Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Wednesday.
SOL NATIONAL
Bensalem 1, Neshaminy 0
The Owls might be on their third coach in three seasons and coming off a tough 2017, but one thing the players in the program have always done is work hard and fight.
They relied on each other all game on Wednesday and got a major result on the road to validate a lot of that effort, defeating the defending state runner-up Redskins.
"They've been fighting for the past three years and no one has noticed it," Owls coach Bob Crawford said. "Today, fighting the heat and everything, they were able to put it all together and keep the ball out of the net, found our opportunity and put it in."
Crawford said Wednesday's win was believed to be Bensalem's first road victory over Neshaminy in 16 years.
Beating Neshaminy required a fully invested effort across the board, and it’s just what Bensalem got. Everything started in the back with senior goalkeeper Kat Rivera playing a terrific match and allowing her backs to get up and pressure Neshaminy's attackers.
Timmie Haffner, Emily Wineburg, Samantha Crawford and Sydney Miller started in the back and got some crucial minutes from reserves Dominique News and Taylor Pennypacker off the bench to supplement the effort.
"As they game went on, they kind of recognized they could do it," Crawford said.
Bensalem's goal came late in the contest and, fittingly, was started by a ball won by the back line. Samantha Crawford stepped up around midfield to win the ball and was able to get it up front to Taylor Haffner.
"She was able to get the ball, pressure their backs and create a little uncertainty," Crawford said of Haffner, who put the opportunity away for the lone goal of the match."It was a real team win, every girl played their butts off today. Even those who came in off the bench – they kept the high level up. They never sat there quietly or stood around in the heat, and that's what I'm most proud of with this team – they're all that way."
Crawford said Neshaminy still put a lot of pressure on his team, even with the Owls defenders trying their best to disrupt Neshaminy's attackers and make them play faster than their desired pace. Rivera, who was an all-league pick as a sophomore, commanded the unit well.
"She snatched up the ball every chance she could and the defense cleared it well," Crawford said. "We were able to really get away from their pressure. Neshaminy was a very talented team. I can't say enough about her job in net, she's just a rock back there and the girls are so confident in her."
Bensalem showed a lot of fight in its opener, a 1-0 loss to CB South as well.
"The biggest thing for them is, they're tired of being looked at as just Bensalem," Crawford said. "They want to go out there and show they can play soccer. They just need to be believed in."
While Crawford wanted his players to enjoy the win, he also told them it was just a first stop in the season and the result is sure to get the attention of every opponent on the Owls schedule.
"I'm sure we're not going to get the same Neshaminy the next time we play them, and you get a win and now – people are going to come at you in the first half and coaches will play you differently," Crawford said. "My job is to keep them positive and keep giving them the skills they need to improve."
Crawford said this team is following the lead of its seniors, many who stuck it out through the numerous coaching changes and lack of positive results, but he also has a crop of underclassmen ready to push for time. With a senior keeper, three seniors and a junior starting on the back line, the defense used that experience to its advantage.
"In tough situations, staying calm is key and I think maturity is a big part of it," Crawford said. "I'm very proud of them – they come to practice and I very rarely have to get on them for anything. They come to learn and I'm proud of them."
With practically the entire season yet to be played, Crawford said this result can't be the high point for the Owls.
"They haven't won anything in the past, they haven't lived up to expectations that some of this group have had," Crawford said. "They all know how to play, they just need to show it. I'm just going to keep challenging them as best I can."
Bensalem (1-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Wednesday, and Neshaminy (2-1, 0-1) will be on the road at Council Rock South Friday.
BENSALEM 0 1 – 1
NESHAMINY 0 0 – 0
Goals: B – Taylor Haffner
Pennsbury 6, Council Rock North 0
Christine Cataldo-Smith's hat trick accounted for half the Falcons' scoring output on Wednesday. Pennsbury led just 1-0 at the half, but broke the game open with three tallies in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.
Alyssa O'Driscoll made one save to post the shutout win in goal.
Pennsbury (2-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Unionville for a non-league game Saturday at 2:30 p.m., and Council Rock North (1-2, 0-1) will host Harry S Truman Friday.
PENNSBURY 1 5 – 6
CR NORTH 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Christine Cataldo-Smith 3, Rosie Bostian, Kasey Kowal, Deanna Weir
Council Rock South 7, Harry S Truman 0
A hat trick from Sierra Tarantino led the Golden Hawks’ offense in their conference opener Wednesday. Karly Wunder had a goal and assist while Sammy Jones, Claudia Steinmetz and Maddy Schmidt scored and Carly Hickey and Allie Jones tallied assists for South.
Chelsea Jameson picked up the shutout.
Council Rock South (2-0, 1-0 SOL) will host Neshaminy in a key conference battle Friday, and Harry S Truman (0-2, 0-1) will host Harry S Truman Friday.
SOL AMERICAN
Hatboro-Horsham 1, Upper Dublin 0
The past two years have ended with the Hatters outside of the District I playoffs due in part to them not beating some of the top teams on their schedule.
Two games into the season, Hatboro-Horsham now has two wins over teams that made last year's postseason. Wednesday's game was a big one because not only was it a win over the defending SOL American champion, it was the Hatters' first victory against Upper Dublin since moving over to the American in 2016.
"I think it had been three years since they won a nonleague game, so getting that win (over William Tennent on Tuesday) was a great confidence boost and coming out today, they knew Upper Dublin was defending champs and hadn't beaten them in three years either, so they wanted this more," Hatters coach Kelsey Daley said.
After a 20-minute spell of really good possession and chance creation by Upper Dublin, the Hatters started to find their way into the game. Freshman goalkeeper Martine Royds, who made four saves, had two key early stops and her back line had her back, blocking two shots that seemed destined for the back of the net.
Daley emphasized putting pressure on the Cardinals’ forwards early, and she liked the adjustments her defenders made throughout the match, catching UD offsides several times in the second half.
"They've been very confident in the back and as a team, they work really well together," Daley said. "That is making them a better team overall."
Cam Ryan played a strong match in the middle of the pitch, battling Upper Dublin's center mids, winning balls and not letting the Cardinals have much time to connect passes. Peighton Toale, Rachael Petrowski and Sophia Liott, one of three freshmen starters for the Hatters, helped anchor the back line.
Hatboro-Horsham showed its offensive versatility on the match's lone goal. Winger Kara Thomas was able to beat a defender down the left flank, then fired a low cross across the box where Cam Hughes met it on a late run and fired it home from inside the six-yard box.
"You could tell from the first day of preseason they were more excited and more into it," Daley said. "Every senior has stepped up – it's a small senior class but they made a big impact on this team."
Hatboro-Horsham (2-0, 1-0 SOL) hosts Wissahickon on Friday while Upper Dublin (0-2, 0-1) visits Cheltenham.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1 0 – 1
UPPER DUBLIN 0 0 – 0
Goals: HH – Cam Hughes
Wissahickon 4, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1
When Chris McDaniels started his first preseason at Wissahickon, his goal was to play out of the back and build upward.
That's still the plan, but the Trojans have had to adapt in the early going. With the strength of the team up top, that's where Wissahickon is going to lean its efforts through the early part of the season.
"We got the ball to our forwards, and between Carly Amato and Peyton Weber, we were threatening," McDaniels said. "We're going to be decent in the attack if we can get the ball up to those guys – they're not one-dimensional players."
Wissahickon ran into what McDaniels dubbed a "buzzsaw" against Pennridge in its opener but felt his team took some lessons from that loss.
"We defended a lot smarter tonight," McDaniels said. "Grace Mullen, who's our center back, did a really nice job keeping us organized back there, and I think we had one mistake all night when we didn't get our offsides trap right and they scored off it."
McDaniels said his back line played smart and simple on Wednesday, which is his goal for the unit right now as it works to establish itself. The unit was able to use its offside trap well and also kept PW's top attackers away from areas where they could be most dangerous.
"It took a little longer than I'd hoped to just cover the fundamental basics of defending, I think the time will be well spent in the long run, but we're still putting things together and we're a little more soccer-savvy in the attack," McDaniels said. "We moved one of our girls who is extremely athletic in Lieke Black from an attacking position to defense and she cleans up really well for us. She covers a lot of ground and is super-aggressive and blazing fast and she's going to help us."
Weber, a sophomore, scored two goals for Wissahickon, which also got goals from freshman Natalie "Scoops" Ryan and senior Sam Intrieri. McDaniels praised the work Amato and Weber did to drop deep into the midfield to get the ball, often battling PW defenders the whole way as they did.
That will have to change going forward, but McDaniels feels there's talent in his midfield, including holding mid Anna Schools, who won a number of balls defensively.
"I'd love to make their jobs a little bit easier up top," McDaniels said. "We're hoping we can get the ball in to those forward's feet without them expending so much energy. They were running up to 40 yards just to get the ball, and as it turns out, that's pretty tiring."
Wissahickon (1-1, 1-0 SOL) visits Hatboro-Horsham on Friday while Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-1, 0-1) hosts Springfield Twp.
Goals: W – Peyton Weber 2, Sam Intrieri, Natatlie Ryan
Upper Moreland 4, Cheltenham 2
The Golden Bears rallied in a big way Wednesday to win their league opener.
Cheltenham scored the first two goals of the game and led 2-1 at the break before UM came back after halftime. Donya Baxter and Zoe Moreland scored to put the Panthers up 2-0 about 35 minutes in only to watch UM's Madison Zachwieja to respond with a quick tally right after the second goal.
"Today's conditions were tough on both teams. The first half played out evenly, however, Cheltenham was able to put the ball away," UM coach Lisa Benvenuto said. "I give lots of credit to Mark (Woodcock) and his girls. When given the opportunity to score, they did. They really have great set pieces and the talent to finish."
Benvenuto called Zachwieja, who came off the bench, "the spark that ignited the Bears."
"She was able to beat her defender down the flank and put a hard shot on net to beat the goalie," Benvenuto said.
After the intermission, UM played a more simplified style and stayed in its system.
"With strong communication, we were able to generate many scoring opportunities," Benvenuto said. "The first was a combination play from Sarah Veneziale and Kathryn Morrow. The next started with a great run from Maddie Gerlach who generated more combination play between Veneziale and Morrow, which led to freshman Emma Frasca for her first varsity goal."
With the match tied 2-2, the Bears continued to press for a winner and found it in the 53rd minute.
"The last goal came from junior Megan O'Donnell," Benevenuto said. "She was crashing the net following Kathryn (Morrow)'s shot and timed the rebound perfectly."
Cheltenham's Melanie Pagan and UM's Jaclyn Martino each made six saves in goal.
"It was another great team effort from the Bears," Benvenuto said. "The girls showed true grit today."
Cheltenham (0-1 SOL) faces Upper Dublin on Friday while Upper Moreland (2-0, 1-0) visits Abington in 3:30 starts.
UPPER MORELAND 1 2 – 3
CHELTENHAM 2 0 – 2
Goals: UM – Madison Zachwieja, Emma Frasca, Megan O'Donnell; C – Donya Baxter, Zoe Moreland
Abington 5, Springfield Twp 2
The Ghosts built a big lead and held onto it for a win in their first game as part of the SOL American.
Cam Lexow led Abington with two scores, while Casey Touey added a goal and assist with Arianna Mancini and Lesha Karaba also scoring. Kailey Horton and Elizabeth Horton each had a pair of assists as Abington assisted every goal it scored.
Abington coach Rick Tompkins also noted the play of center mid Abby Bautista.
"She provides a lunch pail approach to the game, wins the ball and sets us in motion," Tompkins said.
Abington led 3-0 at the half before going up 5-0. The Spartans rallied a bit in the final 20 minutes of the game. Annie Giampietro scored off a direct free kick taken by Hanna Petrocki and Samantha Wynne finished off a drop pass from Ally White, with both goals coming a few minutes apart from each other.
"We kept the pressure on and got a penalty kick. We had five corners at the end of the game, but we just couldn’t finish any of them," Springfield coach Suzette Wolf said. "We definitely played better the second half. We played with more confidence, more authority. The girls are really fit. It was hot, but my girls were fine. They showed very little fatigue. When Abington started to slow down, they stepped it up, and it benefitted their game. That was a plus for us."
Springfield (0-2, 0-1 SOL) visits Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday while Abington (2-0, 1-0) hosts Upper Moreland.
ABINGTON 3 2 – 5
SPRINGFELD TWP 0 2 – 2
Goals: A – Cam Lexow 2, Casey Touey, Arianna Mancini, Lesha Karaba; S – Annie Giampetro, Ally White
SOL CONTINENTAL
Central Bucks East 2, Central Bucks West 1
The following has been said a lot over the years.
CB East and CB West met on the soccer pitch, threw everything they had at each other and one of them got a really hard-earned result 80 minutes later. Wednesday, the Patriots came out on top but not with any sort of ease.
"West was very organized and extremely fit on a very hot day," East coach Paul Eisold said. "They pressured tremendously the last 20 minutes and we were fortunate to get the 'W'. West will continue to get better and stronger as the season progresses."
Bucks’ head coach Mike Moyer had a similar assessment.
"I feel like we played better in the second half and we created a ton of chances – we just couldn't score today," Moyer said. "East is a very well-coached team. They played very disciplined and matched our physicality today. It was a typical East-West, hard-fought game."
East struck first in the opening minutes of the game.
"Grace Taylor sent a through ball behind the defense for a Gabby Learn technical finish," Eisold said.
West knotted the score 17 minutes in when Tori Albrecht nodded home a corner kick. The score stayed 1-1 at half but not before the Bucks posted a couple of threats.
"We had another corner kick about six minutes later that Taylor Moyer headed in that hit the crossbar and came back out," Moyer said. "Trish Hauck had a couple chances that just missed and right before the half, East's goalie made a great save on Trish to keep it 1-1."
Like the first half, the Patriots put away an early chance in the second to gain the lead.
"In the 44th minute, East broke down the right flank and Gabby Learn served in a ball to a very hard working Izzy Hunter, who had to challenge the West keeper on the ground at the far post for a poke into the back of the net," Eisold said.
Eisold noted the play of his keeper, Kristen Obetz, along with the midfield core of Julie Beedle, Olivia Black, Kieran Hutchinson and Olivia Portner. Wednesday marked the first game of the season for East, and the first competitive outing for the Patriots in a couple weeks.
"Having not yet played a game this season and missing our second scrimmage against Neshaminy due to a heat advisory, I was extremely proud of the girls and their desire to be competitive," Eisold said. "The win certainly gives us confidence and West is always a tough game. They are well coached and a program on the rise. This helps us tremendously getting the win under our belt. Now we can move forward in training and preparation for our next game."
West didn't win, but the effort was enough to show Moyer his side is trending in the right direction early in the campaign.
"We know where we stand now and we will continue to get better. I think our back line played very well today led by Megan Gallagher and Ariann D'Elia. Our mids grinded it out in the heat and Ryan Fitzsimmons was outstanding again," Moyer said. "We have the pieces, we just need to put it together consistently now. We will be ready for Souderton."
East had to withstand a furious finish, but the back line was up for the task.
"We were able to box them out of the 18 and the back line of Marissa Plack, Anna Bound, Brooke Zarzycki, Ashley Balderson and Paige Santoro did a great job reading the play and keeping West off balance," Eisold said. "West was unable to link up and get behind us for a clear finish."
CB East (1-0 SOL) will visit CB South at 3:30 on Friday while West (2-1, 0-1) welcomes Souderton at the same time.
CB EAST 1 1 – 2
CB WEST 1 0 – 1
Goals: CBE – Gabby Learn, Izzy Hunter; CBW – Tori Albrecht.
Quakertown 1, Central Bucks South 1 2OT
Mike Koch had a pretty direct message for his team after Wednesday's match.
Welcome back to the Continental.
After spending two years in the American, the Panthers are back in familiar ground as they return to the Continental Conference this fall. While Quakertown is no minnow, having made the district playoffs the last two seasons, it might be the smallest shark in a pond full of sharks.
"We competed," Panthers coach Mike Koch said. "I said to my players, 'Welcome back.' It was a war, we competed and battled against a good team that battled just as hard."
Koch said his team is taking the same approach that's worked the last couple years but added that the Panthers have to be prepared to hit the ground running every night in conference. On Wednesday, it took a strong effort from a number of players to contend with a talented Titans team through two extra sessions on a hot night.
"It was awesome to play (Titans coach) Betsy (Bullock) again," Koch said. "I enjoy playing these schools and the coaches, it's exciting and I believe every game in the conference is a battle. What we found out in this conference is a mistake can punish us. You can't afford to make a little mistake because the players are too good and they'll make you pay for it."
The Titans scored first, capitalizing on a corner kick and scramble in the box.
"Sophia Kane collected the ball and passed to Chelsea Nicholls who buried the ball in the corner," Bullock said. "(We) had great possession and out-shot Quakertown 20-8."
Bullock cited the play of Brooke Steigerwalt, Grace Tecce and Meem Edwards in the center of the pitch, as well as a strong defensive effort from Amanda Krysko.
Koch felt his forwards, Kyra Handel and Ashley Gluck, played well against South's stout defense, with Gluck drawing the foul that led to Haley Pursel's penalty kick goal just before the half. Defensively, Cori Pursel and Melina Jagiella held the fort against a lot of pressure from CB South.
"Cori Pursel a couple times came up huge for us when we did break down, she cleaned it up very nicely," Koch said.
It was also another good showing by Quakertown's sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Supprell.
"She's very athletic and very confident," Koch said. "She's very, very good at reading the flight of the ball and anticipating. She'd probably be a starter as a field player if she wasn't a goalkeeper, she's that good of a soccer player."
CB South (1-0-1, 1-0 SOL) hosts CB East on Friday while Quakertown (0-1-1, 0-1) will head to Pennridge with both scheduled for 3:30 starts.
"I needed it," Koch said of the hard-earned tie. "I knew we were coming into a tough battle and needed to see if we could compete. It solves question one, which was 'can we compete?' Now we have to clean up the mistakes and get a little bit better but the hard thing in this conference is night in and night out."
CB SOUTH 1 0 0 0 – 1
QUAKERTOWN 1 0 0 0 – 1
Goals: CBS – Chelsea Nicholls; Q – Haley Pursel (PK)
Non-League
William Tennent 5, New Hope-Solebury 0
The Panthers opened up a 2-0 halftime lead en route to their first win of the young season.
"The team had a nice bounce-back after a tough loss to a good Hatboro-Horsham team," coach Bill Hontz said. "New Hope played hard in the heat. Give them credit for playing hard to the end."
Caroline Weir scored a goal in the 27th minute that turned out to be the game-winner. Seven minutes later, Danielle Moss found the back of the net for a 2-0 lead that stood until halftime. In the 53rd minute, Becca Smith scored, and five minutes later, Olivia Miller added a goal. Caitlyn Somerville's goal in the 71st minute closed out the scoring.
William Tennent (1-1) will travel to Bensalem for its SOL opener on Friday.
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0 0-0
WILLIAM TENNENT 2 3-5
About the Author
