Check out the results for SOL field hockey teams in action on Wednesday. (Photo provided courtesy of Pennsbury field hockey.)
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, ABINGTON 2
Revenge was sweet.
Three weeks to the day after dropping a 1-0 heartbreaker to the Ghosts in their conference opener, the Golden Hawks evened the score, eking out a win in a tightly-contested battle.
“After that (first) game, it was just complete frustration,” senior captain Mikayla VanAken said of a contest that saw Abington goalie Mackenzie Greiner turn away all 22 shots she faced. “Everyone worked so hard putting the ball in the circle.
“There was no finishing, there was just frustration all over, but we really learned from that experience, and we went into this game knowing who their strong players were, knowing what we needed to do and knowing we needed to come out on fire, and in the circle, we had to finish right away, and we did that. We came out really strong, and we finished really quick.”
Quick hardly covers it.
The Golden Hawks had a pair of goals on the board before the game was seven minutes old. Tori Wright scored her first of two goals during corner play less than two minutes into the game, banging a shot home off a Caitlyn Thornton insert pass. Then it was VanAken scoring with an assist from Katelyn Cocco.
“This is something we’ve been working on a lot recently – coming out strong, getting a goal early in the game,” Rock South coach Lisa Belz said. “Two goals, even better.”
Just as quickly as the Golden Hawks had gotten a 2-0 lead, they lost it.
The Ghosts showed some firepower of their own, scoring a pair of goals within a four-minute span. First it was Natalie McNamara – who connected for the game winner in the previous meeting – scoring during corner play at the 17:32 mark. Four minutes later Grace Terrizzi scored with an assist from McNamara, and just like that, the two teams were deadlocked 2-2.
“We had a five-minute letup that really hurt us and put us back on our heels, but I think that made us just work harder,” Wright said.
It was still a 2-2 game at halftime, and the Golden Hawks came out of halftime looking like a team on a mission. On their first corner, they sent a barrage of shots on goal – three were turned away by Greiner in a bang-bang-bang sequence. The fourth was stopped by a defender.
With the Ghosts in possession inside the Golden Hawks’ 25, Belz called a timeout. Her team responded, connecting for the game winner two minutes later when Wright received a cross from VanAken, carried the ball into the circle and found the cage.
“We had some give-and-go passes from the sideline to the middle, and Mikayla gave me a little flat pass to the middle,” Wright said. “I dodged the girl, and what we’ve been working on a lot is keeping it simple, pulling the goalie and just shooting fast.”
“That’s a spot that we’ve been struggling with all season – the transition coming down the field,” Abington coach Katie Small said. “We’re really trying to stress marking the girl, not following the ball with all three girls.
“Hopefully, it’s starting to come together.”
For the Golden Hawks, the win came at an opportune time as they begin their second go-round in conference play.
“We just came off a loss to Neshaminy, and that was extremely frustrating,” VanAken said. “We really felt like we needed a win under our belts to get our momentum going, so this was really important to us.
“After they scored the two goals, it was all or nothing. We figured if we stopped their best player – Natalie (McNamara), we could really concentrate on moving the ball, working our offense. We just wanted it.”
“We struggled the first half (of the season),” Wright said. “I think that having wins like this will definitely build our confidence, and we’ll be able to succeed more the second half.”
Belz acknowledged the defensive effort of Rachel Thorpe, who was given the task of containing McNamara.
“She’s quick, she’s fast, she has great stickwork, and she has great hits,” the Hawks’ coach said of McNamara. “I ended up putting somebody on her a little more tightly 20 minutes into the game in hopes of denying her the ball a little more. I thought Rachel Thorpe did an outstanding job on her.”
McNamara, who had a hand in both Abington goals, sent a ball across goal that no one got their stick on in the game’s closing minutes.
“There were times where she had five girls on her, and she still kept the ball,” Small said. “We’re trying to get the mids and the forwards to move with her. She’s just so fast, and sometimes it’s very difficult to keep up with her.”
For the Ghosts in goal, Greiner recorded seven saves, which included a glove save of a penalty stroke with the Hawks leading 3-2.
The Golden Hawks held a 12-7 advantage in shots and 4-2 edge in corners.
Council Rock South (5-5, 4-3 SOL) will be on the road at Perk Valley on Thursday, and Abington (5-5, 3-4) will host Pennsbury on Monday.
Abington 2-0 2
Council Rock South 2-1 3
PENNSBURY 5, BENSALEM 0
(Submitted article)
The Senior Day ceremony for the Pennsbury Falcons before Wednesday's game against Bensalem lasted nearly as long as one half of a high school field hockey game. That's what happens when a team has 12 seniors, nine of whom have been starters for three years now.
Kate Chesney and Olivia Mauro, two of those three-year starters, combined for three goals to lead the Falcons past the Owls 5-0 as Pennsbury remained unbeaten in the Suburban One National Conference at 7-0.
"It was a really nice celebration for our seniors, who have meant so much to this program," said Pennsbury coach Jamie Parell. "At the same time, we're in a race for a league championship, and we need to be focused for every game. This league is really strong, and each team is giving us their best."
Bensalem goalie Selena Lee made 20 saves as the Falcons outshot the Owls 45-2. In two games against Pennsbury this year, Lee made an astonishing 37 saves.
The one who enjoyed Senior Day the most was Halle Szumigala, who scored Pennsbury's third goal of the game, for the first goal of her career. Szumigala knocked home a cross from junior Samie Hackman, who had a goal and assist, and then raised her stick and smiled widely as her teammates cheered.
Chesney, who is closing in on 50 career goals, had two, including one 11:30 into the game that would be the only goal of the first half.
Pennsbury would break the game open in the second half, first with a goal by Olivia Mauro on Anna Sharp's cross 1:38 after intermission and then on the Szumigala goal five minutes later to make it 3-0. Annie Price then fed Chesney seven minutes after that, and it was Hackman from Chesney 39 seconds later to make the final 5-0.
"Bensalem's goalie played really well," said Parell. "They weren't going to make it easy for us. We were able to get a few after halftime, and we did a really good job of keeping the pressure on them. And I was really happy for Halle when she got her goal."
Pennsbury (9-2, 8-0 SOL) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday for a non-league game, and Bensalem (3-11, 1-9) will host Neshaminy on Monday.
Bensalem 0-0 0
Pennsbury 1-4 5
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Bridget Thompson scored a pair of goals, and Hannah Barsky had a hand in all three goals, scoring one and assisting on the other two.
Council Rock North (7-4, 5-3 SOL) will travel to Souderton for a non-league game on Friday at 3:15 p.m. Harry S Truman (0-9, 0-7) will be on the road at Cheltenham on Thursday.
SOL Continental Conference
NORTH PENN 4, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3 (OT)
On the Knights’ second corner of overtime, Erica Kelly turned an insert pass from Bri O’Donnell into the game winner, handing the defending conference champions their first league loss since Oct. 6, 2016, when they fell to Central Bucks West.
“Erica took a shot, and it went off a defender’s stick and went up over the goalie,” coach Shannon McCracken said.
The Knights overcame some adversity to earn the win, controlling play in overtime after watching a 3-1 lead disappear in the final 12 minutes of regulation.
“I’m so proud of my team because we were up 3-1 – I’ll give CB East a lot of credit because they came back really strong and put a lot of pressure on us and tied it up,” McCracken said. “We had a couple of opportunities right at the end of regulation to go ahead, but we just couldn’t convert.
“I saw some fire in my kids’ eyes today, especially during overtime. One of my captains said to the team, ‘We’ve worked way too hard this game to let it slip away.’ We went out and played them tough in that overtime.”
Earlier, Riley Donnelly put the Patriots on the board just over six minutes into the game, using a Cailey Lever assist. O’Donnell got that goal back when she scored an unassisted goal with 10:44 remaining in the first half. The score was deadlocked 1-1 at the intermission.
Kristin Varilla (Kellie Pickford assist) gave the Knights their first lead when she scored at the 25:38 mark, and the Knights led 3-1 after Madison Stotler (Kelly assist) found the cage six minutes later.
“My girls came out so strong today,” McCracken said. “They had it on their minds that they were going to come out play strong and play together.
“They really played a great game together. We have a deep bench, and we had a lot of girls in and out because of the heat. That made such a difference. They kept up that level of play the entire time.”
Sophomore Emma Donnelly made it a one-goal game, using a Phia Mannino assist, and Allison Gallant scored on a rebound of a goalie save with 3:07 remaining in regulation to knot the score, setting the stage for overtime.
“This was a great Suburban One League game that went back and forth from beginning to end,” East coach Michelle Finegan said.
McCracken lauded the efforts of several players.
“Rachael Fisher had a great game in the backfield,” the Knights’ coach said. “She actually had two defensive saves for us.
“Erica Kelly was given the job of marking Riley Donnelly, and she did an excellent job in the middle. She plays defensive center mid for us, and she did a great job of transitioning the ball from the back end to the attack players.
“Julia Scanlon had a really strong game as well. She plays attacking center mid for us, and I thought she did a great job of getting the ball to the attack players because our attack players had a great game today. They had great speed on the attack line, and they were really persistent in the circle. Julia did a really nice job of getting the ball to them on the attack end. Emily (Crawford), Bri (O’Donnell) and Mikayla (Barrow) were just really persistent and made a lot of opportunities.”
The Knights are 5-1 after a 1-3 start and share the top spot in the conference standings with the Patriots.
“I said to the team that I could pick out a stellar play by each one of them today,” McCracken said. “They all contributed, they all put forth good effort on the field. It was a hot day, and they never gave up. They played determined out there.
The girls are working really hard, and they really get along off the field as well, which translates to the field. They were supporting each other out on the field today, they had each other’s backs. If someone didn’t come up with the play, there was someone trailing right behind getting the next ball.”
North Penn (6-4, 6-1 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Friday, and Central Bucks East (9-3, 6-1) will be on the road at Souderton on Monday.
Central Bucks East 1-2-0 3
North Penn 1-2-1 4
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 3, SOUDERTON 1
This was the story of two halves.
The Indians had the better of play in the first, opening up a 1-0 lead when Jess Gabriel scored with an assist from Courtney Kenah. The second half was all CB South.
Casey Reilly scored back-to-back goals in a three-minute span early in the half – the first with a Kaitlyn Barnhart assist. Barnhart tacked on a goal with 9:54 remaining, using a Megan Weeks assist.
“We’ve been playing well, but we’re still working on some things, and we’re still trying to make adjustments,” coach Pat Toner said. “I think we have talent, but we have a very difficult league.
“The main thing at halftime was I called on a couple of people to make sure that they were demanding the ball. In my opinion, Kasey Dietzel played one of the best games I’ve seen her play. She controlled the midfield along with Ally Fitts and Mel Dunton and our center back Annie Brady. They just completely stepped up and changed the whole flow of the game. It was two different halves, and we were able to control what was going on rather than react to what Souderton was doing. Souderton is a very good team.”
Both teams took seven shots on goal with the Titans holding a 5-3 edge in corners – they had all five of their corners in the second half.
South goalie Jillian Heilig recorded six saves in the win while Souderton’s Jordan Michalak had four.
Toner acknowledged the strong play of her defense – Brady, Meg Gillard, Sarah Duimering, Dakota Hurwitz, Anna Gillard and Sarah Gorman.
“(They) held off Souderton’s excellent forwards,” Toner said.
Central Bucks South (6-4, 4-3 SOL) will host Pennridge on Monday, and Souderton (4-6, 2-5) will host Council Rock North in a non-league game on Friday.
Council Rock South 0-3 3
Souderton 1-0 1
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 7, WILLIAM TENNENT 0
Taylor Mason erupted for four goals in a glittering offensive performance to lead the visiting Bucks to the big win.
The Bucks broke a scoreless tie with 11:30 remaining in the first half when Dani Dundas carried the ball into the circle and banged home a shot that would be the game winner. Casey Reichwein scored on a rocket with 2:48 remaining, and then it was Mason scoring with 58 seconds remaining on a chip shot from the left side of the circle to send the Bucks into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
Mason scored three straight goals to open the second half with freshman Julia Bunch assisting on the second of the three. Bridget Naylor turned a pass from Olivia Fitzgerald into a goal for the 7-0 final.
“The Bucks played well as a team, and defensively in the second half, (we) were able to keep the ball out of their own 25,” coach Courtney Lepping said. “Bridget Naylor and Lauren Hahn played well in the win on the forward line.”
Central Bucks West (8-3, 5-2 SOL) will host North Penn on Monday at 7 p.m., and William Tennent (2-8, 0-7) will host Wissahickon on Thursday in a non-league game.
Central Bucks West 3-4 7
William Tennent 0-0 0
SOL American Conference
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 5, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
Springfield Township defeated visiting Hatboro Horsham on goals by Charlotte deKerrillis and Hannah Grothusen (Anya Kochanowicz assist) in the first half and two goals by Maddie Yoder (Ellie Hamilton assist) in a five-minute span in the second half. Ellie Hamilton (Hannah Grothusen assist) closed out the scoring for Springfield Township with 14:14 remaining in the game, using an assist from Hannah Grothusen.
Springfield Township outshot Hatboro 18-5 and held a 9-3 advantage in penalty corners. Spartan goalie Emily Henry was credited with five saves in the shutout win.
Springfield Township (8-2, 7-1 SOL) will travel to Cheltenham on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (1-9, 1-7) will host Pennsbury on Thursday in a non-league contest.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0 0
Springfield 2-3 5
UPPER DUBLIN 7, CHELTENHAM 0
Upper Dublin used six different goal scorers to defeat Cheltenham. Sydney Leaming had two goals with assists by Emma Mead and Ryann Kullman, while Emma Kate Powell, Emma Mead, Maisie Hanson, Maddie Templeton, and Ryann Kullmann each registered single goals for the Cardinals. Molly Lunney had three assists and Ryann Kullman had one.
The Flying Cardinals led 5-0 at halftime.
UD’s offense dominated play with 30 shots on goal and 20 penalty corners while Cheltenham had just three shots and two corners. For Cheltenham, Nimi Badejoko and Jzoya Arebamen had a busy day in goal, combining for 24 saves while UD goalie, Sarah Herchenroder made three saves to preserve the shutout.
Upper Dublin (6-3, 5-3 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Friday for a non-league game. Cheltenham (0-11, 0-8) will host Springfield Township on Monday.
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Upper Dublin 5-2 7
WISSAHICKON 5, QUAKERTOWN 0
Sammi Pak had a role in three of Wissahickon’s five goals when she assisted Ellen Kane, Julianna Suttow and Emily Purnell. Suttow (Ellen Kane assist) and Purnell (Sarah Campbell assist) each added additional goals to round out the scoring.
The Trojans used back-to-back goals by Suttow after Kane opened the scoring with a goal to go into halftime with a 3-0 lead. Purnell added a pair of goals in the second half.
Trojan goalkeeper, Meghan Reilly had five saves, and sweeper Caroline Burkart was credited with a defensive save.
Wissahickon (6-3, 6-2 SOL) will travel to William Tennent for a non-league game on Thursday, and Quakertown (2-7, 2-6) will be on the road at Pennridge on Friday for a non-league game at 3:30 p.m.
Quakertown 0-0 0
Wissahickon 3-2 5
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 9, UPPER MORELAND 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh erupted for nine goals while shutting out Upper Moreland on UM’s home turf.
PW relied on seven different goal scorers for the win. Julia Fiddler and Kaleigh Missimer scored two goals each for PW, while single goals were registered by Jess Dixon, Emily Trask, Ava Borkowski, Alexis Minor and Sophie Kolkka. For Kolkka, it was her first goal of the season. Dixon and Borkowski also chipped in an assist for the Colonials.
Fiddler put the Colonials on the board with a goal that would turn out to be the game winner with 18:12 remaining in the first half. It marked the beginning of a 4-0 team in the next eight minutes for the Colonials, who led 5-0 at halftime.
“It was a great team win and many players gained valuable experience for the future,” PW coach Charise Halteman said.
For Upper Moreland, Cassidy Murphy had 16 saves in goal.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-1, 8-0 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Monday, and Upper Moreland (4-6, 3-5) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-4 9
Upper Moreland 0-0 0
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