Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. Pennsbury/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. CR North/CR South photos courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for photo galleries of both games.
SOL NATIONAL
Pennsbury 2, Neshaminy 1
Falcons co-head coach Kaitlyn Battiste likes a lot of things about her team, but one fact looms large in big games.
Pennsbury has Rosie Bostian and nobody else does. The senior midfielder again stepped up under pressure, burying a pair of penalty kicks to help the Falcons win the latest chapter in this rivalry.
“We often tell her that opponents don’t have a player like her and she can be the X-factor. Tonight her biggest asset was her mental game,” Battiste said. 
“There was no fear, no doubt stepping up for the second PK. As a teammate, you want to be led by someone with that poise and confidence; it’s contagious.”
Recent meetings between the Falcons and Redskins have been wars, each different but all decided by the slimmest margins. Tuesday was no different.
“Another typical Pennsbury-Neshaminy game where there is nothing typical about it,” Battiste said. “I thought we set a strong tone in the first eight minutes or so and had a few chances but didn’t put them away. Neshaminy capitalized on their chance and stole the momentum for a few minutes, but I thought Rosie and Gabby Zalot helped us fix and refocus.”
Neshaminy’s Emily Tantala scored off an assist from Kelli Kowalick in the 11th minute, giving the host Redskins an early lead after withstanding Pennsbury’s initial charge.
In the 32nd minute, the Falcons’ work in the box led to the first penalty kick of the night.
“Evie (Ciaccia) and Taylor (Mays) did a great job of putting their defenders under pressure,” Battiste said. “The ball was being knocked around in the box and Neshaminy was called for a handball. Rosie steps up and buried the PK.”
Pennsbury’s midfield settled down in the second half, with Em Welsh supporting Zalot and Bostian, and the Falcons created a few chances but couldn’t get any to go.
“In the closing minute, Evie found Taylor through the middle of the field. Taylor went up against a couple defenders and the GK and was taken down in the box,” Battiste said. “Ro stepped up again and put the PK away. It was a great playoff-like environment under the lights, cross-town rival, and we saw our leaders step up.”
Pennsbury emerged with a perfect SOL record through the first round of conference play but there’s still a lot of season to go.
“They’ve been saying since the beginning of the season that they want another league title and to go further in playoffs than any other team they’ve been a part of. We keep reminding them that they can’t just want it, they have to work for it,” Battiste said. “At the halfway point, we’ve seen that relentless attitude from them. Now, we have to work even harder because we know it doesn’t get any easier.”
Pennsbury (8-1-1, 6-0 SOL) will visit Council Rock North on Thursday. Neshaminy (5-3-1, 3-2-1) is on the road at Bensalem on Thursday.
PENNSBURY 1 1 – 2
NESHAMINY 1 0 – 1
Goals: P – Rosie Bostian 2; N – Emily Tantala
Council Rock South 3, Council Rock North 1
For the players not used to it, the North-South game can be intimidating.
Luckily for the Golden Hawks, they have plenty of players used to it.
“I jokingly said to a freshman ‘Welcome to North-South’ but we knew our senior class isn’t afraid of the bright lights and love playing in atmospheres where student sections are on them a bit,” South coach Nick Heim said. “They don’t get nervous and in return it calms the rest of our group down a bit. We have some seniors that haven’t gotten a ton of minutes lately but tonight was a situation where experience was key and we were able to get key contributions from quite a few.”
While the match usually delivers regardless of record, it always helps when both teams are strong, as they are this fall.
“It’s always a great game. North is a strong team this year; they have some dynamic players and as a unit defend well and move the ball from side to side really well,” Heim said. “Gavin (Flannigan) does a great job with them. We knew they would be well prepared so we wanted to stay true to our game.”
While the Hawks came out on top, they weren’t interested in letting the plot follow the same script as the last few meetings.
“We felt like the last few times we played them we let them set the tone of the game and we wanted to be sure that didn’t happen. We discussed staying true to our defensive principals up top and stay disciplined to our style of press,” Heim said. “Sometimes it hurt us and North generates chances. Other times we were able to win balls in the offensive third and go to goal and it paid off twice for us tonight.”
The Golden Hawks got all three goals in the first half with Claudia Steinmetz, Sammy Jones and Madison McDowell, by value of an Aubrey Hondros assist, finding the back of the net.
Kaleigh O’Donnell struck for CR North in the second half. Both teams continued to exchange chances down to the final whistle.
“Lauren Smith and Kimmie Herritt were tremendous in the midfield for us. Dana DeDominicis anchored a strong back line,” Heim said. “Jordi Rubakh and Aubrey have terrific work rate in the midfield and we got contributions off the bench from seniors Jordan Sweeney and Maddie Slubowski that helped keep us in the lead.”
CR North (7-2-1, 3-2-1 SOL) visits Pennsbury on Thursday. Council Rock South (6-2, 4-1) hosts Harry S Truman on Thursday.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3 0 – 3
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 1 – 1
Goals: CRS – Claudia Steinmetz, Sammy Jones, Madison McDowell; CRN – Kaleigh O’Donnell
William Tennent 8, Harry S Truman 1
Caroline Weir’s brace in the opening 10 minutes spurred an offensive outburst for the Panthers.
“It was a clean game and give them a lot of credit for fighting hard till the end,” Tennent coach Bill Hontz said of the Tigers. “Their keeper stayed positive and commanded her defense well for the second half.”
Adding single goals for the Panthers were Erin Somerville, Delaney Lockett, McKenna Craig, Liz Culomna, Brynne Metz and Tori Jones.
William Tennent (3-5, 2-4 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West for a non-league game Friday, and Harry S Truman (0-7, 0-6) will be on the road at Council Rock South on Thursday.
WILLIAM TENNENT 5 3 – 8
HARRY S TRUMAN 0 1 – 1
Goals: WT – Caroline Weir 2, Erin Somerville, Delaney Lockett, McKenna Craig, Liz Culomna, Brynne Metz, Tori Jones
SOL CONTINENTAL
Pennridge 2, North Penn 1
The Rams have played from in front most of the season, but they haven’t had much work protecting a lead.
North Penn changed that on Tuesday. A highlight reel goal by Knights senior Grace Sacchetti in the second half made Pennridge earn its way to a perfect first half of SOL conference play.
“We talked after the game and a lot of the girls were saying we learned that against tough teams, we can still hold onto a lead,” Pennridge coach Audrey Anderson said. “We made a couple mistakes with a few minutes left in the game, like forcing passes and not keeping possession, it’s little things like that we can continue to work on.”
Stopping the high-octane Knights attack came down to preventing the ball from finding their speed up top and creators behind them. Pennridge again relied on its senior defensive midfield pairing to do the job.
“We were really good out of the air,” Anderson said. “They played a lot of dangerous balls into the 18 so a lot of times it was Maddie (Anderson) or Chance (Hendricks), one of those two, coming up with a header to clear the ball out. That was big time for us.
“They were really good, I was impressed with North Penn. They were dangerous and at the end of the day, I just felt like we were able to step in front of a lot of their players to win the ball.”
Pennridge struck for its first goal in the first half with Leah Malone connecting with Lindsey DeHaven for the first of the game’s three quality scores.
“Lindsey’s goal was amazing,” Anderson said. “Leah dribbled to the goal line and dropped it back on a diagonal and Lindsey just ran forward and placed it with her foot, it was awesome. We practice it all the time and we say how hard it is to make that save as a keeper and it was just perfectly played.”
Emily Kriney poached the second a few minutes into the second half, collecting a Maddie Anderson through ball and launching a bomb off the right wing that found a home on the far post.
North Penn would answer about four minutes later after drawing a foul on the Rams’ left flank just outside the box. Sacchetti drove the ball on a pin, hitting it to the upper 90 on the far post for a class goal.
“Grace’s direct kick, once we gave up that foul I just thought ‘oh, no,'” Anderson said. “I’ve seen her a lot and she can really hit a ball.”
Anderson felt like her team did well to create chances but left a couple goals on the field. She also credited some of that to Knights keeper Anna Fiore, who made a crucial one-on-one save against Kriney during the game.
Pennridge has its Continental round bye to start the second half, so the Rams will get a coveted practice day on their home turf Thursday.
“It’ll be the first time we’re on our turf field for practice in about three weeks,” Anderson said. “There’s only so much you can do on our smaller grass fields. The girls are itching to play but I told them let’s get some rest because starting next week, we have three games a week until the end of the season.”
Pennridge (8-0, 6-0 SOL) visits Wissahickon on Friday. North Penn (7-3-1, 3-2-1) hosts Souderton on Thursday.
PENNRIDGE 1 1 – 2
NORTH PENN 0 1 – 1
Goals: P – Lindsey DeHaven, Emily Kriney; NP – Grace Sacchetti
Souderton 1, Quakertown 1
Quakertown coach Mike Koch has seen his team come a long way in a short amount of time.
What started the season as a frenetic, pressure-based defensive squad has evolved into a more balanced squad of late. It also told Koch a lot that his players were disappointed they didn’t get more than one point out of Tuesday’s match.
“It was wild,” Koch said. “We played really well. When we started the season, I was proud of us being hard to play and the effort, but this was a really good game. We had a lot of chances, they had a lot of chances.”
The Panthers jumped out to a quick start on their own field, taking a lead in the fifth minute under the stadium lights. Sam Barkholz started the sequence with a corner kick service, and after it stayed alive in the box, standout defender Melina Jagiello punched home the marker.
“Melina is our center back who goes up on set pieces,” Koch said. “Two years ago when we beat Henderson in the playoffs, she scored one off a corner so it’s nice to see her get up and be dangerous. She’s such a good defender.”
Souderton rallied on Monday night and did so again Tuesday to find a tying goal. Grace Kelley, a senior outside defender, unleashed a shot from long range that was tipped off the crossbar before bouncing down and finding its way in.
“We played well and at times moved the ball the way we wanted to. When we had possession in the first half, it looked like some of the strongest soccer we have played all year,” Souderton assistant Ian Smith said. “Unfortunately, we were down 1-0 at that point and had to dig ourselves out of the hole. Overall the team played really well and did well to get a result.”
Koch was at Souderton’s riveting comeback against Gwynedd Mercy Academy, so he wasn’t surprised when the Indians pushed hard for a second goal.
“We stayed organized and we stayed positionally correct, but they’re still really good,” Koch said. “I have a ton of respect for those forwards. It’s really four of them because the one they bring off the bench is very good too. I think again we’re just very organized and we don’t give away much so they have to earn it and we kept battling them.”
Souderton certainly put the Panthers and keeper Morgan Sipprell to task.
“Katie Pazdziorko, the hero from Monday’s game with two assists and two goals, shot just wide with 25 minutes to play. Taylor Yoder and Hannah Alderfer also each had an opportunity to put the Indians ahead, but Quakertown’s goalkeeper made two strong saves to keep the game even,” Smith said. “With four minutes left, Leah Mowery had another chance off a well-hit free kick that was saved once again by Quakertown’s keeper.”
Quakertown has been in every match it has played this fall, only losing twice by multiple goals and Koch has seen his team start to become more dynamic going forward, something that bodes well going to the second half of conference play.
“We weren’t hard to figure out from an attacking standpoint but harder to figure out defensively,” Koch said. “We’re getting much better at attacking different spaces and creating opportunities and getting corners, if we get restarts, we tend to score off them and especially off corners.”
Tuesday’s result was one both teams wanted more from, but for Quakertown, it was a sign that more could be on the horizon.
“They’re the defending state champs so not only the fact we tied with them, but if you asked my players, they’d say they would have hoped we got a win tells us we can play with anybody,” Koch said. “We’ve gone through the first time and I think we’re a better team. Some years, you are what you are but I think we’ve only gotten better.”
Quakertown (4-5-1, 1-4-1 SOL) will be at Central Bucks South on Thursday night while Souderton (7-3-1, 3-2-1) will visit North Penn on Thursday afternoon.
QUAKERTOWN 1 0 0 0 – 1
SOUDERTON 1 0 0 0 – 1
Goals: Q – Melina Jagiello; S – Grace Kelley
Central Bucks East 3, Bensalem 0
The Patriots opened the week with back-to-back nonleague games against two very different opponents but came out with a pair of wins.
“It was a really good team win. We used a lot of players in the rotation today and our depth paid off,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “Liv Portner and Elise Duffy were huge for us today. Emma Martin executed really well off a restart and was unlucky not to get one today. Hanna Karest and Lindsey Thomsen came in and created a few good chances.”
The Patriots led 1-0 at halftime thanks to a goal from Olivia Portner, who added a second after the break for a brace. Grace Taylor had the other goal for East.
Just as important was the zero the defense put up.
“It was good to see Keira Donelly get the clean sheet tonight,” Nesteruk said of his keeper.
While Monday foe Abington and Bensalem have different styles, both pushed the Patriots to their limits this week.
“It was good to see the group get some confidence as we hit the heavy stretch here. Always good when you are able to score three,” Nesteruk said. “Abington and Bensalem both played really physical games and well coached games with good speed in key spots that gave us some trouble. I’m just proud of the girls for seeing these games through.”
CB East (4-6-1, 1-4-1 SOL) will be at CB West for the annual Kick for Pink game on Thursday night. Bensalem (1-7, 1-4) hosts Neshaminy on Thursday.
Central Bucks East 1 2 – 3
Bensalem 0 0 – 0
Goals: CBE – Olivia Portner 2, Grace Taylor
Central Bucks West 4, Central Bucks South 0
The last three away games have forced the Bucks to adjust to playing on grass fields that have posed their own challenges.
“It took us a little bit to get into the game and figure the field out,” West coach Mike Moyer said. “Once we settled in it was nice to watch us take control.”
Taylor Moyer set up the first goal with a header that Riley Corona netted for the first varsity goal of her career. Tori Albrecht hit Ryan Fitzsimmons in stride, with the senior forward hitting a screamer for the 2-0 lead.
Corona showed plenty of hustle to keep a ball alive in the Titans’ box and found Mariella Neri in the right spot to make it 3-0.
“We had numerous chances in the second half but couldn’t find the net,” Moyer said. “Finally we got the fourth goal when Taylor controlled a great ball by Ryan and took a shot that deflected off one of their defenders and into the goal to secure the 4-0 win.”
West’s defensive unit also played well on Tuesday.
“I was really pleased with my back line and Jenna Abazza for keeping yet another clean sheet,” Moyer said. “We now have to get ready for our annual kick for pink game Thursday night against East.”
Central Bucks West (7-3, 4-2 SOL) will host Central Bucks East at 7 p.m., and Central Bucks South (3-5, 2-4) will host Quakertown on Thursday (7 p.m.).
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3 1 – 4
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0 0 – 0
Goals: CBW – Riley Corona, Ryan Fitzsimmons, Mariella Neri, Taylor Moyer
SOL AMERICAN
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2, Hatboro-Horsham 0
Nobody had been able to slow the Hatters this fall until Tuesday night.
“Our defense was the difference, no question,” Colonials coach Ryan Zehren said. “We challenged them at practice this week, facing the best offense in the league, and they rose to the occasion.”
Junior keeper Devon Skiles posted the clean sheet, protected in front by Ava Schreiber, Kaitlyn Flanagan, Gabby Cooper and Bella McNew.
Zehren cited communication and his defenders remembering what they went over on film as keys for keeping the Hatters off the scoreboard.
Natalie Lannie scored about 33 minutes into the first half to give PW the lead. Max Leszczynski continued her run of good form with a second half goal from Fiona Gooneratne.
The Hatters turned up the heat in the second half, putting the PW defenders under a lot of pressure.
“At the beginning of the second half, it looked as though they gave their front four the free rein to put pressure on our back line,” Zehren said. “They played so well for the first seven minutes and really made things difficult. They changed a bit more with about 15 minutes left and pushed some more numbers forward.
“Their forwards – Kara Thomas, Emily Thomas, Ally Eutermoser and Maggie O’Neill – are phenomenal players.”
Now halfway done with SOL play, Zehren feels like the secret is out on his side.
“The girls have to keep stepping up in big time situations,” Zehren said. “What I mean by secret is out is the girls will now get the best from every team here on out, so they have to be ready.”
Hatboro-Horsham (7-1, 6-1 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Thursday afternoon while Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-3, 5-2) hosts Wissahickon
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 1 1 – 2
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 0 – 0
Goals: PW – Natalie Lannie, Max Leszczynski
Upper Dublin 4, Springfield Twp 0
Senior Mia Wright’s first-half brace led the Cardinals on Tuesday.
“We practiced being more dangerous in the box and attacking the goal. She’s really answered the call,” UD coach Chuck Gesing said. “She’s not the shy underclass-woman any more. She’s been great.”
Anna Desch continued to create chances, with a cross leading to Wright’s first goal. Karolina Bocul slipped a through ball to senior Laura Pendleton for a 25th minute goal before Wright made it 3-0 in the 37th minute.
Senior Julia Eustace wrapped up the scoring with a 56th minute goal, hitting a rebound off the crossbar from freshman Regan Rubin.
The defense of Maddie Amoia, Bliss Brenner, Ella Eustace and Molly Brown limited Springfield to seven shots, and goalkeeper Rachel Adelman recorded four saves in the shutout.
“Mostly it’s just getting the younger and newer players to understand what’s expected. I never doubt our talent,” Gesing said. “Being young, it’s taken some time to get everyone to understand what it takes to win at this level. I think our girls are starting to ‘get it’ so to speak.”
Upper Dublin (3-5-1, 3-3-1) visits Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday while Springfield Twp (1-8-1, 0-7) clashes with Abington.
UPPER DUBLIN 3 1 – 4
SPRINGFIELD TWP 0 0 – 0
Goals: UD – Mia Wright 2, Laura Pendleton, Julia Eustace
Wissahickon 4, Upper Moreland 2
The Trojans, who never trailed, were led by the two-goal effort of Carly Amato.
Wissahickon took a 2-0 lead and held a 2-1 advantage at halftime before pushing the difference to 4-1. Upper Moreland got a late goal back but couldn’t cut the margin any lower.
“Natalie Ryan and Anna May have made solid contributions all season by covering for us in different positions when we lose a player,” Wiss coach Chris McDaniels said. “Today was no different as Ryan helped us in the back and May played all over the midfield. It’s nice to have players that can offer that coverage and keep the quality of play high.”
Amato opened the scoring in the 13th minute with Kylie Friedman adding a second in the 19th minute. Grace Burns buried one with about 12 to play in the half for the Golden Bears.
Emma Baker opened the second half for Wissahickon, with Amato adding a bookend goal before Burns assisted Angie Martino’s goal.
Wissahickon (6-3, 5-2 SOL) will be on the road at Plymouth Whitemarsh, and Upper Moreland (3-5-1, 2-4-1) will be on the road at Cheltenham Thursday.
WISSAHICKON 2 2 – 4
UPPER MORELAND 1 1 – 2
Goals: W – Carly Amato 2, Kylie Friedman, Emma Baker; UM – Grace Burns, Angie Martino
Abington 8, Cheltenham 1
Grace Quinn recorded a hat trick as the Ghosts rebounded from a Monday set back.
Casey Touey wasn’t far behind with two goals while Haley Pollock, Talitha Cheng and Riley Crabtree also got on the scoring sheet.
Abington (5-4, 5-2 SOL) will host Springfield Township on Thursday, and Cheltenham (3-7, 1-6) will host Upper Moreland on Thursday.
About the Author
