Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action on Thursday. William Tennent/New Hope-Solebury photos provided courtesy of Karla Donohoe. Check back for a gallery of photos. All SOS photo galleries for BOYS’ SOCCER can be viewed by clicking HERE. (Team photo provided by Kelly Reid/CB East soccer)
SOL Liberty
Wissahickon 2, Hatboro-Horsham 1
Blake McClintic is a walking set piece.
The Wissahickon senior possesses the ability to throw the ball long distances, giving the Trojans a sort of mobile restart that can put extra pressure on a team’s defense. For a half on Thursday, the only issue was that the co-captain didn’t have anyone to throw to.
“We made our adjustments on the long throw,” McClintic said. “We had people in the box and on the keeper, doing the right things and winning second balls. We like to have our targets be our center backs, they have a height advantage on pretty much every other team so we play off them.”
It took a little forceful persuasion from the bench, but center back Jack O’Donnell did eventually make his way forward after halftime. Given that he’s Wissahickon’s tallest player, the senior defender is a natural target for McClintic to try and hit with his long heaves.
While Wissahickon had the edge in possession in the first half, it took two timely saves by senior Eric McEvily to keep the game scoreless. The Wiss keeper came out to get his torso in front of a hit by JR Fulginiti and the Trojans caught a break when his follow up sailed wide, then dove to stop Anthony Pumilia a few seconds before the horn.
The Hatters did score after Wissahickon’s opening goal to tie it 1-1, but overall Hatboro-Horsham’s attack was frustrated by a lack of connections.
“We weren’t great offensively, a couple runs too early or not checking back to the ball hard enough and that leads to constant pressure on us the entire first half,” HH coach Kyle McGrath said. “We’re good defensively, but when you defend that much, eventually, you’re going to break.”
O’Donnell fittingly opened the scoring, soaring into the air and heading in a throw from McClintic about 12 minutes into the second half.
After trading corner kicks over the next 10 minutes, the Hatters were awarded a free kick about 25 yards out. A dummy run by senior Jake Freedman preceded the kick, which led to a flurry of feet in front of goal and Matt Wingen tapping in the tying goal.
“That’s high school soccer, right, set piece goals and throw-in goals,” McGrath said. “For the most part this year, we’ve done very well on those, but tonight we got punished for first, kicking the ball out so much and second, not defending well enough on two of them.”
Late in the game, with about five minutes left, Wissahickon earned yet another throw-in deep in Hatters territory. Once again, McClintic threw the ball in O’Donnell’s direction, this time with the senior getting only a piece of the ball off his head that led to a bouncer in the box.
A big hop carried over a few defenders and sophomore Ryan Dowdy was in the right spot to score his first goal of the season. Battling a defender, Dowdy was able to get his foot up and flicked the ball in for the winning goal, sealed by another nice save by McEvily.
“It’s called ‘framing the goal,’ you basically sit in behind and wait for that lucky bounce,” Dowdy said. “It’s all about whether or not you want to go attack it or not to put it in the back of the net.”
Hatboro-Horsham (9-4, 8-3 SOL) will host Abington at 3:45 on Oct 11. Wissahickon (7-6-1, 6-6) visits Upper Dublin at 7 on Oct. 11.
WISSAHICKON 0 2 – 2
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 1 – 1
Goals; W – Jack O’Donnell, Ryan Dowdy; HH – Matt Wingen
Upper Dublin 6, Quakertown 1
Sometimes, the best direction is no direction.
Upper Dublin coach Noah Johnson has been preaching to his team to embrace their creative side on the field and let the game come through that. It seemed to work Thursday night.
“The boys are moving the ball around really well and just looking really comfortable. We’ve been talking about being creative and not being so robotic and being able to think for yourself as a player,” Johnson said. “That’s so important for the guys as they start heading to colleges and want to experience the next level of soccer. It’s very important that they have a mind of their own.”
Miles Bondi bagged a quick brace, scoring twice inside the first 15 minutes as the Cardinals came out moving and working off each other. Campbell Heckler also managed a tally in the first half as the hosts built a robust 3-0 lead at the break.
Leevens Noel, Nick Fiore and Tommy Clayton put away goals in the second half, splitting the offensive production evenly on each side of halftime as Upper Dublin – which opened the day tied with Abington atop the SOL Liberty table – got a jumpstart on the second half of division play.
With the exception of one breakdown in the second half, the Cardinals were in tune with each other up and down the pitch in a full 80-minute effort on Thursday.
“It was really nice to see them put ideas together by themselves without really needing any help from me and just venturing off and enjoying the game and not worrying about – I’ve got to be here or I’ve got to be there,” Johnson said. “It was nice to see them put things together on their own and really communicate the entire game whether it was offensively or defensively. I think this was the best game communication-wise of any game we’ve played so far.”
Upper Dublin (12-1-1, 10-1-1 SOL) hosts Wissahickon at 7 on Oct. 11. Quakertown (1-12-0, 10-10-0) visits Plymouth Whitemarsh at 3:30 on Oct. 11.
UPPER DUBLIN 3-3 6
QUAKERTOWN 0-1 1
Goals: UD – Miles Bondi 2, Campbell Heckler, Leevens Noel, Nick Fiore, Tommy Clayton
SOL Colonial
Central Bucks East 2, Central Bucks West 0
On top of the atmosphere of the first East-West boys’ soccer game under the lights at Central Bucks East, the Patriots had three other reasons to celebrate on Thursday.
Players from both teams donned golden laces on their cleats in support of the battle against Pediatric Cancer. The night was also Red for Rosica, with a “red out” in honor of Brian Rosica – a member of the soccer and education community diagnosed with ALS.
Lastly, the Patriots had a special honorary captain, a former soccer player who has persevered through some physical disabilities.
“To have those three amazing events – things that are so much bigger than soccer – and to throw a win on top of that, it was just a very special night all around,” East coach Josh Isaacsohn said. “It was a special night for the boy who was an honorary captain and to raise tons of money for pediatric cancer and ALS, it’s just a huge, huge win all the way around.”
On the pitch, the Patriots were able to avenge their loss to the Bucks earlier this season although in typical East-West fashion, it didn’t come easily.
“I would say the first 12-15 minutes were fairly even, went back and forth. I have a lot of respect for coach Cooper (Moyer), I know that he had scouted us. They missed a few, we missed a few. It really could have gone either way,” Isaacsohn said. “I thought we possessed the ball a little bit better, but they had our number, and they know when to launch the ball forward and try to get in on us. They almost did a couple of times, but our defensive line of Luke Christmas, Dylan Walker, Josh Daniels and Andrew Walloff really held them at bay.”
Knowing the Bucks wanted to go direct, playing more of a kick-and-run style favoring longer balls hit at or over the back line, East focused its efforts on keeping the ball moving on and off feet and in its possession.
Brandon Epstein rose to the occasion on the night, giving East a needed push to break the scoreless start.
“Major props to Brandon Epstein. He really had a breakout game tonight. He just worked his tail off all 80 minutes,” Isaacsohn said. “The first goal came in the 25th minute. Brandon was fouled in the box, he was taken down and earned himself a PK that he finished.”
It didn’t even take 10 minutes for Epstein to influence the match again, this time by giving up the ball and assisting on a Michael Montabana goal.
“We’ve all known what a solid player Brandon is, and we want not just our league and our division, but we want the world to see what he’s capable of, and we’re just really proud of him tonight,” Isaccsohn said.
While the Bucks didn’t score on Thursday, it wasn’t an easy match to see out after halftime.
“I just really respect Cooper and his coaching staff and know they came in for a hard-fought battle,” Isaacsohn said.
CB West (6-7-2, 5-6-2 SOL) will be at North Penn for a 3:30 pm start on Oct. 11. CB East (10-4, 9-3) visits Central Bucks South in a key SOL Colonial match at 5:30 on Oct. 11.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2 0 – 2
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 0 – 0
Goals; CBE – Brandon Epstein, Michael Montabana
Central Bucks South 3, Souderton 0
For about 20 minutes on Thursday, it seemed like a goal was never going to come.
Both the Titans and the Indians were just walled up on the defensive end, both limiting chances but also turning away those that did come through.
“We played well defensively as a team, especially in the first half. We managed to keep Souderton from attacking us for a lot of the first half,” Titans coach Josh Pettican said. “To be fair even though we were getting the ball forward quite a lot in the first half, the Souderton defense locked up and wouldn’t let us in.”
The great equalizer, or in this case, separator in soccer is execution on set pieces. A chance to organize a play and create a scoring opportunity doesn’t come frequently and a mid-first half corner kick for South proved exactly what was needed to break the deadlock.
“Brian Schmidt volleyed it home,” Pettican said. “The first goal was massive because it opened a lot of things up.”
A lead is nice, an insurance goal feels even better. With about five minutes left in the first half, the Titans got a gem of an insurance tally that sent them to the break feeling pretty good.
“A ball got switched from the right side to the left where Sean Rieber managed to bring it down and drill the shot right into the roof of the net at the near post,” Pettican said. “I do feel for the Souderton keeper, no one was saving it. It was a rocket and almost put a hole through the net.”
South’s energy was turned to maintaining the advantage after halftime while Souderton was determined to get back in the game, naturally causing a shift in the tempo of the match.
“The second half had a different vibe,” Pettican said. “Souderton came out a lot more aggressive and got more chances. They hit the crossbar once. We managed to hang on and calm the game down.”
After weathering the storm, the Titans were able to get back on the front foot and managed to not only keep Souderton out of the net, but add another goal in the final five minutes that all but sealed the deal.
“We pressed their back line hard, winning the ball and passed it across the six yard line for a tap-in by Brayden Roach,” Pettican said. “It was a great team effort today, we managed to get every player in the squad some game action.”
While the Indians are short-handed at the moment, they were a playoff team a year ago and any win over a strong program is a good one to have.
“I have to give it to Souderton, a lot of their top guys are currently out injured. They are a very good team but unfortunately sometimes results just don’t come,” Pettican said. “This was a massive win for South. This is the first year that the school has done the double over Souderton.”
CB South (10-4, 9-3 SOL) hosts CB East at 5:30 on Oct. 11 in a crucial game for the SOL Colonial standings. Souderton (5-8) hosts Dock Mennonite at 3 pm on Saturday.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2 1 – 3
SOUDERTON 0 0 – 0
Goals; CBS – Brian Schmidt, Sean Rieber, Brayden Roach
SOL Freedom
William Tennent 2, New Hope-Solebury 1
A pair of first half goals by the Panthers held up thanks to a superb defensive effort on Thursday.
“Zach Dinnis stopped a penalty kick in the first half and played a very good game in the nets,” Tennent coach Angelo Albanese said. “Bryce DeFonteney anchored the defense in what was a very even game that could have swung either way.”
Patrick Gillespie led a strong midfield effort, picking up a pair of assists to show for it. John Ellis and Connor Hanratty came through on the receiving end of Gillespie’s passes to finish goals for the Panthers.
While New Hope-Solebury did cut the lead in half after halftime, Tennent was able to get enough stops to see out the win.
“Opportunities to score were created at both ends,” Albanese said. “Naz Kukhniy and Peter Comans joined Patrick Gillespie to play solidly in the midfield.”
Tennent (4-8, 4-7 SOL) visits Springfield Twp at 3:30 on Friday. New Hope-Solebury (2-10, 1-9) hosts Cheltenham at 3:30 on Friday.
WILLIAM TENNENT 2 0 – 2
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0 1 – 1
Goals: WT – John Ellis, Connor Hanratty
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