Pennsbury picked up its second win in as many days. Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Friday.
National Conference
PENNSBURY 3, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0
(Submitted article)
It was a pretty good 26 hours or so for the Pennsbury field hockey team.
Pennsbury's forwards had a goal each and Pennsbury's midfielders kept the ball in the offensive end the entire game to lead the Falcons to a 3-0 win over Council Rock South Friday afternoon.
The win, Pennsbury's first over Council Rock South in four years, came one day after the Falcons defeated Neshaminy for the first time in six years. Pennsbury improved to 5-1 overall and, at 4-0 in the Suburban One League National, is the only unbeaten team in the conference.
"There's a long, long way to go," said Pennsbury coach Jamie Parell. "There are so many good teams in our league. That's why it's important to focus on each game, one at a time. I was really nervous before this game because we were coming off an emotional win with almost no time to prepare."
Pennsbury forwards Samie Hackman, Kate Chesney and Olivia Mauro scored one goal each, with Hackman's coming 11 minutes in and Chesney's with seven minutes left to make it 2-0 at the half.
The unsung heroes for Pennsbury, though, were the midfielders – Maya Geller, Nell Webber, Maddie Hackman, Annie Price and Anna Sharp. Those five pressured the ball the entire game, allowing Pennsbury to be relentless offensively and leading to a 29-3 edge in shots.
Council Rock South goalie Aspen Handel was awesome the entire game, finishing with 15 saves and keeping her team in it. Her best save of the day was a sprawling lunge at a Chesney shot that looked like it was heading in late in the first half.
"Their goalie was great," Parell said. "I can't say enough about how well she played. For us, I thought this was another game where everyone contributed, which is a great sign."
Hackman's goal came off a cross from Webber and just snuck inside the post. Chesney's goal came off of a rebound, and Chesney then assisted on Mauro's goal, which came a little more than five minutes into the second half.
Pennsbury has yet another really quick turnaround as it takes on Plymouth-Whitemarsh Saturday morning. Council Rock South (3-4, 2-2) will travel to Bensalem on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 2-1 3
Council Rock South 0-0 0
NESAMINY 4, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
Peyton Ritchey, Anna Skrot, Abby Geisler and Jamie Pennington each had a hand in two goals as the Redskins rebounded from their loss to Pennsbury one day earlier to earn the big win.
“Today was a good win for the girls,” coach Jamie Pinto said. “I’m proud of the way they bounced back from a tough loss yesterday.
“The girls came out hard and strong and played together like a team.”
Ritchey scored back-to-back goals to spot the Redskins a 2-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. Skrot assisted on the first and Geisler on the second. Pennington turned a Geisler pass into a goal with 9:09 remaining in the first half, sending the Redskins into the intermission with a 3-0 lead.
Midway through the second half, Pennington set up a goal by Skrot to close out the scoring.
“Peyton Ritchey and Abby Geisler did a nice job attacking down the side and in the circle,” Pinto said. “Kayla Connelly, Anna Skrot and Jamie Pennington really stepped up today, controlling the midfield and distributing the ball well.”
Neshaminy (4-2, 3-1 SOL) will host Gwynedd Mercy on Monday in a non-league game, and Council Rock North (3-2, 3-3) will host Wissahickon in a non-league game on Monday.
Council Rock North 0-0 0
Neshaminy 3-1 4
ABINGTON 9, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Natalie McNamara had a productive day for the Ghosts, scoring four goals and assisting on two more. Grace Terrizzi added a goal and two assists while Georgia Wasekanes, Paige Doyle and Evyn Stewart each had a goal and an assist. Fran DePaul also contributed a goal.
The Ghosts’ dominance was underscored by their 33-6 advantage in shots on goal. They also held a 9-3 advantage in corners.
Mackenzie Grenier (two saves) and Meghan Dockstader (four saves) combined for the shutout in goal.
Abington (4-3, 2-3 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks East for a non-league game Tuesday, and Harry S Truman (0-5, 0-4) will travel to Upper Moreland on Monday.
Abington 8-1 9
Harry S Truman 0-0 0
Continental Conference
NORTH PENN 3, SOUDERTON 2
Anissa Gardizy doesn’t worry about the number of shots her opponents send her way. Her only concern is stopping them, and the Knights’ senior goalie all but stood to do just that.
With the score deadlocked 2-2, Gardizy stonewalled the initial shot on the Indians’ third corner of the half. That was routine. Her back-to-back stops on the next two were anything but routine.
“When it’s shot after shot, I know I have to stay low and focus,” Gardizy said. “I don’t really get too into my head, ‘Oh, here’s the fourth shot on goal. Now they have a better chance of getting it in.’
“My goal is just to get it out of the circle or to a teammate. I don’t really know how many shots they had on me until the end of the game.”
Gardizy was credited with 12 saves, none bigger than that second-half sequence. Buoyed by their goalie’s heroics, the Knights scored on a corner just over a minute later when Madison Stotler redirected a shot across goal by Kellie Pickford into the cage for a goal that turned out to be the game winner.
“That happens a lot to us – they’ll come on us for a little bit, and in the first couple of games, we had a hard time answering back to such an explosive offense,” Gardizy said. “I think today when they saw how hard our defense was fighting, they’re like, ‘We’ve got to score for them.’
“When the score was 2-2, it was really the next goal was going to change the tone, so you could tell on the field that we wanted to be the team to do that.”
While defense was the name of the game in the second half, the first half was the exact opposite as the two teams exchanged goals. Jess Gabriel’s unassisted goal gave the Indians a 1-0 lead less than four minutes into the game, but Bri O’Donnell got that goal back when she scored at the 20:57 mark. O’Donnell’s second goal, this one with a Jillian Lampitoc assist, put the Knights on top 2-1.
“I thought Bri played very well,” North Penn coach Shannon McCracken said. “She made some really nice runs, and she played hard on the attack line and made some opportunities for us.”
Anna Gwiazdzinski turned a Gabriel pass into a goal with 1:42 remaining in the half to send the two teams into the intermission deadlocked 2-2.
The second half belonged to Gardizy and the Knights’ defense.
“She was clutch – she was the difference for us,” McCracken said of Gardizy. “After that (three-save sequence), we started to pick up our play. That just fired up our team.
“You need a big play like that when it’s a close battle. Anissa has had a great season for us. This is her first year stepping into a varsity position, and she’s being a leader back there. She’s playing really tough, she’s coming up with great saves for us. She’s reliable, and that’s what you need from a goalie.”
The Indians held an advantage in shots (16-12) and corners (7-4).
“It’s always a tough game against Souderton,” McCracken said. “They have a good team, they’re well coached. There’s a little bit of that crosstown rivalry.
“We always know they’re going to give us their best game. Today was tough with the heat. Both teams were feeling the effects of the heat, so it was a great win for us, especially coming out of the tough start that we had.”
North Penn (3-3, 3-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Tuesday, and Souderton (2-4, 1-3) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Tuesday.
North Penn 2-1 3
Souderton 2-0 2
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 5, WILLIAM TENNENT 0
Riley Donnelly scored three goals and assisted on another to lead the Patriots to the decisive win. Freshman Phia Mannino added a pair of goals. Cailey Lever assisted on a pair and Mackenzie Boyle had one assist.
Central Bucks East (7-1, 5-0 SOL) will host Abington on Tuesday in a non-league game, and William Tennent (1-5, 0-4) will host Pennridge on Tuesday.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 7, PENNRIDGE 2
Taylor Mason erupted for four goals to lead the Bucks to the convincing win. Dani Dundas added a pair, and Caitlin Mulligan had one goal.
The Rams scored one goal in each half.
Central Bucks West (5-2, 3-2 SOL)
American Conference
UPPER MORELAND 5, QUAKERTOWN 0
Claudia Zanine scored an unassisted goal less than two minutes into Friday’s game to give the Golden Bears an early lead. UM took that 1-0 lead into the second half when the Bears erupted for four goals to win going away.
“We got off to a quick start, but then we cooled off a little bit the remainder of the first half,” UM coach Karen Grossi said. “Much of the game was played in the midfield.
“About five minutes into the second half, things started clicking for the girls. They started making better passes, cutting harder, communicating more, and taking more shots towards the cage; all of this resulted in getting the ball in the cage a few times.”
Jess Flanagan’s goal with a Moira Olexa assist nine minutes into the second half opened the floodgates as the Bears scored four goals in an explosive 11-minute span. Included in the Bears’ offensive onslaught was a goal by Phoebe Longstreth (Flanagan assist) and back-to-back goals by Bryanna Gordon – the first with an assist from Zanine and the second with a Chloe Tice assist.
Grossi acknowledged the strong play of several players.
“Sweeper, Kayla Meakim played a great game,” the Bears’ coach said. “She was strong defensively and did a great job starting the attack.
“Off the bench, Bryanna Gordon showed huge improvement from her first few varsity appearances. As both a right and left wing, she carried the ball into the offensive end, dodged her defenders, and took strong shots on cage. Goalkeeper, Cassidy Murphy didn't have many opportunities to make saves, but she played one of her best games of the season. She read the attack and moved well.”
Murphy was credited with five saves in the shutout.
Upper Moreland (3-3, 3-2 SOL) will host Harry S Truman in a non-league game Tuesday, and Quakertown (2-4, 2-3) will host Springfield Township on Tuesday.
Quakertown 0-0 0
Upper Moreland 1-4 5
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 2, UPPER DUBLIN 1 (OT)
The Spartans won an overtime thriller when Hannah Grothusen turned a pass from teammate Ellie Hamilton into a goal with 6:52 remaining in OT.
Earlier, Maddie Yoder propelled the Spartans to a 1-0 halftime lead, using a Hamilton assist to find the cage with 9:23 remaining in the half.
The visiting Cardinals knotted the score when Ryann Kullmann (Lauren Greene assist) scored seven minutes into the second half. That 1-1 tie stood until Grothusen’s game winner.
Spartan goalie Emily Henry was credited with four saves in the win, while UD’s Sarah Herchenroder (eight saves) and Meghan Muth (three saves) combined for 11 stops.
Springfield Township (4-1 SOL) will be on the road at Lansdale Catholic on Monday, and Upper Dublin (3-3, 2-3) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 0-1-0 1
Springfield Township 1-0-1 2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
The Colonials opened up a 3-0 halftime lead and never looked back en route to their fifth shutout in six games. They have outscored five conference opponents 18-0.
“We controlled the ball offensively today,” PW coach Charise Young said.
Just over four minutes into the game, Jess Dixon (Sam Spera assist) scored the only goal the Colonials would need, playing a ball of the post. Ava Borkowski followed with back-to-back goals, the second with a Sophie Kolkka assist.
Kennedy Reardon closed out the scoring with a goal at the 25:51 mark of the second half, lifting the ball past the goalie.
“Our midfielders, Sam Spera, Kennedy Reardon, Michelle McGrath and Gia Schweitzer all played strong games to keep the ball in our offensive end,” Halteman said.
Goalie Liz Wilburn kept the Hatters close with 18 saves.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-0, 5-0 SOL) will be on the road at Cheltenham on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (0-6, 0-5) will travel to New Hope-Solebury for a non-league game on Monday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3-1 4
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0 0
WISSSAHICKON 13, CHELTENHAM 0
Nine different players contributed goals and two others added assists as everyone got into the act in the Trojans rout of the Panthers.
Sammi Pak and Emily Purnell both had one goal and four assists to lead the balanced attack. Sarah Campbell had a hat trick while Ellen Kane had two goals and an assist, and Becca Dolfman also had a pair of goals. Contributing a goal and an assist was Grace Bell. Julianna Sutow, Kendal Williams and Juliet Tripoli each had one goal while Emma Walsh and Megan Keller both contributed an assist.
Wissahickon (4-1 SOL) will be on the road at Council Rock North for a non-league game on Monday, and Cheltenham (0-6, 0-5) will host Lower Moreland on Monday.
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Wissahickon 6-7 13
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