Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Friday.
SOL American Conference
Non-league
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 10, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 9
The Lions celebrated Senior Night with – what else – another one-goal game. It is their fourth one-goal game in the last 10 days and capped a week that included four games with three of these contests decided by one goal
“My kids are definitely seasoned now – they know what to do under pressure,” said NHS coach Betsy Dougherty, whose squad is 3-1 in one-goal games. “What I’m most proud of is – my kids aren’t scared anymore. They used to be intimidated by these big schools, but they’re not anymore.
“They expect to win, and they’re not surprised when they’re doing well, which is great for them. We’ve been building over the years, and we have solid kids in the senior class. We’re starting to build a culture at New Hope that they feel like they’re winners, and they want to be winners. Then they’re starting to work for it and believe it, and that’s the biggest battle. As soon as they believe in themselves, they start playing like that.”
The two teams were deadlocked 5-5 at halftime, but the Lions reeled off three straight goals out of the intermission to go on top 8-5 when Margaret Tresler scored midway through the half.
“We were feeling pretty good, but in lacrosse, you can score so quickly,” Dougherty said. “They have firepower so you never feel comfortable.”
The Lions still led 10-7, a lead that turned out to be anything but comfortable as the Titans made it a 10-8 game with six minutes remaining and a one-goal game with 2:50 on the scoreboard clock. The Lions, however, would not be denied, winning another nail-biter.
Dougherty has been coaching lacrosse for a long time but admits she hasn’t seen anything quite like this.
“Not this many in a row, being tested so much by really competitive teams,” the Lions’ coach said. “It could have gone either way in all those games. It’s a testament to the kids’ character and courage that they’re coming through.
“I really am so proud of them because they’re mustering up that intangible stuff that you just don’t know how to teach, and somehow they’re rallying around each other and for each other, and they’re just figuring it out. They’re excited about it, they like the feeling. It’s a happy time.”
Rachel Saxton’s three goals led a balanced Lions’ attack while Kate Dougherty had two goals and two assists. Tresler also had a pair of goals while Madie Thistlewaite added a goal and an assist. Rylie Hepp and Emma Ives both had one goal.
For the Titans, Tegan Mullen led the way with four goals while Kate Victor had a hat trick. Janessa Watson and Bridget Curtis both had one goal and one assist. Grace Gannon had one assist and five draw controls.
South goalie Gabby Mayo recorded 11 saves in a strong outing.
New Hope-Solebury (7-3, 3-2 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Wednesday, and Central Bucks South (4-7, 4-1) will be on the road at Souderton on Wednesday.
Central Bucks South 5-4 9
New Hope-Solebury 5-5 10
Non-league
SOUDERTON 10, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 9
The visiting Indians took a 7-3 lead into halftime and appeared to be in control only to watch the Colonials come roaring back.
“It was the tale of two halves,” PW coach Ellen Reilly said. “Souderton came out ready to go, they controlled the draw and were very aggressive defensively.
“PW could not handle the pressure. They created turnovers and were not working together defensively. Souderton had the lead at 4-1 with 10 minutes until halftime. PW attempted to fight back bringing the score to 4-3 but then got a yellow card, and Souderton capitalized on the opportunity, scoring three goals going into halftime.”
The Colonials outscored their visitors 6-3 in the second half but could not get over the hump.
“We settled down,” Reilly said of the second half. “We started winning draw possession, which led to offensive opportunities. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, PW went on several scoring drives bringing the score to 9-8.
“Souderton scored another goal with three minutes and PW could only get one back. With 30 seconds remaining PW had an opportunity to score on an 8-meter, and the Souderton goalie made the save.”
Tegan Farina was credited with nine saves in goal for the Indians.
“Tegan Farina in goal had some really big saves for us throughout the game and especially in the final minutes,” Souderton coach Claudia LaMarca said. “We worked really hard in between the 30’s for groundballs and caused turnovers. From attackers to defenders, everyone did their part in the ride/transition – which helped us find success on both ends.”
Lauren Hallman’s hat trick led the Indians while Reiley Knize added two goals and an assist and Lexi Krebs had a pair of goals. Avery Farina had a goal and two assists while Ang Borisow contributed one goal and Grace Demarzio had an assist.
For the Colonials, Max Leszczynski’s four goals led the way. Fiona Gooneratne and Meghan Wendler both had two goals, and Haley McCourt had one goal.
“PW goalie Clancy Lynch stepped up big, helping keep PW in the game with 10 saves,” Reilly said.
Souderton (7-2, 4-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Monday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-6, 4-1) will host Upper Moreland on Monday.
Souderton 7-3 10
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3-6 9
JENKINTOWN 7, UPPER MORELAND 4
The visiting Golden Bears struggled to find their offense against a strong Drake squad in a non-league contest.
“Jenkintown played a great game today in the midfield and on defense,” UM coach Kim Frantz said. “We struggled to do the basics across the field. This game will make us better for future games. We have some tough games coming up and this will hopefully help us grow and be a better team.”
Isabel Leither contributed a goal and an assist. Olivia Meakim, Charlotte James and Willow Taylor each had one goal. Bre Knox had one assist.
Heidi Wittick had five draw controls, Knox had two and Taylor had one.
UM goalie Emma Hurley was credited with 11 saves.
Upper Moreland (6-1, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. contest.
Upper Moreland 1-3 4
Jenkintown 4-3 7
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 23, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 2
Eleven different players contributed to the scoring in a contest the Golden Hawks owned from start to finish. They rolled to a 15-2 halftime lead on their way to the rout.
Senior Carley Irvin led the Golden Hawks with six goals and two assists. Cailey Hiscox and Ella Flade had four goals apiece. Hiscox also had a pair of assists. Rianna Shields scored three goals and assisted on another. Julia Levin contributed two goals and an assist while Meg Rafter had two goals. Adding one goal were Amy Loving and Amanda Green while Emma Franchini and Karissa Smedley both had an assist.
Council Rock South (5-2, 3-0 SOL) will host Pennridge on Monday.
Lansdale Catholic 2-0 2
Council Rock South 15-8 23
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 14, LOWER MORELAND 4
The Indians celebrated Senior Night with a convincing non-league win over the visiting Lions.
Rebecca Ripans scored five goals, and Grace Vliet added three goals and three assists to lead the Indians. Emma Sadovy and Jill Hopkins both had a pair of goals while Bridget Fitzpatrick and Maddie McNulty each had one. Hopkins also had a pair of assists. Rylee Riether contributed an assist.
Vliet also had four draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers while Ripans added three draw controls and three ground balls. Hopkins had four ground balls and two draw controls, McNulty had three ground balls and one caused turnover, Sarah Lewis contributed two ground balls and a caused turnover and Morgan McCaffery had one ground ball and two caused turnovers.
Council Rock North (3-6, 1-5 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Monday, and Lower Moreland (1-6, 0-4) will host Cheltenham on Monday at 5:15 p.m.
SPRINGFIELD-DELCO 13, UPPER DUBLIN 2
The schedule was not kind to the Flying Cardinals, who came back from a two-week shutdown and went on the road to face a strong Springfield-Delco squad.
Riley Brady had eight saves in goal, and Jenn McCarry scored both of the UD goals with Kelly Senior assisting on one of them.
Upper Dublin (2-4, 1-0 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
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