Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. Pennsbury/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL National
Pennsbury 4, Neshaminy 0
Pennsbury scored all four of its goals in the first half as the Falcons remained in first place in the National Conference with a convincing win over its rivals on Tuesday.
“As well as we played in the first half, we know we’re capable of putting goals on the board and really opening the attack,” said Pennsbury coach Tim Stoddart. “We’re a dangerous team. But, I was extremely, extremely pleased how well we played in the second half.
“We kind of absorbed Neshaminy’s energy and then we were able to play disciplined and take the air out of the ball. We had struggled with leads and we made games a little too interesting, so this was a great step forward for us in that regard.”
Pennsbury’s first goal came five minutes into the game, unassisted, by Nyces Cayemitte. Jaden Haig then made it 2-0 off a Cayemitte assist midway through the half.
Aden Radovich and Evan Reichard scored in the final five minutes of the game.
“Nyles actually got taken down in the box, and they were about to score a penalty kick, but Evan just followed him in and was able to knock in the empty netter,” Stoddart said.
The Falcons’ coach credited the play of several players in the win.
“I though Aden Radovich and Gustavs Mednis were just fantastic today in the in the middle of the field,” Stoddart said. “Obviously, Trevor Hart and Jason Panaro were able to not only shut down Neshaminy in the back but really quarterback us going forward from the middle of the field.”
Pennsbury finishes 6-0 the first time through the SOL National Conference schedule and is 8-0-1 overall, the only blemish a 1-1 tie with Downingtown West on Saturday.
“I thought we played really well on Saturday,” Stoddart said. “It was just one of those games where we couldn’t get the ball across the line. We let the one chance we gave to them (go for a goal) – it wasn’t even really a chance it was a restart – so I thought we deserved a little bit better on Saturday.
“Today, we just kind of strung it all together.”
Pennsbury will host Council Rock North on Thursday, and Neshaminy (7-2, 4-2 SOL) will host Bensalem on Thursday.
Pennsbury 4 0-4
Neshaminy 0 0-0
William Tennent 3, Harry S. Truman 2 (OT)
Mike Liddy scored the game-winner in overtime as William Tennent escaped with a 3-2 win over Truman on Tuesday afternoon.
“Truman missed a chance in OT right before we scored,” Tennent coach Nick D’Andrea said. “It was a great SOL game.
“Truman played inspired soccer, and they were dangerous on all set pieces. They had chances and easily could have won the game. We were fortunate to get the win.”
Truman’s Adam Fask had scored on a corner kick in the second half to send the game to OT, and the Tigers had chances to win the game in the extra-session.
“In the first overtime, we just missed scoring off of a near-post throw in from Artie Dingley. A Mert Yildrim header trickled right by the post,” said Truman coach Matt Terry. “Tennent took the goal kick and found gaps and finished with a one-time to end the game.”
Liddy also scored earlier in the game for Tennent, as did Colin Hires to grab a 2-1 halftime lead.
Truman’s first half goal was from Ricky Pierre Toussaint.
“We were a little thinner today, but Emre Aydin filled in nicely today at left back,” Terry said. “Timmy Tran played the first half in goal, Jon Abarayk played well in goal in the second and Wendell Matthews did well despite being under the weather.
“Ricky, Mert, Zack did their thing up front. The back line played well, which included Edwin, Artie, Emre and Jon. Good midfield play from Aoyub, Adam Osvaldo. Great minutes from our reserves today – Deep Patel, Nnamdi Ofoegbi, Mert Salan, Hector Reyes, Aksel Victoria. Andrew Johnson, coming off an injury suffered in the first game will start getting some time.
“I thought we had it today. We played calm and smarter. Just the way it goes in the Suburban One.”
William Tennent (4-5, 3-3 SOL) will host Philadelphia Academy Charter in a non-league game Friday, and Harry S Truman (3-5-1, 0-5-1) will host Council Rock South on Friday.
Truman 1 1 0-2
Tennent 2 0 1-3
Council Rock North 1, Council Rock South 0
Vinny Cohen scored the game-winner with eight minutes remaining as Council Rock North stifled rival CR South for the shutout win.
Christian Wieberwicz stopped all three shots he faced and recorded the shutout win for the Indians, who are now 4-4-1 overall (2-3-1 SOL) on the season.
Andrew Roberto recorded seven saves for the Golden Hawks.
Council Rock North will be on the road at Pennsbury on Thursday, and Council Rock South (3-6, 2-4) will travel to Quakertown Thursday for a non-league game.
CR North 0 1-1
CR South 0 0-0
SOL Continental
North Penn 2, Pennridge 0
Josh Jones scored off a header in the first half, and North Penn emerged with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Pennridge to close out the first half of the SOL Continental schedule for both teams.
With the win, North Penn is now 4-1 and in first place in the Continental, and 8-1 overall. Pennridge is 6-3-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the conference.
Tuesday’s game was back and forth, with Pennridge keeper Owen Gunn making several big saves in the first half. Jones’ goal in the 25th minute came off a throw-in from James Stewart.
Pennridge nearly tied it in the second half, but North Penn keeper Sawyer Meade made a key save on a close on a shot from the Rams’ Aidan Castle early in the half.
Later, after a nice move produced a hard first shot saved by Pennridge’s Gunn, North Penn senior Carter Houlihan blasted in the rebound for the insurance goal, and the Knights used quality defense down the stretch to preserve the shutout.
North Penn will travel to Souderton on Thursday, and Pennridge will be on the road at Southern Lehigh for a non-league game Thursday.
Pennridge 0 0-0
North Penn 1 1-2
Souderton 1, Quakertown 0
Freshman Ethan Lacher scored the game’s only goal as Souderton won for the fourth time in five games with the shutout over Quakertown.
“We were able to get the ball out wide, and we played a good driven ball to the back post,” said Indians coach Matt Benner. “One of our outside backs, Dylan Barbieri, just kind of knocked the ball into his path. Ethan did well, kind of composed himself and had a good shot past the goalie. It was a good team goal. We were really happy with it.”
It was the fifth straight 1-0 game for Souderton.
“It’s basically what we do,” Benner said. “It’s kind of what we’ve fallen into. We don’t score a lot of goals, but we also don’t give up many.
“This wasn’t our cleanest game. I thought we were better in the first half than we were in the second, but in the end, we did what we had to do and we got a result. That’s kind of becoming a thing. We win ugly sometimes, but we were able to get another win. It was a hard-fought game.”
Keeper Riley Fingers recorded the shutout with seven saves.
“To the credit of Quakertown, they created a lot of opportunities,” Benner said. “In the first half especially, they were able to find space in front of our back line and got off some long distance shots.
“They got in behind us a couple of times, and Riley came up with some big saves as he’s done for us this year. We like to think our defense can keep teams off the board, but when we need our goalie to come up with saves, he’s done it for us, and he did it again tonight.
“Quakertown did some creative things and definitely caused us problems, and Riley was there. Quakertown’s kids work really hard, they’re very physical, and they have some good talent in the top half of the field. They’re a really hard matchup.”
Souderton (6-2-2, 3-1-2 SOL) will host North Penn on Thursday, and Quakertown (2-6, 0-5) will host Central Bucks South on Thursday.
Quakertown 0 0-0
Souderton 1 0-1
Central Bucks West 0, Central Bucks South 0
Ryan Van Pelt saved 10 shots for CB West, his sixth clean sheet of the season as the Central Bucks rivals played to a scoreless tie.
“Ryan Van Pelt was outstanding tonight, and I’m so happy for him, the team is so happy for him,” said Bucks coach Stefan Szygiel. “He probably made five or six game-saving stops tonight and then the routine ones. He commanded his box well, he kept us organized in the box.”
The coach also credited defenders Bailey Moyer, Reed Thompson, Conor O’Brien and Cole Young.
“The back line just played out of their minds,” Szygiel said. “CB South is so good this year, especially in the attacking third. Credit to them in all thirds of the field, but they were such a handful for us tonight. We were in bend but don’t break mode.
“James Lutz is one of our defensive midfield players, and I thought he had a great night just getting in, plugging gaps and blocking shots. Vince Cavanaugh came in and gave us really important minutes tonight in that holding midfield area as well.”
CB South coach Joe Coscia echoed similar sentiments.
“It was a good offense against a stalwart defense,” the Titans’ coach said. “West was by far the best defense we’ve seen this year. We outshot them 24-4 by our tally and their keeper had some exceptional saves. Unfortunately, we couldn’t poke one by him when we created good opportunities.”
The tie means both teams are 2-2-1 in the Continental Conference logjam behind first-place North Penn.
“Big picture, I love that our league is so good this year,” Szygiel said. “It’s just a great environment to prepare teams that are lucky enough to make districts just because you have been in so many close games.
“You’ve got to test your fitness, you’ve got to test your mental fortitude to be able to continue to play 100-minute games. We’ve been part of a bunch of them this season, and there will be more, but we’re ready for it.
“We’re through the first time with the league, and I think now things really tighten up even more. We know more about each other.”
Central Bucks West (3-3-4, 2-2-2 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Thursday, and Central Bucks South (5-2-2, 2-2-2) will be on the road at Quakertown Thursday.
CB West 0 0-0
CB South 0 0-0
SOL American
Hatboro-Horsham 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
Matty Harmon set the tone for the game with a goal four minutes in and Hatboro-Horsham posted the shutout win to maintain its hold on second place in the American Conference.
Senior Scott Katherine, making his first start, recorded the shutout in goal. Freshman Noah Schlosser was lost for the season with a hand injury.
“He made an excellent save when it was 2-0 with about eight minutes left to keep it that way,” said H-H coach Kyle McGrath of Katherine. “He played very well back there today.
“We knew going into the season we had Noah and Scott, and our JV goalies are also good goalkeepers. So, we had confidence in the position. Scott came in today and did a great job for us.”
Getting the early goal was a boost too.
“We started the game very well,” McGrath said. “We were able to score in the fourth minute. We had an opportunity deep in their end on a long throw. The ball came back out to Zach Joachim and he put a great ball into the box that Enrico Romano flicked on, and it fell to Matty Harmon about eight yards out. He took a touch to finish it to give us a 1-0 lead early in the game.
“We talked before the game that we wanted to get off to a fast start, but sometimes when you score early like that it’s a negative. I thought my guys relaxed a bit after our first goal and we allowed PW to control the game, which sometimes can happen when you score early, but we were able to defend well and not give up really any opportunities. To tack on a second goal in the second half was huge.”
JD Mallinder converted a penalty kick in the 55th minute to make it 2-0.
“Nick Katherine was in on a breakway and the PW defender fouled him from behind right when he entered the 18-yard box, so we were awarded a penalty kick. JD Mallinder stepped up and buried it.”
Hatboro-Horsham (6-2-1, 5-1-1 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Thursday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-6, 3-4) will be on the road at Wissahickon Thursday.
Hatboro-Horsham 2 0-2
PW 0 0-0
Springfield 4, Upper Dublin 3 (OT)
Evan Bunting scored his second goal of the game in overtime, as Springfield won a wild one over Upper Dublin on Tuesday. The win was the Spartans’ first over the Flying Cardinals since Sept. 19, 2014, when they edged UD 2-1, and it snapped an eight-game losing streak at the hands of the Cardinals.
Springfield led 2-1 at halftime, only to see UD rally to tie it up.
Grant Williams and Cole Hutchinson also scored goals for the Spartans, while Hutchinson, Anthony Forgione and Evan Hincaipe had assists.
Goal scorers for UD included Christopher Kenney, Nate Hollman and Sean Seabrook.
The Spartans are now 4-4 overall and 3-4 in the American Conference. Springfield Township will host Abington on Thursday. Upper Dublin (5-5, 5-2) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
Springfield 2 1 1-4
Upper Dublin 1 2 0-3
Wissahickon 3, Upper Moreland 1
Leo Morales scored two goals and Wissahickon held a 22-6 shot advantage as the Trojans slipped by Upper Moreland.
Morales’ first goal in the 24th minute broke a scoreless tie, only to see the Golden Bears answer on a Tyler Holman goal in the 32nd minute.
Wissahickon then went up 2-1 at the half on Jovanni Gonzalez’s goal just before halftime, and Morales tacked on another in the 65th minute to put the game away.
In goal, the Trojans’ Hunter Graefe recorded three saves, while UM’s Greg Wiley had eight.
Wissahickon (3-7, 3-4 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday, and Upper Moreland (4-6, 2-5) will host Cheltenham on Thursday.
Wissahickon 2 1-3
Upper Moreland 1 0-2
Abington 2, Cheltenham 1
Sparked by a pair of second-half goals, first-place Abington overcame an early deficit to nip rival Cheltenham.
Nevin Baer assisted on both goals for the Galloping Ghosts, the first to Thomas Santangelo, and the second on Bryce Lexow’s game-winner.
Cheltenham’s first-half goal was by Mohamed Toure.
“We played well today,” said Panthers coach Bill Tonkin. “Our goalie, Lou Liodtka, made some great saves, including a PK save on Nevin Baer.”
Abington (7-1-1, 6-0-1 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township Thursday, and Cheltenham (3-8, 0-7) will be on the road at Upper Moreland.
Cheltenham 1 0-1
Abington 0 2-2
Nonleague
Bensalem 3, Central Bucks East 0
Jon Larbi scored three goals and Bensalem earned its biggest win of the season in a cross-over game with CB East.
“We started off the game OK and applied pressure to them after we defended through their pressure,” said Owls coach Rob Brown. “I told my assistant that if we could hold them off for the first 15 minutes we would be OK.
“We held them off and we got the 1-0 advantage on a great cross from Hunter Shay to Jon Larbi, who flicked the ball past the keeper.”
In the second half, Bensalem put the game away.
“The second half started and CB East came out and played physical,” Brown said. “We held them and we got rewarded with a second goal on a corner kick taken by Kal Ivanov and headed in by Jon Larbi.
“After that, CB East put three in the back and started to apply more pressure, but our defense stepped and played really well to hold on to the clean sheet. With about 15 seconds left, Kal Ivanov got a piece of the ball on a bad clearance by the defense and Jon Larbi got the ball and ran towards goal, and from about 30 yards out, he hit a rocket to the upper 90 far post. One of the best shots I’ve seen to end a game. As we celebrated, the ref blew the whistle to end the game and the student section in the crowd went crazy.”
Bensalem is now 5-5 on the season, with five straight wins after starting the season 0-5.
“As a coach, when we started 0-5, I knew we had to do something different to get the boys back into it,” Brown said. “We made some changes in training and players’ positions. The boys have responded so much and have really bought in to what we are doing a s a team. If this game was in the beginning of the year, we probably would have lost it. I am really proud of their attitudes and we are having a lot of fun.
“We celebrate tonight, and then it’s on to the next match. We play Neshaminy Thursday, and we know it’s gonna be a tough match, but we are ready.”
Bensalem (5-5, 3-3 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Thursday, and Central Bucks East (4-4-1, 3-2-1) will host Central Bucks West Thursday at 4:45 p.m.
Bensalem 1 2-3
CB East 0 0-0
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