Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Thursday. Upper Dublin/Hatboro-Horsham photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 8, NORTH PENN 7
Looking for the definition of a gutsy performance? Look no further.
The Golden Hawks – less than 24 hours removed from a heartbreaking loss to Pennsbury that cost them a possible share of the conference crown – had very little if anything to prove when they made the long trek to Lansdale for their conference finale. Rather, it was the Knights who were in a position to win a share of the crown with Pennsbury if they won.
The script appeared to be going exactly as the Knights had hoped until the Golden Hawks decided to play the role of spoiler, rallying from a 7-3 second halftime deficit to earn a win that brought to a disappointing end the Knights’ chance at a title. The win also gave Pennsbury sole possession of the conference crown.
The Golden Hawks and Knights along with Central Bucks South finished in a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings.
“I’m very proud of them,” Rock South coach Madison Hurwitz said. “We had a late night last night, and they played great last night, but it was a heartbreak, and then we came out and did awesome today.
“We shed some tears after last night’s lost. They gave it everything that they had and played a full 50-minute game. They hyped each other up and left that one yesterday and came out ready to play today. It was two big games back to back, and they rallied today.”
The Knights took a 4-3 lead into halftime and extended that before the Golden Hawks came roaring back. Playing no small role in the comeback was a Golden Hawks’ defense that kept the Knights off the scoreboard for the final 18 minutes of the game.
“Our goalie (Sophia Kutsaya) had some huge stops towards the end of that game and kept our momentum going,” Hurwitz said. “Our defense played great, and they put a ton of pressure on the ball carrier so that girl couldn’t find the open player, and we shut them down in the second half.”
Comprising the Golden Hawks’ defense in front of Kutsaysa were Montanna Chambers, Emma Franchini, Lauren Smith, Amy Loving and Karissa Smedley.
“Karissa Smedley, our backer, has been having an amazing season – knockdowns, interceptions,” said Hurwitz. “She’s definitely the anchor of our defense, and this is her first season playing lacrosse.
“We call her Lebron James because she has a huge reach, and she just knocks down everything.”
Rock South’s three captains accounted for all of their team’s goals. Cailey Hiscox led the Golden Hawks with four goals and two assists, and Rianna Shields had three goals and one assist. Carley Irvin added one goal and one assist. Julia Levin had one assist.
“They face-guarded Carley for a bit in the first half, but she was able to work and still get the ball,” Hurwitz said. “We worked on that at practice the other day because she has been playing so well, and that’s what teams are doing. She worked her butt of on the draw and came up with some huge draw controls for us and then worked the crease to get the girl face-guarding her off of her.”
For the Knights, Emily Varilla had four goals while Jordan Baily, Danielle Preston and Kayla Stressman added one each. Stressman led the Knights with eight draw controls. Alli Lindsay had two assists and three draw controls, and Lily Szilagyi added a pair of assists.
Kiera Holt had another strong outing in goal for the Knights, recording 13 saves.
“We had a good first half both offensively and defensively, but we had too many turnovers in the second half,” NP coach Heather Mellow said. “Our defense played well today.
“Kiera Holt had a great game in the net. She came up big many times.”
Council Rock South (14-4, 8-2 SOL) is the 10th ranked squad in the latest District One 3A power rankings while North Penn (9-5, 8-2) is ranked 19th.
Council Rock South 3-5 8
North Penn 4-3 7
SOL American Conference
ABINGTON 20, QUAKERTOWN 4
The Ghosts are on a bona fide roll, winning their seventh straight game on Thursday. They opened up a 13-2 halftime lead and never looked back.
“It was another fantastic game,” Abington coach Amalie Kreitman said. “We have really good momentum right now.
“Our defense – Lilly Alessandro, Audrey Silverman, Caroline Hughes and Zoe Freedman – played an amazing game.”
Maddie Hinkle’s six-goal effort led the Ghosts while Avery Sullivan, Shea Gormley and Lesha Karaba each had four goals.
“Avery Sullivan did a great job tonight,” Kreitman said. “And our top three seniors hit their career goals – Maddie (75), Shea (50) and Lesha (50).”
For the Panthers, Kyla Frederick had two goals while Madison Peacher and Morgan Sipprell had one.
Abington (9-4, 8-3 SOL) is the 13th seed in the latest District One 3A power rankings. Quakertown (7-8, 3-6) will close out its season on Friday when the Panthers host Hatboro-Horsham at 7 p.m.
Quakertown 2-2 4
Abington 13-7 20
LOWER MORELAND 14, WILLIAM TENNENT 3
Paige Malpezzi turned in a glittering eight-goal effort to lead the Lions to the no-doubt-about-it win over the Panthers. Adding one goal each were Kylie Tammaro, Sara Asmann, Sarah Rosala, Leila Rosala, Maggie McGarry and Rachel Felix.
Emily Fee was credited with four saves in a winning effort in goal.
Lower Moreland (7-11, 3-8 SOL) is ranked 17th in the latest District One 2A power rankings. Sixteen teams will earn postseason berths with the tournament seeding committee meeting on Saturday.
UPPER DUBLIN 19, HATBORO-HORSHAM 8
The freshman-senior duo of Aditi Foster and Jenn McCarry combined for 12 goals to lead the Cardinals to the decisive win in their regular season
finale. Foster finished with seven goals while McGarry had five.
Kelly Senior added a hat trick, and Ella Lyon had a pair of goals. Ellie Eby and Shannon Brady each had one goal.
For the Hatters, Abby Roesing led the way with four goals while Caitlyn Carpenter added a hat trick. Sophia Liott had one goal and Lydia Nolin had one assist.
Riley Brady recorded seven saves in goal in a winning effort for the Cardinals
Upper Dublin (9-7, 8-3 SOL) is 22nd in the latest District One 3A power rankings. Hatboro-Horsham (4-6 SOL) will travel to Quakertown Friday for a 7 p.m. contest.
Upper Dublin 15-4 19
Hatboro-Horsham 5-3 8
Non-league
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 12, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 10
Max Leszczynski had a big game, scoring six goals and assisting on another to lead the Colonials in Thursday’s non-league win. Brianna Austin added a hat trick and one assist. Meghan Wendler also had three goals while Fiona Gooneratne dished out three assists.
The two teams were deadlocked 8-8 at the intermission. The Colonials threw some defense at their visitors, limiting them to just two second half goals.
For the visiting Indians, Grace Vliet, Ali Carpentier, Megan McCaffrey and Jill Hopkins each had two goals. McCaffrey also had an assist. Sarah Lewis and Emma Sadovy both had one goal.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-9, 8-3 SOL) is 24th in the latest District One 3A power rankings. Twenty-four teams will earn tournament berths.
Council Rock North 8-2 10
Plymouth Whitemarsh 8-4 12
SPRING-FORD 13, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 9
The visiting Titans took a 5-4 lead into halftime, but the Rams controlled play in the second half, outscoring their visitors 9-4 to earn the non-league win.
It was a tough loss as the girls had a great start,” South coach Janique Craig said. “I am very proud of how they played until the end.”
Leading the Titans was Kate Victor with three goals and two assists. Tegan Mullan added two goals and one assist, and Janessa Watson had two goals, one assist and nine draw controls. Grace Gannon had one goal, two assists and four draw controls.
Anna Shirley led the Titans defensively with five caused turnovers while Brynn O’Donnell had three.
Gabby Mayo was credited with 12 saves in goal.
Central Bucks South (8-9, 8-2 SOL) finished in a three-way tie for the second in the SOL National Conference standings. The Titans are 26th in the latest District One 3A power rankings.
Central Bucks South 5-4 9
Spring-Ford 4-9 13
GARNET VALLEY 15, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3
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