Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. CB East/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
CLASS 4A
No. 4 Downingtown East 1, No. 9 Pennridge 0
District 1 will have a new champion this fall.
A solitary goal in the first half and a swarming defensive effort throughout was enough to get the shorthanded Cougars past the shorthanded Rams, ending Pennridge’s two-year reign atop Class 4A. While the Rams have been down players through the latter half of the season, their missing numbers were exacerbated on Tuesday.
That wasn’t an excuse for the still-defending state champions though, and an all-too familiar foe was much more the culprit.
“It seems like the story of our lives this season, we’re leaving too many goals on the field,” Rams coach Audrey Anderson said. “We’re not finishing our scoring opportunities. We have to do a better job and with this group, they have to understand it’s one thing to want it and another to fight for it.
“I thought in the second half, we fought a lot harder than we did in the first half. There’s a lot of new faces here and we’ll figure it out.”
Pennridge will have to deal with the loss of forward Emily Kriney, who had three goals this postseason, after the speedy senior broke her foot against Neshaminy. Top reserve Joey Tomlinson and a few other players were also out due to illness, but ideally, they’ll be back sooner rather than later.
The absences did show, especially early as the Rams weren’t able to connect passes or generate their usual tempo against a stout Cougars team that won its third straight against an SOL opponent after downing Abington in the round of 16 and CB East in the quarterfinals.
Downingtown East got its lone score with 15:23 left in the first half after Kylie Shumate scored on her first touch off a cross by Caroline McDonald.
Other than that, the Cougars had no answer for Sierra Shaeffer. The Rams’ senior keeper was outstanding with seven saves, including two on McDonald from close range. Shaeffer’s first came in the opening minute, a reaction stop that was then cleared by a defender and the latter in the final minutes on a remarkable diving parry from point-blank that even audited praise from the opposing bench.
Shaeffer was also a constant source of vocal encouragement for her teammates from the back, which isn’t a surprise from the co-captain.
“That save at the end was incredible, 1-0 sounds a lot better than 2-0,” Anderson said. “I’m sad for her tonight because she’s been playing great. We talk about her carrying the weight of the program on her shoulders when she’s not even a keeper and how much we should work for her with how much she’s doing for us in the goal.”
Riley Hepler nearly levelled the score in the second half but saw her long-distance strike parried over the bar on a great denial by East keeper Lillian Matte. Tori Angelo, who hit a post, and Leah Malone worked hard against a relentless and swarming Cougars defense while Hannah Primwhere continued her solid run of play as a midfielder.
“We could have made every excuse possible but we’re not the team to make excuses, instead we’ll hopefully learn from this and move on,” Anderson said.
Pennridge (18-4, 13-3 SOL) will visit No. 3 Conestoga on Friday in the third-place seeding game.
DOWNINGTOWN EAST 1 0 – 1
PENNRIDGE 0 0 – 0
No. 5 Central Bucks East 3, No. 16 Neshaminy 2
As Elise Duffy goes, so go the Patriots.
Coming off a tough overtime loss to Downingtown East in the quarterfinals, East had to regroup quickly with a talented Neshaminy team coming in and only the winner keeping their season alive. As Duffy goes, so go the Patriots and the senior got going early on, scoring in the opening minute of the contest.
“To score within a minute was huge. No surprise but Elise was big for us today. More than just scoring that goal, but how she combined with the girls around her gave us a ton of really dangerous chances,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “Brooke Roumy did a very good job running off the ball in behind and I thought Camryn Williams is having an awesome streak of great games.”
Duffy gave East a 1-0 lead one minute in, then Roumy doubled it up midway through the opening half before the visitors pulled one back just before the break. East topped Neshaminy 2-1 in the regular season, but there were more goals coming in this one.
“It was great to see our group bounce back after a tough result against Downingtown East. We created a handful of very good opportunities today in the run of play and off set pieces and were a bit unfortunate to not land a few more on this scoreline, but I thought Neshaminy’s goalkeeper was excellent,” Nesteruk said. “I have to give a lot of credit to their group for pushing back into the game and putting our backline under so much pressure. It’s a shame that one of our seasons had to end today, but that group Renny (Papendick) has is going to continue to be a force.”
Senior Elliot Forney pushed the East lead back to two goals at 3-1. Neshaminy got another back in the final five minutes, but the Patriots defense was able to close things out and move on.
“I thought Sophie Schorn came into this game and provided a level of stability and simplicity that was needed and not easy to do in a game as high-pressure as this. In the back, Chantal Van Dongeren had to deal with a lot of overloads on her side and she managed to defend a very fast team incredibly well,” Nesteruk said. “You get to this point in the season and it’s all about just finding ways to pull out the result. This was without a doubt a team win and we are grateful to see another day.”
A terrific season closes for Neshaminy a bit short of states but not without its share of spoils. The Redskins, who got stellar leadership from senior captains Jordyn Fregia and Kira Bradley along with junior captains Carly Fox and Mercedez Paino, won a share of the SOL Patriot title for a second straight year.
Neshaminy also won two playoff games, including a well-earned win over top-seeded Lower Merion in the second round. Along with Fox and Paino, the team returns numerous key contributors like Alexis Ocasio, Paige Borkowski, Avery Papendick, freshmen Taylor and Kylie Maxwell and keeper Hannah Labadie.
CB East (17-4, 13-3 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday with the final state playoff bid for District 1 on the line in an all-SOL clash. Neshaminy (12-4 SOL) closed out it season with a 17-6 overall record.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2 1 – 3
NESHAMINY 1 1 – 2
Goals: CBE – Elise Duffy, Elliot Forney, Brooke Roumy
No. 22 Hatboro-Horsham 1, No. 7 Avon Grove 0
Hatboro-Horsham isn’t letting its season end without a fight.
After losing a heartbreaker in double overtime to Conestoga to fall into the playback bracket, the Hatters bought themselves another game with a long trip and a narrow win.
“Once again everyone on the team put in all the effort that they could into this game. The Lady Hatters have been fighting all postseason and putting up a lot of heart and grit,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Kelsey Daley said. “They never back down and really lean on one another. There is a special bond with this team that came out at the perfect time.”
Mia Malofiy continued her strong postseason with a sublime goal that was enough to get her team a few more days together. The sophomore, the team’s fastest player, did what she does best, going down the wing.
“Mia took on a defender down the right wing, beat her and launched a shot into the far netting. It was an unbelievable shot,” Daley said. “She’s been getting multiple goals from that area but this one was something really special.”
Hatboro-Horsham wasn’t sure it would even make the postseason and has now beaten the No. 11, No. 6 and No. 7 seeds in four playoff games.
“Every game we come in as the underdogs and we actually enjoy it,” Daley said. “We have a lot of heads turning when they keep seeing us upset the higher seeds.”
Martine Royds and Sam Hollish combined for the shutout win in goal.
Daley, an alum of the program, has already made history by guiding the Hatters to their first district quarterfinals. With another win, she can take her team to another destination it has yet to experience.
“This team fights till the very end and never gives up,” Daley said. “We have one more game to make program history and make states, and I know that these girls will definitely bring it and never give up.”
Hatboro-Horsham (13-8-1, 10-5-1 SOL) will visit CB East on Friday with the winner getting the final state playoff bid from District 1.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1 0 – 1
AVON GROVE 0 0 – 0
Goals: HH – Mia Malofiy
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