Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Thursday.
SOL American Conference
HATBORO-HORSHAM 13, UPPER MORELAND 12 (OT)
Sophia Liott had a singular thought as she headed to goal with time winding down in overtime of Thursday’s Battle of the Border.
“I know that as a team we had fought hard the whole game, and I just felt a tie wouldn’t reflect how hard we had been playing,” the Hatters’ junior captain said. “Everyone put their hearts out on the field.
“I just thought – we have to win this. It’s not just me or for our record. It’s for our team and how hard everyone worked throughout the game. Not once was anyone ever giving up.”
With 1:20 showing on the scoreboard clock, Liott – in a determined individual effort – scored the golden goal, setting off a jubilant celebration for a Hatters’ squad that had plenty of excuses to lose.
After all, they’d watch a five goal lead slip away in the second half that included a 3-0 UM tear in the final 2:35 that was capped with a scrap goal by Olivia Meakim with 29 seconds remaining to knot the score. The Golden Bears’ last two goals came when they were down a player, and the Bears appeared to have all the momentum heading into OT.
If that wasn’t enough, there was also the not-so-little matter that a young Hatters’ team with no seniors on its roster had rarely practiced together and was back in action last week for the first time after a month shutdown for COVID protocol.
“We have been in and out of quarantine for weeks,” junior Abby Roesing said. “We’d have a practice and then a quarantine. It’s really rough because we haven’t had much time bonding together on the field.”
Instead of using any of those as excuses, the Hatters – in a remarkable display of grit – found a way to win.
“Just the intensity – I know I was really tired, but everyone else was picking me up,” Liott said. “We all picked each other up. We wanted this.”
“We needed this win really bad,” HH junior Lydia Nolin said. “Every game we’re missing a crucial part of our team – today we’re missing one of our defenders who has a concussion, but we just wanted this so bad.”
The Hatters displayed their resilience in a first half that saw the Golden Bears open up a 3-0 lead nine minutes into the game after a goal by Charlotte James. The Hatters came roaring back, scoring a pair of goals in the final 38 seconds to go into halftime with a 6-4 advantage.
The Hatters led 10-5 after a goal by Emma Levin with 17:39 remaining in regulation. They had a chance to add to the lead but UM goalie Emma Hurley (11 saves) came up with back-to-back stops on 8-meter shots.
A free position goal by Isabel Leiter sparked a 4-0 UM tear that was capped with Reagan Cummins turning a Meredith Marsteller pass into a goal that made it a 10-9 game with nine minutes remaining.
A goal by Roesing (Nolin assist) upped the Hatters lead to 12-9 with 4:18 remaining, but the Golden Bears refused to go away, rallying to send the game to overtime where the Hatters won it.
“You could see at times the youth – we were up by five at one point,” HH coach Marie Schmucker said. “If you’re keeping possession and you’re working for a good shot and you’re giving them specific things to do and they’re not doing them, it’s just inexperience. To be able to come back to this and hold on for the win is amazing.”
Not to be overlooked – according to Liott – was the play of Cait Carpenter on the draw for the Hatters.
“Throughout the game, Cait Carpenter was insane on the draw – she was positioning it to me every time,” Liott said. “She knew which side of the girls I was on, and I think that was really key in winning the game because draws are one of the key things in a game, and she really stepped up today.”
Freshman goalie Aariyona Winslow was credited with six saves in the win.
“Our goalie is brand new, she’s never played lacrosse goalie in her life before,” Liott said. “I know she stays after practice and she works hard, so we also wanted to get this win for her because she’s been going through a lot. After that last goal, she was down on herself, and by winning, we were able to pick her up and lift her up.”
Liott and Roesing led the Hatters with five goals each. Carpenter had a pair of goals and one assist and Emma Levin had one goal. Nolin added an assist.
For the Golden Bears, Leiter led the way with four goals and two assists. Olivia Meakim had three goals and an assist, and Cummins added two goals and an assist. James, Willow Taylor and Maddy Trzaska each had one goal. Molly Meakim, Heidi Wittick and Marsteller each had an assist. Taylor also had a pair of draw controls.
“I’m most pleased today because we did play with heart,” UM coach Kim Frantz said. “Like I told them, this is the first game we played with heart and we gave our all. Today is the first day they weren’t willing to give up, and that was big.”
Like the Hatters, the Golden Bears lost a talented senior class to graduation and have just three seniors. One of those seniors, Kat Morrow, was lost for the season to a torn ACL and underwent surgery on Thursday.
“She was our draw control person,” Frantz said. “She was our scrappy player, and I think that’s the biggest thing – we have four freshmen, two that are starting if not more depending on the day, and they’re really eighth graders because of COVID.
“Everybody’s in the same situation, and I get that, but we’re just starting over. We lost 11 kids (to graduation), and that’s hard.”
Hatboro-Horsham (2-2 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Monday, and Upper Moreland (7-5, 4-4) will travel to Souderton for a non-league game on Saturday (11 a.m.).
Hatboro-Horsham 6-6-1 13
Upper Moreland 4-8-0 12
WISSAHICKON 13, ABINGTON 5
The Trojans’ offense turned in yet another strong outing, but Thursday’s win – the 11th without a loss for Wissahickon – belonged to the defense.
For one half, it looked as though it was going to be another classic battle between conference rivals as the Trojans headed into halftime with a tenuous 6-5 lead. Then came a second half that saw the Trojans’ defense shut out their visitors.
“Abington is consistently aggressive and talented, and in my opinion, they have kind of shown they are one of the toughest teams in the league,” Wissahickon coach Jamie Kane said. “Their goalie was outstanding, especially in the first half.
“Our defense fixed a few issues in the second half and really worked hard to support each other, so that, combined with the girls really playing as a team each time we possessed the ball, really helped.”
Goalie Madeline Murphy had seven saves in goal, which included a perfect second half. Lexi Hobson was a force on defense, finishing with five caused turnovers, four ground balls, three draw controls to go along with one goal. Amanda Brecher had two caused turnovers, one ground ball and one interception.
“We had huge stops on defense from players like Madeline Murphy, Lexi Hobson, and Amanda Brecher, which then transferred well in transition to the attack,” Kane said. “The attack had different players that were able to score under heavy pressure.”
Emma Baker led the attack with six goals and two assists to go along with two draw controls. Sophia Chiodo Ortiz contributed three goals, one assist, one caused turnover and one draw control. Abby DeGroat had four draw controls, two goals, one caused turnover and one ground ball. Chloe Lee added on goal. Quinn Gaffey had one caused turnover and one ground ball. Nora Ryan had one caused turnover.
Kane had high praise for her squad.
“I am so proud of them,” the Trojans’ coach said. “I don’t know if they realize how talented they really are. I’ve known these seniors since they were in fifth grade, so its especially awesome to see each taking on new leadership roles, and filling holes when we literally happen upon them, the day of or during the game, depending on the opponent.
“My girls have been making really smart decisions and they know how to set each other up and support each other.”
Maddie Hinkle’s three goals led the Ghosts, and Lesha Karaba had two.
“Our top scorers were face guarded today, so that was tough,” Abington coach Amalie Kreitman said. “Our defense played beautifully in the first half. They crashed nicely and the communication was there.
Our middie Mei Mei (Cheng) had some great runs and was a big contributor to our attack.”
Abington goalie Chloe Herghelegiu had a big game of her own, recording 12 saves.
“She faced some tough competition,” Kreitman said. “
Wissahickon (11-0, 6-0 SOL) will host William Tennent on Friday, and Abington (1-3, 0-2) will host Pennridge in a non-league game on Saturday.
Abington 6-7 13
Abington 5-0 5
Non-league
PENNSBURY 11, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 6
It was another big win for the Falcons, their ninth in 10 games. They opened up a 5-2 lead at halftime and never looked back.
“New Hope played a nice game – they have some really talented players on their team,” Pennsbury coach Shannon MacPherson said. “This was a good challenging game for us today.”
Maggie Golden scored four goals and assisted on another to lead the Falcons’ attack, but that was just the beginning of her contributions in Thursday’s non-league win. She also led the team with 10 ground balls, five caused turnovers and four draw controls.
Maddy Spratt added three goals and four assists as well as two draw controls, two caused turnovers and two ground balls. Sarah Walcott contributed three goals and three assists to go along with two caused turnovers, and Darrien Furiness had a goal, two assists, three draw controls, three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
“Our transition was awesome today,” MacPherson said. “They did a nice job on the re-defend, and our attackers just keep working their plays. They trust each other.
“It’s just nice when you have a team where multiple players can go to goal. It’s not like we’re relying on just one or two players. I think that’s been pretty consistent with us throughout the season that we have a lot of trust in each other and a lot of girls that are a threat on attack.
“Our defense played beautifully today. I think this is one of the better games I’ve seen our defense play this season. The crashes were there, the slides were there. They just really worked together as a unit. They meshed really well with each other. It was just a complete game for us.”
Ella Galati was credited with six saves in goal in a winning effort for the Falcons.
“She came up with some big saves today,” MacPherson said. “Olivia Graebner had an awesome day today. She did a great job defensively.
“Ava Ricciardi is one of our leaders, and she really stepped up today. Liv Pogyor again had a good game.
The Falcons’ coach also lauded the effort of a player whose contributions don’t show up on the stat sheet.
“Sophia Curtis has had such a great season, and she is such a versatile player for us,” MacPherson said. “She played low D for the majority of the game, and then we made a couple of adjustments.
“We needed somebody on attack, so we moved her down to attack. She’s just been our go-to player this year. She’s coachable, and she can play attack and D, so we’ve been flipping her back and forth, and without missing a beat, she just goes and does what she needs to do. We’re definitely really happy with Sophia and proud of her too.”
For the Lions, Margaret Tresler had two goals while Kate Dougherty added a goal and an assist. Rachel Saxton and Madie Thistlewaite both had one goal.
“It was a tough game for the Lions today,” NHS coach Betsy Dougherty said. “We started off slow and were never able to catch up.”
Pennsbury (9-1, 5-1 SOL) will host Souderton on Monday, and New Hope-Solebury (8-4, 4-2) will travel to Quakertown on Monday for a 7 p.m. contest.
New Hope-Solebury 2-4 6
Pennsbury 5-6 11
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 14, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 9
LOWER MORELAND 11, ABINGTON FRIENDS 4
Wednesday, April 28
HATBORO-HORSHAM 18, CHELTENHAM 5
Sophia Liott’s five goal-effort led a balanced Hatters’ attack. Emma Levin also had a hand in five goals, scoring three and adding a pair of assists. Abby Roesing added a hat trick while Cait Carpenter had two goals and two assists. Lydia Nolin and Tara Orloski both had two goals, and Natalie Tocci had one goal. Hannah Bommentre had one assist for the Hatters, who notched their first win of the season.
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