Check out the results for SOL field hockey teams in action Friday.
American Conference
WISSAHICKON 4, UPPER MORELAND 3
The visiting Golden Bears threw a scare into the Trojans, opening up a 2-0 halftime lead, but the Trojans responded with four unanswered goals in the second half – two each from Jessica Waite and Julianna Sutow – to earn the come-from-behind win.
Friday’s contest featured a pair of teams on the bubble in their respective district playoff rankings.
Jess Flanagan scored both of Upper Moreland’s first-half goals – the first at the 21:44 mark and the second with 4:14 remaining to send the Golden Bears into halftime with the two-goal advantage.
It took the Trojans just 51 seconds to get on the board in the second half when Waite scored with a Sammi Pak assist. Sutow’s unassisted goal at the 14:17 mark knotted the score, and then Waite and Sutow scored in a two-minute span – both with Pak assists – to put the Trojans on top 4-2 with 6:14 remaining. Claudia Zanine (Flanagan assist) found the cage with 4:07 left on the scoreboard clock to make it a one-goal game, but the Golden Bears would get no closer.
“Today's game was an exciting game,” UM coach Karen Grossi said. “The two teams were equally matched, neither team dominating possession.
“(We) took an early lead and extended that lead before the end of the first half, but Wissahickon never lost their composure.
“Both teams came out of halftime ready to play, but Wissahickon was a bit more ready, taking less than a minute to score their first goal of the game. Both teams had many scoring opportunities during the second half, but Wissahickon was able to capitalize. Wissahickon did a great job passing and maintaining control of the ball once they gained the lead.”
UM goalie Allison Felicetti had a busy day, recording 12 saves.
Grossi credited the strong play of several of her players.
“Jess Flanagan did an excellent job offensively, playing a role in all three UM goals, and carrying the ball down the field (alone or with her teammates) to take a shot or force a corner,” the UM coach said. “Kylee Bowman and Moira Olexa did very well in the midfield, intercepting passes and starting UM's offense. Emily Keene was strong defensively, making many strong block tackles and a defensive save, undeterred by her broken finger from yesterday's practice.”
Wissahickon’s Wumi Popoopola was credited with three saves.
Wissahickon (11-6, 9-4 SOL) will be on the road at Springfield on Tuesday, and Upper Moreland (6-9, 6-7) will host Upper Dublin on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 2-1 3
Wissahickon 0-4 4
UPPER DUBLIN 3, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead into halftime and added a pair in the second half on their way to the shutout win.
Jess Grodsky put the Cardinals on the scoreboard at the 13:21 mark of the first half, using an Alex Thompson assist. Marlee Siegel – with an assist from Molley Lunney – made it a 2-0 game midway through the second half, and then it was Siegel assisting on a Grodsky goal with 9:09 remaining for the 3-0 final.
“Upper Dublin demonstrated a strong team effort against a very aggressive Hatboro team today,” UD coach Heather Boyer said. “Forward Marlee Siegel had a breakout game (with one goal and one assist).
“Midfielder Ryann Kullmann, defensive back Alex Thompson, and sweeper Allie DeMichele all played critical roles in transition which really limited Hatboro's offensive opportunities in the game.”
The Flying Cardinals had a decided advantage in shots (18-4) and corners (13-1).
UD goalies Meghan Muth (three saves) and Sarah Herchenroder (one save) combined for the shutout. Hatters’ goalie Liz Wilburn recorded 13 saves.
“Hatboro's goalkeeper really played a good game against us,” Boyer said.
Upper Dublin (11-4-1, 11-2 SOL) will be on the road at Upper Moreland on Tuesday for its SOL finale, and Hatboro-Horsham (5-11, 5-8) will host Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0 0
Upper Dublin 1-2 3
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 10, CHELTENHAM 1
Seven players contributed goals in a contest that saw the visiting Colonials open up a 5-1 lead on their way to a win that clinched sole possession of the conference crown.
Frankie O’Brien had a hand in four goals, scoring two and assisting on two others. Kennedy Reardon added a hat trick. Contributing one goal each were Kerin Bechtel, Sam Spera, Julia Fiddler, Sophie Kolkka and Amanda Colton. For Colton, it was her first varsity goal.
Maddie Stackhouse scored for the Lady Panthers, assisted by MaryCait Dorley.
PW goalie Katherine Houghton had three saves.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (15-1-1, 13-0 SOL) will host Quakertown in its regular season finale Tuesday, and Cheltenham (0-14, 0-12) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-5 10
Cheltenham 1-0 1
Continental Conference
PENNRIDGE 3, WILLIAM TENNENT 0
The Rams took a 2-0 lead into halftime and never looked back on their way to the shutout win.
“Great team play from everyone,” coach Becky Spahr said. “We possessed the ball well and created a lot of scoring opportunities.”
Caitlyn Amsden (Sydney Borneman assist) and Kiersten Faw (Hannah Cook assist) each found the cage in the first half. Borneman turned an Kellie Drugotch assist into a goal to close out the scoring in the second half.
“Our midfielders – Melanie Kerins, Kira Ozer, Hannah Cook and Emily Price – did a great job changing the angle of our attack and passing quickly to build our team offense while recovering with speed and tackling back to force turnovers and help defensively,” Spahr said.
Pennridge (5-11, 2-9 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Tuesday for its SOL finale, and William Tennent (2-11-1, 0-10) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Monday night.
Pennridge 2-1 3
William Tennent 0-0 0
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 5, SOUDERTON 2
The Bucks raced to a 3-0 lead and went on to open up a 5-1 lead on their way to the conference win. The game was a far cry from the initial meeting between the two teams that saw the Bucks – who were without Cadera Smith – open up a 3-1 halftime lead only to watch the Indians battle back, forcing the Bucks to settle for a 3-3 tie.
In the first half, the Bucks received goals from Ryan Murray, Kaci Murray and Taylor Mason. Bryn Boylan assisted on both Ryan Murray’s and Mason’s goals. Cadera Smith assisted on Kaci Murray’s goal.
The Indians got on the scoreboard at the 24:08 mark, but the Bucks responded with one of their own when Smith found the cage. Boylan closed out the scoring for the Bucks with a goal at the 3:08 mark before Souderton’s final score.
Central Bucks West (12-3-1, 8-2-1 SOL) will host William Tennent for its Senior Night game on Monday at 7 p.m. Souderton (8-8-1, 4-6-1) will host William Tennent on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Souderton 0-2 3
Central Bucks West 3-2 5
National Conference
NESHAMINY 7, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
The Redskins scored seven goals with each of those goals coming off the stick of a different player.
Kayla Connelly turned an Elena Donato pass into a goal at the 21:39 mark, and five minutes later, Mia Sexton found the cage, using a Julia Geisheimer assist. Geisheimer’s unassisted goal sent the ‘Skins into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
Elayna Curtin opened the scoring in the second half at the 24:26 mark, using an Emily Alexis assist. Just over a minute later, Alexis scored an unassisted goal, and then it was Donato turning a Sexton pass into a goal. Taylor Benton (Alexis assist) closed out the scoring with 33 seconds remaining.
Neshaminy (12-4, 10-1 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Tuesday at 3:30 with the conference title on the line. Harry S Truman (2-12-1, 1-9-1) will host Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Harry S Truman 0-0 0
Neshaminy 3-4 7
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 2, PENNSBURY 1
The Indians turned in a standout effort in their win over the Falcons.
“We scored two of the prettiest goals we have this season,” coach Heather Whalin said. “I tell them all the time – they’re that good except they forget they’re that good.
“They’re having fun again, and we’re not very good as a tense team. We need to be loose. Unfortunately, the best games we’ve played this season we’ve lost because they were against real (tough) opponents.”
The Indians’ coach pointed to her team’s strong showing in a 2-1 loss to Mount St. Joseph, the 4-3 overtime loss to CR South, and the squad’s 1-0 loss to Neshaminy.
“It’s a shame because if they slipped the other way we have an incredible record, but they’re having fun again” Whalin said. “You could see during the game they were smiling at each other. They were having a great time. The team is very close – they’ve always been very close. I think sometimes they second guess themselves.”
Claire Jarema (Anna Lehman assist) put the Indians on the scoreboard less than three minutes into the game on a perfectly-executed corner.
“Anna Lehman hit the ball to the opposite post, and Claire came out of nowhere just full-on sprint to the post and tipped it up and in,” Whalin said.
The Falcons capitalized on a rare opportunity at the 19:53 mark of the half when Olivia Maura found the cage to knot the score.
“The girls said, ‘It felt like we were watching it happen,’” Whalin said. “It felt like slow motion – a defensive breakdown for a hot second that they were able to capitalize on.”
Seven minutes later, Danielle Nelson scored on a tip into the upper corner, deflecting a shot by Lehman.
“That was a gorgeous shot,” said Whalin.
The Indians – who held a 10-0 advantage in corners – drew six second-half corners but couldn’t convert.
“On one, their goalie made an unbelievable save on a tip,” Whalin said. “It looked like it was going in.”
The Indians held a 12-2 advantage in shots, and Whalin acknowledged the strong play of several players in the team win.
“Danielle Nelson had a fantastic game,” the Indians’ coach said, going on to credit defensive backs Hannah Barsky, MaryKate Dugan and Sarah Everett. “The three of them are just really playing well. (For Pennsbury) to have no corners is pretty impressive and to only allow two shots is also impressive, especially against a team that is as dynamic as Pennsbury.
“They have fantastic mid, Nell Weber, and she’s even more dangerous on turf than grass, but we were shutting them down. It was an impressive game for us. The no corners was huge.”
Whalin said this year’s team “old young.”
“We have kids that have never played the positions they’re playing, we have kids that never played varsity even though some of them are juniors,” the North coach said. “I have a sophomore starting and a freshman starting.
"This is the time you want to start playing well. I told the girls – the division is fine and all, but where the real fun is when you’re getting into the playoffs. That was one of their goals this year. We had a very, very strong schedule this year.”
Included on the team’s schedule – in addition to conference powers – are perennial state power Emmaus, Mount St. Joseph, West Chester Henderson and Central Bucks West.
The return to the lineup of Julianne Mangano has been a boost.
“Everyone is in their normal positions,” Whalin said. “The girls picked it up with her out, but unfortunately, you hurt yourself somewhere else.
“Bridget Thompson was taken out of the striker position and moved to right mid. Anna Lehman was pushed to center mid with Mangano out, so it took some of our firepower away because Bridget is such a strong attacker. Her stick skills are fantastic, and her ability to score is great. Now that she’s back we had a lot of push during the game.”
Council Rock North (9-8, 8-4 SOL) will close out its regular season with a non-league contest at home against Central Bucks West on Tuesday (7 p.m.). Pennsbury (8-8-1, 5-6) will host Truman in its final regular season game on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 1-0 1
Council Rock North 2-0 2
Non-league
PHOENIXVILLE 4, ABINGTON 1
The Ghosts traveled to Phoenixville for a non-league game Friday, and they took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Grace Terrizzi (Sam McGee assist). The Phantoms answered with four straight goals – three to close out the first half and one late in the second half – to earn the 4-1 win.
Abington (5-11, 3-8 SOL) will host Lower Merion on a non-league game on Saturday and will close out SOL play at Bensalem on Wedesday.
Abington 1-0 1
Phoenixville 3-1 1
About the Author
