Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ lacrosse teams in action Tuesday. Neshaminy/CB South photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Hatboro-Horsham/PW photos courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for galleries of both games. (Abington photo courtesy of Abington lacrosse). All SOS photo galleries for BOYS’ LACROSSE can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL National Conference
NESHAMINY 7, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 6 (OT)
Ignoring the bitterly cold weather that was not conducive for outdoor sports, Neshaminy rallied from two down in the fourth quarter to win a thriller when senior captain Patrick Courtney scored in
the opening minute of overtime, propelling the Redskins to the dramatic win.
“Jack Sexton won the overtime faceoff, and we called an immediate timeout and we set up a play,” Neshaminy coach John Donato said. “The play was originally designed for someone else, and it wasn’t there. It ended up in Patrick Courtney’s stick, and Patrick just took it to the goal, and it was a real dynamic finishing goal, a hard outside bounce shot past the Titans’ keeper.
“To beat a Central Bucks team is special to Neshaminy, and our kids deserved the moment. I don’t think Neshaminy has ever beaten any of the Central Bucks teams. We’ve only been encountering them frequently since the restructured the league, but even when we played them out of league before that, I don’t think Neshaminy has ever beaten them, so to beat a Central Bucks team was a real joy for us.”
It was reason to celebrate for players and coaches alike.
“To win it in that fashion, it was exciting,” Donato said. “One of the parents sent me a video of the dog pile at the end, and he said – it pretty much exemplifies the joy that these kids had.”
The game was tightly contested from the outset. The two teams each scored a goal in the opening quarter, and it was the visiting Titans taking a 3-2 lead into halftime. They upped that lead to 5-3 heading into the final quarter.
“It was close throughout – we stayed with them,” Donato said. “CB South is well coached and were discipled on offense, and they probably controlled most of the offense. Our defense is good and pretty much held them at bay. Third quarter they started to take the initiative.”
The Redskins made it a 5-4 game only to see the Titans score to go on top 6-4 at the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Down but not out, the Redskins battled back, scoring a pair of goals in the next three minutes. Lucas Maher scored to pull the Redskins to within one, and Dan Lowman connected on the equalizer.
“The fourth quarter some of our offensive players who haven’t really found themselves yet – they started to find themselves,” Donato said. “Lucas Maher had a big goal in the fourth. It was a dynamic goal, and it got the momentum going.
“Daniel Lowman is one of our D-middies. He stayed on the field on the offensive side. We didn’t pull him, and he scored the tying goal, which got everyone excited as well. We won the faceoff, took possession and took a shot.
“In turn, they took possession with a little over a minute, and that’s when our goalie, Ryan Rickards, really performed at a high level. He stopped about three shots that were ticketed for the goal that could have won the game for them, and he came up big.”
The stage was set for overtime and one of the program’s biggest wins.
For the Redskins, Courtney scored a pair of goals and also had an assist while Ayden Demi and Liam Ames each had a goal and an assist. Maher, Lowman and Logan Backhaus added one goal each.
There was plenty of praise to go around after this win.
“Our close defenders – Tim Trapp, Logan Hood, and Colin Heltzel – played solid throughout, as did our short poles, Daniel Lowman, Jack Herb, Logan Backhaus, and two-ways middies Lucas Maher, Ethan Roney, and Ayden Demi,” Donato said. “Goalie Ryan Rickards
was stellar between the pipes, turning back numerous shots at key moments. Lucas Maher and Daniel Lowman scored big time momentum shifting goals leading the fourth quarter comeback.”
Making the win especially sweet was the fact that it was not only the program’s first over a Central Bucks school but also represented a huge step forward for the Redskins, who lost their faceoff specialist, Cory Hemberger, in the first game of the year.
“He was really good, and we had great expectations for him,” Donato said. “Since then, we’ve been trying to find somebody, and it really showed the last game when we played Hatboro and lost 15 of 16 faceoffs.
“Today we used a sophomore, Jack Sexton, and he did very well. At least he neutralized it and won a few big ones, especially in the fourth quarter. When we went to the overtime, he won the faceoff.”
The Redskins’ coach tipped his hat to his opponent.
“Mike Strayline is just a terrific guy,” Donato said. “To beat that type of team with the Central Bucks legacy, it was exciting.”
Neshaminy (4-4, 1-2 SOL) will travel to Conwell-Egan for a non-league game on Thursday, and Central Bucks South (3-5, 1-3) will be on the road at Archbishop Wood for a non-league game on Thursday.
Central Bucks South 1-2-2-1-0 6
Neshaminy 1-1-1-3-1 7
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 10, NORTH PENN 7
In a SOL National Conference matchup, the Patriots defeated the Knights at CB East. The Patriots took a 5-2 lead into halftime and then withstood a five-goal third quarter surge by the Knights. East took an 8-7 lead into the final quarter and added a pair of goals in the fourth quarter while keeping North Penn off the scoreboard.
CB East was led by senior Captain Nick Knepp with two goals and three assists. Freshman attackmen Thomas Williams continued to fill the net with four goals, while junior midfielder Luke Christmas had one goal and two assists. Freshmen Adam Volm and Matt Bowen each chipped in one assist, while short stick defensive middie Dean Blackwell added an assist with his two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
The East defense, led by senior captain Brennan Coleman (4 cto, 2gb), senior Quinn Colins (2cto, 2gb), juniors Ethan Greenlea (4cto, 2gb) and Chris Funston (3 cto, 3gb) held the Knights scoreless in the fourth quarter, cementing East’s win. Nils Updale dominated the faceoff x again, winning 15 of 20 faceoffs.
Connor Toussaint led the North Penn attack with two goals and one assist while Lars Homan had one goal and one assist. Adding one goal each were Jake Dolan, Billy Homony and Jake Myers.
Matt Kuhn recorded nine saves in goal for the Knights.
Central Bucks East (3-3, 3-0 SOL) will host SOL American Conference rival Upper Dublin at First Lt. Colby Umbrell Field at Patrioto Stadium on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. North Penn (4-5, 2-2 SOL) will travel to West Chester Rustin for a non-league game Thursday.
North Penn 2-0-5-0 7
Central Bucks East 2-3-3-2 10
PENNRIDGE 12, HARRY S TRUMAN 2
Eleven players contributed to the scoring as the Rams notched a decisive conference win over the visiting Tigers. Pennridge led 7-0 after one quarter and never looked back.
Frankie Fanelli had a hand in six goals to lead the Rams, scoring twice and assisting on four others. Drew Ferguson had a hat trick while Kevin Matthews had one goal and one assist. Contributing one goal each were Luke Lenox, Jesse Rose, Cooper States, Trevor Fuchs, Ryan O’Shea and Carson Tormey. States also won his only faceoff. Ben Souder and Luke Benedict both had one assist.
Souder also had a big night at the faceoff X, winning 9 of 10 faceoffs. David Lee won four of seven faceoffs.
Kieran Banks (2 saves), Tyler Vandermark (1 save) and Calvin McGuire (1 save) shared time between the pipes for the Rams in the win.
Pennridge (3-6, 1-3 SOL) will host Springfield Township on Wednesday, and Harry S Truman (0-8, 0-4) will travel to Archbishop Ryan for a non-league game on Saturday.
Harry S Truman 0-1-0-1 2
Pennridge 7-3-1-1 12
SOL American Conference
HATBORO-HORSHAM 10, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 8
Min Lee scored five goals, and Alex Cerminara added a hat trick to lead the visiting Hatters to the conference win. Sam Fink contributed a goal and an assist while Jaden Mariano had one goal.
David Benjamin, who had a pair of assists, controlled play at the faceoff X, winning 15 of 22 faceoffs. Hunter Long was credited with four caused turnovers and one ground ball.
Hatter goalie Brendan Kim recorded 12 saves in a strong outing.
For the Colonials, junior midfielder Justin Bainbridge scored three goals and had two assists. Senior CJ Petrakis also had three goals, and senior attack Luke Wendler scored two goals
Hatboro-Horsham (6-2, 2-2 SOL) will host Coatesville in a non-league game Wednesday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-3, 1-2) will travel to Holy Ghost Prep for a non-league game Thursday.
Hatboro-Horsham 5-2-2-1 10
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1-2-3-2 8
UPPER DUBLIN 6, UPPER MORELAND 5
The Flying Cardinals, who led by one at halftime, notched a win over the visiting Golden Bears that was anything by easy.
“This was a gritty win by our guys,” UD coach Pat Lacon said. “Upper Moreland played really well and made us work for everything that we got. They are a well-coached team, and their players earn respect for how hard they play. Corey (Kelly) had them ready to compete off the first whistle. Their goalie played really well. It was a good win for us in the league.”
For the Cardinals, Jackson Simons had two goals and one assist while Al Eby had a goal and an assist. Adding one goal each were Cole Pedrosa, Kyle Spirt and Brett Callahan. JD Beam had an assist.
UD goalie Nate Fechter had 11 saves in a winning effort.
Upper Dublin (7-1, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Wednesday, and Upper Moreland (4-4, 1-1) will host William Tennent on Thursday.
ABINGTON 11, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 2
The Ghosts celebrated Senior Night with a no-doubt-about-it victory over the visiting Lions, racing out of the gate to an 8-1 halftime lead and never looking back.
Ben Markham led the Ghosts with four goals and one assist, Andrew Herman added a hat trick and one assist, and Ben Suit had two goals. Aidan Rose and Christian Slavin both had one goal. Rose also had an assist.
Abington (4-4, 2-1 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Friday, and New Hope-Solebury (2-6, 1-3) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Thursday.
Non-league
HARRITON 16, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 6
The visiting Spartans spent Monday’s non-league game playing catchup. They trailed by two after one quarter and found themselves on the short end of an 8-3 halftime score.
Peter Schmidt led the Spartans with two goals and two assists while Matt Capoferri added two goals and an assist. Eli Rubincam had a goal and an assist, Grant Williams had one goal, and Tom Coppol chipped in with an assist.
Spartans’ goalie Patrick McMahon was credited with 13 saves.
Springfield Township (3-7, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Wednesday.
Springfield Township 2-1-2-1 6
Harriton 4-4-5-3 16
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