Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Thursday. Hatboro-Horsham/Wissahickon photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Patriot Division
Council Rock South 1, Neshaminy 0
Kieran Barry made certain that his first game as Council Rock South’s starting goalkeeper was unforgettable. The senior keeper stood tall and posted a shutout as the Golden Hawks opened the 2021 campaign with a 1-0 victory over defending Patriot Division and District One Class AAAA champion Neshaminy in Thursday’s game.
Barry earned rave reviews from both coaches for his efforts.
“Kieran was outstanding,” said South coach Alan Nicholl. “He played backup to my senior last year, Andrew Roberto, who’s currently playing at Del Val. Because we had a shortened season last year, I showed a little preference to the senior since it was only going to be a 10-game season. Kieran is well due. He was a very good goalkeeper last year. He would have started in a lot of programs. I think he’s taking full advantage. He came in very, very confident. He’s a good communicator, he’s a captain. Technically, he’s sound. He just does not make mistakes. He’s very good with his feet. His technical mastery with the ball is impressive for a goalkeeper. He just has a wonderful left foot.”
“Their goalkeeper did some wonderful things against us,” said Neshaminy coach Tom Foley. “He was probably the man of the match. He was very good. We created some nice opportunities. JoeJoe Maxwell probably had three really clean looks at the goal going in one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He stoned him every time. Credit to their goalkeeper – he really did a nice job.”
South weathered the early Neshaminy pressure, then the Hawks’ Frankie Rafferty scored the only goal of the game (Dave Aquino assist) in the 20th minute.
“We may have started a bit slow and Neshaminy jumped all over us,” Nicholl said. “It probably took us a good 15 to 18 minutes to make adjustments and to kind of neutralize what they were doing from midfield. They’re very quick, they’re very physical, they’re a very proud home team. It’s a tough venue to play. We were very lucky to keep them off the board in the opening few minutes, and Kieran had a big say in that.
“Tom is a good friend – he always does a terrific job with his team. They’re always well organized, they’re disciplined, and they’re always a hardworking group. I thoroughly enjoy playing against Tom because he always has his team so well prepared, so well set up. I just enjoy the football is what it comes down to. To pull three points at that venue does not come around often. It was a hard-fought win, that’s for sure.”
Nicholl credited Stepan Kovalev for his stellar play in matching Neshaminy’s dominant midfield, and praised the second-half effort of the team.
“I said to the guys at halftime, ‘It’s never a good sign when you goalkeeper is your best player, and he was decisively the best player on the field in the first 40,’” Nichol said. “I told the guys, ‘You owe Kieran, you need to relieve him. He should not have to play this well,’ and the kids stepped up. They played much more physical, they played much more up in Neshaminy’s face and challenged them a bit and stepped up to that challenge of playing at Neshaminy. I was very, very impressed with our response to how Neshaminy came out of the gates and showed a lot of discipline, showed a lot off maturity. It was an intelligent game by us.”
Neshaminy, which lost a slew of starters to graduation, saw its first action of the season in this pivotal division matchup. Despite the loss, Foley found much to be happy with from his team’s efforts.
“Mother Nature really hasn’t been nice to us as far as the preseason goes,” Foley said. “We had one 30-minute runs with (Archbishop) Wood and no other scrimmages at all. Our Abington scrimmage got rained out after the second 30-minute session, so it’s really our first competition since August 16 or whenever we started practice, so we didn’t do too badly considering. We created some nice chances. We just have some things to correct in the back, plug up some holes.
“I thought JoeJoe played really well, Jose Rivera created some opportunities up top and Connor Steele played really well in the midfield. Richie Fall played well in the back and we moved him to midfield, and he did a nice job there, too. It was encouraging, but it was disappointing that we lost our first game, but credit to South. They physicalled us up a little bit, and we didn’t respond too well to it. Their goalkeeper was the difference. He did a really nice job today.”
The oft-maligned officials earned their share of praise for their efforts on Thursday as well.
“I was thoroughly, thoroughly impressed with the refereeing today,” Nicholl said. “I thought they did a very, very good job. There were a couple of advantage calls they let play out. There was a shot for a penalty. It got a little physical at times, and sometimes they’re tough games to ref. They let a lot go and it worked. I was really impressed with the flow of the game because it was physical. Neshaminy is a strong, fast, physical team, and I thought the referees –particularly in the first game of the season – they were tested. Some of the decisions they made I thought were outstanding, just in letting the game go and letting the kids be physical, letting the kids determine what’s going on on the field. I was really impressed with their ability to manage the physical style that was played, and as a result, it was just a quality game of football. It was really good.”
Council Rock South (1-0-0 Patriot, 1-0-0 overall) visits New Foundations Charter School at 3:30 pm, then visits archrival Council Rock North at 3:30 pm Tuesday. Neshaminy (0-1-0, 0-1-0) looks for its first win of the season when it hosts New Hope-Solebury at 3:30 pm Monday.
Council Rock South 1-0 1
Neshaminy 0-0 0
Pennsbury 2, Bensalem 1
There’s still plenty for Pennsbury to improve upon, but after a preseason that saw inclement weather interfere with practices and one scrimmage, this was a pretty good way for the Falcons to begin the 2021 season.
After letting in a goal 10 minutes into Thursday’s game against Bensalem, the Falcons responded with two goals before halftime to earn a 2-1 victory.
“We’re a little bit behind. It was just a really choppy preseason with weather and we lost a scrimmage, but the boys individually put in a lot of work over the summer, so they looked really good,” Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart said. “I kept telling them, ‘I think the collective individuals are ahead of where we are right now, but we’ll get there.’
“I thought today was a good step that way. We still have a lot to work on, but at times, we really played a nice game and were able to control the ball even though the score was tight and they certainly had their chances.”
Josh Rodriguez tied the game for the Falcons in the 23rd minute, and Saad Williams added what would hold up as the game-winner in the 40th minute. Pennsbury keeper Justin Brown came up big time and again to keep the Owls at bay.
“Justin played the full 80 minutes and he had to make some real big saves,” Stoddart said. “Otherwise, the momentum could have shifted pretty quickly.
“I thought overall we were able to play really well, absorb their pressure and their athleticism. I just thought we moved the ball around really well, which eventually just tired Bensalem out a little bit and allowed us to control the game with the exception of a couple of late chances.”
Stoddart also praised the efforts two underclassmen in the middle back and the seniors in the midfield.
“We’re really young – we lost a lot last year,” Stoddart said. “I thought the young guys, especially our two center backs, sophomores Cooper Gray and Andrew Prebola, I thought they did a super solid job and played the whole 80 minutes. My boys in the middle – seniors Reese Jones, Ben Bostian and Daniel Paton – did a really nice job of controlling the game in the middle of the field as well as making the younger kids feel comfortable in their first varsity game.”
The Falcons (1-0-0 Patriot, 1-0-0 overall) will travel to Neshaminy on Tuesday. Bensalem (0-1-0, 0-1-0) will try to rebound when it hosts Harry S Truman at 3:30 pm Tuesday.
Bensalem 1-0 1
Pennsbury 2-0 2
Colonial Division
Souderton 2, Central Bucks South 2 (2OT)
Souderton goalkeeper Aidan McClure was stellar in the net, turning aside 13 Central Bucks South shots to preserve a 2-2 tie in Thursday’s Colonial Division matchup.
Souderton opened the scoring on a Nolan Hughes free kick less than one minute into the contest.
The Titans responded in the 20th minute when Tasso Maletis set up Jaimin Fee for a goal, then followed it up a minute later when AJ Peev finished off a Sean Rieber pass to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
“This was a good game, well contested, we’re looking forward to playing them again later in the year,” said CB South coach Joe Coscia, who credited Logan Campbell and Eric Green for their leadership and strong play on the defensive end.
Hughes keyed the Souderton comeback with a corner kick to the back post that was headed in by Thomas Smith to knot the score at 2-2 in the 60th minute.
“We had our chances, and so did South,” said Souderton coach Matt Benner. “It was a very typical Colonial game. Both teams left it all out there. (McClure) was fantastic for us.”
Souderton (0-0-1 Colonial, 1-0-1 overall) hosts Council Rock North at 2 pm Saturday. South (0-0-1, 0-0-1) will hit the road and visit Downingtown East at 3:45 pm today, then will play under the lights in a 7 pm Tuesday game against local rival Central Bucks West.
Souderton 1-1-0-0 2
Central Bucks South 2-0-0-0 2
Pennridge 1, Central Bucks East 1 (2OT)
Michael Montabana put Central Bucks East on the scoreboard in the first half. Nicky Williams answered for Pennridge in the second, using an assist from Shane Velez. Two overtimes later, and the Colonial Division rivals were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie in Thursday’s game.
“Both teams played an organized and hard-fought game,” said Patriots’ coach Josh Isaacsohn. “Coach Pete (Valimont) does a very nice job of putting players in spots that make them dangerous.”
Isaacsohn praised the efforts of Ethan Green, Dylan Walker, and Trevor Jopling on the defensive end.
“Our defense did a tremendous job of keeping their speedy and skilled players at bay for long stretches,” the Patriots’ coach said. “Additionally, we had double-digit opportunities on goal and simply couldn’t find that last finishing touch. Overall, we have a lot of tough games ahead of us in this very challenging division.”
Pennridge now stands at 0-0-1 Colonial, 1-0-1 overall, and will host North Penn in a 7:30 pm Tuesday game. East (0-0-1, 0-0-1) will visit Hatboro-Horsham at noon Saturday, then will travel to nonleague opponent Palisades at 7 pm Monday.
Central Bucks East 1-0-0-0 1
Pennridge 0-1-0-0 1
Central Bucks West 2, North Penn 0
There’s a reason why teams play nonleague games early in the season. The lessons learned can be invaluable once the league season begins.
Coming off a season-opening 2-1 loss to Father Judge, Central Bucks West tweaked its lineup a bit, and the team leaders stepped up, as the Bucks rebounded by downing North Penn, 2-0, to open the Colonial Division slate on Thursday.
“Ultimately, I think everybody contributed today. It was one of those kind of days,” said West coach Stef Szygiel. “We had some standout performances. I thought senior captain Ryan Horst was really great today, really carried us and led us from the back.
“Senior captain Connor O’Brien really had a nice game. We need their experience out there. It’s important because we have a lot of juniors and younger players this year. Senior Luke Lederman really, really had a nice game, stepped into a little bit of a different role today and took it and ran. He really did a nice job for us. Senior Zach Martine – that was our primary back line today. Those seniors just did a great job. It’s never easy when you play North Penn. Guys found a way to get the result.”
The Bucks netted both goals in the second half to support goalkeeper Griffin Blokker’s first varsity shutout. The sophomore made 6 saves in recording the win.
“It was a pretty even first half,” Szygiel said. “In the second half, I thought we came out with a little more of a desire to go forward. We got the first goal around the 10th minute and added another one 10 minutes later. It was all first-time contributors, which was great.
“Griffin Blokker got his first varsity clean sheet. He did a really nice job for us today as well.”
Junior Chase Naso scored on a solo effort and classmate Blake Amero (Ben Sterling assist) capped off the scoring for the Bucks.
“There were a lot of guys that really performed today,” Szygiel said. “We rotated guys through our midfield but primarily senior Justin Moore, junior Carter Philo, sophomore Eddie Rafalowski, and freshman Harrison Brownlow. They all contributed really important minutes in the middle of the field for us.”
The win over the defending league champs moves West to 1-0-0 in what is expected to be a highly competitive Colonial Division (1-1-0 overall). The Bucks will host Central Bucks South at 7 pm Tuesday. The Knights (0-1-0, 1-1-0) will try to bounce back when they visit Pennridge at 7:30 pm Tuesday.
“I’m really convinced that everyone is going to go .500 because everyone is going to beat each other up,” Szygiel said.
Central Bucks West 0-2 2
North Penn 0-0 0
Liberty Division
Hatboro-Horsham 5, Wissahickon 0
Their season opener was postponed for several days while the Hatboro-Horsham School District recovered from the widespread flooding and destruction from last week’s storms and tornadoes.
In addition to the physical questions surrounding Thursday’s opener as to how the Hatters would react in their first game of the season came the question of how the team would respond after a most difficult week.
“After all the destruction of the tornado, we were off for four or five days, so we weren’t in our normal rhythm,” said H-H coach Kyle McGrath. “We talked and stressed getting through the first 8 to 10 minutes to make sure we didn’t give up a goal, which we were able to do. The second half we emphasized trying to start quick.”
The Hatters performed admirably, scoring late in the first half to open the score, then adding four in the second half to pull away for a closer-than-it-looks 5-0 victory against host Wissahickon on Thursday.
“It was a tight game, and we scored two or three goals late,” McGrath said. “Wissahickon had chances to score, and my goalkeeper Noah Schlosser made the saves he needed to make, and we were able to keep a shutout, which is always our number one priority.”
Anthony Pumilia scored in the 31st minute to put the Hatters on the scoreboard. Nathan Scavo made it 2-0 early in the second to give the visitors some breathing room.
“With Nathan scoring a goal in the 46th minute, it was a real nice combination from my center midfielders, and Jake Freedman played a great ball across the box on the ground for Nathan to finish,” McGrath said. “I think that relieved a little bit of stress on us because we had missed an opportunity at the end of the first half to make it 2-0, and that opened it up for us and allowed us to play a bit more freely.”
Jack Elwell, Lucas Howieson, and JR Fulginiti capped off the scoring for the Hatters. Tommy Harmon recorded two assists, and Freedman and Mason DeLuca each added one.
“Obviously, we had a lot of guys on the scoresheet, which is always good when you don’t have to rely on one person,” McGrath said. “My center midfielders—Jake Freedman, Ryan Toporowski, and Tommy Harmon—did a very good job neutralizing Wissahickon’s center mids.”
The Hatters move to 1-0-0 in the Liberty Division, 1-0-0 overall. H-H will host Central Bucks East at noon Saturday in a nonleague matchup before returning to the league slate by hosting Plymouth Whitemarsh at 5:15 pm Tuesday. Wissahickon falls to 0-1-0, 0-1-1, and will visit Roman Catholic at 7 pm Saturday for a nonleague matchup, then will visit Abington at 7 pm Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 1-4 5
Wissahickon 0-0 0
Abington 3, Upper Dublin 1
Some things are bigger than a game.
The Upper Dublin boys’ soccer team, playing a designated home game at Abington High School after areas of Upper Dublin – including the high school – were devastated by last week’s tornadoes and severe storms, were the recipients of some goodwill from their neighbors in Abington.
“All the players and a lot of the parents got $20 gift cards to different stores to give to the Upper Dublin School District administration to distribute those to needy families they felt needed it,” said Abington coach Randy Garber of a joint effort of the boys and girls soccer teams and the field hockey squad. “Our AD Todd Vacarro presented it to them at the game.
“Everything Upper Dublin and what they went through. It was just a horrible tragedy that took place. We were supposed to go and play at Upper Dublin, but their school is in shambles, so they came to us.”
The Cardinals gave a solid effort, but Abington netted three second-half goals to pull away for a 3-1 victory in Thursday’s Liberty Division matchup.
“They gave us everything we could handle,” Garber said. “It could have gone either way the first half. We were fortunate to get out of the half 0-0 because they had some real quality chances at the beginning of the game that Kevin Krechman, our goalkeeper, did a heck of a job saving the ball. We struggled through the first half.
“The second half we came out – we told them about getting close to people and not letting them turn. The first two minutes we ended up pressuring them, high pressure, and winning the ball about 35 yards out, and Luke O’Donnell hit one from about 18 yards out that the goalkeeper got his hands on, but the power of the shot, it just caromed in the upper corner. It ended up 1-0 in the first two minutes of the second half, and it kind of set the tone. Still, they came at us with everything. They were pressuring us. I ended up moving a flank player in the middle, Pat Capone, and about 10 minutes later, he hit a volley from 25 yards out that dipped, one of those shots that just gets underneath the bar, and before you know it, it was 2-0.”
Upper Dublin made it 2-1 before Thiago Danielle gave Abington a two-goal cushion late in the second half.
“The score doesn’t really tell how close it was,” Garber said. “That late goal kind of took the wind out of their sails, but they played with a lot of heart and did a nice job after all they’ve been through the last week.”
Garber had plenty of accolades to hand out to his players.
“Our goalkeeper, Kevin Krechman, had an outstanding game, made some key saves to keep us in the game,” Garber said. “Drew Paxson, our center back, did an outstanding job. He doesn’t get enough credit. He’s just a junior, but he was definitely a standout. Probably the best kid on the field today was Luke O’Donnell, our central midfielder. He had the first goal and just absolutely played one of his best games I’ve seen in a long time.”
Abington remains undefeated at 1-0-0 Liberty, 2-0-0 overall, and will host Wissahickon at 7 pm Tuesday. Upper Dublin drops to 0-1-0, 0-2-0, and will look to earn its first win of the season when the Cardinals visit Quakertown at 3:30 pm Tuesday.
Abington 0-3 3
Upper Dublin 0-0 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2, Quakertown 0
Freedom Division
Springfield Twp 5, New Hope-Solebury 3
Riley Martin and Peter Schmidt sparked a terrific offensive effort for Springfield Twp, with Martin figuring on four of Springfield’s five goals and Schmidt having a hand in three as the Spartans topped Freedom Division foe New-Hope Solebury 5-3 on Thursday.
Martin scored Springfield’s first two goals (both assisted by Schmidt) and registered the assist on the next two (by Schmidt and Grant Williams). Jack McKittrick (Tommy Bailey assist) rounded out the scoring for the Spartans.
Jake Hausner netted all three NH-S goals, with Logan Moore assisting on Hausner’s first tally.
Springfield (1-0-0 Freedom, 1-0-0 overall) will visit William Tennent at 3:30 pm Tuesday, while New Hope-Solebury (0-1-0, 0-1-0) is back in action at noon Saturday hosting Holy Ghost Prep, then visiting Neshaminy at 3:30 pm Monday.
Upper Moreland 1, Lower Moreland 1 (2OT)
Logan Taylor scored 40 seconds into the second half as Upper Moreland forged a tie with Lower Moreland in Thursday’s Freedom Division matchup.
Lower Moreland goalkeeper Aaron Snyder played a solid game with several clutch to preserve the tie.
Upper Moreland (0-0-1 Freedom, 1-0-1 overall) will host Cheltenham at 3:30 pm Tuesday. Lower Moreland (0-0-1, 0-0-1) visits MaST Community Charter School at 3:45 pm Monday, then returns to league play at New Hope-Solebury at 3:30 pm Tuesday.
Lower Moreland 1-0-0-0 1
Upper Moreland 0-1-0-0 1
William Tennent at Cheltenham, ppd
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