There were three one-goal games in SOL girls’ lacrosse action on Monday. Check out the recaps.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 14, CENTRAL BUCKS 13
What a difference a year makes.
Last year, the Titans rolled to a 15-5 win over the Hatters, and it looked like there might be a similar result this time around when the Titans opened up a 12-7 second-half lead.
“I called a timeout and said, ‘Player for player, you’re just as good, if not better,’” Hatters’ coach Marie Schmucker said. “I just told them, ‘One goal at a time. We have to make fewer turnovers. If they don’t have a ball, they’re not a threat. If they get the ball, they’re a threat. It’s about playing smart, keeping possession. There’s no shot clock, so work for a good shot.’”
The Hatters – behind the dangerous duo of Kaitlyn Wallace (eight goals, two assists) and Gwyn Acker (five goals, one assist) – rallied to knot the score. The Titans answered with a goal, but the Hatters scored the equalizer, setting the stage for OT. Acker scored the game winner on an eight-meter shot.
“I said to them, ‘You guys have a lot of heart to come back from a five-goal deficit, tie the game, go into overtime and win. That’s big,’” Schmucker said. “Our defense played outstanding.
“I told them – offense wins game, but defense wins championships. I have (goalie) Arielle Hammer back there giving direction, and I have Megan Acker, who’s a sophomore, so I have a very young defense.”
In addition to Wallace and Gwyn Acker, freshman Audrey Liebfreid added a single goal and senior Gabby Acker had an assist.
“Kaitlyn (Wallace) played well, Gwyn played well – they all played well,” Schmucker said. “Leadership needs to be in the third of the field on defense, leadership needs to be in the midfield, and leadership needs to be on offense.
“Hopefully, this is going to give them a confidence booster. One game at a time.”
Sophomore Arielle Hammer recorded 15 saves in a strong outing in goal for the Hatters, who trailed 7-6 at halftime.
“I have a ton of freshmen on the field, and I have a team that’s never played together, so we’re rebuilding,” Schmucker said. “I do have the talent. The freshmen are young, and they’re scared, but you know what – they give everything they’ve got. I think that was the bottom line – believing they could do it, being patient, playing with poise and finesse and not giving up.
“They’re hard workers, and each game we get better and better. By rights, we should maybe have one loss. It’s just a matter of more teamwork as opposed to playing as individuals.”
For the Titans, Kristen Berntsen and Kasey Dietzel led the way with four goals each. Courtney Taylor had a hat trick, and Anna Green added a pair of goals.
“CB South did not shoot well today as we had many opportunities,” coach Janique Craig said. “Today was a great reminder of working hard every minute of every game.
“Unfortunately, today we beat ourselves. It was a good learning experience, especially since it is the beginning of the season. Hatboro did a great job capitalizing on our mistakes, and their goalkeeper (Hammer) had a phenomenal game.”
Hatboro-Horsham (2-2) will host Upper Dublin in its SOL opener on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Central Bucks South (3-1) will host North Penn on Wednesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 6-7-1 14
Central Bucks South 7-6-0 13
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 10, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 9
The Bucks opened up a 4-1 lead over their visitors only to watch the Colonials score four unanswered goals to go on top 5-4. PW took a 7-5 lead into halftime.
“(Our) midfield fought hard for the draws and came up with possession,” PW coach Ellen Reilly said. “With possession came scoring.”
The Bucks erased that two-goal deficit by scoring off the first two draws of the second half. The two teams exchanged leads with Bucks holding on for a win at the end.
“CB West took the lead off of PW turnovers,” Reilly said. “(We) had opportunities and didn’t capitalize. CB West ran the clock out to take the win.
“It was a great game. I don’t think they were ready for us, and my girls finally played the way they’re capable of playing.”
Liv Fitzgerald’s hat trick led the Bucks, and Bryn Boylan added two goals and two assists. Finley Ueland also had a pair of goals while Dani Dundas and Casey Reichwein each had a goal and an assist. Maddie Maio contributed a single goal.
“(It was) ugly, but the girls showed perseverance and fought their way back,” West coach Tara Schmucker said. “I hope many lessons were learned today regarding teamwork and grit.
“Defensively, we were flatfooted, and PW got the better of us. Offensively, we controlled possession but had issues converting. Liv Fitzgerald had some great challenges today and added five ground balls as well. Bryn (Boylan) is a consistent leader for us and had another good performance and came up with the 10th goal off a pass from Casey Reichewein as well as the final crucial draw control since PW brought it back within one with 33 seconds left.”
Victoria Betterly led the Colonials with three goals and one assist while Ali Diamond had a hand in five goals, scoring two and assisting on three. Lilly Hanlon added two goals and one assist. Adding single goals were Lexi Petrakis and Raquel Basking.
Central Bucks West (5-0) will host Bishop Shanahan in a non-league contest Friday (7 p.m.), and Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-3) will be on the road at Abington for its SOL opener on Wednesday.
Central Bucks West 5-5 10
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7-2 9
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 19, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 5
Maggie Vetter reached a milestone in Monday’s non-league win when she connected on the 100th goal of her career.
“Maggie had a breakout game,” coach David Schlesinger said. “She missed a week of practice with the flu but is rapidly regaining her scoring touch.
“The entire team was so excited to help Maggie celebrate this terrific milestone.”
Vetter shared the team lead with four goals. Teammate Riley Forman also had four goals while Mel Burian added three goals and one assist. Sara Donnelly had two goals and two assists, Brigitte Bishop added two goals and one assist, and Whitney Dietz had a pair of goals. Adding one goal each were Mackenzie Boyle and Molly Eron. Erin McGovern chipped in an assist.
East goalie Lauren Maurer was credited with four saves in the win.
Central Bucks East (2-1) will travel to Pennsbury on Wednesday for its SOL opener.
WISSAHICKON 11, PENNSBURY 5
Carolyn Wilde and Emily Vervlied each scored four goals to lead the Trojans to their first win of the young season. Sam Intrieri added two goals and three assists, and Caroline Marta had one goal. Brooke Berry had a pair of assists while Kelly Dickson and Lauren Donofrio each had one.
“Staying strong and finishing strong helped the Trojans find a win,” coach Patty Kovacs said. “The girls hustled and challenged every ground ball.”
Verlied was credited with 10 ground balls, Intrieri had eight, Wilde, seven, and Dickson and Marta had four each. Hannah Havrilla and Megan DeGroat each had three ground balls. Naomi Bram and Caroline Testa both had two while Donofrio and Bella Ferrante each had one.
For the Falcons, Annie Price had a pair of goals while Brooke Weaver, Sarah MacDavis and Lily Nolan added one each. Nolan and Nell Weber both added an assist
Kyra Myers recorded seven saves in goal for the Trojans in the win.
Wissahickon (1-2) will host Cheltenham on Wednesday in its SOL opener, and Pennsbury (0-2) will host Central Bucks East.
ABINGTON 9, HAVERFORD 8
The Ghosts – led by All-American Sam McGee – entered the season with high expectations on the heels of last year’s strong showing under first-year coach Amanda Kammes. A 9-2 loss to Bishop Shanahan in their season opener confirmed the Ghosts weren’t going to sneak up on anyone this time around.
“We played not very well against Shanahan – we were not ourselves,” Kammes said. “There were a lot of things that didn’t go so great, and we’ve been really trying to focus on finding our identity again a little bit.
“We’re in a different boat than we were a year ago. A year ago, no one knew who the heck we were. Now everyone knows who we are, everyone knows who Sam McGee is, and everyone knows who Casey Mccallister is and Lindsay Baer – I could go down the whole list. The kids have to learn how to play under a different set of circumstances.”
Stopping McGee has been the first order of business for opposing teams.
“McGee has been face guarded from the opening draw in three out of three games,” Kammes said. “That is what I expect the rest of the season to look like quite honestly, and that’s fine.
“We adjust to it, and we have adjusted to it the last two games. I think we’re just starting to hit our stride.”
Injuries have also been a factor in the season’s early weeks, and the Ghosts had three starters who were either out or playing injured in their loss to Shanahan.
“We weren’t firing on all cylinders,” Kammes said. “Since then, we’ve gotten those guys back.
“I would say tonight was the first game where we’ve been almost full strength.”
The Ghosts led 9-6 with 10 minutes remaining in regulation only to watch the Fords rally to make it interesting.
“We probably could have pushed it a little more and added a couple more goals, but we were trying to control the clock,” Kammes said. “We made some silly mistakes, didn’t get a call here and there, and they capitalized on it.”
Mccallister led the Ghosts with three goals and one ground ball while Baer added two goals, one assist and one ground ball. Adding single goals were McGee, Sam Simon, Cathy Staerk and Jules Greco. Simon added a draw control, Staerk had three ground balls and five draw controls, McGee added six draw controls and Greco had one caused turnover and one ground ball.
Also making important contributions were Hecka Morris (one caused turnover, four ground balls), Grace Hinkle (one ground ball), Becca Gable (one ground ball), Abby Thomas (one caused turnover), Maddie Sjoholm (one ground ball) and Kaley Enhow (one ground ball, one draw control).
“I can’t say enough about Lindsay Baer – her leadership down the stretch was awesome,” Kammes said. “Hecka Morris and Jordan Campbell really kept us together on ‘D’ and came up with some huge stops down the stretch – caused a turnover, transitioned back up the field and gave us possession back.
“I’m happy with the win because we’re moving in the right direction. I’m not happy with how we’re playing. We’re still finding ourselves a little bit, but compared to where we were a year ago, we’re in a much better situation, and I would say that Haverford team was a much better Haverford team than we played last year. It’s good to get two Central League wins.”
Kiki Brasher recorded two saves in goal for the Ghosts.
Abington (2-1) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh in a key SOL American Conference battle on Wednesday.
Abington 5-4 9
Haverford 5-3 8
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 16, DANIEL BOONE 2
The Spartans exploded out of the gate to an 11-2 lead on their way to the convincing non-league win.
Lindsey Smith turned in a glittering performance to lead the Spartans, finishing the game with six goals, two caused turnovers, four ground balls and five draw controls. Ellie Hamilton also came up big with four goals, two assists, three ground balls and two draw controls. Jameson Krewson and Rachel Harmon each added a goal. Sophia Perry had a pair of assists and Charlotte Henry had one helper. Emily Giampietro scooped up two ground balls.
Springfield Township (1-2) will host Souderton in its SOL opener Wednesday.
SOUDERTON 12, DOWNINGTOWN EAST 9
Riley McGowan turned in an impressive five-goal effort to lead the Indians to a bounce-back win after Saturday’s lopsided loss at Central Bucks West. Carly Doughty had two goals, three draw controls and one caused turnover. Also making important contributions were Sarah Goodwin (one goal, six draw controls, two caused turnovers, two ground balls), Megan Walbrandt (one goal, two draw controls, two ground balls), Randi Hess (one goal, two draw controls), Maddie Knight (one goal, one caused turnover). Jenny Ubowski added a goal while Kate Mardi had a pair of assists.
On defense, Kayla Moyer had two caused turnovers, and Julies Borisow added one draw control and one ground ball. Lauren Scott recorded five saves in goal in the win.
Souderton (2-1) will travel to Springfield on Wednesday in its SOL opener.
PENNRIDGE 14, POPE JOHN PAUL II 9
Jen Rodzewich turned in a glittering nine-goal, one assist performance to lead the Rams – who trailed 7-6 at halftime – to the come-from-behind win. Maddie Dachowski added two goals and assisted on four others while Grace Loughery had three goals and one assist.
“Conquer from within – that is what Pennridge did tonight,” coach Karen Schnurr said. “After facing the hardship of a player’s injury, Pennridge bounced back and stepped up.
“Morgan Wahlers came up huge in the midfield and getting the ball safely to the attacking end. Jen Rodzewich had a career-high of nine goals. These girls were not going to stop until they walked away with a win. We will continue to conquer from within.”
Pennridge (3-1) will host Council Rock North in its SOL opener on Wednesday.
Pope John Paul II 7-2
Pennridge 6-8 14
NORTHAMPTON 16, QUAKERTOWN 7
MOUNT ST JOSEPH 13, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3
The Golden Hawks received single goals from Sara Womer, Mary Kate Simipson and Caroline McGovern. Coach Madison Hurwitz lauded the outstanding play of her team's defense.
About the Author
