Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Friday. (Pennridge photo provided courtesy of Sharin Harbeck/Pennridge soccer)
SOL Continental
Central Bucks West 1, Souderton 0
Last year, Souderton just had the Bucks’ number, knocking them off twice during conference play. That was a sticking point for CB West going into this season and they made sure Friday was different.
“Of our four losses last year, we lost to them twice, and we lost both games 3-0,” Bucks coach Mike Moyer said. “For whatever reason, they had our number last year, but we dominated this game. It was just one of those games – we remembered how we felt last year. This is my second year, and Souderton was the only team in our conference we haven’t beaten yet. The girls wanted it and they played like they wanted it.”
CB West wasted little time in putting on the pressure, and it yielded an early score.
“Ryan Fitzsimmons played a through ball to Taylor Moyer, Taylor made a great cut back out side the 18 and hit a laser upper 90 to give us the lead two minutes into the game,” Moyer said. “We had a game plan going in, and we wanted to be the first to every ball. We wanted to win the midfield because that’s where we lost it last year against them. We were just a step ahead of them in all three phases of the game, and I think that’s what won the game for us.”
Tori Albrecht and Erin Fitzsimmons led the charge in the midfield for the Bucks.
Souderton was never able to truly recover from the opening strike and felt the constant pressure CB West applied.
“Any ball that reached their back line was sent forward into the attack, where West continued to force Souderton’s defense to come up with consistent stops to prevent West from extending their lead,” Indians assistant coach Ian Smith said. “Souderton was pinned in their own half for much of the match, and defenders Grace Kelley, Payton Carroll, Darby Kramer, and Ella Kregel stood strong. Souderton’s Goalkeeper Morgan Molyneaux held strong to make a number of crucial saves, while also being forced to collect countless services into the box from set pieces and corner kicks.”
The Bucks may have controlled the midfield, but their defenders didn’t take the evening off either.
“My back four of Keely McGlone, Courtney Moylan, Bella Centenara, and Gracie Miller played lights out,” Moyer said. “We remembered what they did to us last year and it wasn’t going to happen again.”
West (2-1 overall) now sits 2-0 in the Continental after topping CB East and Neshaminy this week. The Bucks host unbeaten Pennridge on Tuesday night.
Souderton (3-1) hosts CB South on Tuesday with both squads 1-1 in the Continental.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1 0 – 1
SOUDERTON 0 0 – 0
Central Bucks South 2, Central Bucks East 1
The Titans rebounded from an opening loss in conference play with a win over their sister school.
Still, it required a second half rally to earn the three points.
“It was a see-saw battle with East scoring first at the end of the first half when a long ball served by Marissa Platt bounced over the keeper’s head and found the back of the net,” South coach Betsy Bullock said.
The Titans responded almost right out of the break.
“CB South quickly answered in the beginning of second half off a corner. The goal was scored by Sophia Kane with an assist from Grace Tecce,” Bullock said. “The second goal followed shortly after when Lauren Farrell scored a PK.”
Outside midfielder Ally Cutter was an impactful force for the Titans.
Maddie Tantum anchored the defense for CB South, which got an unexpected boost from a freshman. When starting keeper Shannon Snyder was injured in the second half, Kristen Conway came in to make five stops and preserve the lead.
“After our tough loss to Quakertown the team was determined to come back with the win,” Bullock said. “They played more possession and were able to apply high pressure which caused turnovers.”
Central Bucks South (2-1, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Tuesday, and Central Bucks East (1-2, 0-1) will host North Penn Tuesday.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0 2- 2
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1 0 – 1
Goals: CBS – Sophia Kane, Grace Tecce; CBE – Marissa Plack
Pennridge 2, Quakertown 0
The Rams remained unbeaten while handing local rival Quakertown its first loss on Friday.
Lindsey DeHaven was in a helping mood, assisting both Pennridge goals to push the Rams to 3-0. Leah Malone took care of the first, finishing a DeHaven cross while Grace Taylor also converted a cross into the second goal.
“In the first half, we moved the ball really well, we changed the point of attack and our outside back played great balls into the box,” Rams coach Audrey Anderson said. “Quakertown applied relentless pressure even in the final minutes and seconds of the game.”
Pennridge (3-0, 1-0 SOL) travels to CB West on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. start. Quakertown (2-1, 1-1) will visit Saucon Valley on Monday.
SOL National
Council Rock South 2, Neshaminy 0
The Golden Hawks picked up a big win thanks to a stout defensive effort.
“With the wet conditions, we wanted to make sure we were solid in the back,” CR South coach Nick Heim said. “I thought Karly Wunder, Dana DeDominicis, Carly Irvin, Skylar Nowmos, and Kim Speiser played well to keep us with a clean sheet and kept Sydney Mandel clean.”
Council Rock South’s defensive effort also extended out of the back.
“Lauren Smith and Sammy Jones helped control the middle of the field for us and limit their counter attacks,” Heim said. “They move the ball well up front no matter who they have up there. Kristin Curley is a crafty player and Nina Mason is an aggressive forward that’s dangerous with the ball. We talked about what their patterns would look like and how we wanted to shift defensively to cover. The girls did a solid job of implementing what we wanted to do today.”
Sammy Jones spotted the Golden Hawks a 1-0 halftime lead, turning an assist from Jordi Rubakh into a goal. Madison McDowell (Rubakh assist) added an insurance goal in the second half to seal the win.
Council Rock South (3-1, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Thursday, and Neshaminy (2-2, 1-1) will be on the road at North Penn Monday for a non-league game.
William Tennent 5, Bensalem 0
The weather was again an uninvited guest as the Panthers picked up their first win of the season Friday.
“It always seems to rain when playing Bensalem, and we finally were able to break the seal of goal scoring,” Tennent coach Bill Hontz said. “Bensalem played tough and the weather certainly did not make it easy on anyone.”
Tennent jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead, thanks to tallies from Danielle Scott 10 minutes in and Chelsea Metzler off a Gabby Sowers assist in the 20th minute.
Metzler and Sowers connected again just two minutes into the second half and 10 minutes later, Danielle Moss found the net off a helper from Caroline Weir. Tennent finished the day when Caitlin Somerville put away Angelica Breslin’s pass.
“It was an all-around team effort that started from the defense and worked its way up with many good passing connections from the midfield,” Hontz said. “Great efforts turned in by Ciara McFeely and Liz Layer to help secure a shut out. Next week should be a good test with three home games with two against our tough divisional opponents.”
William Tennentn (1-1, 1-0 SOL) will host Council Rock North Tuesday, and Bensalem (0-3, 0-2) will travel to Gwynedd Mercy Academy for a non-league game Saturday.
WILLIAM TENNENT 2 3 – 5
BENSALEM 0 0 – 0
GOALS: WT – Chelsea Metzler 2, Danielle Scott, Danielle Moss, Caitlin Somerville
Council Rock North 6, Harry S Truman 0
The Indians scored early but still battled a determined Tigers team on Friday.
Heather McLaughlin snared a brace in the first half to stake CR North to a 2-0 halftime lead. Brooke Strobel and Paige Addis tallied second half markers before Anna Cairone’s brace finished the scoring.
“Although we had plenty of possession Truman were tough to break down early in the game,” Indians coach Gavin Flannigan said. “Mike (McHugh) has them defending the spaces very well and they are quick to counter at times.”
Council Rock North (3-1, 1-1 SOL) will travel to William Tennent Tuesday, and Harry S Truman (0-2) will host Neshaminy Tuesday.
Council Rock North 2 4 – 6
HARRY S TRUMAN 0 0 – 0
Goals: CRN – Heather McLaughlin 2, Anna Cairone 2, Brooke Strobel, Paige Addis
SOL American
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4, Springfield Township 1
The Colonials’ attack was unfazed by the poor weather and got itself back on track.
“Good win for our team today in really messy conditions. After not scoring at Wissahickkon, it was important for us to come out and get an early goal,” PW assistant coach TJ DeLucia said. “We challenged the team to be ready to play from the start. They responded and junior striker Max Leszczynski scored 90 seconds into the game.”
PW added another goal in the first half, but as no soccer team is ever content to sit on a 2-0 lead, wanted more.
Natalie Lannie scored roughly 10 minutes into the second half to extend the lead and the Colonials got up to 4-0 before the Spartans pulled a goal back late. DeLucia felt his team did well to keep its energy for 80 minutes but also handle Springfield’s pressure.
“Our defense (juniors Gabby Cooper, Bella McNew, Ava Schreiber, and sophomore Kaitlyn Flanagan) came off the field at the end of the game and were not happy at all that they weren’t able to keep the clean sheet,” DeLucia said. “I love that about our defense and that attitude should benefit us against some really dangerous league opponents.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-1, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Cheltenham Tuesday, and Springfield (0-3, 0-2) will be on the road at Wissahickon Tuesday.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 0 0 – 0
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 2 2 – 4
Upper Dublin 6, Cheltenham 1
The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season as their attack took another step forward on Friday.
Cheltenham took an early lead thanks to a goal by Donya Baxter in the fifth minute but UD was able to rally.
Freshman Alex Devers scored a pair of goals in quick succession in the 13th minute for her first tallies at UD and the lead for her team. Laura Pendleton, Mia Wright, Julia Eustace and Karolina Bocul added goals to help put the Panthers away.
“A great performance by GK Rachel Adelman kept UD in the game early,” Cardinals coach Chuck Gesing said.
Upper Dublin (1-2, 1-1 SOL) will host Abington Tuesday, and Cheltenham (1-2, 0-2) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh Tuesday.
Abington 4, Upper Moreland 1
Casey Touey’s brace led the way as the Ghosts improved to 2-0 in the SOL American.
Rylee West and Lily Gray added the other scores for Abington.
“Excellent defensive performances by Emily Friel, Emily Quinn, Caroline Hughes and Riley Crabtree,” Ghosts coach Rick Tompkins said.
Abington (2-1, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin Tuesday, and Upper Moreland (1-2, 1-1) will host Hatboro-Horsham Tuesday.
Non-league
North Penn 3, Lansdale Catholic 2
The Knights – less than 24 hours removed from a loss to Souderton – earned a bounce-back win over a local rival.
“I really liked the way we bounced back with two quick goals today. It’s always tough on a back to back after a night game, but I really like the way the girls came to play tonight,” Knights co-head coach Mike Rio said. “LC had a clear game plan of searching out their forward and trying to get the ball long and behind our defense and while we held it in check most of the game, a few opportunities got through.”
Captain Grace Sacchetti got the scoring started early, knocking in a cross just three minutes in the game.
“We played a really physical game today and fought hard to get the three points,” Rio said. “Grace Sacchetti had a great game and has really taken on the captain and leadership role, not only scoring two goals but also just with her effort and speed of play.”
Liv Urban struck a rocket from 25 yards out to make it 2-0 just 13 minutes into the game. The Crusaders then responded with two straight goals to knot the score.
“There’s always a little extra emotion and pride on the line in the crosstown matchup, so we knew we were in for a battle,” Rio said. “It’s great to come out on top and head into the weekend with a win, and then we are right back at it again with Neshaminy on Monday.”
Sacchetti, after combining with Emily Varilla and Tia Sheehy, found the winner inside the last 10 minutes.
“I thought Anna Fiore had a good game in goal and was really tested with making sure her positioning was good to collect some of those balls,” Rio said. “Becca Richardson, Emily Schurr and Casey Cavanaugh, kept us organized defensively and played a strong game.”
North Penn (2-2, 0-1) will host Neshaminy in a non-league game Monday.
NORTH PENN 2 1 – 3
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 1 1 – 2
Goals: Grace Sacchetti 2, Liv Urban
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