Council Rock North clinched sole possession of the National Conference title. Check all of Thursday’s recaps.
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3, NESHAMINY 1
The Indians clinched sole possession of their second conference crown in as many years, this despite the loss of 13 seniors to graduation from last year’s title squad.
“We’re blessed,” coach Joe Stackhouse said. “We really have a good pipeline going now.
“We have a freshman team, and we make it mandatory that all the freshmen play on the freshmen team. I don’t care who you are.”
Despite capturing the league crown, the Indians would be on the outside looking in if the District One 4A Tournament started today – they are the 25th-seeded team in what will be a 24-team field.
“We shot ourselves in the foot out of league,” Stackhouse said. “We didn’t win any of our out-of-league games, but here’s the flip side of that – we played three of the current top 10 teams in the state.
“We scheduled hard. We should have pulled one and maybe two of those games out, and we’d be in a lot better shape. I know we have a power rating system, and it takes out the subjectivity, and I’m fine with that. I think the power rating system is a good thing, but there should be a contingency plan for this.”
In Thursday’s win, Ryan Pave scored a pair of goals, both with Connor O’Donnell assists. Pave’s first goal five minutes into the second half broke a scoreless tie. The Redskins came back to knot the score, but Pave connected on the go-ahead goal with 10 minutes remaining. O’Donnell – who had a hand in all three goals – tacked on an insurance goal.
“Collectively as a group, they really practiced well yesterday, and collectively as a group, they played really well,” Stackhouse said. “They looked like a team on fire.
“There was a relief about the kids when they were getting on the bus. It was like, ‘Okay, we’re done this part.’ Now they can go out with a lot more wind under their sails and a lot more confidence.”
Council Rock North (9-6-1, 9-1-1 SOL) will travel to Archbishop Ryan for a non-league game on Saturday at 7 p.m., and Neshaminy (5-10-1, 3-7) will be on the road at Harry S Truman on Monday.
Council Rock North 0-3 3
Neshaminy 0-1 1
PENNSBURY 2, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0
The Falcons scored a goal in each half, and their defense did the rest, stymying the visiting Golden Hawks.
“It was a good team win, an excellent shutout against a tough conference team,” coach Tom Stoddart said. “We continue to make our case for a spot in the playoffs.”
The Falcons forced an own goal to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead, and in the second half, they were awarded a penalty kick after a Rock South foul in the box. Javier Sosa buried the PK to give the Falcons their final margin of victory.
Pennsbury (10-4-1, 7-3 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Saturday at 11 a.m. in a non-league game, and Council Rock South (7-8-1, 5-4-1) will host Bensalem on Monday.
Council Rock South 0-0 0
Pennsbury 1-1 2
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3, PENNRIDGE 2 (OT)
The Rams scored a pair of early goals – one each from Marco Grenda and Chris McKinney – to take a 2-0 lead 25 minutes into the contest.
“They came out, they had great energy,” coach Stefan Szygiel said of the Rams. “We played well.
“Even in the first 20, we had a lot of the ball. We had numerous chances, but they popped two on us early, so it was a little bit of a wake-up call. It was just a slow start by us in terms of clearing balls out that needed to be cleared out.”
The Bucks, who trailed 2-0 at the intermission, responded to the Rams’ fast start with two goals of their own. Reed Sturza scored an unassisted goal, and he also had the assist on Carson Snyder’s equalizer with 15 minutes remaining.
“We had a lot of pressure,” Szygiel said. “We were getting a lot of balls into the box, and Carson had a second ball opportunity – a great little flick into the top right corner.
“Both teams continued to go for the win. Pennridge’s coach, Pete Valimont, and I are good friends, and neither one of us wanted to lose that game. It was a very open game – there were chances on both ends.”
Eight minutes into OT, Bailey Moyer found the back of the net with the game winner, using an assist from Carson Snyder.
“Going into overtime, I do think we had the momentum,” Szygiel said. “We were getting forward again, we were getting corner kicks.
“It was actually a third ball opportunity – it was a scrum in the box. We had a shot and it popped out, we had another shot and it popped out again, and then Bailey Moyer got the third bite at it, and he was able to bury it.”
The Bucks coach acknowledged the strong play of Reed Sturza and Carson Snyder.
“Bailey Moyer and Nick Centenera – it’s not easy to defend in an open game, and they had to really test their athleticism, and I was pleased with them,” Szygiel said. “A couple guys definitely stepped up and gave us good minutes off the bench as well.”
Valimont also had high praise for his players.
“(We received) a tremendous effort by Nick Dunn, Donal Natitus and Matty Stevens all game,” the Rams’ coach said. “Aidan Link and Evan Freed played great defense.
“It was a heartbreaker of a loss in OT against a quality West side.”
Central Bucks West (11-4, 8-3 SOL) will travel to Great Valley for a non-league contest on Saturday at noon. Pennridge (6-9, 2-8) will be on the road at William Tennent for a 7 p.m. game on Monday.
Central Bucks West 0-2-1 3
Pennridge 2-0-0 2
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1, WILLIAM TENNENT 0
Brenden Leesoff scored with 10 minutes remaining, breaking a scoreless tie and propelling the Patriots to the important win.
“The ball was bouncing around, and he basically just willed it in the goal,” coach Jeremiah White said. “Both teams had moments where they had the momentum.”
The Patriots’ coach credited the strong play of Leesoff and Will Eisold in the win.
Central Bucks East (9-5, 8-3 SOL) will host Pennsbury in a non-league game on Saturday at 11 a.m. William Tennent (7-7, 4-6) will host Pennridge on Monday.
Central Bucks East 0-1 1
William Tennent 0-0 0
NORTH PENN 2, SOUDERTON 1
The Knights broke a scoreless halftime tie when Jamie Stewart turned a pass from Carter Houlihan into a goal with 31 minutes remaining in regulation. That lead grew to 2-0 when Houlihan scored 15 minutes later, using an assist from Brett Katz.
Souderton made things interesting when Ben Campman (Tommy Sonn assist) scored in the 72nd minute to cut the Knights’ lead in half. That’s as close as the Indians would get as the Knights held on for the win.
Mitchell Race had four saves in net for the Indians.
North Penn (12-2, 8-2 SOL) will host perennial state power La Salle on Saturday at 10 a.m. in a non-league contest. Souderton (4-9-2, 3-7) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Monday.
North Penn 0-2 2
Souderton 0-1 1
SOL American Conference
HATBORO-HORSHAM 2, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 1
The Colonials took an early lead, connecting for a goal in the fifth minute, and they took that 1-0 lead into halftime.
Nick Hatzenbeller scored the equalizer in the 61st minute, using a Danny Harmon assist. Colin Bateman connected on a corner kick with an assist from Ryan Cole with nine minutes remaining.
“We started off slow – we had a double overtime game on Tuesday (a 1-1 tie with Wissahickon), and we were a little sluggish,” coach Kyle McGrath said. “After the first 15 minutes, I think we really started to take control of the game and impose our presence on them.
“We were able to play much better to finish the first half, and obviously, the second half was even better since we scored two goals.”
The Hatters’ coach credited the strong play of his back four.
“Will Kemp and Josh Haggerty – my center backs – did very well after the first 15 minutes,” McGrath said. “Jason Czaplicki and Jack Weiss – my two outside backs – really stepped up as well.”
Also giving the Hatters a lift was Brad Bornstein.
“We had a red card on Tuesday, so we had to change up a little bit,” McGrath said. “We were down JD Mallinder, who has been one of our better players this year, and Brad Bornstein stepped in and played a full game and played great.
“He played in the center midfield with Colin Bateman, and those two guys really, really did a good job of controlling the center of the midfield and taking away some of PW’s good players.”
Hatboro-Horsham (12-2-2, 9-2-1 SOL) will host Bensalem in a non-league game on Friday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-5-1, 8-4) will travel to Cheltenham on Monday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1-0 1
Hatboro-Horsham 0-2 2
UPPER DUBLIN 5, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 1
Talk about getting production from your bench – the Flying Cardinals did just that in Thursday’s win as Sam Joseph and Corey Schonberg combined to score all five goals off the bench. Joseph finished with a hat trick while Schonberg had two goals and an assist.
“Corey and Sam both gave us a much-needed spark today,” coach Andy Meehan said. “As soon as they went in, they changed the game.”
The two teams battled to a 1-1 halftime tie. Jake Welsh (Jacob Friedman assist) accounted for the Spartans’ goal while Joseph – who went into the game in the 30th minute – wasted little time before putting the Cardinals on the scoreboard with the equalizer.
Joseph and Schonberg did considerable damage in the second half with both scoring a pair of goals. Jerry Bardol, Quinn Middleton and Dan Ness each added an assist.
“In the second half, we made some adjustments that allowed us to spread them out, and we were able to generate and finish our chances,” Meehan said.
Upper Dublin (10-3-1, 9-2-1 SOL) will host Bensalem in a non-league contest on Friday, and Springfield Township (6-6-3, 3-6-3) will be on the road at Lower Moreland for a non-league game on Friday.
Upper Dublin 1-4 5
Springfield Township 1-0 1
WISSAHICKON 5, CHELTENHAM 0
The Trojans raced out of the gate to 4-0 halftime lead on their way to the decisive win. Eddie Fortescue scored a pair of goals while Trey Schwartz, Jacob Cohen and Christian Vorchheimer each added a single goal.
“It was one of those days where the first five shots we had in the first 20 minutes of the game – we scored on four of them,” coach Stuart Malcolm said. “It gave us an opportunity to play some players who haven’t had much time in our last few games because our three previous games were Plymouth, Upper Dublin and Hatboro-Horsham, and the games were all really tight.
“They had an opportunity to play today. We’re trying to get them on the field to see what they can do.”
In goal for the Trojans, who held an 18-5 advantage in shots, Jun Yuh and John Gonzalez combined for five saves in the shutout.
Wissahickon (10-3-2, 8-2-2 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Monday at 7 p.m., and Cheltenham (4-8-2, 3-7-2) will host New Hope-Solebury on Friday.
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Wissahickon 4-1 5
QUAKERTOWN at UPPER MORELAND (Postponed)
Non-league
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 5, at BENSALEM 3
The visiting Lions led 2-0 less than 20 minutes into the game, and they still led 3-1 early in the second half. The Owls staged a heroic comeback, rallying to knot the score midway through the second half only to watch the Lions answer with a pair of late goals to earn the non-league win.
“We had the majority of possession, especially in the attacking third, but New Hope finished their chances and we did not,” coach Lew Mladjen said. “New Hope played the ball long, and a few communication breakdowns cost us on each goal. We worked our way back and tied the game with just under 20 to play, but their long balls got the best of us.”
Back-to-back goals by Jake Jacquemot – the first with a Dante DeMeo assist – spotted the Lions their early lead. The Owls got on the board when German Contreras found the back of the net on a free kick from the top of the 18 in the 39th minute to make it a 2-1 game at halftime.
DeMeo opened the second half with a goal in the 43rd minute, using a through ball from Jacquemot. Three minutes later, Kyle McVicar came up with a ball after a scramble in the box, and Robbie Montero finished with a header to make it a 3-2 game. In the 60th minute, Alfardy Ali came up with the ball in the box after a free kick and found Kal Ivanov, who touched the ball past the keeper to knot the score. Goals by Jacquemot and DeMeo in the 65th and 78th minutes sealed the Owls’ fate.
Bensalem (6-8, 4-6 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin for a non-league game on Friday.
New Hope-Solebury 2-3 5
Bensalem 1-2 3
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