Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action in the District One 4A Tournament on Saturday. Abington/Hatboro-Horsham photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
CLASS 4A
#5 ABINGTON 2, ##13 HATBORO-HORSHAM 1 (OT)
It took overtime to determine a winner in the third meeting of the SOL Liberty Division’s top two squads. Hardly a surprise considering that one goal separated the two teams in each of their two regular season meetings with each squad winning one game.
“It’s a shame we had to play each other,” Abington coach Randy Garber said. “I get all the time from the coaches in the other league that – you guys don’t play anyone, you’re in that American Conference.
“Let me tell you something – Hatboro is a fine team. I’m hoping that they make states because that team’s a good little team. They never gave up. It was one of those games that either team could have won.”
The difference in this game was Thiago Danielle, who scored both goals.
“He’s a difference maker,” Garber said. “He’s capable of changing the game.
“You don’t find players that are capable of scoring goals like that. Liam (Hartman) had the assist on both goals – they complement each other.”
Nine minutes into the first overtime, it was Danielle turning a Liam Hartman pass into the golden goal.
“They dominated probably nine minutes of overtime,” Garber said of the Hatters. “We couldn’t get out of our own end.
“We came down once, flicked the ball, it came off Liam’s head to Thiago about 25 yards out, and he just beat two players in the box. For a goalkeeper, he just anticipated Thiago going to the far post, and he hit it in from maybe every bit of 18 yards.
“You don’t find players that are capable of doing that. Scoring goals is the most difficult thing in the game. He missed two chances in regulation that he should have scored, but he was too excited and missed the goal.”
Neither team scored in the first half, and it was Danielle turning a Hartman pass into a goal early in the second half. Tommy Harmon answered with the equalizer for the Hatters.
“Hatboro scored a great goal,” Garber said. “They came down the right side, the kid cut it back with his left foot and hit a brilliant ball to tie it 1-1.”
That tie stood until Danielle’s game-winner.
“Their players walking off were so disappointed, and I said to (Hatters’ coach) Kyle (McGrath) – you guys have to hang together and be strong because you guys should go to states. You’re capable of winning that playback game,” Garber said. “You go to Henderson and beat Henderson on their field and then you come to our place and have to deal with our team, and the only difference is the two top players. I have two forwards (Hartman and Danielle) that can score goals.”
The Ghosts’ coach paid tribute to several players in the win.
“Drew Paxson and Kevin Kretschman out of the defense played extremely well,” Garber said. “Michael Lyou on defense just did an amazing job, just holding off Hatboro from getting as many chances as they had. The defense was amazing, and obviously Liam and Thiago did a heck of a job up top.”
Saturday morning’s game featured a large turnout of fans for both sides.
“It was an unbelievably nice day,” Garber said. “And what a crowd – Hatboro brought a lot themselves because they’re right next door. That’s the beauty of it.”
Abington (17-2-1, 13-2-1 SOL) will travel to top-seeded Conestoga in Tuesday’s semifinal contest.
“The kids are excited so it should be fun,” Garber said. “Today’s win puts us in states, and the guys are excited that we train for two more weeks.”
Hatboro-Horsham 0-1-0 1
Abington 0-1-1 2
#22 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2, #6 BOYERTOWN 0
Gavin Hagen spent his Friday night braving the elements to perform kicking duties for the Council Rock South football team in its annual Rock Cup game against archrival Council Rock North. His 33-yard field goal accounted for Rock South’s only points in a 7-3 loss to the Indians.
Less than 24 hours later, Hagen was on the soccer pitch, and it was his two successful penalty kicks five minutes apart in the second half that proved to be the difference in the game.
“It’s not easy to score a penalty in general, let alone a playoff game with a whole lot at stake,” Rock South coach Alan Nicholl said. “To be able to put two in five minutes apart really goes to show his bravery, his courage, his leadership.
“I’ve got to hand it to him. The kid is kicking field goals for Council Rock South’s football team last night, and 15 hours later, he’s scoring penalties in the district quarterfinal. It’s a real credit to him. To have that composure, it really says a lot about him as an athlete.”
With Saturday’s win, the Golden Hawks put their names in the program’s record book – advancing to Tuesday’s District One 4A semifinal and also earning a coveted berth in the upcoming PIAA 4A Tournament. It’s a first for both since 2004.
“I said to them after the game – ‘Guys, all we did was win a game. Let’s keep it in perspective, no one is handing you a trophy, no one is putting a ring on your finger. We have a job to do. Goal number one was to make the (state) tournament. We’re in, now go win some silverware,’” Nicholl said. “
Saturday’s game featured a tightly contested opening half.
“You could tell neither team was willing to give up much,” Nicholl said. “The space was tight, the defense was tight. There just really wasn’t a whole lot of chances on goal.
“Their goalkeeper made a terrific save in the first half of Frankie Rafferty’s shot. Everything else was a corner kick here, a free kick there. You could tell both teams were pretty tight, not willing to give up much. We came out of the gates in the second half, and we kind of jumped on them. We kind of pitched a tent down in their end.”
That pressure paid off as the Golden Hawks broke the scoreless deadlock 15 minutes into the second half.
“We got a penalty – there was a ball into the box, and they were draped all over my one player who went down, and the ref called it,” Nicholl said. “It was definitely a foul, and Gavin Hagen converted.
“I told the kids at halftime – a goal is going to open up this game in a big way because it was so tight in the first half, you could really feel it was tense. All the players were being very cautious. You could tell what was at stake. We were probably unlucky not to score prior to the penalty.”
Five minutes after Hagen converted the penalty kick, the Golden Hawks were awarded a second PK.
“A player ran into the box, and a player went under him, and the ref called it,” Nicholl said. “Gavin Hagen scored the second penalty, which is a credit to him.”
That 2-0 lead held the rest of the way.
“We kind of made some shifts to hold a 2-0 lead,” Nicholl said. “There was no point in chasing anything at that point. They threw an awful lot at us in the last 15 minutes or so – a lot of long balls forward. We did a great job just holding our shape, playing tight defense
“They didn’t get many sniffs at goal at all. (Goalkeeper) Kieran Barry didn’t have a whole lot to do. Outside of the last 10 minutes when there were just a lot of long balls put in the box – we just kept it tight.
“Isaac Burenga, my center back, was terrific. He didn’t put a foot wrong all day. They had a couple of players coming forward that are very dangerous, and we just did a good job of bottling them up, not giving up any space cheaply. It was a good professional close to the game. We finished the last 15 minutes or so without really giving them much.”
The Golden Hawks are playing their best soccer of the season when it matters most.
“We’re playing really well as a group,” Nicholl said. “I think the expectations for one another are really well set. They’re anticipating each other’s movements, they’re anticipating each other’s thoughts. Even the subs that are coming in – they’re really well timed. They understand exactly where we are emotionally as a team.
“They know – I need you to go in, I need you to get 10-12 minutes off the clock. In goes Cooper Walters off the bench and puts in a terrific 12- or 14-minute shift where he’s going full bore the whole time. He knows – we have a 2-0 lead, I’m asking him to take 12 minutes off the block, and he does because he knows. I think there’s great fluency to the team. They’re in a really good place. I think their anticipation for where we are and where we’re going is very high.
“They say it’s super important to hit your stride at the right time, and I think we’ve certainly showed that.”
Nicholl also tipped his hat to the competition his team regularly faces in SOL play.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Neshaminy and (Council Rock) North and Pennsbury for asking so much of us and preparing us so well,” Nicholl said. “Every game we play is hard game, so when we played a hard game today, it was just another day at the office for us.”
Council Rock South (15-5-1, 10-5-1 SOL) will travel to Lower Merion for a District One 4A semifinal on Tuesday (3 p.m.).
Council Rock South 0-2 2
Boyertown 0-0 0
#1 CONESTOGA 4, #8 PENNRIDGE 0
The Rams knew they were going to have their hands full with a Conestoga squad ranked seventh nationally and number one in the state.
When it was over, coach Pete Valimont acknowledged it was hard not to be impressed.
“We prepared more than for any other team – we spent 2 ½ hours yesterday on this game,” Valimont said. “We believed that this game – win or lose – was going to prepare us for the rest of our games.
“This was a great experience. I thought we played well. I thought we had moments where we did some really good stuff, but they’re just solid all around. We were able to get all our varsity guys in, all our seniors got in and got to experience a quarterfinal game against the number one team in the state.”
The Pioneers got on the scoreboard with 24 minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
“A sub – #28 – came in and hit an absolute laser from about 25 yards out,” Valimont said. “He got a good angle and he ripped a (heck) of a shot for a high school kid.”
The same player picked up his second goal with 7:38 left in the opening half.
“It was a little bit of a mix-up on our part covering,” Valimont said. “I believe it took an awkward bounce and caught us a little bit, and it ended up making it 2-0.
“Their long throw – I’ve been doing this for 14 years now, and I haven’t seen a throw like that since 2010 when we played Lower Merion. It’s a missile. Everyone has told me about it, and we‘ve seen it on tape, but until you’ve seen it in person. I was standing right behind him when he did it, and there was probably a bucket of space for him to put the ball in, and they got a touch on it and they scored with three minutes left.”
The Pioneers took that 3-0 lead into halftime and added a single goal after the intermission – this one with 37:51 remaining in regulation.
“They had a restart – we fouled outside the box, they put a ball in with another hard laser shot. CJ made a great save on it, but we gave up the rebound, and their kid was there to bury it,” Valimont said.
That 4-0 score stood, and when it was over, Valimont had no complaints with his team’s effort.
“They played their butts off,” the Rams’ coach said. “Shane Velez played a monster of a game. I know they scored four goals, but CJ Dimmick played great. Nicky Williams in the middle, Pat Fannon played really good at our outside back. Jeff Stritzl and Ryan Saville really played good soccer. There’s nothing for us to be ashamed of, but can we get them to mentally flush this down the toilet and get them ready to play an elimination game in 45 hours?”
Pennridge (14-3-3, 11-2-3 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham in a playback game on Tuesday (6 p.m.). The Rams and Hatters are two of four teams vying for one state berth. The winner advances, but the loser is eliminated from the tournament.
“Our season’s not done,” Valimont said. “We’re moving forward. We have a home game Tuesday with Hatboro-Horsham. Coach Kyle (McGrath) and I are good friends. He always has a fantastic squad to play against, so it should be a great Suburban One League game.”
Pennridge 0-0- 0
Conestoga 3-1 4
#2 LOWER MERION 2, #7 NORTH PENN 0
The Aces opened up a 1-0 halftime lead and added an insurance goal in the second half, sending the Knights to the playback bracket.
“We didn’t play our best game and credit to a very athletic and fast Lower Merion team, but I do think that Lower Merion has more of a home field advantage than any other school we’ve played,” North Penn coach Chris DePeppe said. “Their pitch is 3/4 the size of standard fields and probably only 57 yards wide.
“I’m not saying we’d beat them on a larger field, but it sure would make for a better game. That field just invites more collisions and injuries and prevents any team from getting into any passing rhythm. It’s very difficult to find any time or space on that field. But we have put it behind us and have our sights set on qualifying for states with two wins this week.”
North Penn (15-5, 13-3 SOL) will travel to #6 Boyertown for a playback game Tuesday (3:45 pm). The winner will advance to play for the final state berth.
“Boyertown somehow got a six seed to our seven seed with one less win and one more loss than us,” DePeppe said. “We believe in ourselves and think we can advance in the state tournament. Win Tuesday and we get one more home game. This team is not done, and this group will rise to the challenge ahead. It should be an exciting week.”
North Penn 0-0 0
Lower Merion 1-1 2
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