at 11 a.m. on Saturday.”
CB East (6-3-2, 5-2-1 SOL) plays Souderton Wednesday at 3:30.
North Penn 1-1 2
Central Bucks East 0-0 0
Central Bucks South 2, Souderton 0
CB South broke a two-game losing streak in conference play. The Titans had lost four of five overall.
On Thursday, they got back to winning the way they won in 2015: With a balanced attack. Jason Reimert gave the Titans a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute. Colin Fagan corner kicked the ball to Gianni Goss. He headed it on goal. Reimert got the rebound and “walked it in,” Brady said.
In the 68th minute, Reimert carried into the box, beat a defender, was taken down and earned a penalty kick. Fagan blasted the ball past the keeper.
“Last year we spread the scoring around a lot. This year hasn’t been quite the same. Which is why we haven’t been quite as successful as we’d like,” Brady said. “I’m thoroughly happy with how the kids played today considering the playing conditions and how things have been going lately.”
Brady also praised his defenders.
“The back four were solid tonight, especially in the second half when we had the wind in our face,” Brady said. “Kevin Berntsen, Brian Davis, Tate Pfender and Eric Pitaki. I can’t single one guy out.”
Brady moved Davis into the middle with Berntsen. He inserted Pfender into Davis’s old spot on the outside.
Brady Day made four saves for CB South. Souderton’s Mitchell Race stopped four shots.
CB South (5-6-1, 3-3-1 SOL) hosts Pennridge Wednesday at seven. Souderton (5-6, 2-5 SOL) plays Southern Lehigh Tuesday at four.
Central Bucks South 1-1 2
Souderton 0-0 0
Central Bucks West 0, William Tennent 0
Central Bucks West stayed one point above CB South for third place in the Continental standings. William Tennent moved one point ahead of Souderton for fifth.
“I’m very rarely satisfied with a tie,” CB West coach Stefan Szygiel said. “But all things considered with the conditions, it’s not bad.”
“We played well enough to win. The tie was not the most satisfying thing,” William Tennent coach Ryan Todt said. “But they are a very good opponent. So the tie gave us confidence.”
Szygiel was surprised that neither team scored.
“They had some chances. We had a few,” Szygiel said. “I thought it’d end up 2-2. But neither team could finish tonight.”
Todt was equally surprised. “We had a ton of good chances,” he said.
Bucks keeper Dylan Smith made five saves and earned his fifth shutout of 2016.
“Dylan was himself tonight. They had a couple good hits from distance,” Szygiel said. “He didn’t give up many rebounds. We expect clean sheets from him.”
Panthers keeper Brendan Hanratty made nine saves.
“Two or three were stellar,” Todt said. “He didn’t give up a rebound either, which was key on a few of them. They had guys following.”
“Their keeper did a very nice job too. We had pressure on him numerous times and he came up big. Both keepers played well.”
CB West (5-3-2, 3-2-2 SOL) welcomes Great Valley Saturday at five. William Tennent (3-4-1, 2-4-1 SOL) battles Wilson Saturday at 5:45.
Central Bucks West 0-0 0
William Tennent 0-0 0
SOL National
Pennsbury 2, Bensalem 1
Pennsbury is undefeated with seven regular season games left.
Coach Tom Stoddart said, “Of course we are going undefeated.”
I am kidding, of course. No coach in sports history has ever said that.
Here is what Stoddart actually said: “We have a difficult home and home coming up. It’s an unusual situation. That doesn’t usually happen in high school soccer,” Stoddart said. “We have Abington at our place on Saturday. Then we go to their place on Wednesday. So that will be a difficult task.”
Thursday’s game was also a difficult task.
“Bensalem is a great offensive team. They created a lot of opportunities,” Stoddart said. “We bent without breaking. They came on hard at the end of the game.”
Pennsbury keeper Nate Slotnick left the game with a neck injury in the second half. Backup Collin Schoennagel missed the game with an ankle injury. So freshman junior varsity starter Peter Beidler came in for Slotnick. He withstood Bensalem’s pressure, stopping three shots.
“I was enormously happy with his play. That’s a tough spot for a young kid to be in,” Stoddart said. “He did a great job. That’s why we keep him on the roster as the third goalie.”
Slotnick made four saves before leaving the game. He should be back for Saturday’s game against Abington.
“If he’s not, Collin will be,” Stoddart said.
Pennsbury and Bensalem scored three goals in 10 minutes in the first half. John Griffin scored unassisted in the 18th minute. Bensalem answered four minutes later. Arlyn Buodonomo netted the game winner in the 28th minute. Zach LoBasso assisted.
“We also controlled the ball in the beginning of the second half,” Stoddart said. “We had a good bit of the attack.”
Pennsbury’s (11-0, 6-0 SOL) game against Abington starts at seven on Saturday. Bensalem (2-6-1, 1-5-1 SOL) plays Penn Wood Friday at 3:45.
Pennsbury 2-0 2
Bensalem 1-0 1
Council Rock North 2, Harry S. Truman 0
Council Rock North bounced back from its first conference loss of 2016. The Indians fell to Pennsbury 2-1 on Sept. 22.
The Indians dominated Harry S. Truman on Thursday, outshooting the Tigers 17-5.
Carter Steckbeck gave North a 1-0 lead in the first half. Nikita Ihlin assisted. Eric Levine made it 2-0 in the second half. Conor O’Donnell passed him the ball.
North coach Joe Stackhouse continued to use his depth, playing 23 players in the game. Stackhouse used all three of his keepers. Anthony Caruso, Will Durkin and Ed Mancinelli all made one save.
The Indians remain in second place behind the Falcons. North (6-1-1, 6-1 SOL) hosts Owen J. Roberts Saturday at 4:30. Truman (2-8, 0-7 SOL) plays Council Rock South next Friday, Oct. 7, at 3:30.
Council Rock North 1-1 2
Harry S. Truman 0-0 0
Abington 3, Council Rock South 2
Abington won its sixth straight game and third straight in conference play.
Sean Touey scored two goals for the Ghosts, one in the first half, one in the second. Conor Garvey assisted on the first goal. Danny Heller assisted on the second.
Jack Failing scored the third goal. Heller notched his second assist.
Council Rock South is 0-4-1 in its last five games.
Abington (8-2, 5-2 SOL) plays Pennsbury Saturday at three. CR South (4-6-1, 1-5-1 SOL) battles CR North Wednesday at five.
SOL American
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Springfield 0
Danny Harmon has been the other Danny this season for Hatboro-Horsham. Freshman sensation Danny Bateman has gotten most of the media attention.
But Harmon is also one of Hatboro-Horsham’s best players. And he was the Danny on Thursday.
Harmon scored two goals.
“He’s a guy who doesn’t score as much as the other guys,” Hatters’ coach Kyle McGrath said. “He’s gotten close to scoring. He was rewarded today with two goals.”
Bateman also got on the score sheet with an assist.
“Danny Bateman is one of our most dangerous guys,” McGrath said.
Sophomore Ryan Cole has received less attention than Harmon. He scored the third goal.
“He had a nice little far post finish to lock the game up. For us to score to make it 3-0 took the air out of Springfield a little bit,” McGrath said. “Ryan is young. He’ll get more publicity as he improves. It was good to see him get on the score sheet too.”
Assist man Nick Hatzenbeller earned another one on Thursday. He “made a great pass to Danny (Harmon) on Danny’s second goal,” McGrath said.
Hatzenbeller has been in and out of the lineup because he’s been sick. He always contributes when he plays.
Hatters’ keeper Stephen Doney earned the shutout.
“Stephen did a good job in the second half coming off his line and cleaning up the through balls,” McGrath said. “Hopefully he stays focused and makes big saves when he has to. He hasn’t had to do too much in the last three games other than clean things up, which he’s done a great job of.”
The Hatters went 5-9 in the SOL Continental in 2015. There are two main reasons for the improvement: Hatboro-Horsham is playing against smaller schools in the American, instead of bigger ones in the Continental. And it added a lot of talent in the offseason, especially Bateman from the Philadelphia Union Academy.
“It’s definitely a combination of the two,” McGrath said. “It is good for kids to finally get some results. The last few years we’d play well and lose 3-2 or 2-1. Being one of the bigger schools in the league is obviously a benefit to us.”
Hatboro-Horsham (9-1-2, 6-0-2 SOL) plays Upper Moreland Wednesday at seven. Springfield (2-7-1, 2-5-1 SOL) hosts Norristown Friday at 3:30.
Upper Moreland 1, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
Upper Moreland upset the third best team in the SOL American.
The Golden Bears improved to 2-5-1 in conference play. Plymouth Whitemarsh dropped to 4-4. The Colonials are still two points up on Wissahickon for third place.
Upper Moreland snapped a two-game losing streak. The Golden Bears also ended PW’s two-game winning streak.
Upper Moreland (4-5-1, 2-5-1 SOL) battles Hatboro-Horsham Wednesday at seven. Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-6, 4-4 SOL) takes on Wissahickon Wednesday at 3:30.
Quakertown at Wissahickon
Quakertown (3-5, 2-5 SOL) and Wissahickon (5-3-2, 3-3-1 SOL) rescheduled for Mon., Oct. 17, at 3:30.
Non-League
Neshaminy 3, Spring-Ford 0
You want to know how strong the SOL National is? Neshaminy is the conference’s fourth place team. Spring-Ford is the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s first place team.
“This was a very good win for the power rankings. Our league and the Continental are two of the stronger leagues in the state,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said. “Anyone who comes out of our league is certainly capable of winning the district. It is the same thing with the Continental.”
The final score is deceiving. Neshaminy could have won 6-0.
“We had the better of the play. It was a messy game. There was a pretty strong directional wind. We were lucky to get two goals in the first half when we were going into it,” Foley said. “But we could have had two or three more. We missed a couple point blank shots.”
“The only time they threatened was on a couple free kicks and corners when the wind blew the ball into the box.”
Chase Rider put Neshaminy up 1-0 in the fifth minute. Jack McCourt rocketed the ball on net. Rider kicked home the rebound.
Rider passed the ball to McCourt in the 20th minute. McCourt booted the ball in from 20 yards out.
“It was nice to get a 2-0 lead going into halftime because we were going into the wind,” Foley said. “(Goalkeeper) Val Scarsellatto did a great job managing the box on free kicks and corners because the wind was pushing the ball toward the goal.”
McCourt scored his second goal, Neshaminy’s third, in the 51st minute. Dan Grindrod assisted.
McCourt has six goals in 2016, second on Neshaminy behind Grindrod’s eight.
“Those are our go-to guys. Jack just keeps putting himself in good positions,” Foley said. “With any luck he’ll cash in more. He could have had two or three more today. He’ll probably double his total by the end of the year. The game will slow down even more for him.”
Rider had a goal and an assist. Foley moved him from midfield up to forward.
“It was a three man rotation with him, Hosephros and McCourt,” Foley said. “They put defenders under the gun a lot. They stole balls once in a while and gave us good opportunities.”
Neshaminy has scored 13 goals during its three-game winning streak. But, before Thursday, defense was one area where the Redskins could improve. They did on Thursday.
“We tightened things up on defense. We played more direct, which we’ve been asking them to do all year,” Foley said. “We got the ball forward under pressure and didn’t give up any clean looks on goal. Val smothered anything that came near him.”
“Jon Albarran and Luke St. Pierre played very well,” Foley said. “Joe Indelicato came off the bench and gave us a few minutes and played well.”
Scarsellatto stoned six shots.
“They weren’t super hard shots,” Foley said. “But it made it more difficult because they were low and skipping off the grass.”
Neshaminy (7-3, 4-2 SOL) takes on Bensalem Wednesday at seven.
Neshaminy 2-1 3
Spring-Ford 0-0 0
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