Check out the recaps for SOL boys/girls soccer teams in action Monday. CR South/NHS photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valkko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Boys
SOL Liberty Division
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 (2 OT)
On a night when neither team could find the net, Lucas Howieson broke the scoring drought when he scored the game-winner with four minutes remaining in the second overtime.
“We’d been pressuring them to start the second overtime, and we had a throw-in deep in their end,” HH coach Kyle McGrath said. “Fran Moio threw the ball in, and Lucas Howieson was able to flick it in – I don’t know if it caught the keeper by surprise or what, but it snuck through, and we were able to escape with the win.”
Both teams, according to McGrath had plenty of chances.
“It was a pretty open game most of the second half and the first overtime just in terms of back and forth play,” the Hatters’ coach said. “Both teams had shots but mostly from distance.
“We did hit the post late in regulation, and then their keeper made a good save on the rebound to keep it 0-0. The score was 0-0, but it was definitely a much more open game than that dictates.”
The Hatters coach credited the efforts of several players in the shutout win.
“Defensively, we got a shutout, which is positive,” McGrath said. “I thought Jake Freedman, one of my holding midfielders, and Jake Kim, my other midfielder, were very strong.
“Jake Weiss had another great game at outside back. Ryan Toporowski and Fran Moio both played center back. Paul Guevara came back tonight. He’d started the first couple of games but got hurt. He started again tonight and did well for us. Our back four and the two holding midfielders definitely did their job today.”
Hatboro-Horsham (5-3 SOL) will celebrate Senior Night when it hosts Quakertown on Tuesday (7 p.m.), and Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-4) will host Abington Tuesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0-0-0 0
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-1 1
Non-league
NESHAMINY 2, ROMAN CATHOLIC 0
Gavin Rowan connected for a pair of goals to lead the Redskins to the non-league win. The senior midfielder put the Redskins on the scoreboard early, finding the back of the net 15 minutes into the opening half.
“He beat a couple of guys going down the left-hand side, and he’s got a real heavy shot,” coach Tom Foley said. “He hit a heavy one just to the left of the keeper’s head, and I think it surprised him. It was about 12 yards out, and it snuck into the near post. It was a real nice shot. I’m sure the goalkeeper might want to have it back, but he caught him by surprise because he hit it so heavily.”
That 1-0 lead held until midway through the second half
“Gavin drew a foul at the top of the box and got a free kick from 22 yards out,” Foley said. “He hit a low hard one to the far post, and it got by their keeper.
“He was a very dynamic player. He runs all over the field, he’s got a high motor. We’re hoping he starts to catch fire and starts to get that tough scoring. We need somebody to shoulder that scoring load for us a little bit.”
Foley went on to laud the play of several other players.
“Connor Steele did great the entire game,” the Redskins’ coach said. “He was winning headballs, he was winning hard tackles, he won some balls and got us in motion.
“Richie Faul had a real strong second half. He was winning everything in sight. The defense played strong again. We didn’t give too many looks. Most of the looks were from outside the 18. They got a pretty good shot off the first 15 minutes, and Trevor (Rush) had to make a diving save, but other than that, we limited their chances.”
Foley shuffled his lineup for Monday’s contest.
“We had Ian Siwinski playing in the back to start, and we moved Michael Albarran up top,” the Redskins’ coach said. “Once we get a lead, we move Michael back.
“Michael was our leading scorer last year, so we’re trying to get different combinations to score some goals. We gave Michael half the game up top to see if we could shake something loose. He kind of opened things up for Gavin a little bit. We moved him back, and we actually got some really good opportunities when he went back there too. We’re still creating chances. We hit a post again, we had a couple of doorstep looks that we knocked over the crossbar.
“It’s been our bugaboo all year. We have to find a way to put the ball in the net. When you don’t score and you’re winning 1-0, any silly mistake you make, it can wind up in your net. You never know. We’ll keep working at it. We’re trying different combinations. Some people didn’t play as much as they usually do. Some people played more. I was telling my kids – ordinarily this time of year, we’re trying different combinations. You’re eight games in, and you look at the schedule – you only have three games left. In normal years, we have 10 games left.”
Monday’s non-league game was the second in four days for the Redskins, who played La Salle on Friday (a 3-0 loss).
“We’re trying to give them as close to a normal season as possible,” Foley said. “It’s not going to be 100 percent normal. The only potential drawback is the power rankings.
“In our SOL, teams are playing between 10 and 12, and some teams might even squeeze out a 13th game. The Ches-Mont is only getting six games in, and six games qualifies in the power rankings. To me, it’s not exactly a fair playing field when a team with six could bump a team that played 11, 12 or 13 games out of the playoffs with basically the same record. That’s something they have to iron out. But first and foremost, we’re trying to get the kids games so at least it’s as close to a normal season as we can.”
Neshaminy (6-1-2, 4-0-2 SOL) will host Bensalem on Thursday.
Neshaminy 1-1 2
Roman Catholic 0-0 0
Saturday, Oct. 17
QUAKERTOWN 4, PALISADES 0
The Panthers notched their first win of the season on Saturday, and they did it in impressive fashion, opening up a 1-0 halftime lead and then erupting for three second-half goals.
In the first half, junior Micah Reinford scored off of a free kick header from junior Cody Steiert’s cross. The Panthers took that 1-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, senior Anthony Calvanese scored after gambling on a shot and playing the rebound into the back of the net. Ten minutes later, senior Gavin Smith scored off of a through ball from Calvanese that he worked past the Palisades keeper. Shortly thereafter, Quakertown added a forth goal when senior Caleb Roth settled a long ball from Calvanese off of his shoulder and hit the ball with the outside of his right foot into the bottom corner.
Quakertown demonstrated their passion and love for the game, and you could see the joy and excitement in their reactions.
Quakertown (1-8, 0-7 SOL) will travel to Hatboro Horsham Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest.
Palisades 0-0 0
Quakertown 1-3 4
Girls
Non-league
QUAKERTOWN 1, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 0
Carol Sipprell connected on a penalty kick 12 minutes into Monday’s non-league game against the visiting Crusaders. That goal – Sippell’s second game-winner in as many games – stood the rest of the way.
“Callie Abel puts all kind of pressure on, and she drew a foul in the box with her relentless pressure,” Quakertown coach Mike Koch said of his forward. “Both teams had several opportunities, both teams had really good goalkeeping, and both teams had strong defending.”
The Panthers coach lauded the efforts of several players.
“Maddie LaBonge did some tremendous defending for us and the last 20 minutes particularly shut down their most dangerous player,” Koch said. “Trinity Lucas and Hannah Hensel both play midfield and both played well.”
Morgan Sipprell – on the heels of her shutout performance in the Panthers’ overtime win over Wissahickon – was credited with another shutout in goal.
“She came up huge again,” Koch said. “She manages the game really well. She comes off the line and gets all kinds of clutch balls in the box.
“She’s a field player that we made a goalie, and she has been incredibly good. She brings that field player mentality, and her read of the game takes away so many shots. She’s become one of the best goalkeepers around. It’s awesome.”
Quakertown (4-5-1, 3-4-1 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Lansdale Catholic 0-0 0
Quakertown 1-0 1
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0 (OT)
Carly Irvin brought an early end to overtime in Monday’s non-league contest, breaking a scoreless tie with the game-winner just 90 seconds into OT.
“Brianna Hondros won a nice 50/50 ball and found Carly Irvin, and Carly spun her defender and slotted it to the corner,” Rock South coach Nick Heim said. “New Hope was well organized defensively. We controlled the possession but just couldn’t sneak 
one past their goalie.
“We started to press things a bit which saw some chances generated but you could tell frustration was setting in. We kind of regrouped at the end of regulation and told them everyone has made mistakes today, but we can’t win a game one on eleven and we need to start fresh.”
That fresh start proved to be the ticket as the Golden Hawks had the overtime tap and pressured from the outset.
“Today’s match was a hard fought tie until the second minute in overtime,” NHS coach Derek Antonini said. “South had the majority of possession and play, but New Hope fought hard to keep it 0-0 through 80 minutes.
“Margaret Tresler, our sophomore goalkeeper, had the best game on the field, stopping many shots and clearing the box well.”
Heim lauded the efforts of several of his players in the win.
“We got solid contributions all around,” the Hawks’ coach said. “Maddie McDowell, Cameron Blatz, and Kate Millevoi up top had great work rates, and we got solid minutes in the midfield from Zoe Brossman, Skylar Scarborough, Kylee Bamberger, and Maddie Deal.”
Council Rock South (5-2-1, 3-2-1 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Tuesday, and New Hope-Solebury (3-4-1, 3-3-1) will host Upper Moreland on Thursday.
New Hope-Solebury 0-0-0 0
Council Rock South 0-0-1 1
About the Author
