Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Wednesday. Wissahickon/Springfield Township photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography.
SOL CONTINENTAL
Central Bucks West 1, Pennridge 0
The sign of a good program is when opponents view that matchup as a measuring stick.
As the defending SOL Continental champions, the Rams have earned that tag, and it was a challenge the Bucks were not taking lightly on Wednesday. Under the lights at War Memorial Field, CB West picked up another key early season win.
"It was a very tough and physical game," West coach Mike Moyer said. "They have a lot of talented girls on that team."
West's only goal was a fitting summation of the match – hard earned and only attained through repeated effort.
"We got a free kick from about 28 yards out that Ryan Fitzsimmons hit low and hard and their goalie made a great save on," Moyer said. "It came out to Taylor Moyer, who hit it towards goal but one of their defenders stopped and Kyra LaLena banged home the rebound."
The first half ended in a 0-0 tie and featured a recurring theme of both teams battling things out in a loaded midfield.
"We played a very composed first half, I thought both teams had some chances and it was pretty even," Moyer said. "We were a little anxious in our midfield the first 6-8 minutes but once we settled down, we played a smart game."
The second half followed a similar path as the Rams put an early boatload of pressure on West and the Bucks needed an early period of adjustment.
"My back line played outstanding tonight, and it was led by my two senior captains Meg Gallagher and Trish Hauck. Jenna Abazza made some great saves and Tori Albrecht and Erin Fitzsimmons held down the middle," Moyer said. "I thought we ended the game well and played tough and composed. That was a really big win for us."
As usual, the Continental is already shaping up as a competitive race and the Bucks feel like they're going to be in the mix to the end.
"We just happened to be a little better tonight," Moyer said. "This is a big confidence boost for us, and now it's time to get ready for Horsham on Saturday."
The Rams (3-1, 1-1 SOL) visit CB South on Friday while CB West (4-2, 1-2) hosts Hatboro-Horsham on Saturday.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 1 – 1
PENNRIDGE 0 0 – 0
Goals: CBW – Kyra LaLena
North Penn 3, Central Bucks East 1
The Knights have made a trend of finishing matches better than they start.
North Penn parlayed a strong second half into a win two days after playing Souderton to a double-overtime draw.
"We changed a few things and pressed them higher up the pitch. We had a much larger part of possession in the second half," NP coach Steve Whitby said. "Emma Dickson from the center back position and center midfielders Zoei Baines and Lauren Ruth all had a better commitment. We seem to want to start slow and finish fast."
Grace Sacchetti led the North Penn offense with a pair of goals and was named "Knight of the Night."
"She's building confidence, getting her head up and showing a willingness to take people on," Whitby said.
Kiernan Hutchinson scored the lone goal for CB East and the Patriots got six saves from Kristen Obetz in goal.
North Penn's go-ahead goal was scored by Olivia Urban on a terrific build-up.
"It was 7-8 passes in a row starting from center back through the midfield," Whitby said. "It got to the endline for Riley Saxman to put in a good cross and finish by Liv Urban."
Knights keeper Ashley Schimidt made four saves and continued to be a presence in net since returning from injury.
"She provides great communication and instills a confidence to play to her feet and allows us to stretch our opponents," Whitby said.
North Penn (3-1-2, 1-0-1 SOL) goes to Quakertown on Friday while CB East (1-3, 1-2) hosts Souderton.
Goals: NP – Grace Sacchetti 2, Liv Urban; CBE – Kiernan Hutchinson
SOL AMERICAN
Abington 4, Upper Dublin 3
Goalkeepers aren't expected to stop penalty kicks.
Abington's Ashley Hopper has faced two PKs so far this season and has saved both of them. Her stop on Wednesday was a definite momentum-changer for the Ghosts, kicking off a wild five minutes of soccer that saw both teams combine for four goals.
In the end, thanks to braces from Camryn Lexow and Casey Touey, Abington stayed tied atop the SOL American table.
"Their offense and defense is really powerful, and if you mess up even once, they'll penetrate and usually score on you, so when we gave up the PK, we all thought they were going to make it because their forwards are consistent," Lexow said. "When Hopper saved it, we thought that was the moment and we were going to win the game."
Hopper, who followed the initial penalty stop with a second follow-up save, had prevented the Cardinals from taking a 3-1 lead. Given a new lease, Lexow and Touey took over on the offensive end.
Upper Dublin had kept the game rooted in the middle of the field for much of the first half, with Lexie Moss and Laura Pendleton keeping the ball away from Lexow and Tina Haig creating opportunities behind the forward line. Moss put her team up with a header off a Pendleton corner and Haig scored on a deflected free kick that gave UD a 2-1 lead following a Lexow PK.
The difference in the game for Abington was getting the ball outside and letting Touey do her thing.
"The one adjustment we made at the half, we thought they were playing very quickly and dominating the midfield, especially in the air, so we tried to get more people to contest the headed balls then when we won the ball, get the ball struck from the middle of the park down the flanks but in the seams," Abington coach Rick Tompkins said. "When we did that, Casey Touey is a weapon and got on the end of them and made things difficult."
Touey ran down one of those balls for the game-tying goal, then combined with Lexow for the go-ahead goal, getting to an initial ball from Lexow, then playing it back to the senior for the finish.
Upper Dublin responded quickly when Pendleton thumped home a shot off a quick restart, only to watch Touey to come right back with a run down the touchline, followed by a cut in and a well-struck ball from outside the box.
The entire sequence took less than four minutes of game time.
"It makes her more dangerous for sure and her first touch is clean," Tompkins said of Touey, a sophomore in her second year of starting. "If she gets free, she's a handful. We have a lot of pace though, and that's why we're scoring goals."
Tompkins credited the play of all his team's wide players, including Kailey Horton, Elizabeth Tracey and Camille Mugnier for putting the balls in the channels that opened things up in the second half.
Wednesday's meeting set a high bar for the return leg between the two teams later this season, and while Abington feels it still has some work to do in the defensive third, Wednesday was a nice early season moment for the Ghosts.
"I said in the beginning of the year I thought we'd make some noise this year and I still believe that," Tompkins said. "We're still trying to get people's roles defined because we have a number of places where they seem to work. They got a good test today, Upper Dublin is a good team and it's a good win.
"They battle us every single year, we have wars. I love playing John (Topper) because his girls play clean, they play hard and you can't ask for better than that. It was a fun game."
Abington (4-0, 3-0 SOL) plays host to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday while Upper Dublin (1-3, 1-2) visits Upper Moreland.
ABINGTON 1 3 – 4
UPPER DUBLIN 2 1 – 3
Goals: A – Casey Touey 2, Camryn Lexow 2; UD – Tina Haig, Laura Pendleton, Lexie Moss
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4, Cheltenham 0
Alyse Caffrey scored twice and Natalie Lannie's strong all-around play helped the Colonials pick up a win on Wednesday.
"Natalie Lannie had her best performance of the year," PW coach Ryan Zehren said. "She is a returning sophomore starter who causes problems for other midfields. She challenges and goes hard on every tackle, never wants to come off the field, has great distribution and is an all-around great athlete."
PW split its goals evenly between each half with Lannie scoring the opener and then assisting Caffrey's first. Alyse Caffrey, with an assist from sister Emily, notched her brace in the second half, then assisted on Max Leszczynski on the final tally. Leszczynski also posted an assist as PW helped out on all four goals.
The Colonials (3-1, 2-1 SOL) are on the road at Abington on Friday while Cheltenham pays a visit to Wissahickon (2-2, 2-1).
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 2 2 – 4
CHELTENHAM 0 0 – 0
Goals: PW – Alyse Caffrey 2, Max Leszczynski, Natalie Lannie
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Upper Moreland 2 (OT)
The Hatters remained unbeaten in SOL American play with another extra time win on Wednesday.
Mads Falcione had a big impact for the Hatters, scoring the golden goal midway through the first overtime and assisting on Cam Hughes' opening tally for Hatboro-Horsham. The Hatters, who trailed by a goal in the first half before Falcione found Hughes, took a 2-1 lead on a strike by Kara Thomas in the second half.
"It was a battle," Upper Moreland coach Lisa Benvenuto said. "We came out and controlled the ball and tempo and we were able to finish early. Grace Burns followed a shot and was able to finish it."
Martine Royds have five saves for the Hatters.
Kathryn Morrow found Sarah Veneziale late in the second half to tie the game and force extra time.
Benvenuto noted the play of Chloe Leiter and Alexis Lamb while Jaclyn Martino made four saves in goal.
Upper Moreland (2-2, 1-2 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin Friday while the Hatters (4-0, 3-0) visit Springfield Twp.
UPPER MORELAND 1 1 0 – 2
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1 1 1 – 1
Goals: HH – Mads Falcione, Cam Hughes, Kara Thomas; UM – Grace Burns, Sarah Veneziale
Wissahickon 2, Springfield Twp 0
The Trojans used a firm defense to top the visiting Spartans on Wednesday.
"We kept them in front of us and limited them to primarily long range opportunities," Wiss coach Chris McDaniels said.
Quinn Klessel and Caroline Hassal combined on the clean sheet in goal for Wissahickon.
The Trojans’ goals were supplied by Alex Paul on an assist from Lindsey Schmidt and Carly Amato, who was assisted by Peyton Weber.
Wissahickon (2-2, 2-1 SOL) travels to Cheltenham on Friday while the Spartans (0-4, 0-3) host Hatboro-Horsham.
SOL NATIONAL
Pennsbury 3, Bensalem 0
Two things have become clear about the Falcons early in the season.
On offense, Christine Cataldo-Smith is in about as good a form as possible for a forward after netting all three tallies on Wednesday. The other is on the defensive end, where the Falcons have been steadfast in their refusal to give opponents much in the way of scoring chances.
"As much as we love Christine's start to the season, I'm just as excited about the third shutout Alyssa O'Driscoll has posted in goal," Falcons coach Kaitlyn Battiste said. "The defensive unit in front of her doesn't give up many opportunities but she's risen to the challenge when needed."
O'Driscoll only needed one save on Wednesday, but it's her trust in her defenders that's keeping her making a minimal number of stops.
"Seniors Taylor Muller and Ella Palmieri return to our defensive unit and we've added junior Ashley Conlow and freshman Darrien Furiness," Battiste said of her back line. "Defensive mistakes can often get magnified; so far they've done a nice job of making adjustments in the game and not letting one mistake define a game."
Despite a 30-minute weather delay, Battiste felt her players were able to keep focused on the match and didn't look past a Bensalem team that has plenty of veteran and quality players.
"The girls did a nice job weathering the elements," Battiste said. "They stuck to the game plan and protected the ball throughout most of the match."
Cataldo-Smith scored in the 20th, 53rd and 79th minutes, but she hasn't done it all herself. With a strong midfield backing her up, the forward has been confident with her chances and was assisted by Gabby Zalot and Rosie Bostian on the second and third goals respectively.
Battiste cited a healthy preseason as one reason for Cataldo-Smith's strong start but also linked it back to the team's defense.
"She continues to work hard at every training session and she pushes her teammates to increase their level of play," Battiste said. "She gets to go up against some of the best defenders and goalkeepers around in practice every day. They all push each other to compete in practice; it's fun to watch them challenge one another and respect the creative side of the game."
Pennsbury (4-0, 2-0 SOL) visits William Tennent on Friday while the Owls (1-3, 1-2) host Council Rock South.
PENNSBURY 1 2 – 3
BENSALEM 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Christine Cataldo-Smith 3
William Tennent 3, Council Rock North 1
The Panthers have found life in the SOL National similar to life in the SOL Continental.
Every game is going to be tight and every opponent is going to be good.
"The move over is just as challenging. It's moving from one frying pan to another where anything can happen game to game," Tennent coach Bill Hontz said. "The new division brings different formations and coaching styles that I am learning about each game. That is the beauty of soccer that it can be played in so many different ways and any team can win on those given days so you must be prepared."
Wednesday, the Panthers were tasked to break down a well-organized CR North side in a match that didn't feel like a two-goal differential.
"(CR North) is a very organized group and moves the ball very nicely. It was back and forth with both sides having opportunities but we could not finish," Hontz said. "They were battling to the end, the game was a lot closer than the score would represent. Some breaks go good on some days and are heartbreakers on others."
The Indians felt the breaks were decidedly not in their favor on Wednesday.
"It was a sloppy game on a sloppy field. I thought we were very unlucky in some key moments today, but credit to Tennent for taking their chances and applying the pressure they did," North coach Gavin Flannigan said. "Our girls worked hard but it didn’t quite fall for us today."
Flannigan noted the play of keeper Grace Needham, who made 12 saves in net and the work rate of Taylor Brennan.
"Our goal was due to the perseverance of Taylor Brennan who worked hard to win the ball and then Kaleigh O’Donnell finished well," Flannigan said.
Tennent was able to break a 1-1 deadlock thanks to a well-taken corner kick.
"We have a couple set plays with the corner kicks to mix things up and Chelsea Metzler was able to loop the ball to a charging Jenna Rodabaugh, who was able to put a head on it then Caitlyn Somerville was standing in the right place to volley it into the net," Hontz said.
Hontz said Metzler and Caroline Weir's work defensively led to Tennent's ability to create chances.
"They allowed others to shine, like Becca Smith and Gabby Sowers who created the opportunities for the goals," Hontz said.
Olivia Miller had Tennent's first goal and Smith sealed the win with a late penalty kick.
The Panthers (3-2, 2-0 SOL) host Pennsbury on Friday. CR North (3-3, 2-2) is at Neshaminy the same day.
WILLIAM TENNENT 0 3 – 3
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 1 – 1
GOALS: WT – Olivia Miller, Caitlyn Somerville, Gabby Smith; CRN – Kaleigh O'Donnell
Neshaminy 9, Harry S Truman 0
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