Jarrad Saffren recaps Monday’s SOL boys’ soccer games. Check Keith Clemens’ gallery of the Souderton/Cheltenham contest…CLICK HERE.
By Jarrad Saffren
Suburban One League boys soccer teams opened the last week of the 2016 regular season Monday.
Some teams—like Central Bucks West and Wissahickon—are playing for home games in the District One Class 4A first round.
Others—like Central Bucks South and Souderton—are fighting to make the district playoffs.
“What do we need to do this week?” CB South coach Don Brady asked. “Win.”
It’s that simple. But Brady forgot a word – out. CB South and Souderton need to win out to ensure they get in. CB West and Wissahickon need to win out to earn first round home games.
Those four teams took that necessary first step Monday. Upper Moreland also took another step toward a playoff berth, in Class 3A, where nine teams qualify.
And I can’t forget Harry S. Truman. The Tigers continue to help their Suburban One League National Conference rivals by winning nonleague games.
Read more about it all below.
Twelve SOL teams played nonleague games Monday. Two played a league game.
Non-League
Souderton 3, Cheltenham 1
Senior Dylan Molyneaux has done it all for Souderton in his three-year varsity career.
Molyneaux played midfield and left back as a sophomore in 2014. He played center back as a junior in 2015.
“We were a younger team last year. Dylan had a lot of experience after seeing time as a sophomore,” Souderton coach Matt Benner said. “Because of his versatility, he was able to step in and be a part of the back line when we needed him to.”
Souderton has more capable defenders in 2016. So Benner has been able to play Molyneaux in an offensive role.
“We’ve been able to get him forward this year and he’s taken off and ran with it,” Benner said. “He’s had a quite a few big games this year where he’s stepped up and played quite well. You put him in good spots, he’s going to make big plays. He’s had quite a senior year.”
Molyneaux scored one goal and assisted on two on Monday. He has five goals and five assists in 2016.
“There are a lot of things he does well,” Benner said. “He uses his body well, he’s good in the air, and when he gets moving, he has good speed for a guy his size. The game comes naturally to him.”
Souderton’s Cameron Hart scored in the 36th minute, his fourth goal of the season. Reece DiRenzi scored in the 70th. Nick Marculo assisted on Molyneaux’s goal.
“It wasn’t our finest day in the offensive third,” Benner said. “But we found ways to get goals off set pieces and restarts.”
Cheltenham came out physical. But Souderton matched Cheltenham’s physicality after the Panthers scored in the first half.
“We were very physical today. Cheltenham was a physical team. I liked how our boys stepped up the intensity,” Benner said. “We worked hard to get the opportunities we did get.”
Souderton is 8-8 with two games left. The Indians are No. 31 in the district power rankings. Twenty-four teams make the 4A playoffs.
“We were happy to get a win but we know we have a lot more work to do,” Benner said. “We talked as a group at the beginning of the week: If we want a chance at sneaking in we need to have a big week. We checked one off today. We know CB West well and we have to have a solid outing to beat them. They are playing really well.”
Souderton (8-8, 3-7 SOL) plays CB West Tuesday at 3:30. Cheltenham (3-12, 3-9 SOL) takes on Plymouth Whitemarsh Tuesday at seven.
Souderton 2-1 3
Cheltenham 1-0 1
Central Bucks West 2, Upper Dublin 1
CB West came out strong in the first half. Upper Dublin came out strong in the second.
“It was a tale of two halves. In the first half we were better. In the second half they were better and we had to hold them off,” CB West coach Stefan Szygiel said. “They had a little bit of an off half. They started slow. But as the game went on, they got better.”
The Bucks scored both of their goals in the first half. Sean Burke and Nick Doyle scored. Jack Galt and Burke assisted.
“We put a lot of pressure and had a lot of scoring chances in the first half,” Szygiel said. “But our scoring chances were very few in the second half and they had a lot. We leaned on (goalkeeper) Dylan (Smith) and our defenders. They held them off and did a good job back there.”
Smith made seven saves.
“Dylan kept us organized,” Szygiel said.
Upper Dublin had a great chance to tie the game in the second half. But CBW midfielder Reed Sturza cleared the ball off the goal line.
“We had to clear a lot of balls in the second half,” Szygiel said. “CJ Lang, our junior captain, who’s having a solid season overall, he was good again today. Dom Bianchini is the other defender back there. He’s a senior who has really given us a lot of good minutes this year.”
Szygiel’s voice rose as he spoke that last sentence. He sounded surprised that Bianchini has given West so many good minutes.
“He’s exceeded my expectations from August. I saw Dom in a platoon,” Szygiel said. “But he scored a big goal against North Penn, he has a couple assists, and he takes all of our free kicks. He’s been a pleasant surprise. He’s not a platoon player.”
The Bucks have started between six and eight sophomores all season. But they are still 8-6-2 and No. 18 in the power rankings. The kids have stepped up.
Szygiel identified three in particular: Sturza, Carson Snyder and Nick Centenera.
“They are exciting. They have played a lot of minutes and done a really good job,” Szygiel said. “They are all midfielders. But we play Reed in the back and Nick rotated from center back and mid. Carson has played every position but goalie at this point. They are guys who are willing to move around the field because we see this matchup or that. They don’t make a peep. They just play.”
Upper Dublin lost for just the second time in 2016. The Flying Cardinals are No. 8 in the power rankings.
CB West (8-6-2, 5-4-2 SOL) plays Souderton Tuesday at 3:30.
“That’s a tough one. That’s never an easy game,” Szygiel said. “With this win, we can reasonably talk about a home playoff game. If we do what we work on and are effective, we can beat anybody. It’s just whether or not on that day things go your way.”
Upper Dublin (13-2-1, 10-1-1 SOL) battles Hatboro-Horsham Tuesday at 3:45.
Central Bucks West 2-0 2
Upper Dublin 1-0 1
Harry S. Truman 2, Central 1
Truman improved to 5-1 in non-league games.
“We definitely made an effort to schedule teams that are on a similar level, with those two extra non-league games,” Truman coach Jack Kinloch said. “We definitely didn’t want to schedule teams below our level. But we’ve gotten three wins in the last week, which is good for the kids, and shows we are getting better.”
The Tigers are still 0-10 in SOL National play with two league games left. Kinloch is not completely satisfied with the program’s progress in league play.
“The first half of the year was a bit of a step back in the league. A big part of that was that it’s hard to replace the best goalie in the league in Fernando Mendez,” Kinloch said. “We just haven’t finished in league play. Even in nonleague games we’ve had real opportunities to be up two or 3-0 and just didn’t take them.”
Mendez’s replacement in goal—Dawson Black—made seven saves on Monday.
“He did well. They were the bigger team and had a definite height advantage up top,” Kinloch said. “He came out and grabbed a lot of balls. Dawson has been more consistent the last two weeks. The front half of our schedule was heavy on away games. The last couple weeks we were finally able to play at home. We get more time on the ball on our bigger field.”
Black’s defenders have also helped.
“They have done a fantastic job the last couple weeks. CJ Weed, Kevin Bucklind and Pablo Perez,” Kinloch said. “CJ was huge for us tonight. He made things more comfortable for Dawson, winning so many balls in the air.”
The defenders have been so good that Kinloch stopped playing five. He moved one up.
“That’s been helpful the last few weeks,” Kinloch said. “We knew we’d be playing teams more on our level too.”
Badr Fask scored both of Truman’s goals on Monday. Ilyas Nashid and Diego Rodriguez assisted.
Truman (5-11, 0-10 SOL) plays Neshaminy Tuesday at seven. The Tigers have two more chances to win a league game in 2016. Either way, Kinloch is hopeful for 2017.
“We only have three seniors playing. So we bring back 8-9-10 juniors,” Kinloch said. “Hopefully we’ll have a better showing in the league. But our league will always be one of the hardest. Hopefully we have more success in the next couple years.”
Harry S. Truman 0-2 2
Central 1-0 1
Central Bucks South 3, Abington 1
CB South won its fifth straight game.
“We played really well today,” Titans coach Don Brady said. “Our team speed was one of the best all season. We got a lot of chances that we haven’t gotten this season. We hit the crossbar, the keeper made saves, and Abington is a good side. They are 10-6.”
CB South scored the game’s first three goals. Colin Green scored in the 20th minute. “He scored a great goal off a free kick,” Brady said.
Green now has four goals this season.
Giani Goss scored in the 42nd minute. Colin Fagan assisted. Jason Reimert scored in the 57th minute off an assist from Kevin Berntsen. Reimert has three goals in 2016.
“Kevin Berntsen, he’s our center back and he does a lot of positive things. Tonight he did a really nice job,” Brady said. “He found Reimert centrally from right side and sent him a great penetrating pass and Jason beat the keeper to the near post. It was awesome.”
Reimert has three goals in 2016.
Sean Touey scored for Abington in the 72nd minute.
CB South is No. 25 in the power rankings. The Titans were No. 24 last week. They are 2-0 since.
Abington is No. 15.
CB South (9-6-1, 6-3-1 SOL) hosts North Penn Tuesday at 3:30. Abington (10-6, 6-5 SOL) plays Bensalem Thursday at seven.
Central Bucks South 1-2 3
Abington 0-1 1
Council Rock North 0, Central Bucks East 0
Two of the best defensive teams in District One held each other scoreless for 100 minutes, 80 minutes of regulation plus two overtimes.
Council Rock North keeper Anthony Caruso and Central Bucks East keeper Karl Vandlow each made four saves.
“Four spectacular saves,” CR North coach Joseph Stackhouse said. “It was a two-half game with North having the better of play in the first half and the Patriots having an advantage in the second.”
The Indians are No. 2 in the power rankings. The Patriots are No. 11. North and No. 3 Henderson each have one loss. The next three teams have three or four. So the Indians are probably safe in the top three.
CB East (10-4-3, 8-2-1 SOL) probably needs to win its last regular season game to earn a first round home game. The Patriots play CB South Thursday at 3:30.
CR North (13-1-2, 10-1 SOL) plays Pennsbury Tuesday at 3:30.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0 0
Central Bucks East 0-0-0-0 0
SOL American
Wissahickon 5, Quakertown 2
Wissahickon’s big three exploded for five goals on Monday.
Senior Tom McHale and sophomore Trey Schwartz both scored two. Eddie Fortescue netted one.
All three have at least seven goals in 2016. McHale also has seven assists.
“They’ve been getting the goals,” Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm said. “Eddie played last year and scored a few goals. Not as many as he has this year. Trey is a first year starter. It’s been a pleasant surprise.”
Wissahickon keeper Jun Yun made five saves in his second game back from a rib injury. Recent starter Brad Schwartz missed the game with a sore back. Malcolm planned to play one goalie for each half.
Senior David Lawrence and sophomore Brendon Strecker scored for Quakertown.
Wissahickon (10-4-2, 8-3-1 SOL) takes on Upper Moreland Tuesday at seven. Quakertown (5-11, 3-9 SOL) plays Springfield Wednesday at four.
Upper Moreland 1, Norristown 0
Upper Moreland improved to 7-8-1 and increased its chances for a 3A playoff spot.
The Golden Bears are No. 8 in the power rankings. Nine teams make the 3A field. UM has won two straight since the rankings came out.
Upper Moreland (7-8-1, 3-8-1 SOL) battles Wissahickon Tuesday at seven.
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