Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Wednesday. Wissahickon/PW photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos. All SOS photo galleries for BOYS’ SOCCER can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Colonial Division
Central Bucks South 1, Pennridge 0
Everything was on the line in this one, and playing at home under the lights, CB South emerged with the huge 1-0 win to wrap up the Colonial Division championship against a Pennridge team that started the week in the drivers’ seat but lost two one-goal games.
“We knew going into this that it was do or die,” said Titans coach Kyle Pettican. “We have nothing but the utmost respect for Pennridge. We know how dangerous they are. We had a big preparation session leading into the game and built a game plan. The game was always going to be a close battle and my boys were extremely focused going in.”
It was not the final week the Rams had envisioned.
“It wasn’t what we had planned for,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont. “Congratulations to coach Kyle (Pettican) and his staff. His guys played well.”
The game came down to a penalty kick, and CB South’s Thijs Popma converted 15 minutes in for what would be the only goal of the game.
“Our guy jumped up for a ball and got a bit of shove from behind from their defender, hit his upper arm and chest,” Valimont said. “I’ve never seen it in 15 years, but that got a penalty kick called against us. No foul, no 50-50, no physical contact whatsoever, just one person’s opinion of where the ball touched a player’s body versus another.
“Credit to (CB South), they got the penalty kick, they shot it, they scored, and it was 1-0 at halftime. They were able to run out the clock and everything we threw at them. The second half we obviously pushed up, put a lot of pressure. They handled it at times well. We had some great chances. That darn goal gets so small sometimes when it’s so darn big.”
The Titans kept their composure and held off the charge from the Rams the rest of the way.
“The boys kept their heads since other games we have allowed the lead to slip,” Pettican said. “The game didn’t change much, it was very 50/50. Both teams wanted to attack, however, no one wanted to get caught on the counterattack.”
The Titans coach had high praise for his squad.
“I would like to give a shout-out to the entire team,” Pettican said. “Even the players who didn’t get in – they were loud and encouraging. Special shoutouts go to Andre Medl, Carter Young, and Brian Schmidt.
“I also would like to give a shoutout to Pete (Valimont) and everything he has done at Pennridge. I am wishing them all the best in districts.”
Pennridge ends its regular season at 13-5 (11-5 SOL) and unofficially sits at No. 11 in the district power rankings after Wednesday.
“Just an unfortunate end,” Valimont said. “Tough in the sense that we put a lot of emphasis on this game, obviously to try and be the conference champs, which would have been the first time in 24 years. We sat in first place up until the last regular season game. That being said, we told them we’re super proud of them. They did a fantastic job.
“South is a good team. I wouldn’t want to be playing them. I wouldn’t want to be playing anyone in our division in the first round. If Souderton and North Penn somehow make it in, that’s every team in our division. I don’t think there’s another league in any county that could say the same. Even our crossover games are not easy games.
“We’re ready for the next chapter. These are teenage kids. We have to get them to refocus. We’ll have a home game next Tuesday, but don’t know against who. We have to flush it. We still had a great regular season. We go 13-5, we’re two wins away from what we did last year and three wins away from making the state tournament, so that’s our focus.”
CB South (12-4-1, 11-3-1 SOL) is currently in the No. 9 spot, with a Friday night road game at CB West to close out the regular season.
CB South 1 0 – 1
Pennridge 0 0 – 0
Central Bucks East 2, North Penn 2 (2 OT)
CB East’s Michael Montabana scored with 28.5 seconds remaining to tie the game and that’s where it ended, as the Patriots and Knights settled for a 2-2 tie in the final regular season game for both teams.
“There was a ball in the box, and one of our defenders, Wesley Meyers, truthfully mishit it, kind of headed it up in the air, and to his credit, Michael Montabana came in and actually had a bicycle kick goal to tie the game up,” said CB East coach Josh Isaacsohn. “There were a few good chances (in overtime). They launch a few guys up top that are real speedy and have a nice touch, and they got in on us a couple of times, but our defenders threw themselves at the ball. I think we had more opportunities than they did. It ended up being a tie in just a very, very intense, wild, emotional game.”
For a North Penn team fighting for its playoff life, it was a gut-wrenching game.
“We were 28 seconds away from a win that would have assured a postseason berth,” said Knights coach Chris DePeppe. “So we were gutted, obviously, but to our boys’ credit they didn’t get deflated and we actually created three great chances in the second OT, but didn’t get the winner. I swear this game may drive me insane, if it hasn’t already.”
East knew that North Penn needed a win.
“Going in, we knew that they’d been playing better since we saw them the first time around and they’d be fighting for their playoff lives, and they’d be coming at us with everything they got,” Isaacsohn said. “It was also their Senior Night.
“They came out ready. It was probably the fastest goal ever scored against us. It was our tap to start the game, and we had an absolute mental fumble, I’ll call it. Unfortunately, we had a terrible touch, and their guy, to his credit, stole the ball, took it and went down. They were up 1-0 (just) 12 seconds into the game.
“It was a bit wild, and I think that kind of deflated us for a little bit. I think it really got to us for a good 15-20 minutes, and then we started to play better.”
Ryan Miller scored North Penn’s first goal.
CB East twice had to rally in the second half. Brandon Epstein scored off a Luke Christmas assist to tie the game, but North Penn regained the lead when Nate Kim scored on a penalty kick midway through the half.
“Through some controversial calls and some issues with the timekeeping, it got very emotional and very intense and back and forth and back and forth,” Isaacsohn said.
Montabana’s tying goal came out of nowhere, and it put North Penn in wait-and-see mode heading into Saturday’s district seeding meeting.
The Knights finished the regular season at 7-9-2 overall and 6-8-2 in SOL play. They went into Wednesday at No. 29 in the rankings for the 28-team Class 4A district tournament.
“I’ll hold out hope until the final rankings are calculated and see if we finally get rewarded for the tremendous effort this entire team and coaching staff and parents have put in this season,” DePeppe said. “For the seniors, it would be a heartbreaking way to end their high school soccer careers so I will hold out hope that we somehow earned enough power ranking points tonight to get us into districts, because we beat the No. 8 ranked team, Pennridge, last week and tied the No. 12 team tonight.”
All 10 of North Penn’s seniors saw action in Wednesday’s regular season finale, and the Knights’ coach credited the efforts of several players.
“Cameron Pelletier started in goal and played great,” DePeppe said. “Nate Kim was outstanding again. Caden Myers was probably the man of the match in our midfield. And Ryan Miller is just getting stronger and faster every game. He has scored eight (goals) on the season, and I hope he gets a chance to score a few more because he’s enjoying one heck of a sophomore season.
“And he, like the rest of them, will come to practice tomorrow with the same enthusiasm and love of the game they always show.”
CB East (11-5-2, 10-4-2 SOL) unofficially sits at No. 13 in the power rankings.
North Penn 1 1 0 0 -2
CB East 0 2 0 0 – 2
SOL Patriot Division
Pennsbury 2, Council Rock North 0
After a six-game losing streak, Pennsbury has bounced back with its third straight win, this one over division champ CR North by a 2-0 final score. The win came less than 24 hours after the Falcons defeated CR South by an identical score.
“It’s hard to put a finger on what would be the big difference,” said Falcons coach Tom Stoddart. “We had some illnesses and some schedules shook the wrong way. Once we got into our side (of the conference) this week and got a couple wins under our belt – it was just desperation.
“We were trying to keep our season alive, and we just went out there and got it done. Nothing is official until the mathematicians have their way on Saturday, but it looks pretty positive for us.”
Rocco Ciaccia opened up the scoring in the fourth minute for Pennsbury.
“Chris Vergantino just made a play, made it happen,” Stoddart said. “He made it all the way to the end line and found Rocco Ciaccia for the goal on the back post.
“We had a couple of other opportunities. We played a good first half, but we also got a couple of fortunate bounces to keep North off the board, and Justin Brown made a couple of real huge saves to keep it 1-0 at the half.”
In the second half, Josh Rodriguez added a goal in the 64th minute and that was all the cushion the Falcons would need.
“Saad Williams found Josh Rodriguez, and he made a run into the box,” Stoddart said. “Josh did what he’s been doing all year. He took a shot from about 20 yards out and buried it in the left-hand corner to give us a 2-0 cushion, and then we just held on tight from there.”
Stoddart said his two goalkeepers both played very well.
“Both goalies getting back-to-back shutouts – Justin Brown played the first half and Henrik Boekamp played the second half, just like they’ve been doing all year, and they were huge today,” the Falcons’ coach said. “We were missing a couple of defenders coming off injuries from last night, so other players had to step in. Jake Ruepp, in particular, had to step in the middle in some big spots last night, and he played the entire game today alongside Connor Labiak, who’s been playing almost every minute of every game holding down the middle.
“Cooper Gray has just been a great leader for us, just keeping everyone calm and really keeping our emotions in check today and making sure we had as much energy as we could to get through it.”
Pennsbury (9-7-1, 9-6-1 SOL) now sits in the No. 20 spot for the district playoffs, with Saturday’s annual Senior Night against Holy Ghost Prep remaining in the regular season. The contest will not count toward the district rankings. CR North (12-4-2,10-4-2 SOL) wrapped up its regular season. It currently sits in the No. 13 spot in the power rankings.
CR North 0 0 – 0
Pennsbury 1 1 -2
Council Rock South 5, Harry S Truman 1
Tied 1-1 at halftime, CR South pulled away with four goals in the second half to beat Truman in its final regular season game.
Andrew Lindros, Everett Kurtz, Garrett Cohen, Frankie Rafferty and Alex Lose were the goal scorers for the Golden Hawks. Reid Vandemark, Rafferty, Cohen and George O’Brien had assists.
“Good result,” said CR South coach Alan Nicholls. “Played everyone, and it was great to see guys contribute good minutes.”
CR South (9-7-1,9-6-1 SOL) unofficially sits in the No. 24 spot in the District One Class 4A power rankings. Truman (0-16, 0-15 SOL) concludes its season Thursday night at home against Bensalem.
CR South 1 4 – 5
Truman 1 0 – 0
Neshaminy 2, Bensalem 0
Neshaminy capped its remarkable turnaround in the second half of the regular season with a solid road effort in the shutout of Bensalem.
“Three weeks ago, we were 2-8, and we challenged the kids and said, ‘You’ve played well. Why not go out and run the table?’” said coach Tom Foley. “They came as close as you could get to running the table. They finished 7-0-1 in their last eight games, which is a pretty good feat. We couldn’t be more proud of the boys.”
Joe Joe Maxwell gave his team the lead in the 17th minute.
“Wasseem (Jawawdeh) gave Joe Joe a ball at the top of the 18, he took a touch to his right and hit a bullet to the upper 90,” Foley said. “It was a really nice goal, and that got us going. We had a couple more opportunities, but we didn’t cash in.
“It was 2-0, but we could have won 4 or 5. We went in on the goalie three times and missed. We got a real nice buildup down the right flank. Owen Beideman slotted one across and Wasseem (Jawawdeh) just missed the post. It was a lot of good things we’ve been working on in practice. We just didn’t cash in.
Early in the second half, keeper Evan Fitch stopped a penalty kick for Neshaminy.
“Very early in the second half, probably at the 10-minute mark, they got a very generous penalty kick,” Foley said. “The kid even admitted at the end of the game, because he’s friends with the kids, that he flopped. Fortunately, Evan Fitch went to his right and saved it to keep the score 1-0. He made a really good save.”
Neshaminy put the game away in the second half, connecting on an insurance goal.
“Joe Joe Maxwell got free on the right side about 30 yards out, and Owen (Beideman) made a nice run into the middle,” Foley said. “He got on the ball, went in on the goalie and tucked it in one of the corners. That was a real nice goal too.”
For Neshaminy, there was a lot of credit to go around.
“Bensalem had some pressure but really no difficult shots for our keeper to handle,” Foley said. “I thought we bottled them up pretty well. Jack Sexton was a real good presence again tonight. He’s winning all kinds of balls in the air. They were targeting No. 11 (Collin Meo), and he was challenging him all night for the ball, and he kept him pretty much in check.
“Owen Beideman had a real good night getting down the right side. He did really well, and Joe Joe (Maxwell) has had a great second half of the season. He got a goal and an assist today. He was just all over the place. He’s really banged up, and he’s giving us everything he has. We had to take him out with about 15 minutes left because his knee is swelling up on him. He got kicked in the ankle. He came out when we were winning 2-0, and we held on and kept the energy going.”
With its late-season win streak, Neshaminy (9-8-1, 8-8 SOL) vaulted up to the No. 22 spot (unofficially) in the district power rankings and will find out its postseason fate when the seeds are announced on Saturday.
“We’ll see where we fall,” Foley said. “We’re going to be in there somewhere. There are some games to be played, I’m sure there are teams that will jump above us, but we’re just happy to be in. We’ll see who we play, and we’ll give them our best effort I’m sure and we’ll see what happens.”
Bensalem (2-13-1, 2-12-1 SOL) will close its season Thursday night at Harry S. Truman.
Neshaminy 1 1 – 2
Bensalem 0 0 – 0
Tuesday, Oct. 18
Pennsbury 2, Council Rock South 0
Evan Soriano and Josh Rodriguez had second half goals, as Pennsbury got past CR South on Tuesday, in a makeup game from Monday.
“We actually scored a goal early in the second half, but it got called back for offsides,” Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart said. ”We kept our wits to us, and two minutes later, Josh Rodriguez found Evan Soriano for a goal.
“With about 15 minutes to go, we were able to get goal number two, and that was again Josh Rodriguez. This time they were just reversed, and Evan Soriano was on the assist.”
Pennsbury 0 2 -2
CR South 0 0 – 0
SOL Liberty Division
Wissahickon 4, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1
The last time these two teams played, Plymouth Whitemarsh came out on the winning end of a 4-1 final score.
This time, however, Wissahickon knew it needed the win to earn a spot in the District One Class 4A Tournament, which starts next week. And on Senior Night celebrating the team’s 10 seniors
playing their final home game, the Trojans did so in style with a 4-1 win of their own.
“One of our seniors, Bobby Graefe, in warmups pulled up and said he couldn’t go,” said Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm. “He was one of our starters, this is the only game he’s missed. He’s played almost every minute of every game, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to go. That was a shame for him, but hopefully, he can get himself better.
“We told our players, ‘A lot of teams have games left to be played and this is our last game. If we win, I think we’re in, and if we don’t win, we have to sit and wait and see how these other teams do.’ Already a couple of teams since Monday have put in good performances and managed to jump ahead of us in the standings.
“We were playing a really good PW team. They were big, fast and strong, and we didn’t handle it too well the first time around. We had a few players missing. The boys knew basically our playoffs started tonight, and most of the seniors have been playing most of the season, so there wasn’t much shuffling we had to do to get seniors playing time on Senior Night.”
Wissahickon took control of the game in the first half with three goals, all by seniors – Michael Om, Ziggy McFarlane and Chris Rossetti.
“Fortunately, we got a goal early, and PW responded really well and got a goal back a couple minutes later, and then two minutes later we scored,” Malcolm said. “It was an exchange backwards and forwards, and at the end of it, we came out on the right side
of it.
“Literally, with 1.6 seconds left on the clock before halftime, Chris Rossetti got a free kick, and he hit the ball into the net, so we went into halftime with a nice lift.
“We addressed the fact that it was a playoff game in our own mind, and we had to stay focused. We said the next goal would be crucial because it would be like a 2-0 game, and if they got a goal, they’d get back into it, but if we could get that fourth goal, then it’s going to take some wind out of their sails.”
Junior Sam Grossberg scored 15-20 minutes into the second half to give the Trojans the 4-1 advantage.
“The last 25 minutes we just wanted to see the game out, make sure we didn’t do anything silly,” Malcolm said. “We managed to do that.
“It was exciting for the boys. It’s been a couple of years – the seniors haven’t had an opportunity to play in the playoffs. We’ll be traveling somewhere, which is what our record indicates, but they’ll be getting the experience. It will be fun, it will be exciting for them.”
Wissahickon (9-8-1, 8-8 SOL) is unofficially sitting at No. 26 in the power rankings. Even with the loss, PW (8-8-2, 8-7-1 SOL) looks to be in pretty good shape at No. 24.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 0 – 1
Wissahickon
3 1 – 4
Upper Dublin 3, Hatboro-Horsham 0
Tommy Clayton and Miles Bondi scored in the first half, as Upper Dublin jumped ahead early and put away Hatboro-Horsham in the regular-season finale for both district-playoff bound rivals on Wednesday.
In the second half, Bondi scored his second goal 15 minutes in to put the game away.
“This was a huge win for us,” said Flying Cardinals coach Noah Johnson. “Losing to Abington hurt our spirit a little bit, especially because we felt we could have won that game.
“Going against PW and still trying to recover from the Abington loss, I told my guys, ‘Good teams don’t lose twice in a row.’ They definitely responded. It was a tough battle, and we got a tie.
“It was really nice to see the boys come out today and perform at the level we know we can play at and just being able to rest some guys going into the postseason. We’re really hoping to get as high a seed as we possibly can. We don’t want to travel.”
Upper Dublin (14-2-2, 12-2-2 SOL) sits at No. 7 in the District One power rankings and awaits Saturday’s seeding meeting to find out its first-round fate.
Wednesday’s game included a moment of silence to remember a youngster who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
“We wanted to thank Hatboro for being awesome,” Johnson said. “One of the kids in our neighborhood who plays for one of our neighborhood teams was diagnosed with cancer, and he had surgery today, so today we wore pink to try and honor him and keep some love going for him because it’s been pretty rough for him.”
Hatboro-Horsham (12-6, 11-5 SOL) is currently No. 17 in the district power rankings.
Hatboro-Horsham 0 0 – 0
Upper Dublin 2 1 – 3
Abington 5, Quakertown 0
With the division title already clinched, the only thing left for Abington to do was celebrate Senior Night in the final game of the regular season against visiting Quakertown. The Ghosts have 10 seniors on their roster, which includes eight field players and two goalies.
“The whole senior class just did a fantastic job,” said coach Randy Garber. “They played well. They played 20 minutes in each half, and a lot of them played longer than that. It was a good game all around, well needed.”
Liam Hartman and Luke O’Donnell (Hartman assist) scored in the first half and the Galloping Ghosts never looked back on the way to the 5-0 win.
In the second half, Hartman opened the scoring for the Ghosts. The senior’s two-goal, one-assist effort led Abington. Josh Malka and Drew Paxson also added goals. Paxson’s goal came off a Luke O’Donnell corner kick.
Abington (15-2-1, 14-1-1 SOL) unofficially sits in the No. 4 spot in the district power rankings. It will find out its fate when the seeds are announced on Saturday.
“We’ll just wait for the playoffs and see what happens,” Garber said. “We’re seeded fourth right now, so I hope it stands and maybe get a bye.”
Quakertown finishes its season at 1-17 overall and 1-15 in the SOL.
Quakertown 0 0 – 0
Abington 2 3 – 5
SOL Freedom Division
William Tennent 1, Lower Moreland 0
William Tennent went to Lower Moreland Wednesday knowing that it was the final game of its season, and it also knew that the host Lions would be out for a little payback, having lost to the Panthers earlier in the season.
Tennent, however, responded and scored another upset, this time by a 1-0 score.
“It was a nice way to end the season,” said Tennent coach Angelo Albanese. “(LM has) a very good team and we got a bit lucky again.
“We capitalized on one of the few chances we had and Christian Devos was able to score on a cross that went by a few people before it landed on him in the box halfway in the first half.
“The goal gave us some confidence and energy.”
Albanese gave a lot of credit to his goalkeeper and defense, as well.
“Zach Dinnis did a great job in goal with some big saves and we dodged some unlucky finishing by (LM),” he said. “Defensively, Bryce DeFonteney, Gabe Yocovone, Ryan Black, Mason Adelson, and Dominic Grassey played their hearts out to contain their attacks.
“Our midfield was anchored by a solid performance from Nazariy Kukhnly. It was a good way to end a tough season.”
Tennent finishes its season at 6-11 overall and 6-10 in the SOL. LM (9-7-1, 8-7-1 SOL) now waits to find out its second in the upcoming district Class 3A tournament, as it currently sits at No. 7 in the eight-team field.
Tennent 1 0 – 1
Lower Moreland 0 0 – 0
Upper Moreland 2, New Hope-Solebury 1
Needing a win to keep its district playoff hopes alive, Upper Moreland bounced back after an early New Hope goal to pull out the win on the road by a 2-1 final score.
“It was a night game, it was (New Hope’s) Senior Night and they came out ready to play,” said Golden Bears coach Justin Allegra. “We had a couple of chances but couldn’t bury one. And 10 minutes in, they scored.”
UM bounced back five minutes later to tie it up, as Aiden Scullion assisted on a Mike Scullon header.
Tied at 1-1, Allegra’s squad came out and dominated the second half.
“We came out and just controlled the half,” he said. “But we couldn’t find the back of the net. Then with about seven minutes left, off a restart, Jackson Costello hit a cross and it went in.”
“It was kind of like a team effort. (New Hope) has two really good players, and they tried to control it, but we had the better of play.”
UM (8-8-1, 6-8-1 SOL) currently sits in the eighth and final spot in the Class 4A power rankings, with a makeup road game at Cheltenham scheduled for Thursday night to close out the regular season. New Hope (6-12, 4-12 SOL) wrapped up its season.
New Hope-Solebury 1 0 – 1
Upper Moreland 1 1 -2
Springfield Township 5, Cheltenham 0
On Senior Night, Springfield wrapped up its league schedule with the 5-0 shutout over Cheltenham.
Peter Schmidt and Riley Martin had two goals each, while Jack Hartman also scored. Ben Hubley, Martin and Hartman all had assists.
Springfield (14-3, 13-3 SOL) closes out its regular season home against The Christian Academy on Friday. The Spartans are No. 4 in the district Class 3A power rankings. Cheltenham (1-15, 1-14 SOL) wraps up its season at home Thursday against Upper Moreland.
Cheltenham 0 0 – 0
Springfield Twp 2 3 – 5
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