Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Thursday. Lower Moreland/New Hope-Solebury photos provided courtesy of Greg Zesinger. Pennridge/North Penn photo courtesy of Althea Tomlinson/Pennridge soccer.
SOL COLONIAL
Central Bucks East 2, Souderton 0
The Patriots believe they have a strong group of midfielders this fall.
Coming off a tough loss against Pennridge in Tuesday’s opener, East wanted to put a stamp on Thursday’s game at Souderton and asked the midfield to do it. A halftime adjustment opened the door as the midfield led the way for East’s first win in 2020.
“We got our center mids Olivia Portner, Brooke Roumy and Ellliot Forney playing a bit higher, and our focus in the second half was establishing possession in Souderton’s half,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “The girls did just that.”
After a scoreless first half, the Patriots slowly began working toward a goal. Roughly midway through the second half, it came when Forney’s corner kick found Courtney Curry for her first varsity goal.
Elise Duffy iced the game when she turned a breakaway into a finish with four minutes to play. On top of sustaining pressure in Souderton’s end, the Patriots leaned on depth to win the day.
“We are mixing in a ton of girls and just making the best of the situation. We are taking it one game at a time, but it’s been awesome to see us go 17-20 girls deep in our first two games,” Nesteruk said. “Players like Izze Mignon, Sara Fezzuoglio and Ashley Macomber have come in and given us great minutes.”
Nesteruk cited the work of goalkeeper Skyler Gash and center backs Bailey Schellhorn and Courtney Curry in organizing the team in front of goal but also stretching out the game.
The SOL Colonial will present a challenge every night, but East had the right formula to solve Thursday’s problems thanks to its midfield.
“It’s the decision-making of Roumy, Portner and Forney that gives us our structure,” Nesteruk said. “It was just a good day for us and hopefully more to come. Super proud of how we attacked and the fact we kept a clean sheet against a very good team.”
Central Bucks East (1-1) will travel to Central Bucks South Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest. Souderton (1-1) will be on the road at North Penn Tuesday.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 2 – 2
SOUDERTON 0 0 – 0
Goals: CBE – Courtney Curry, Elise Duffy
Pennridge 4, North Penn 1
Variety in the attack has been the name of the game so far for the Rams.
After having five different players score in the season opener, Pennridge had four players put away a goal as they topped the Knights. Last season, the teams met four times including a pair of playoff battles, but for many of the Rams players, Thursday was their first time experiencing the rivalry..jpg)
“It’s a learning process for some of these girls, they watched us play North Penn four times but they weren’t involved on the field,” Rams coach Audrey Anderson said. “Every team in our conference is tough, there’s not a gimme game out there and we’re slowly learning that lesson.”
Knights keeper Anna Fiore was locked in early, denying several good Pennridge chances until Sophie Craig broke the scoreless tie with less than eight minutes left in the first half. Craig was one of three freshmen to score for the Rams, who took the 1-0 lead to the break.
“We needed it for our confidence, we’re not asking for these girls to be perfect but we’re asking for that perfect effort,” Anderson said. “Once we find that rhythm that works for us, we’ll be able to play a little more confident.”
Liv Grenda pushed the lead to 2-0 early in the second half before Knights co-captain Becca Richardson buried a brilliant free kick goal with about 30 minutes to play, cutting the lead in half.
Anna Croyle became the third freshman scorer for the Rams when she restored the two-goal lead with 17:30 to play. Croyle, who has played every minute of both games, was also a standout on the defensive end.
“She was really composed at center back,” Anderson said. “She did an amazing job, she made it hard for Emily Varilla to get the ball, either winning the first ball or not letting her turn because we knew if Emily turned, she’s going to dribble past you with her speed.”
Emily Kriney capped the scoring for Pennridge.
“When you play North Penn, you know you’re going to get a team that’s not going to give up,” Anderson said. “We knew we were going to have to play 80 minutes of good soccer. It seemed fitting with this being the fifth time we’ve played in under a year for it to be 2-1 and for us to see how we answered that goal.”
Pennridge (2-0) will visit Quakertown on Friday. North Penn will play its first home game next Tuesday against Souderton.
PENNRIDGE 1 3 – 4
NORTH PENN 0 1 – 1
Goals: P – Sophia Craig, Liv Grenda, Anna Croyle, Emily Kriney; NP – Becca Richardson
SOL PATRIOT
Council Rock North 1, Council Rock South 0
No matter the year, the rosters, the coaches, anything really, a North-South game is always going to be a battle.
The first of two scheduled meetings this fall did nothing to alter that thinking.
“There is no doubt that 2020 is a strange year on many levels, but the most comforting thing I can say is that North- South is still the same as it’s always been,” North coach Gavin Flannigan said. “This was a very competitive game that swung on two moments of incredible play.”
While the programs are rivals, there’s also a healthy respect between them and their coaching staffs. It’s also led to a lot of familiarity that means every play takes on a little more importance, as was the case on Thursday.
“Initially, we had a lot of the ball in the first half but couldn’t break them down, and they had some set pieces and long range efforts that we had to deal with,” Flannigan said. “At halftime we stressed trying to open the field up, but CRS defended well and created more chances.”
The first game-changing moment came midway through the second half when the Golden Hawks drew a penalty kick.
“Grace Needham saved it excellently and that gave us a burst of energy for the rest of the game,” Flannigan said.
With about 10 minutes left, North senior Sammy Judge hit a rocket from long range that just crept under the crossbar to give the Indians the lead. Flannigan said the Hawks put on a wave of pressure his team did well to absorb and only a great save by South’s Sydney Mandel denied a 2-0 lead.
“I thought our midfield play was excellent today,” Flannigan said. “Sammy Judge was great on the ball, Izzy Linus and Riley Hamilton gave us great minutes next to her and Ella McAleer linked up well in her role up top and really helped us in the final third.”
North is off to a 2-0 start, but with a limited schedule, the Indians can’t afford to do anything but keep working.
“We have had a solid start but we still have a number of things we want to tighten up too,” Flannigan said.
CR South (0-2) will host Pennsbury on Tuesday Sept. 29 while North will be at Bensalem that night.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 1 – 1
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 0 – 0
Goals: CRN – Sammy Judge
SOL LIBERTY
Quakertown 3, Upper Dublin 1
Despite playing well on Tuesday, the Panthers came out on the losing side in overtime against Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Taking the best out of their first game, the Panthers built on those aspects and came out with a better outcome in their second. With the squad’s seven seniors leading and a couple of new faces scoring, Quakertown picked up its first win as a member of the SOL Patriot.
“Everybody’s in the same boat, but without any preseason games, we had to figure ourselves out in our first game, and Plymouth Whitemarsh is a very good team,” Quakertown coach Mike Koch said. “That’s a tough team to figure things out on and they deserved to win. I think, unfortunately for Upper Dublin, they were in that same spot today because they didn’t play on Tuesday.”
Quakertown had chances on Tuesday but didn’t finish. Thursday, they went to what they know well and generated some set pieces.
Maggie Yocum opened the scoring by heading in a service by Carol Sipprell and just two minutes later, Jade Williams finished Gianna Monastra’s crossing ball for a quick 2-0 edge. It was the first varsity goal for both Yocum and Williams.
“One of our strengths this year is depth, no doubt,” Koch said. “We played 18 players today and they all contributed a great deal. We also have two injured players who would be seeing time and I don’t know that I’ve ever had that at Quakertown where we can keep fresh legs and keep putting pressure on teams.”
Upper Dublin responded well at halftime and with eight minutes to play, Olivia Hoffman scored on a deep shot to halve the lead.
“They are a talented team but they are young,” Koch said. “There are some special players there, but we were able to keep them in check and do the things we do well.”
Koch pointed to the efforts of his seven seniors, both on the field and for the work they did during the spring and summer leading up to the start of competition. The seniors – Morgan Sipprell, Cori Pursel, Natalie Reilly, Paige Russell, Kara Kruez, Haley Gordon and Monastra – all started and were integral in getting the Panthers past Tuesday’s setback.
“They’re a credit to their families and the community and they’ve provided great leadership to the team,” Koch said.
After Upper Dublin cut into the lead, Pursel found Angela Calvanese for what Koch called a very composed finish to restore the two-goal lead.
Quakertown, new to the SOL Freedom this year, intends to play a role in the conference title.
“I really like the set-up of this new league,” Koch said. “In girls’ soccer, you have six teams that in any given year, could finish anywhere from first to sixth, it’s a really evenly-matched group. And that’s exciting.”
Quakertown (1-1) will host next-door rival Pennridge on Friday in a nonleague game. Upper Dublin (0-1) will visit Plymouth Whitemarsh next Tuesday.
QUAKERTOWN 2 1 – 3
UPPER DUBLIN 0 1 – 1
Goals: Q – Maggie Yocum, Jade Williams, Angela Calvanese; UD – Olivia Hoffman
SOL FREEDOM
Lower Moreland 2, New Hope-Solebury 1
Lower Moreland and New Hope-Solebury, both called the Lions, have seen a lot of each other in past seasons.
Thursday was a bit different as it was their first meeting as members of the SOL after years battling in the Bicentennial Athletic League. Despite the change in moniker, the result was another close one between the rival sides.
Thanks to a brace from senior Phoebe Lynch, Lower Moreland picked up its first SOL win.
“We definitely struggled in the first half,” Lower Moreland coach Mike Gould said. “Their outside mids were pinning our fullbacks and they carried the play.”
LM has been hit by injuries early in the season with starters Amy Zesinger, Sara Matraku and Demmi Fox out on Thursday, so the Lions started five freshmen and three sophomores.
NHS got on the scoreboard first midway through the opening half.
“NHS looked strong from the get go with very clean possession and took the lead from a big ball over the top from sophomore Brooke McLaughlin to a on-side Sam Kruopas,” NHS coach Derek Antonini said. “She slotted it by the keeper.”
Down 1-0 at the break, Lower Moreland made a few changes.
“We made a slight formation change and got freshman Morgan Pennisi at center forward which stretched the game,” Gould said. “We also emphasized our outside fullbacks pressing up the field to pin down their wingers.”
Lynch tied the game with a well-placed shot that got over the keeper’s outstretched hands midway through the second half before burying the winner with about eight minutes to go.
“Seniors Phoebe Lynch, Maggie McGarry and Paige Malpezzi really stepped up and controlled the game,” Gould said. “We had a sophomore, Sofia O’Brien who had a really strong game defending New Hope’s best player.”
“Lower Moreland began playing very physical and bringing the game to NHS,” Antonini said. “It was 1-0 at the half and stayed that way until a fluke high ball from about 36 yards out slipped past our keeper. Ten minutes later, an unmarked Lower Moreland player stepped through the defense and went far post uncontested.”
Lower Moreland (1-0-1) is off until next Thursday when the Lions will travel to Springfield Township. New Hope-Solebury (1-1) will be on the road at William Tennent on Tuesday.
LOWER MORELAND 0 2 – 2
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 1 0 – 1
Goals: LM – Phoebe Lynch 2
William Tennent 4, Springfield Twp 0
If Caroline Weir is going, good things usually follow for the Panthers.
The talented attacker helped Tennent start fast while developing a nice chemistry with freshman Ava DeGeorge. Weir potted goals in the fifth and 17th minute, both assisted by DeGeorge.
“It was nice to see Caroline Weir get back to what she does best and score,” Tennent coach Bill Hontz said.
DeGeorge added a goal of her own, scoring for the second straight game and Brielle Langford capped the scoring for the Panthers with a well taken header.
While the Spartans didn’t get on the board, Hontz said they refused to quit.
“Springfield played hard and never gave up,” the Panthers’ coach said. “They almost scored right before halftime and that would have changed the game a little.”
Tennent’s back line, which includes Julianna Colella, Lyndsay Mulholland, Sarah Sanson, Sarah Hart, Erin Somerville and Tori Dolt turned in a solid effort to go with their clean sheet.
“It was nice to see them work together as a unit,” Hontz said. “We didn’t really have a chance to see what they can do together prior to the season since we didn’t get to have scrimmages.”
Tennent (1-1, 1-0 SOL) will host New Hope-Solebury next Tuesday. Springfield (0-2) will host Upper Moreland the same day.
WILLIAM TENNENT 2 2 – 4
SPRINGFIELD TWP 0 0 – 0
Goals: WT – Caroline Weir 2, Ava DeGeorga, Brielle Langford
Non-league
Wissahickon 6, Bensalem 1
The Trojans were able to fit in a nonleague game on Thursday and rebounded after a season-opening loss on Tuesday.
Four different players found the scoresheet for Wissahickon, which staved off some early pressure before building a 3-0 halftime lead.
“Goalkeeper Caroline Hassall had some nice stops at key moments early that kept momentum in our favor,” Wissahickon coach Chris McDaniels said.
Kylie Friedman and Natalie Ryan each bagged two goals for the Trojans while Lucy Greenstein and Crystal Suin each collected a tally.
“The defenders and midfield did an excellent job limiting time and space for Bensalem,” McDaniels said. “Our attackers were very active defensively and kept forcing turnovers that led to opportunities.”
Bensalem (0-2, 0-1 SOL) will host Council Rock North next Tuesday while Wissahickon (1-1, 0-1) hosts Quakertown the same afternoon.
WISSAHICKON 3 3 – 6
BENSALEM 0 1 – 1
GOALS: W – Kylie Friedman 2, Natalie Ryan 2, Lucy Greenstein, Crystal Suin
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