Check out the recaps for SOL boys/girls soccer teams in action Saturday.
Boys
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1 (2 OTs)
Christian DeSimone scored off a corner in the 20th minute with an assist from Xavier Guerrerio, spotting the Indians a 1-0 lead that stood until midway through the second half. That’s when East – thanks to a Nolan Case goal with an assist from Jacob Bing – knotted the score. That tie stood the rest of the way.
“Tyler Okin deserves huge credit as he stood tall in net,” East coach Josh Isaacsohn said of his goalkeeper.
Both teams are battling for a spot in the District One 4A Tournament. Central Bucks East is 19th in the latest power rankings, and Rock North – 28th earlier this week – has moved up to number 20.
“The win over Pennsbury and today’s tie are getting us back on track,” Rock North coach Joe Stackhouse said.
Central Bucks East (5-4-2, 4-2-1 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks South on Wednesday, and Council Rock North (5-4-2, 3-3-1) will host Harry S Truman on Wednesday.
Council Rock North 1-0-0-0 1
Central Bucks East 0-1-0-0 1
PENNRIDGE 3, PHOENIXVILLE 0
The Rams held their annual Pink Out game with all proceeds – which included proceeds from the snack bar, raffles and a 50-50 – donated to the Grand View Hospital Breast Cancer Center.
“We have been doing this since I can remember, and it’s been great,” said coach Pete Valimont, who is in his 12th year. “We have had a lot of kids on our team directly affected with relatives and family, so it’s good for them to give back to the community and make it known. It’s a nice night.”
The Rams capped off the memorable night on the pitch with a 3-0 non-league win over the Phantoms.
“We had them scouted – we went out and watched them play Boyertown yesterday,” Valimont said. “They tied Boyertown – the third seed in the District One 4A power rankings – 1-1 in double overtime, so we knew it wasn’t going to be a show-up-and-win type of game.
“My assistant coach did a fantastic job with the scouting report, and the guys executed it to a T in the first half. We had three goal scorers – all different, three assist people – all different, and they did a really nice job. Defensively, we shut it down both halves.”
Saturday’s game was the sixth non-league game for the Rams. They are 6-0 in those games.
“We played the Ches-Mont, we played District 11, we played 2A, 3A – we spread it out all over the place because our conference is so tough as it is,” Valimont said. “We played Upper Dublin in the American. We’ve done a really nice job.”
The Rams got on the scoreboard midway through the opening half on a goal by senior Ian Fischer with an Aidan Castle assist. Two minutes later, junior Carson Hasenmeyer (Ben Scary assist) found the back of the net. A goal by Pete Overby off a corner with a Nicky Williams assist sent the Rams into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
“It was just a great night,” Valimont said. “Both goalies did a nice job. Overall, I’m just very happy. Everybody got in, everybody contributed.”
Pennridge (8-3-1, 2-3-1 SOL) – seventh in the latest District One 4A power rankings – will host Quakertown in its Senior Night game on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.).
Phoenixville 0-0 0
Pennridge 3-0 3
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1, ARCHBISHOP WOOD 0
It was a special day of soccer at Hatboro-Horsham on Saturday as the Hatters celebrated Community Day and Senior Day with the girls’ team. The boys’ jayvee played Wood’s jayvee at 2 p.m., and that was followed by the girls’ jayvee taking on Downingtown. The day was capped with a girls/boys varsity doubleheader.
“It was a great day for Hatters’ soccer,” coach Kyle McGrath said. “It was an all-day soccer festival almost, and it was a great day for the players of both programs.
“The girls varsity had a very exhilarating (1-0) win, and we played at 7:30 and we both celebrated our Senior Nights tonight. It was the first year we did it, and the parents seemed to love it and think it was a great idea. Hopefully, we can keep the tradition.”
Not to be outdone by the girls’ impressive win in the opener, the Hatters notched a 1-0 as well. Matty Harmon scored the game’s only goal in the 16th minute.
“We had a free kick that Vince Buccafuri played into the box, and it fell to Matty probably eight yards from goal on an angle, and he was able to slot it home for the game-winning goal,” McGrath said. “It was a very physical game. There were a lot of yellow cards both ways.
“It was just a battle – a lot of midfield play, a lot of challenges, a lot of good tackles. Both goalkeepers made important saves. At the end of the day we were able to get the 1-0 victory over a good Archbishop Wood team.”
Scott Katherine earned the win in goal for the Hatters, who also received a standout effort from their backline – Vince Buccafuri, Caleb Hudson, Jake Weiss and Zach Joachim.
“My back four played very well, and they were able to keep Wood at bay, in a sense, and keep them off the scoreboard,” McGrath said. “We talk all the time – anytime we can get a shutout we give ourselves an opportunity to win, and we did that today.”
Hatboro-Horsham (8-2-1, 6-1-1 SOL) – eighth in the latest District One 4A power rankings – will face Wissahickon in Wednesday’s Senior Night game.
Archbishop Wood 0-0 0
Hatboro-Horsham 1-0 1
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1, WEST PLAINSBORO (NJ) 0
For the seventh time in eight games, the Golden Hawks found themselves in a one-goal game. For just the second time, they emerged on the winning side, thanks to a Dillon Bennett goal midway through the first half.
“We got a quick break – the goalkeeper came out, made a play on it, and Dillon Bennett picked up the rebound and took a great shot from about 15 yards out at a tough angle,” Nicholl said. “The goalkeeper kind of got out of position, and he made it count.
“I can’t say we did a whole lot differently today than we have any other day, but the ball kind of bounced for us today because it does seem we played more than a handful of games of one-goal games, and in five of them we had a lead. It was nice to see the lead in the first half and still be able to see the game out.
“Neshaminy – it was the very last kick of the game they scored. Pennsbury scored inside two minutes. It just seems like as the game wears on we tend to crack a little bit late, maybe showing our inexperience and youth. It’s important to get games like this behind us where you can say – ‘We can do this.’ Being ten games in, the kids are maybe starting to learn that little skill set of being able to lock a game down and see it home.”
The Golden Hawks, according to Nicholl, hit the crossbar twice, but this time that one-goal lead stood.
“We probably had a better first half than second half,” the Hawks’ coach said. “We took two injuries, and we were a little bit light to begin with because we came in carrying a couple of injuries which I would imagine a lot of teams are at the midpoint.”
One of the game’s unsung heroes was Nick DeMarino, who found himself playing center back.
“Nick DeMarino was terrific,” Nicholl said. “He usually plays right for us. I had to move him into the middle, and he was absolutely brilliant.
“He just didn’t give Plainsboro many looks at all, and anytime they tried to transition on the field – his angles, his pace, his decision making was outstanding.”
The Golden Hawks’ coach also lauded the play of junior Owen Schweidler.
“Owen has kind of come along the past 10 days, the past four games, and he’s just been really solid,” Nicholl said. “He’s been a nice surprise. We’re trying to work his way into center midfield, which is a tough spot to lock down. He has great energy, he’s playing with a lot of ambition. As a junior, he’s kind of showing experience. It’s been nice.”
Council Rock South (4-6-1, 2-4-1 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Wednesday.
Council Rock South 1-0 1
West Plainsboro 0-0 0
Girls
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1, DOWNINGTOWN WEST 0
With time winding down and no score in Saturday’s non-league battle, overtime appeared imminent. Emily Thomas had other ideas, turning a pass from Cam Ryan into the game-winner with just 34 seconds remaining in regulation and propelling the Hatters to the electrifying win.
“Emily Thomas was able to beat the goalie on a 1v1 breakaway and find the back of the net,” coach Kelsey Daley said.
The win was part of a full day of soccer at Hatboro-Horsham, the third game of a quadruple-header as the girls and boys teams combined forces to celebrate Community Day and Senior Night.
“Tonight was an important game for us because it was our Senior Night,” Daley said. “We were able to honor 13 seniors and get a win on our home turf. I felt we dominated most of the game.
“The girls came out tough and never backed down. Siera Cruz and the defense got the shutout. The whole team played very well tonight and was able to have fun as well.”
Saturday’s contest capped a tough week for the conference-leading Hatters, who suffered their first loss to PW on Tuesday and tied Upper Dublin (0-0) on Thursday.
“After our first loss in the beginning of the week and then a tie, I knew the girls were tired, but I knew they would have the heart and determination to fight tonight, and that’s what they did,” Daley said. “West’s goalie had an unbelievable game and made some big time saves for them. She deserves a lot of credit.
“We have a couple days off where we can rest and refocus before we face Wissahickon on Wednesday.”
The Hatters are 10th in the latest District One 4A power rankings while the Whippets are 13th.
Hatboro-Horsham (8-1-1, 6-1-1 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Wednesday.
Downingtown West 0-0 0
Hatboro-Horsham 0-1 1
SOUDERTON 6, HAVERFORD 1
(Submitted by Souderton girls’ soccer)
Souderton capped off their homecoming weekend with an emphatic win Saturday morning against Haverford. From the first tap, the Indians were putting their opponents under pressure, allowing Avery Nogami to win the ball and pass it ahead to Katie Pazdziorko who ran in behind and put the Indians ahead just 15 seconds into the match. The early goal put Souderton in control, as they pushed on to secure a convincing win.
Souderton was able to control the ball for much of the half, moving the ball from player to player while patiently building into the attacking third. Five minutes after their first goal, the Indians found their second goal as Taylor Yoder worked down the flank to unleash a cross for Nogami to shoot towards goal; the shot was blocked by the Haverford defense but Hannah Alderfer came in and applied the finishing touch to make it 2-0.
At that point, the floodgates opened for the Indians. Alderfer grabbed her second goal shortly after, and before the half ended, Taylor Yoder was able to score a brace herself. Yoder’s first goal came after Pazdziorko sent in a dangerous cross to Alderfer, whose shot was blocked. The rebound fell to Yoder who volleyed the ball into the far corner. With 11 minutes left, Yoder got on the end of a cross from Leah Mowery to give the Indians a convincing 5-0 lead. With two minutes left in the half, the Indians put the game out of reach, when Grace Kelley won a penalty kick after being taking down in the box. Kelley’s penalty attempt was saved well by the Haverford goalkeeper, but she was able to follow up and tap in the rebound to give the Indians a 6-0 lead going into half.
Haverford came out energized in the second half, winning a number of corner kicks from which they created a few scoring threats that Souderton goalkeeper Ashlyn Odenwald was able to collect. With 19 minutes left to play in the match, Souderton gave the ball away in the midfield and Haverford punished them with a powerful shot just outside of the 18-yard box that found the back of the net. In the end, the goal was not enough to launch a comeback after Souderton’s convincing first-half performance.
It was a good team win again for Souderton with lots of players making significant contributions throughout the entire match and a great way to cap off a difficult week with four games.
Souderton (9-2-1, 4-2-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Wednesday for a 5 p.m. contest.
Haverford 0-1 1
Souderton 6-0 6
SPRINGFIELD-DELCO 1, UPPER MORELAND 0
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