Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Wednesday. Upper Moreland/New Hope-Solebury photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. CR North/Pennsbury photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of both games. Wissahickon/PW photos courtesy of Josh Stelzer/Wissahickon soccer.
SOL Liberty
Upper Dublin 1, Hatboro-Horsham 0
Alex Devers started her night at forward, spent some time at attacking midfield and finished helping hold things down in front of the back line.
In between, she managed to slip in a pretty spectacular goal that was all the Cardinals needed to pick up a win over a hard-working Hatters side. It’s been a long start to the season for UD, which played its fifth straight night game and sixth consecutive road game, but the Cardinals were happy to get another clean sheet and a game-winner to go with it.
“”Every game, we’ve gotten better in the attack, and we’re all starting to combine more and build that chemistry we’re finally understanding,” Devers said. “When it’s late in the game, everyone wants to score and I can’t take credit for winning this game. It was a team effort from Rachel (Adelman in goal) all the way up to our forwards.
“It’s a relief and it always feels good to score and celebrate with the team, so I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
With the Upper Dublin community still recovering from the extensive damage caused by a tornado resulting from Hurricane Ida, the school’s sports teams have all been road warriors due to storm damage to the high school and surrounding facilities.
It’s been a taxing task and UD coach Chuck Gesing saw some signs of fatigue showing early on under the lights Wednesday.
“We came out and I thought, looked tired,” Gesing said. “We had some heavy legs and made silly mistakes we hadn’t since the first game together. We had to drop more bodies into the box than we wanted to, but as it went on, it got better and as we were subbing, we could talk to people coming off about what we wanted.”
The Hatters had their first game of the season postponed by the storm as well, but they are currently navigating their own challenge with top scorer Emily Thomas sidelined with injury. It’s shown in their scores, with Wednesday marking the second shutout loss in three games but Hatboro-Horsham fought to the final whistle.
“Great battle between UD and HH tonight,” Hatters’ coach Kelsey Daley said. “We played more defensive knowing UD has lots of threats up top. Their player who scored had an unbelievable shot outside the 18 for the game-winner. I thought we played very well but just can’t finish.”
HH senior Sophia Liott had the first threat of the game, ringing the post midway through the opening half. The hosts went to break with the three best scoring chances of the game to that point, but nothing to show for it thanks to UD senior Rachel Adelman.
Adelman made a great save on a driven free kick by Emma Levin, then closed the half by covering a shot from Caroline Shegogue at the near post on her way to recording her fourth clean sheet of the season.
“It all starts with the forwards and making them work before it gets to me,” Adelman said. “That was definitely a big save, but it also helped get our attack going forward so I think it was a momentum play for everyone.”
The squads continued to battle in the second half until a brief moment and window of space gave Devers the opening she needed. A short goal kick led to the forward challenging a Hatters player for the ball and a couple caroms later, it came to her foot.
Taking one touch, Devers unleashed a rocket off her left foot that curled in under the bar with 19 minutes to go.
“Not having a home game and not having our home fans has been tough,” Devers said. “We’ve gotten closer with all these road games, but we’re definitely looking forward to hopefully having some home games in the second half of the season.”
The Hatters didn’t give up on the game, but fighting through UD’s fired up defense proved just a little too much to overcome.
“We had many chances and opportunities, we are just struggling to find the back of the net right now,” Daley said. “Sophia Liott had a good game and stepped up on 50/50 balls. Alice Hall and Abby Waeltz have been solid for us all year in the back and stepped up again tonight.”
Once Devers scored, UD leaned on its defense as it has all year. Defenders Bliss Brenner, Maddie Amoia, Erin Seabrook, Emeline Bell, Abby O’Meara and Grace McManus plus holding mid Alaina Sanders were all solid again and they had plenty of help from the midfielders and forwards, including Devers, dropping back to put the work in.
“Our defense has been pretty strong this year and once Alex scored, we knew we had the momentum,” Brenner said. “We were up, so we focused on defending to get a safe win.
“I think we showed what we’re capable of and we’re looking to keep it going.”
The Hatters (2-2-1 SOL) host Upper Moreland at 3:30 on Friday. Upper Dublin (2-1-3, 2-1-2) will be at Springfield Twp on Friday for a 3:30 start.
UPPER DUBLIN 0 1 – 1
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 0 – 0
Goals: UD – Alex Devers
Wissahickon 4 Plymouth Whitemarsh 2
A scoreless first half merely set the stage for a wild second half on Wednesday.
The Trojans jumped to a 3-0 lead after halftime, but saw the Colonials battle back to within a goal before securing a late score to notch the win.
“We were on the offensive all night,” Wiss coach Chris McDaniels said. “Went to sleep in the 70th minute and almost paid the price for it.”
Kylie Friedman, Margaret Wilde and Margo Kasenchar scored in succession to build the lead. Emma Baker had the insurance goal after the Colonials rallied.
“We’ve been stressing the importance of set pieces in training, so it was nice to see Kasenchar head home a corner from Wilde,” McDaniels said. “Baker’s goal to get back to a two-goal lead came at a good time.”
Senior Fiona Gooneratne scored both goals for the Colonials.
PW (0-5 SOL) visits Cheltenham at 3:30 on Friday. Wissahickon (2-2-1, 2-1-1) hosts William Tennent at 3:30 Friday.
WISSAHICKON 0 4 – 4
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 2 – 2
Goals: W – Kylie Friedman, Margaret Wilde, Margo Kasenchar, Emma Baker
Abington 5, Quakertown 0
The Ghosts had a lot of balance as they took down the visiting Panthers under the lights.
“Abington’s balanced attack resulted in five goals from five different girls,” Ghosts coach Rick Tompkins said. “Quakertown goalies were excellent and made numerous saves. Darby Vail was especially good.”
Piper McGinley, Marissa Hellyer, Wren Castor, Taylor Reilly and Carley Slavin all scored for Abington.
Lannen Lare and Alexis Ditri combined on the shutout.
Abington (4-2, 4-1 SOL) hosts Lower Moreland to begin SOL crossover play at 3:30 on Friday. Quakertown (1-2-2, 1-1-2) visits New Hope-Solebury in a 3:30 start Friday.
ABINGTON – 5
QUAKERTOWN – 0
Goals: A – Piper McGinley, Marissa Hellyer, Wren Castor, Taylor Reilly, Carley Slavin
SOL Patriot
Neshaminy 2, Bensalem 0
Neshaminy and Bensalem are about six miles apart, so there’s a definite neighborhood rivalry any time they play.
“They put a nice plan together, played very well-organized defensively,” Neshaminy coach Renny Papendick said. “The two girls in the back, the Bell sisters, they played very well.
“The girls all know each other, they play club together, so it’s always a hard-fought battle.”
Neshaminy is still searching for its best game of the season and Papendick felt his team left a couple goals on the field Wednesday.
“We still got two nice goals,” Papendick said.
Mercedes Paino scored on a solo effort, followed up by Carly Fox lashing a well-taken shot from the top of the box off her left foot to give the Redskins a 2-0 lead at the half.
Neshaminy also continued to show its depth, with plenty of players getting playing time and Megan Lang stepping between the posts to record the clean sheet as goalkeeeper.
“We’re playing 15-16 girls and they’re all contributing so it was another big team win,” Papendick said. “Megan held the fort down, it was her first start of the season, and she did tremendous. She directed our backs and made a big second half save, so I was very proud of Megan’s efforts today.”
Neshaminy now enters a stretch of crossover games with the SOL Colonial. It’s a run of unfamiliar but quality teams that will help the Redskins measure just where they are at this point of the season.
“I’m not a huge scouter, I’d rather put together a plan where you’re going to have to stop us,” Papendick said. “We’re going to play our style. We’re pretty fast, we’re pretty dynamic but we haven’t played our best game and the girls are excited to play some different teams.”
The Owls (2-2, 1-2 SOL) will host CB South at 3:30 on Friday. Neshaminy (5-0) will visit CB West at 3:30 Friday.
NESHAMINY 2 0 – 2
BENSALEM 0 0 – 0
Goals: N – Mercedes Paino, Carly Fox
Council Rock North 1, Pennsbury 0
The Indians may want to start fast-forwarding to the last five minutes every time they play the rest of this season.
“We’ve become accustomed to games going the distance, so far this season we’ve played two OT games and also scored in the last five minutes twice to win a game,” CR North coach Gavin Flannigan said. “That was the outcome today.”
A late penalty kick was the separator between the two teams after nearly 80 minutes of grind-it-out soccer.
“Any time we play Pennsbury we expect a tough contest, and we got another one,” Flannigan said. “Credit to the group of players we have to continue to work until the final whistle. We have been preaching how deep we believe we are, and rotating our forwards continues to pay off in these moments. Our back line is getting stronger every game and Ella Needham and Marlena Ries continue to impress in front of them.”
A handball led to the decisive kick, with Taylor Brennan coming through from the spot to give the Indians a three-point afternoon.
“I do think that we had the better of the chances overall and we felt like we deserved that win,” Flannigan said. “Danielle Eden got another shutout with eight saves and it was well deserved.”
CR North (3-3, 2-2 SOL) hosts Souderton on Friday at 3:30. Pennsbury (3-3-1, 2-2-1) travels to North Penn for a 3:45 start on Friday.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 1 – 1
PENNSBURY 0 0 – 0
Goals: CRN – Taylor Brennan
Council Rock South 3, Harry S Truman 0
An efficient first half spurred the Golden Hawks to a win on Wednesday.
“Reghan Mudie started off the scoring with a beautiful shot that clipped the bottom of the crossbar on the way in. A few minutes later Kathryn O’Kane was on the end of a Skyler Scarborough pass and made it 2-0 on a great sidestep of a defender and well-placed shot,” CRS coach Nick Heim said. “Dana DeDominicis made it 3-0 before half, getting on the end of an O’Kane cross.”
Ahead of a cramped schedule, South was able to get plenty of athletes into the game during the second half.
“Truman’s goalie was outstanding today and made numerous big saves,” Heim said. “The Golden Hawks saw a lot of players make their varsity debuts in a solid team effort.”
The Golden Hawks (2-1-1 SOL) will visit CB East to begin SOL crossovers at 3:30 Friday. Harry S Truman (0-6, 0-5) hosts Pennridge on Friday at 3:30.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3 0 – 3
HARRY S TRUMAN 0 0 – 0
SOL Colonial
Central Bucks East 2, North Penn 1
The Patriots had to dig in and rally against a North Penn team playing for the first time under the lights at renovated Crawford Stadium.
“I thought North Penn was excellent tonight. The game was incredibly tight and challenged us for a full 80 minutes,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “Credit to the (Knights) coaching staff and to the girls because the level of organization they brought to the game was not easy to play against.”
North Penn struck shortly before halftime when Reyna Doherty laid off a ball that Audrey MacNair was able to drill from about 35 yards out for the game’s first tally. The Knights carried the lead to the break and put East behind for just the second time in SOL play.
East leaned on its senior scoring leader in Elise Duffy to get back in the game, with the forward notching her sixth goal of the season just ahead of the midpoint in the second half to equalize.
“In terms of our group, I thought Cam Williams and Chloe Strawn set the tone out wide for us today – both of them were able to create a number of good chances for themselves and for players like Elise,” Nesteruk said. “Morgan Kelly and Sophie Schorn in the center of the park gave us some critical minutes where and when we needed stability.”
In their league opener against Pennridge, the Patriots tied the game only give up the game-winner in the second half for their lone setback of the fall so far. They weren’t eager to repeat the same and got a winner from an unlikely source.
Center back Courtney Curry headed home the game-winner from inside the box off a long restart hit by Elliot Forney with about 15 minutes left in the match.
“Any time you see a center back score, especially off a header like that, it just gives you chills,” Nesteruk said. “It was a special moment for Courtney and our group.”
Nesteruk also had special praise for Kelly Keen’s effort defensively.
“Kelly Keen gave us a great game in the back today. I’m proud of her for epitomizing what our program is all about and handling a lot of pressure from her side,” Nesteruk said.
The Patriots (5-1, 4-1 SOL) host Council Rock South in SOL crossover play at 3:30 on Friday. North Penn (2-3-1, 2-2-1) hosts Pennsbury at 3:45 Friday.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 2 – 2
NORTH PENN 1 0 – 1
Goals: CBE – Elise Duffy, Courney Curry; NP – Audrey MacNair
Pennridge 2, Central Bucks South 0
The Rams are getting the job done on the scoreboard but still looking for more.
“We have a lot on our shoulders right now after last year, so we’re trying to stay focused,” Pennridge coach Audrey Anderson said. “We know we can play soccer, but we have to focus on our mindset a little bit more.”
The Titans, who have hit a tough stretch of their schedule, battled the defending District 1 and PIAA 4A champions toe-to-toe for most of the first half. Rams sophomore Liv Grenda, who Anderson moved into a center forward role, was able to break the deadlock with a goal that came with about 1:45 left in the half.
“Liv has such good ability to get into the 18, I moved her to target forward just to give her a couple less players to beat before she got into the box,” Anderson said. “We wanted to give that a shot and with her ability to get in there, she’s pretty composed in front of the goal.”
Anderson also cited the play of Tori Angelo offensively, saying the sophomore had her best game of the season and kept playing through a couple of tough challenges and tackles.
The rest of the day belonged to Pennridge’s defense, which has allowed just one goal on the year. Senior keeper Sierra Shaeffer has picked up where she left off last fall, and the back line of Casey Malone, Lindsey Balmer, Lauren Murphy and Anna Croyle has covered a lot of space.
On Wednesday, they also limited set piece chances, which Anderson cited as a crucial component against a South attack that is young but potent.
“Our defense, in my opinion, has been outstanding,” Anderson said. “The experience we have on the field is helping us out as well and we’re six games into our season and as we go, all those players with that experience are going to help us.”
Croyle, a sophomore, added the insurance goal in the second half when she finished off a corner kick.
The Rams start their crossover stretch with the SOL Patriot on Friday, and while it’s plenty of good competition, Anderson is eager to see how her team navigates it.
“It’s exciting. I love playing any team we don’t see a lot of, I think the players enjoy it and I’m sure the coaches enjoy it because you get a true sense of coaching,” Anderson said. “The players get a true sense of growing when they go up against players they don’t compete against as often. Usually, we don’t get this opportunity until playoffs so I’m excited for the next couple games.”
Pennridge (6-0, 4-0 SOL) visits Harry S Truman at 3:30 on Friday. CB South (2-4, 1-4) travels to Bensalem at 3:30 on Friday.
PENNRIDGE 1 1 – 2
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Liv Grenda, Anna Croyle
Central Bucks West 5, Souderton 0
The Bucks’ offense got back on track after falling to archrival CB East on Monday.
West had to play into some strong wind in the first half, but it didn’t stop the visitors from getting on the board relatively early thanks to Maeve Shiffler.
“She had a great shot from about 25 yards, and it was really windy. We were going against the wind in the first half, but she just hit it so well,” West coach Mike Moyer said. “I think the goalie got her hands on it, but with the wind, it was hard for her to judge the ball, but it was a great shot. That kind of got us rolling.”
Roll the Bucks did for the next 10 minutes, tacking on two more goals for the 3-0 lead they would take to intermission.
Taylor Moyer was up first, doubling the lead four minutes after the opener.
“Taylor had a great individual effort to win a ball, had to go one-on-one with the goalie and put away a good shot,” Mike Moyer said.
West was able to rotate a good number of players in on Wednesday and sophomore Mia DiCicco benefitted with her first varsity goal in the 25th minute.
“It was all hustle. There was a ball inside. She ended up winning it, dribbling down the side, came across the end line and hit a great shot that went in for her first varsity goal,” Moyer said. “It was just a great moment to see these younger girls getting goals.”
With the wind as an ally in the second half, West made some formational changes with the purpose of getting another goal in the first five minutes, according to Moyer.
Kate Weyer punched home a loose ball following a corner kick just four minutes into the half, and Shea Lubin, off a great pass by Riley Corona to spring a breakaway, sealed it up a few minutes after that.
“I thought my whole backline – Kate Weyer, Courtney Moylan, Kaitlyn Dougherty and Mariella Neri – were outstanding today,” Moyer said. “Alexis Castro really controlled the middle for us, and we got really good minutes from Ava Winn and Ava Brunner. It was also really nice to get everyone in today. Ashley Lott had a couple of good chances in the second half. We just played really well today. Now we have to get ready for Neshaminy.”
Souderton (1-5-1, 0-4-1) visits CR North at 3:30 on Friday. CB West (4-2, 2-2) hosts Neshaminy on Friday at 3:30.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3 2 – 5
SOUDERTON 0 0 – 0
Goals: CBW – Maeve Shiffler, Taylor Moyer, Mia DiCicco, Kate Weyer, Shea Lubin
SOL Freedom
Springfield Twp 4, Cheltenham 1
For the second time in as many games, the Spartans fell behind early.
For the second time in as many games, they rallied back to tie the game. This time, they kept going, built on and rebounded with a win over the hard-battling Panthers.
“It was a very good game today,” Spartans’ coach Dan Malora said. “We came out firing but couldn’t quite connect. Cheltenham made some great adjustments in the first 10 minutes and put us down early on with a goal in the 14th minute.”
The Panthers have shown plenty of heart and fight in every match this season and Wednesday was no different.
“I’m proud of the way we played today and the energy we brought to the game. Our focus in practice was staying positive, and we did that today,” Cheltenham coach Leah Matusow said. “We came out strong and scored first with a nice cross from Lily Crocker and goal scored by Mimi Williamson. After that, Springfield made some nice runs and took advantage of their opportunities on net.”
Marlo Williams had a strong game for the Spartans, netting a brace including the tying goal in the 26th minute following a nearly 60-yard run.
“We made some adjustments throughout the game as well and the defense really synced up,” Malora said. “The defensive and midfield adjustments were a key part to this win.”
Kaleigh Evans finished off a nice set-up pass for the go-ahead goal and her 10th career goal as just a sophomore. Williams scored in the 54th minute for the first of two insurance goals for Springfield.
“Four minutes later, Paige Robinson found a through pass to Alana Decker who put away her first goal of the season,” Malora said. “We kept up the pressure in the second half.”
Cheltenham (2-5, 0-5 SOL) hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh at 3:30 Friday. Springfield Twp (2-4, 2-3) hosts Upper Dublin on Friday at 3:30.
SPRINGFIELD TWP 2 2 – 4
CHELTENHAM 1 0 – 1
Goals: ST – Marlo Williams 2, Kaleigh Evans, Alana Decker; C – Mimi Williamson
Lower Moreland 2, William Tennent 1
The young Lions are coming on strong.
After losing their first two games and not scoring a goal in either one, the Lions have reeled off five straight victories capped by Wednesday’s result over last year’s SOL Freedom champions. With no seniors on his roster, LM coach Mike Gould knew it was a quality win.
“I think this result was massive for us after seeing how dominant Tennent was last season,” Gould said. “While they have a lot of new personnel, this is still a program that went 8-0 in the league and only played a couple games within a goal.”
Talisman forward Morgan Pennisi, who had a hat trick on Monday, registered both goals for LM in the first half before the Panthers came back in the second half.
“The game was back and forth. My big player highlights were the center backs, sophomore Amelia Brown and freshman Payge Lennon,” Gould said. “We knew the two athletic forwards Tennent had were going to give us issues and they were great today.”
Gould cited a team effort and the payoff of many hours on the practice fields as crucial parts of the win.
“Morgan’s first goal was off a pattern we spent probably 30 minutes in training working on the day before,” Gould said. “Freshman Nikki Sahl crossed it to Morgan, so I was really happy to see that execution early in the game.”
Pennisi, who leads the Lions in scoring, notched her second on a free kick just a couple moments after her first tally.
Kaitlyn Frank pulled one back for the Panthers with about 10 minutes to play.
“It was an overall team performance from the starters on the field playing big minutes to the girls on the bench cheering on their teammates,” Gould said. “I’m really impressed and proud of a group consisting of eight starting underclassmen going into a huge week for league standings and battling out a 4-3 overtime win and a 2-1 win over the previous year’s champion.”
Lower Moreland (5-2, 4-1 SOL) heads to Abington at 3:30 on Friday. William Tennent (4-2, 3-2) will visit Wissahickon on Friday at 3:30.
LOWER MORELAND 2 0 – 2
WILLIAM TENNENT 0 1 – 1
Goals: LM – Morgan Pennisi 2; WT – Kaitlyn Frank
New Hope-Solebury 1, Upper Moreland 1
The Lions accomplished a feat no other opponent had this season by taking points from the Golden Bears on Wednesday.
“Awesome match today for New Hope,” Lions coach Derek Antonini said. “We conceded early off a mistake in the back, then held solid the whole match. The back line was impressive, and I challenged them to rise to the occasion.”
A giveaway by New Hope-Solebury gave UM a good look early on and Mallory Roedig scored a great goal 11 minutes in.
“Coming out in today’s matchup we wanted to finish early and take our opportunities offensively when they showed. Mallory Roedig was able to get us on the scoreboard in the 11th minute of play from about 25 yards out,” Golden Bears coach Lisa Benvenuto said. “We finished the first half with five shots to New Hope’s three. New Hope in the first half defended us well, getting numbers back, and clearing the ball out.”
The Lions went into the half trailing 1-0, but were able to get back on the right track early in the second.
Mia Usatin, a freshman, scored her first varsity goal to help her team secure a point on the day. She was set up by New Hope’s player of the match, Ava Marrone following a nice sequence of passing and runs.
“Meeghan Griffith picked up a pass from Ciara Maguire and slipped Ava Marrone through on the right side,” Antonini said. “In the 18, she took her time, looked up and whipped a good ball in. It bumped around a bit then Mia put it away in the bottom right corner.
The Bears kept on the pressure, but unlike Monday’s comeback win, weren’t able to find a late winner.
“Going into the second half we stressed the need to finish and to capitalize on our opportunities. In the 50th minute, New Hope was able to put in the tying goal. From that point on we out shot New Hope 6-1, however we weren’t able to finish,” Benvenuto said. “We maintained possession of the ball and held our shape well throughout the second half and into the overtime periods. Our shots were there, we just couldn’t capitalize.
“We learned more about ourselves through today’s match, and we will take that knowledge and move forward with it.”
Antonini credited his entire defense for their efforts in going nearly 90 minutes without a goal after recovering from the early miscue.
“Nicole Michaels was a shutdown right back and Sophia Farina, our senior captain, held the left back position down, and Brooke McLaughlin and Madi Fasti were both lights-out,” Antonini said. “Margaret Tresler made a highlight reel save with two minutes left in OT off a ball that bounced through on the right side. The Upper Moreland forward cranked one and Margaret dove full stretch to force a corner.”
Upper Moreland (4-0-1 SOL) heads to Hatboro-Horsham on Friday at 3:30. New Hope-Solebury (1-4-1, 1-3-1) hosts Quakertown at 3:30 Friday.
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0 1 0 0 – 1
UPPER MORELAND 1 0 0 0 – 1
Goals: NHS – Mia Usatin; UM – Mallory Roedig
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