Check out the recaps for the SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. (Cheltenham photo provided courtesy of Murray Peet/Cheltenham soccer)
Pennridge 4, Upper Dublin 2
Rams coach Pete Valimont knows he can’t hide it anymore.
If the first three matches of the season are an indication, Aidan Castle is going to be a problem for opposing teams this season. The sophomore scored again on Tuesday, but it was his pair of assists in the final 10 minutes that allowed the Rams to pull away from a feisty Upper Dublin side.
“We’re not going to be able to keep him a secret,” Valimont said. “Everyone in our league already knows him from last year, he was a sub only because of the bodies in front of him, but his time is coming the next three years.”
The Flying Cardinals brought plenty of energy with them but were done in by a couple of miscues in the first half that made their task much harder. An error on a booming throw-in by Pennridge’s Bobby Brashear led to the opening goal and when Castle out-worked a defender for a ball then chipped the keeper, UD had to make up two goals.
“We did this to ourselves. It’s tough to come back from 2-0 down away especially against a team that has speed and can counter attack,” UD coach Andy Meehan said. “We just need to limit our mistakes and finish our chances early. The boys have it. We just got to get our timing right, settle down and play.”
Despite trailing by multiple goals just 22 minutes in, the Cardinals stuck it out and started to carve their way back into the match. Their grit was rewarded with about five minutes left in the half when Chris Kenney flicked a header to the opposite side of the box that Giovanni Astorino tucked inside the near post.
Pennridge issued a wave of pressure to start the second half, but the Cardinals were the first to score after the break. Kenney again came through, this time as the finisher when he knocked in a gorgeous cross off the right flank by fullback Oliver Berman.
“Something I’m not worried about with this team is matching the intensity but we have to make sure they do a better job of settling down and playing,” Meehan said. “Sometimes the intensity takes over and they forget they have the skill and talent to play the game.”
The Rams struggled with their finishing early in the second half, with a post denying Castle a possible go-ahead goal.
Finally, the host side caught a break when keeper CJ Dimmick sent a long punt to around midfield. Brashear hit it toward the touchline, then ran down the loose ball and looped it over the top of Upper Dublin’s defense to Castle.
“Bobby is the Energizer Bunny in the sense he doesn’t stop, he’s big and strong and he does whatever he can,” Valimont said. “That’s an effort play right there and he let the technical guys go ahead to take care of it and finish.”
Castle sped along the right flank, cut in and sent a cross across the box for a Connor Gable tap-in with about nine minutes remaining in the contest.
The two combined on a second tally with about a minute-and-a-half to play. Castle was able to slip the ball by an outside defender, again found the endline and on a similar play, put a low cross in that Gable converted into a finish.
“We, in whatever sense you want to call it, were feeling a little too good about ourselves in the beginning and a scrappy SOL team comes in for the home opener, it’s hot, we have a couple guys banged up so a couple things were going against us,” Valimont said. “Couple that with them getting a goal to tie it up and it’s all new things we haven’t seen yet or had to deal with. To have all of them by the third game in and we still haven’t played a league game yet, I feel good in that sense we’re getting all these things that we can say ‘remember when?’
“Fortunately we’ve been on the right end of them and they’ve been huge.”
Pennridge (3-0) will travel to Quakertown for Friday’s SOL opener, and Upper Dublin (0-1) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Wednesday.
PENNRIDGE 2 2 – 4
UPPER DUBLIN 1 1 – 2
Upper Moreland 2, Springfield-Delco 0
The Golden Bears scored a pair of early goals, and their defense did the rest, keeping the Spartans off the scoreboard and holding on for the shutout win.
“Defensively, we’ve been playing pretty well,” UM coach Matt Duffey said. “We have some things to still work on, but we’re playing really well.
“We’re getting great play out of our midfielders, and we’re getting a lot of consistent opportunities up front, which is nice.”
Ivan Salazar set the tone when he put the Bears on the scoreboard with a goal in the fifth minute, using an assist from Dylan Swedberg. Six minutes later, Swedberg found the back of the net, turning an assist from Tyler Holman into a goal and a 2-0 lead that held the rest of the way.
Duffey lauded the efforts of several players in the win.
“I thought Mateo Infante played great,” the UM coach said of his attacking midfielder. “Travis Slear and Josh Henderson on defense and my midfielders, Tyler Holman and Jack Cowden, all played really well today.”
Upper Moreland (2-0) will travel to Cheltenham for Wednesday’s SOL opener. The Golden Bears are on the road for eight of their first 10 games.
UPPER MORELAND 2 0 – 2
SPRINGFIELD-DELCO 0 0 – 0
Cheltenham 8, New Foundations Charter 0
The Panthers got on the scoreboard early and never looked back as they opened the year with two non-league victories.
“I was pleased with how well we came out of the gate,” Panthers coach Bill Tonkin said, “and that quick goal off the corner really kick-started our attack.”
Cheltenham senior Matt Montez scored first in the fourth minute off of senior Findlay Peet’s corner kick. Junior Jack Klebanoff started a flurry of three goals in nine minutes with his second goal of the year off another corner.
Peet picked up the first of his two goals on the day – to add to two assists – off of a well-placed pass from senior O.J. McNab. McNab snagged a goal of his own four minutes later by dribbling past four defenders in and around the 18 before slotting his shot past the diving Bulldog goalie.
Four second-half goals quickly put the game out of reach with sophomore Paolo Musumeci getting his second of the season, senior Eli Leighton with a one touch blast from a Kingsley Boateng cross, and defender Edwin Noel getting his first off of a scramble in front.
“I was especially pleased with our work rate and movement off the ball,” said Tonkin. “We got away without any injuries and are ready for the big test against Upper Moreland tomorrow.”
Cheltenham (2-0) hosts Upper Moreland Wednesday while New Foundation takes on Abington Friends on Friday.
NEW FOUNDATIONS CHARTER 0 0 – 0
CHELTENHAM 4 4 – 8
Central Bucks South 3, William Tennent 2
The Titans took a 1-0 lead into halftime and went on to earn the hard fought win. Sean Metz and Joe Roller each scored a goal for the Panthers.
“AJ Peev was huge for them and played fantastic,” Tennent coach Nick D’Andrea said.
Central Bucks South (2-0) will host Quakertown in Wednesday’s SOL opener.
WILLIAM TENNENT 0 2 – 2
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1 2 – 3
Holy Ghost Prep 5, Bensalem 1
The visiting Owls – sparked by a Brian Gibson goal – battled the Firebirds to a 1-1 halftime tie, but the second half belonged to the Firebirds, who reeled off four unanswered goals.
Chris Rowan, who was once again outstanding in goal, turned away a penalty kick.
Bensalem (0-2) will host Neshaminy in Wednesday’s SOL opener.
BENSALEM 1 0 – 1
HOLY GHOST PREP 1 4 – 5
Lower Merion 6, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
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