Check out the recaps for SOL boys/girls lacrosse teams in action Monday.
BOYS
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 13, LOWER MERION 12
On Lower Merion’s Senior Day, Ian Vogt and the CB South Titans played the role of spoiler.
Vogt scored four goals for CB South, including the game-tying and game-winning tallies late in the fourth quarter to help his team prevail in a thriller.
“Ian is very calm,” CB South head coach Mike Strayline said of Vogt, who also picked up two ground balls. “On offense, he understands we have to be patient to get the right looks. He’s more or less another coach on the field, which is a great attribute to have.”
The teams were tied at four after one before CB South exploded for five goals in the second and took what seemed to be a safe 9-4 lead into the break before Lower Merion had other ideas. The hosts scored five of six third quarter goals to get within 10-9, setting the stage for a dramatic final quarter.
“They came out fired up in the third quarter, and we didn’t,” Strayline said.
Lower Merion led 11-10 with under five minutes to play, then the teams took a trip to the seesaw: CB South rallied to tie it, only to see Lower Merion go up one again before Vogt tied it up with about three minutes to play. The Titans called a timeout with 1:44 left on the clock.
“My offensive coordinator drew up what we needed to do, and Ian ended up scoring again with just under a minute left,” Strayline said. “We got possession off the face-off, then turned it over before getting a stop to lock it down.”
In addition to Vogt’s heroics, Dante Poli (five assists, six ground balls) and Justin Abbonizio (three assists) scored four goals each, and Mike Dutkiewicz added the Titans’ final goal to go along with a ground ball.
Brad Ross made 10 saves in goal for CB South on top of four ground balls, and Mark Lumb won six of the 14 face-offs he took. Austin Novick had an assist, while Andrew Fratangelli had three ground balls. Chris Surina, DJ LoVerdi, Evan Casey and Joe DeLaurentis picked up two ground balls, and Angus Ballentine, Connor Faulkowski, Jake Druce and Evan Michener each tallied one ground ball.
The nonleague win was a good start to the week for the Titans (9-7, 3-4 SOL), who will play Pennsbury on Tuesday and Pennridge Thursday.
“Any win down the stretch is a good win,” Strayline said. “Any win we can get as we approach the playoffs will help us. We’d really like a home playoff game if we can get one.”
Central Bucks South 4-5-1-3 13
Lower Merion 4-0-5-3 12
PENNSBURY 8, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 5
Pennsbury used a balanced attack to dispatch of Council Rock South on Monday.
Head coach Drew Artin’s squad got a team-high three goals from Ben Abraham, who also picked up a team-high six ground balls. Other goal-scorers for Pennsbury were Will Anderson (three ground balls), Luke Vando (three GBs), Ethan Glynn (four GBs), Ryan Kelly and Nick Sutton.
Justin Hernandez scooped four ground balls and Nate Racagno nabbed an assist.
Tim Davis had six saves in goal for the victorious Falcons.
Pennsbury (4-11, 2-5 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Tuesday, and Council Rock South (4-7, 1-5) will be on the road at Pennridge on Tuesday.
ALLENTOWN CENTRAL CATHOLIC 15, NORTH PENN 10
North Penn and Allentown CC were tied 7-all at halftime, but the Knights faded in the second half and failed to pick up a nonleague victory.
Nick Keim deposited six goals in the back of the net in the losing effort and Stephen Rinck had two scores. Reece Udinski scored and added an assist, and Nic Conroy had a goal to go along with three assists.
Danny Payne (two) and Tanner Nelson, Eric Diamond and Sam Dardinski (one apiece) all had helpers for North Penn.
Matthew Rinck made 21 saves in goal in the losing effort.
North Penn (11-4, 6-1 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Tuesday.
Allentown CC 4-3-7-1 15
North Penn 3-4-1-2 10
GIRLS
PENNSBURY 10, NESHAMINY 9
Any senior female student-athlete who devotes years of her time to any sport hopes to have a Senior Night to remember. Thanks to a late first-half rally and some gritty play down the stretch, the three Pennsbury lacrosse seniors won’t be forgetting this game anytime soon.
Senior Amelia Sharp scored a goal, Grace Morschauser had several key ground balls and Brianna Odelli, who was unable to play due to oral surgery, played the role of biggest cheerleader for Pennsbury as the Rams delivered their senior class a dramatic 10-9 win.
“I said to my girls, ‘This is for your seniors, play for them,’” Pennsbury head coach Shannon MacPherson said. “Amelia is a captain, played all four years and has kept us together on defense while also scoring on the attack today. Grace had several huge ground balls, and Brianna couldn’t play but she was like another coach on the sideline. She was just as big a part of this win as those who did play.”
The win was anything but easy for the Falcons, who actually trailed 5-2 in the first half before rallying to take a 6-5 lead at halftime. The second half featured some thrilling back-and-forth play before the Rams created a bit of separation, holding a 10-8 lead with about five minutes to play.
“Until then, it was a we score, they score scenario,” MacPherson said. “Neshaminy called a timeout with five minutes left and we told our girls to take care of the ball and hold in. We always do a two-minute drill at practice to practice possessing the ball. We were able to do that until about a minute left when they scored to make it 10-9. Our defense held strong, got the ball back and we snuck out of there with a win. I was thrilled for the girls, because that was a win we needed.”
Brooke Weaver scored three times to go with an assist, and Lily Nolan and Emelie Curtis tallied two goals apiece. Nell Webber and Annie Price added a goal, with the latter chipping in two helpers.
With three games left on the schedule, MacPherson is hoping this win carries over into the games that follow.
“This win was huge because it showed the girls what it means to play with heart,” she said. “When we were down 5-2 and called timeout, I told them that we need to want this for each other. After that we answered and kept building from there. It’s a huge boost for our morale with three games left. We fought hard, played tough and had the heart and desire to win.”
Pennsbury (3-11, 1-6 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest, and Neshaminy (2-9, 0-7) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Wednesday.
Neshaminy 5-4 9
Pennsbury 6-4 10
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 10, PENNRIDGE 9
The Rams brought a seven-game winning into Monday’s game at CB East and were looking to make it eight in a row. The Patriots had other ideas, rallying from a 4-2 halftime deficit to earn the come-from-behind win.
It was the Patriots’ fourth win in a row since falling to Central Bucks West 17-0.
“(That) definitely was a turning point in our season,” said East senior Whitney Dietz. “Especially because West is such a big rival – last year we only lost to them by one, and to come out this year and to be absolutely crushed was awful.
“We also lost pretty bad to (CB) South, and we were like, ‘That’s enough. We’re done getting crushed.’ We’ve definitely stepped up our game, and we’ve been doing so well. We’ve been on this high. It’s a shame we’ve come together so late in the season, but better late than never, I guess.”
Dietz was one of three Patriots to finish with a hat trick, joining Brigitte Bishop and Riley Forman. Sara Connolly added a single goal, and while their offensive performances loomed large, it was the inspired 16-save effort of Lauren Maurer in goal that was the difference.
“She’s amazing,” Dietz said. “She came off a concussion, and she played out of her mind today. She was absolutely amazing and definitely kept us alive in the game.”
Listening to Mauer tell it, there was nothing about her pre-game warm-up to suggest this was going to be a good game.
“I thought my warm-up was very flat,” she said. “My stick – I just don’t know what was going on. My clears – I couldn’t see the ball, but I really stepped it up during the game. Just being with my team and feeling the energy from them, I think it really motivated me, and I just put my heart out.”
There was nothing especially exceptional about a first half that saw the Rams open up a two-goal lead after Morgan Whalers converted a free possession shot into a goal late in the half.
In a preview of things to come, Maurer turned away three straight shots to open the second half.
“She just made an unbelievable number of clutch saves,” East coach David Schlesinger said. “It was the best game by far of her career.
“She really was on. She played the angles well, she was quick, her clears were good.”
A goal by Bishop trimmed the Rams’ lead to one, but Grace Loughery turned an Emily Price pass into a goal to give the Rams a two-goal margin. A goal by Forman (Vetter assist) at the 15:12 mark sparked a 5-0 East tear that culminated when Bishop scored on a free position to put the Patriots on top 8-5 with 11:02 remaining.
Loughery broke the Patriots’ run with a goal, but Dietz scored back-to-back goals to put the Patriots on top 10-6 with 4:55 remaining. The Rams didn’t go down quietly. A free position goal by Loughery was followed by back-to-back goals by Jen Rodzewich, the second with 50.9 seconds remaining to trim East’s lead to one.
Maddie Dachowski won the draw, but an inadvertent whistle gave the Patriots – who were closer to the loose ball – possession. Vetter maintained possession for the Patriots until the final horn sounded, setting off a giddy celebration.
“I’m immensely proud of our team – this was a huge win for us,” Schlesinger said. “We committed, after the West loss, to sweep the rest of the season.
“We still have two more tough games left, and we have to buckle down and win those, but this was a tough win. They’re a good team, they’ve got some really, really god players. We played really, really well.”
Perhaps no one played better than Maurer, who was mobbed by her teammates at the final horn.
“I was so happy to share the victory with my team, especially to win by one,” Maurer said. “We lost four games by one last year, so it was a really good to step up and actually beat two teams this year by one. It felt really good to share it with my team because they all put in a really good effort.”
Loughery led the Rams with four goals, Rodzewich had a hat trick while Whalers and Dachowski each had one.
“Their goalie made some phenomenal saves, and we didn’t change up our shots, and I think that got in our heads,” Pennridge coach Karen Schnurr said. “We kept shooting low.
“When she’s saving it low, you’ve got to change it up, and we did not change it until the last five minutes. Today we let them outwork us. I just told them – we have two games left, and I hope we play those two games with all the passion and hustle we have.”
There was no mistaking the disappointment on the Rams’ sidelines.
“In my opinion, this wasn’t a physical loss but a mental loss,” Dachowski said. “We came into this game not really thinking anything of it. We weren’t really worried. Not to sound cocky, but we were on a hot streak.
“We weren’t like, ‘Oh, we’re going to crush CB East.’ We were like, ‘Oh, CB East, we’re going to win the game.’ It was a Monday game, only half the team was able to make it to optional practice yesterday. We weren’t psyching ourselves up the way we should have psyched ourselves up.
“On any given day, whoever comes out to play is going to be the team that wins. Today CB East was the team that came out to play. We just didn’t feel connected from warm-ups.”
Central Bucks East (11-5, 5-2 SOL) will be on the road at North Penn, and Pennridge (11-4, 5-2) will host Pennsbury on Wednesday.
Pennridge 4-5 9
Central Bucks East 2-8 10
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 13, WEST CHESTER EAST 11
Facing a 7-1 first-half deficit and staring down the barrel of a possible nonleague blowout, CB South head coach did the simplest possible thing to get her Titans back on track.
“We had a timeout,” Janique Craig said.
Whatever Craig said in her pep talk worked wonders, as CB South exploded for seven unanswered goals in the final 6:17 of the first half to take an 8-7 halftime lead over West Chester East. The Titans played a disciplined second half and held WC East at bay to pick up the victory.
Anna Green led the way with seven goals and three assists and Kasey Dietzel scored an additional three goals to go along with an assist for the triumphant Titans. Kristen Berntsen found the back of the net twice, Molly Sullivan scored a goal and picked up an assist and Courtney Taylor and Madi Tomaselli chipped in helpers. Dietzel won 11 draw controls, and Taylor had six of her own.
“Courtney Taylor, Emily Damico and Melissa Veal played fantastic defense and shut down West Chester East’s top players,” Craig said.
Laura Robinson made seven saves in net for the Titans.
Central Bucks South (12-3, 5-2) will host Council Rock South on Wednesday.
CB South 8-5 13
WC East 7-4 11
NORTH PENN 13, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3
North Penn’s nail-biting 5-3 halftime lead turned into a runaway victory thanks to the team scoring all eight second-half goals. Heather Shannon (three draw controls) and Kristin Varilla each scored a team-high three goals for North Penn, and Victoria Brauenle (four assists, four DCs), Bri O’Donnell (assist) and Sam Tossona (assist) all found the back of the net twice.
Kaitlyn Phifer had the other score for North Penn, while Grace Sacchetti won four draw controls. Kate Winstanley made nine saves.
“We got off to a slow start, but Victoria Brauenle really sparked our attack, especially in the second half,” North Penn head coach Heather Mellow said. “She took care of the ball up and down the field.”
Margaret d’Auria had a busy day in goal for CR North, tabulating 15 saves. Megan Haggerty, Chloe Ondria (assist) and Eliana Shakt all had goals in a losing effort, and Anna Lehman picked up two assists.
North Penn (6-9, 3-4 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Wednesday, and Council Rock North (3-12, 2-6) will travel to Villa Joseph Marie for a non-league contest Tuesday.
North Penn 5-8 13
CR North 3-0 3
PLYMOUTH-WHITEMARSH 12, SOUDERTON 7
Lexi Petrakis paced the PW offensive charge against Souderton on Monday, scoring twice and adding an assist while goalie Meghan Ely clamped down on the opposing attack. Both players really impressed the coaching staff.
“Lexi controlled the draw for us, which allowed us to possess the ball and take smart shots,” PW head coach Ellen Reilly said. “And Meghan had a great game. She turned away many Souderton shots on goal and finished with 12 saves.”
Ali Diamond led the PW scoring attack with three goals and three assists, and Victoria Betterly (assist) and Amanda Fineman joined Petrakis on the scoring sheet by finding the back of the net twice. Lilly Hanlon (assist), Lucy Sullivan (assist) and Raquel Baskin each had a goal.
Sarah Goodwin led Souderton with three goals and also had an assist, four ground balls and six caused turnovers. Riley McGowan and Liz O’Hara each had two scores. Other contributors for Souderton were Carlie Doughty (assist, four DCs), Juliana Borisow (two GBs, one caused turnover), and Kayla Moyer (two GBs).
Lauren Scott had six saves.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-9, 4-4 SOL) will host Springfield on Wednesday, and Souderton (11-6, 5-3) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Wednesday.
P-W 5-7 12
Souderton 3-4 7
UPPER DUBLIN 15, QUAKERTOWN 3
Head coach Dee Cross’s Upper Dublin Cardinals exploded for 12 first-half goals and never looked back in a road victory at Quakertown.
Lindsey Schreiber (two assists), Becky Browndorf (assist, three draw controls) and Hannah Reape (assist) all scored hat tricks for UD, while Jackie Rama had a great all-around effort with two scores, two assists and six DCs. Caroline Wall (two helpers), Shannon Reape (six ground balls), Mack Moore and Aly Breslin all also scored for the Cardinals.
Maddie Templeton had an assist, and Sarah Herchenroder made four saves in goal.
Alisa Robinson had all three scores for Quakertown.
Upper Dublin (12-3, 7-1 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Tuesday, and Quakertown (2-13, 0-7) will travel to Springfield Township on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 12-3 15
Quakertown 3-0 3
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 18, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2
There were very few surprises in this one as CB West roared out to a dominant 12-0 halftime lead and finished CR South off from that point forward.
Bryan Boylan and Dani Dundas played the role of offensive stalwarts, each scoring five times and picking up three assists. Finley Ueland scored four goals, while Beth Holloway, Chloe Miller Russo, Maddie Maio and Julia Carey all had one. Liv Fitzgerald picked up an assist for CB West.
Lauren Devlin made three saves in limited action in goal.
Central Bucks West (16-0, 7-0 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Wednesday, and Council Rock South (8-7, 4-3) will travel to Central Bucks South on Wednesday.
CB West 12-6 18
CR South 0-2 2
UPPER MORELAND 14, CHELTENHAM 6
Sydney Bachmayer and Allison Felicetti made Monday a day to remember for Upper Moreland, as each player posted identical scoring lines of four goals and two assists.
Helping Bachmayer and Felicetti out were Meghan O’Donnell, Moira Olexa, Emma Meakim and Jess Flanagan, all of whom contributed a goal and an assist. Mackenzie Cassidy also scored for UM.
Flanagan led the team in ground balls and, along with Mel Wittick, won five draw controls.
Cheyanne Grumm made seven saves behind a stout defensive unit.
For the Lady Panthers, it was a great night to celebrate the team's 17 seniors.
"Dana Shelton has been so solid all season in the midfield," Cheltenham coach Didi Dean said. "She had five ground balls and two goals."
"Liza Becker ahd three ground balls and two goals, and Amber Turner had one ground ball and one goal. Brianna Young added two ground balls.
"Marycait Dorley had three ground balls and worked hard all over the field," Dean said. "Morton and Jade Turner were stellar on defense.
"Ahniya Carson played at both ends of the field. With 33 seconds left, we had a defensive stop and got the ball to our offensive end to Ruby Tomasic, who connected with Tylar Marren for the last goal of the game."
Panther goalie Morgan Sloan had seven saves.
Upper Moreland (11-5, 5-3 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Wednesday, and Cheltenham (6-11, 1-7) will travel to Upper Dublin on Tuesday.
ABINGTON 9, HATBORO-HORSHAM 7
Hatboro-Horsham held a 6-5 halftime lead, but a red-hot Abington squad outlasted its opponent by scoring four of the five second half goals.
Sam McGee tied the score at six for Abington near the 20-minute mark of the second half, and Lindsay Baer’s goal with 19:19 to go put Abington in front to stay. Baer added another shortly thereafter; Kaitlin Wallace scored Hatboro’s only second-half goal to bring her team to within 8-7, but that was all they could muster before falling just short to the Ghosts. Grace Hinkle scored her only goal of the game to ice it for Abington.
McGee had three scores for Abington, as did Baer, who also added an assist. Jules Greco and Kaley Ehnow also scored, and Casey McAllister notched two assists in the winning effort.
Wallace led Hatboro with three goals, while Gwyn and Gabby Acker each scored two goals and added an assist.
Arielle Hammer made six saves in the losing cause.
Abington (12-4, 8-0 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Wednesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (8-6, 5-3) will host Souderton on Wednesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 6-1 7
Abington 5-4 9
WISSAHICKON 16, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 6
Emily Vervlied scored seven goal, assisted on another and had an interception in a standout effort to lead the Trojans to the decisive win.
"The Lady Trojans came out fighting for their seniors," coach Alexis Vanderslice said. "The girls knew they needed to come out strong in the first half and they proved that.
"They took their time and played smart throughout the whole game. Defense palyed tremendously and was able to capitalize on Springfield's mistakes. It was a great night for the Wissahickon seniors."
Carolyn Wilde added a hat trick, and Sam Intrieri (two goals, one assist) and Kelly Dickson (two goals, two assists, one interception) also made important contributions. Emily Purnell and Megan DeGroat both added one goal, and Caroline Marta had one assist.
Goalie Kyra Meyers recorded seven saves and had one interception.
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