Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. CR South/CR North photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. CLICK HERE to view Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ SOCCER GALLERIES.
Class 4A
#25 Council Rock South 2, #8 Council Rock North 0
The third time was the charm.
After going winless in the two regular season contests against Rock, the Golden Hawks – who fell 2-1 in the initial meeting and tied the Indians 1-1 in the second – couldn’t have picked a better time to get their first win of the season against their archrival.
Josh Coelho broke a scoreless tie midway through the first half with an unassisted goal, and the Hawks took that lead into halftime.
Ten minutes into the second half, Ronan Harding connected on an insurance goal, using a Sean Davis assist.
Scoring Summary
First half
Josh Coelho (CRS) 20th minute
Second half
Ronan Harding (CRS) from Sean Davis 50th minute
Council Rock South coach Alan Nicholl on the game: “North came out hot and put us under a lot of pressure. We endured a lot of set pieces into our box, but when (Josh Coelho) scored against the run of play, it seemed to bring us to life a bit.
“We came into the game in the second half, and Ronan (Harding) scored a 1-touch finish from a great assist from Sean Davis who split the center backs with a decisive and perfectly weighted ball.”
–Props: “Our backs – Owen Lubieski, Tim Drabowski, Diego Soto, and Farid Ganiyev – were flawless in dealing with North’s constant pressure and their physical style of play, but Anthony Abreu and Sean Davis were the engines tonight. They left everything on the field and played their hearts out!
“We knew North is a top side, so finally getting the W on our third try against them means a lot, and full credit to the boys for their belief and endurance. Andrew Freeman, our goalkeeper, recording a clean sheet against a quality side like North cannot be overlooked – he showed every bit of his maturity and experience – a truly great win!”
Council Rock North assistant coach Brian Hoffman on the game: “Playing anybody for the third time is never easy. We were missing some pieces, but at the end of the day, we had multiple scoring chances where we literally had an open net and we missed. No goaltender, nobody to beat, and we missed the open net. I don’t care who you are – when you have two of those and you miss them both, that is not a recipe for success.
“Kudos to South – they played a great game. They executed their plan to neutralize the offensive threats we had. They got a little lucky sometimes that we didn’t bury what we should have buried, but that’s the difference in a close game against someone you know well. They know what we’re bringing, we know what they’re bringing. They just did a better job of neutralizing those opportunities.
“Even after their second goal –that is when we had the two open nets at different times. We probably served 15 balls into the box that were really good services, and we did not put dangerous shots on frame. The potential we had to make a really deep run – talent-wise it was there. It just didn’t materialize in this case.”
Up next: Council Rock South (9-7-3, 4-4-2 SOL) will travel to #9 Phoenixville for a second round game Thursday 5 pm. Council Rock North closed out its season with the SOL Patriot Division crown and a 14-4-1 overall record, 8-1-1 in the SOL.
Council Rock South 1-1 2
Council Rock North 0-0 0
#7 Souderton 2, #26 West Chester East 0
Tannor Wiszneski scored a pair of second-half goals, breaking a scoreless tie and propelling the Indians to their first district win in three years.
Scoring Summary
Tannor Wiszneski (S) from AJ Pisoni
Tannor Wiszneski (S) from Lukas Sailer
Souderton coach Frank DeMas on the win: “(We) won in a great first round district game tonight. WC East deserves a lot of credit tonight. Charlie (Dodds) is a great coach and had them ready to go. Their energy was high, and they worked really hard the entire game.
“For Souderton- we had some great moments in the game. We were dangerous at times, and the boys worked the entire game. These playoff games can be chaotic, but I’m proud of the boys for getting it done tonight.”
–Props: “Shoutouts- to our entire school community. That’s the most fans I’ve ever seen at a Souderton game. The Red Sea was amazing tonight. Tannor with two goals tonight was again incredible.”
Up next: Souderton (16-3, 7-3 SOL) will host #10 Abington Thursday (7 pm).
West Chester East 0-0 0
Souderton 0-2 2
#10 Abington 5, #23 Oxford 1
The Ghosts set the tone for this one early, scoring a pair of goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. Oxford also got in the act, scoring a goal that was sandwiched between goals by sophomore Owen Gesing and Nicky Gray. Gray’s goal was set up by a Brian O’Neill corner kick.
Sophomore Aaron Comisar turned a Gesing pass into a goal that sent the Ghosts into halftime with a 3-1 lead.
Gray connected on his second goal early in the second half – again set up by an O’Neill corner kick. O’Neill – who finished with a goal and two assists – closed out the scoring with a goal 10 minutes later.
Abington’s five-goal outburst came on the heels of a 4-0 win over Quakertown to close out the regular season. Those two games followed three straight games that saw the Ghosts score just one goal in each.
Scoring Summary
First half
Owen Gesing (A) from Liam Malanowski
Oxford goal
Nicky Gray (A) from Brian O’Neill (corner kick)
Aaron Comisar (A) from Owen Gesing
Second half
Nicky Gray (A) from Brian O’Neill (corner kick)
Brian O’Neill (A) from Brady Hartman
Abington coach Randy Garber on the game: “We had way too many fouls. I think we had 19 fouls. It was sloppy. They got a lot of restarts and threw the ball in the mix and created problems for us. We scored some goals, which we haven’t scored in the past. They played a very high line like the off-sides trap. We got behind it several times. We missed as many as we scored.
“In fairness to them, they had a two-hour bus ride. They were in a bus for two hours to get to our place, and they walked out of the bus and had to warm up and play the game. They’re a good team, and they did some good things. They went from 3A to 4A, and this is the first time they’re in the 4A tournament. They moved up a slot, so it becomes difficult. It’s very, very competitive. They had a nice team – they worked hard and never gave up. They could very easily be competitive in the league we’re in.”
–Props: “Daniel Oliveira played good in the back. Owen Gesing had a very good game. Sean Westmoreland played good – he won a lot of balls. Everybody played good.”
Up next: Abington (12-4-3, 8-1-1 SOL) will travel to #8 Souderton on Thursday (7 pm).
Oxford 1-0 1
Abington 3-2 5
#12 Neshaminy 1, #21 Upper Merion 0
It took a while – 77 minutes to be exact, but the Redskins finally got on the scoreboard when Rezi Tebidze turned a Mark Andreyeu pass into a goal that stood as the game winner.
It was the Redskins’ third shutout in their last four games.
Scoring Summary
First half – No score
Second half
Rezi Tebidze (N) from Mark Andreyeu 77th minute
Neshaminy coach Tom Foley on the game: “Upper Merion is very good. They’re very quick, they’re physical, they’re on you in a hurry, and I felt in the first half, our nerves showed a little bit. They had us on the back foot, and they had a lot of pressure. I thought they had the better of it in the first half. They didn’t really have anything terribly dangerous, and we cleaned up stuff in the back. They definitely had more of the play.
“Upper Merion is a dangerous team. They have a long throw, they had the twins (Ben and Luke Wintersteen) who were very good. We had a lot to deal with. Once we settled down, I thought we did a really nice job of moving the ball. Even the parents were saying – ‘Who was that team in the first half?’ We settled down in the second half and played the way we’re capable of playing, which was really nice to see.”
–The second half: “We talked at halftime – we wanted to take a deep breath, settle down, target our frontrunner, lay balls off, get balls wide. In the second half, we did a much better job. We were starting to get forward, we were getting behind their defense, we were getting balls across the goal mouth. We started getting better. The first 15 were great for us, and then Upper Merion kind of wrested a little bit of the play for about five minutes.
“With about 20 minutes left in the second half, their kid got a ball at the top of 18 and hit a shot, and it had the perfect angle. It was going right into the upper left corner, and all of a sudden, our goalkeeper, Dan Raivitch, just comes out of nowhere and parried it away for a corner. It was a next level save. It was unbelievable. That kept us at 0-0. They had a couple of corners because they were excited after that. We weathered that storm and we regained control, and we kept coming at them and coming at them, and finally, we broke through with three minutes to play.”
–The game-winner: “In the 77th minute, Mark Andreyeu slipped a pass through to Rezi (Tebidze), and Rezi tucked it in – it kind of deflected off somebody and had that momentum to spin into the net. That was a big relief.”
–Props: “Mark Andreyeu is just a stud of a kid. He played phenomenally well. He got the assist, he had a couple of other balls that our guys rushed themselves a little bit – they had a little bit more time and would probably like to have them back. He was very good.
“Matt Diamond was very good in the back as always. Overall, our midfield in the second half was really solid.”
Up next: Neshaminy (13-3-3, 7-2-1 SOL) will travel to #5 Lower Merion on Thursday at 1 pm.
“We’ll be ready for them,” Foley said. “They’re a good team, they’re always a top-ranked team in the area, so it’s not going to be an easy game for us.”
Upper Merion 0-0 0
Neshaminy 0-1 1
#20 Cheltenham 2, #13 Downingtown West 0
The Panthers made the long trip to Downingtown worth their while, pulling off the upset with a shutout win over the Whippets.
“It’s probably the first playoff win in about 30 years,” Cheltenham coach Bill Tonkin said. “I know the last team to win a division title was 1996, so I’m assuming it’s probably the same if not longer for a playoff win.”
Emile Chanione scored in the first half off a Zack Rosser corner kick. That goal turned out to be the game-winner. Fifteen minutes into the second half, Jordan Rodriguez scored with a Chamar Blanchard assist.”
Scoring Summary
First half
Emile Chanione (C) from Zack Rosser (corner kick) 17th minute
Second half
Jordan Rodriguez (C) from Chamar Blanchard 55th minute
Cheltenham coach Bill Tonkin on the win: “This was a big win for us. (It was) a long road trip. We got there a little early, and the kids relaxed a while. We got a good scouting report to play off for this game from a friend of mine down to which way the guy that took the penalty kick likes to shoot, which helped us.
“We had a plan going in, and it worked. We’ll go home tonight and come up with another plan, and hopefully, it works just as well Thursday.”
–Keys to the win: “We were just beating them to every 50-50 ball, we were winning balls. We dominated in the air. We were playing the ball outside to Billy Fishman and working the ball down the one sideline to try and play the ball back through the middle and get Chamar (Blanchard) loose, which we did a couple of times. It was a very good effort by our boys.”
–The goals: “Emile Chanione scored on a head ball off a corner kick from Zack Rosser. Then Jordan Rodriguez scored with an assist from Chamar Blanchard. He hit a rocket from about 30 yards out and scored into the top corner. Then we just defended and played balls in corners, and it worked out.”
–Props: “Zack Rosser played a great game in the midfield. Ean Justice played a great game in the back. Oscar Chaney played well in his role today – he stepped in for some injuries and played well. Joel (Martin) and Alban (Perry), our outside backs, played well. A lot of props to the defense. Jeremiah (Moncriffe) and Wolf (Brown) both played in goal. Jeremiah got hurt in the second half, so Wolf had to come in to relieve him, and they both played well. Both of them had some good saves. Wolf stopped a penalty kick to keep it 2-0.”
Up next: Cheltenham (11-7-1, 6-3-1 SOL) will travel to #4 Central Bucks South for a second round game Thursday (6:30 pm).
Cheltenham 1-1 2
Downingtown West 0-0 0
#14 Central Bucks East 4, #18 Unionville 0
Daniel Frye connected for a hat trick, leading the Patriots to the no-doubt-about-it win in Tuesday’s opening round of the District 1 4A Tournament.
It was Eric Schmidt putting the Patriots on the scoreboard in the 16th minute with a goal that turned out to be the game-winner. Aidan Pasternak had the assist.
The Frye went to work, scoring a pair before halftime – the first with a Finley Rennie assist and the second with an assist from Nick Bonargo.
Frye put the finishing touches on a masterful performance when he turned a Sean O’Donnell pass into his third goal 15 minutes into the second half.
Liam Harding had the clean sheet in goal.
Scoring Summary
First half
Eric Schmidt (CBE) Aidan Pasternak 16th minute
Dan Frye (CBE) from Finley Rennie 21st minute
Dan Frye (CBE) from Nick Bonargo 37th minute
Second half
Dan Frye (CBE) from Sean O’Donnell 55th minute
Central Bucks East coach Josh Isaacsohn on the win: “I felt like we were really prepared. I think the boys are really focused. There was a certain feel when we showed up tonight. This is the soccer that we can play if we play for 80 minutes, and they just were very aggressive, winning the balls. Our goalkeeper – Liam Harding – made a couple of saves early in the game to keep us in it. They just kept their foot on the gas pedal the whole time.
“With the score being what it was, we ended up playing almost our whole bench as well. No disrespect to Unionville, but a lot of guys worked hard, and it was nice to see the team come together where guys got some minutes that may not normally. They played phenomenally also. We hit the outside of the post twice, we hit the crossbar once, so I’m just really proud of the shutout, the teamwork and the overall connection they had bringing into this game. We know that our eyes have really been set on avenging a tie against Springfield on Thursday, so that’s now what we have to shift our focus to.”
–Props: “The whole starting lineup of our defenders – Eric Schmidt and Jackson Jagoda, Chris Gulbish and Matt Walloff, our outside backs, were very dangerous offensively tonight, which is something we’ve been working on. Besides that, Dan Frye is just a special, special talent. What he does with the ball at his feet and how hard he works – it’s his hard work that leads to everything, and he just does it so humbly, and I can’t say enough great things about him.”
Central Bucks East (10-7-2, 5-5-0 SOL) will travel to #3 Springfield Twp on Thursday for a second round game (4 pm). The game is a rematch of a regular season contest that ended in a 1-1 tie.
Unionville 0-0 0
Central Bucks East 3-1 4
#5 Lower Merion 1, #28 Wissahickon 0
The Aces broke a scoreless tie with a goal 10 minutes into the second half. The Trojans had no answer and saw their season end in Tuesday’s opening round.
“The players put in a great effort, but it was an off day,” Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm said. “We came into the game with momentum, but it was not our day.”
Wissahickon closed out its season with a 10-8-1 record overall, 6-4 in the SOL Liberty.
Wissahickon 0-0 0
Lower Merion 0-1 1
#22 Boyertown 3, #11 North Penn 2
The Knights staged a valiant comeback, but they could not avoid the opening round upset, falling to the visiting Bears.
Boyertown took a 2-0 lead into the second half and extended that lead to 3-0 with less than 15 minutes remaining. The Knights scored a pair of late goals, including a PK, but never could dig themselves out of their early hole.
North Penn closed out its season with an 11-8 record overall, 5-5 in the SOL.
Boyertown 2-1 3
North Penn 0-2 2
#15 Owen J Roberts 2, #18 Upper Dublin 1 (2 OT, PKs)
The Flying Cardinals took a 1-0 lead only to see the Wildcats tie the game in the second half. Two overtimes could not decide a winner, and the game came down to PKs.
Upper Dublin closed its season with an 11-7-1 record overall, 7-2-1 SOL.
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