Six SOL boys’ soccer teams were winners in Tuesday’s opening round of the District 1 4A Tournament. Check out the Kwik Goal recaps. Wissahickon/Souderton photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of game photos.
District One Class 4A Tournament – First Round
#5 Abington 5, #28 Upper Perkiomen 0
Abington ran into a hot goalkeeper but found a way to take care of business against Upper Perkiomen, the final team to qualify for the tournament, by a 5-0 final score on Tuesday. It was just a 2-0 game at halftime.
Sam Arruda, Kyle Kretschman, Sean Westmoreland, Owen Gesing and Kai O’Sullivan scored for the Galloping Ghosts.
Scoring:
First Half –
Sam Arruda (A)
Kyle Kretschman (A)
Second Half –
Sean Westmoreland (A)
Owen Gesing (A)
Kai O’Sullivan (A)
Abington coach Isaac Pitcow: “Their (goalkeeper) was unbelievable. We had 20 shots in the first half, he had 11 saves in the first half. It could have been 7-0 at halftime, if not for the GK.”
Next up: Abington (12-1-5) will host #12 Spring-Ford, a 3-2 winner over Perkiomen Valley earlier Tuesday, in a second-round game on Thursday.
Upper Perk 0 0 – 0
Abington 2 3 – 5
#6 Wissahickon 2, #27 Souderton 1
Nolan Reilly scored two goals, the second in the 47th minute to break a tie, as Wissahickon edged visiting Souderton to advance to the second round.
It was the ninth straight win for the Trojans, who haven’t lost since Sept. 2.
AJ Pisoni converted a penalty kick five minutes into the second half to briefly draw Souderton even, before Reilly’s second
goal two minutes later.
Scoring:
First Half –
Nolan Reilly (W), 39th minute
Second Half –
AJ Pisoni (S) penalty kick, 45th minute
Nolan Reilly (W), 47th minute
Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm:
“This was certainly not a game that you will look back on and say we played our best game. There were too many stoppages and interruptions for either team to get a foothold on the game. The game did not lack passion and commitment. We did just enough to nudge ourselves into the next round.
“A few players were given more minutes than they thought they would get, even a debut for one of our JV players. We are thankful to be in the next round, but we will have to improve on this performance.”
Souderton coach Frank Demas:
“It was a tough loss tonight for us. I thought we played really well, and these guys gave everything they had. It’s a shame
to have to end on a close loss when we played so well. Tried to connect passes and create chances from the run of play. Had a couple of really good looks in the second half that just didn’t go in.
“Our defense was awesome, giving up zero chances from the run of play all game.”
–Props: Shoutout to Trevor (Alderfer) in goal tonight. PJ (Sawicki) and (Reese) Hoover in the back, Brayden Muller up top, who all put in great shifts. Shoutout to Pisoni as well, who was in our opinion, the best player on the field tonight. When the team truly needed him, he stepped up huge with a goal. Could’ve had two more as well, hitting the crossbar and post.
“Good luck to Wissahickon moving forward. I’m sure they will continue to do well.”
Next up: Wissahickon (15-2-2) will host #22 CB West at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Souderton concluded its season with a 10-7-2 record.
Souderton 0 1 – 1
Wissahickon 1 1 – 2
#7 Pennsbury 5, #26 Central Bucks East 1
Four goals in the second half made the difference, as Pennsbury pulled away from visiting CB East for the 5-1 first-round victory on Tuesday night.
Ajnur Curevac scored in the 48th minute to break a 1-1 tie, and the Falcons broke free and put away the Patriots.
Scoring:
First Half –
Ajdin Hadzovic (P), 2nd minute
CB East, 37th minute
Second Half –
Ajnur Curevac (P) from Sami Awadalla, 48th minute
Graham Anderer (P) from Ryan Davison, 56th minute
Anjur Curevac (P), 66th minute
Oleksiy Hontar (P), 66th minute
Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart:
“We grabbed an early lead. Hadzovic jumped on a loose ball in the box. We were a little rushed the rest of the first forty on our attack. We conceded the equalizer on a long throw late in the first half.
“Second half was a different story. We were more organized on our attack. Anjur Curevac with the game-winner in the 48th minute from Sami Awadalla. We almost conceded a second goal on a nice attack from East, but the keeper’s best friend, the crossbar, saved the day.
“Shortly after, Graham Anderer finished a tough angle shot from Ryan Davison. We then scored two times in the 66th minute, first from Anjur Curevac and second from Oleksiy Hontar.”
–Props: “Our backs – Connor Scalla, PJ McGroarty, Jon Morris, Graham Anderer, with Gabe Allegretto, Victor Capizzi and Alex Sanchez off the bench – did a tremendous job at limiting East to only two back-to-back long throw opportunities and our keeper (James Purdum) was more patient and trusted his guys in front of him to make the plays.”
Next up: Pennsbury (12-3-3) will host #10 CB South in a second-round game on Thursday.
CB East finished its season with a 6-6-6 record.
Central Bucks East 1 0 – 1
Pennsbury 1 4 – 5
#10 Central Bucks South 3, #23 Haverford 2
CB South scored three goals in the second half, two from Jackson Tait, rallying from a first-half deficit to edge Haverford 3-2 in the district opener early Tuesday night.
“It’s a sickening feeling for seniors to be trailing at halftime knowing their high school soccer careers are just 40 minutes from ending,” said Titans coach Ed Brnardic. “Full credit to our senior class for sticking to the game plan, locking things down defensively, staying patient, and believing the opportunities would come. Most importantly, they believed we would finish them when they did.”
Scoring:
First Half –
Haverford goal
Second Half –
Tyler Jaskelewicz (CBS) from Leo Propato
Jackson Tait (CBS), penalty kick
Haverford goal
Jackson Tait (CBS) from Tyler Jaskelewicz
CB South coach Ed Brnardic:
“We started the game exactly how we wanted to: calm, composed, and in control. We created several quality scoring chances but were unable to convert them, partly due to some missed opportunities and largely because of an outstanding performance by the Haverford goalkeeper.
“A quick mistake led to a 60-yard breakaway that Haverford capitalized on. The goal rattled us, and it took some time to regain our footing.
“The halftime break gave us a chance to settle down, regroup, and make sure everyone was aligned on our plan for the second half.
“We got the equalizer when Leo Propato found Tyler Jaskelewicz at the top of the box, and Tyler finished to level the score. We continued to apply pressure, and just three minutes later, we were taken down from behind in the penalty area. Jackson Tait stepped up and calmly converted the penalty kick to give us the lead.
“Haverford responded to make it 2-2, but with 12 minutes remaining, Tyler Jaskelewicz sliced through the defense and delivered a perfect cross to the far post, where Jackson Tait rose to head home the game-winning goal.”
–Props: “I was also thrilled to see several of our sophomores – Max Vollman, Collin Howley, and Jonah Giglio – gain valuable playoff experience and contribute important minutes in a high-pressure environment. Their growth and composure will continue to be important for our program moving forward.”
Next up: CB South (10-2-7) plays at #7 Pennsbury in a second-round game on Thursday.
Haverford 1 1 – 2
CB South 0 3 -3
#22 Central Bucks West 3, #11 Downingtown West 2 (2 OT, PKS)
CB West had its share of close games and draws during the regular season. But Tuesday, there had to be a winner, and the Bucks went on the road and shocked Downingtown West, 3-2 in penalty kicks, for the upset of the first round of the district playoffs.
Keeper Alex Abbasi saved three shots with the game on the line in penalty kicks.
The Bucks are now unbeaten (7-0-1) in their last eight games.
Scoring:
First Half –
Jan Lachacz (CBW), 34th minute
Downingtown West, 41st minute
Second Half –
Max Petrella (CBW), 61st minute
Downingtown West, 80th minute
CB West coach John Adair:
“First of all, shout out to Downingtown West, a really good team. But I’m so incredibly proud of our group for finding a way to get over the line tonight. We had to defend really well as a group tonight, and we did. We took our chances well tonight too, which is great for us to get back to scoring multiple goals and getting them from all over.”
–Props: “For Jan and Max to be the goal scorers in a game like this says everything about this group. It’s truly a collective, and everyone is putting in selfless performances.
“Max played the best game I’ve seen him play tonight, and I’m so happy for him. He’s a kid I’ve known for a long time through club as well as high school. He always works incredibly hard for the team, but beyond happy for him to produce his moment of magic tonight.
“Our whole back line was terrific tonight, but John Lueck, Zach Schaefer, and Dan Richmond deserve a huge amount of credit for how they dealt with one of the best players in the district.
“While every single player contributed tonight, our goalkeeper, Alex Abbasi, probably stole the show when it mattered most. To save three penalties in a row is never expected, but to do so in the way he did with so many big saves was ultimately the difference.
“The confidence that our boys should come out of that game with is massive, and I just feel incredibly fortunate to be involved with this group of boys every day.”
Next up: CB West (9-6-4) is on the road again Thursday at #6 Wissahickon in a second-round game.
CB West 1 1 0 0 – 2
Downingtown West 1 1 0 0 – 2
(CB West wins in penalty kicks)
#13 Neshaminy 1, #20 William Tennent 0
Neshaminy had a first-half goal from Joel Mendez and then blanked William Tennent the rest of the way to move on in the district playoffs with a 1-0 win over the Panthers.
“Overall, I was pleased that we held tough,” said Neshaminy coach Tom Foley. “It was a little bit hairy at the end. They pushed guys forward, and we had an unfortunate hand ball about 25 yards out, and Dylan Cloud made an outstanding save to keep the game 1-0. It was his signature save of the year, so we felt good about it.”
Scoring:
First Half –
Joel Mendez (N) from Zach Hargraves, 30th minute
Neshaminy coach Tom Foley:
–The game: “The first five to seven minutes, we came out like gangbusters. We were moving the ball around really well, and for whatever reason, we got kind of flustered and stopped moving the ball, and they had a spell of about 15 minutes where they won pretty much everything unchallenged, and they put a little pressure on us. We did well to keep them away from our goal, but they definitely had the (better of) play at the time.
“Then we got the goal, and we figured some things out in our midfield, and we took the last 10 minutes of the first half. The second half was a really good half by us. We really possessed the ball. We found the open space in the midfield, and we got several opportunities. Their goalkeeper (Charlie Murtha) did a great job keeping them in the game. He made one great save on David Lopez, point blank, and he parried it off to his left, and he stopped David on a breakaway later in the game, so their goalkeeper kept them in it and did a really nice job.
“We look forward to playing Rock North, and maybe we can finally get a winner out of that group. We’ve tied them twice this year.”
Next up: Neshaminy (9-3-7) plays at #4 Council Rock North in the second round on Thursday (6 p.m.).
Tennent finished its season at 12-6-1.
Tennent 0 0 – 0
Neshaminy 1 0 – 1
#18 Penncrest 4, #15 Bensalem 0
Bensalem saw its season come to an end with a tough home loss to Penncrest by a 4-0 final score on Tuesday.
The two teams battled to a scoreless tie, but Penncrest scored the go-ahead goal on a broken play and then added three more.
Bensalem coach Kevin Bock:
–The game: “Exciting start but not the ending we wanted. (I) thought we had a strong first half. Plenty of opportunities, but we weren’t able to find the back of the net. I thought our pace was good, we were winning 50/50 balls, and we were putting steady pressure on their back line.
“We stressed the importance of the first goal at halftime. Unfortunately, Penncrest was able to get the first goal on a broken play. The tough part was that the one goal felt like a mountain as they were playing with a strong defensive shell which provided little space. Things eventually got a bit loose, and they were able to score a few more. Kudos to Penncrest as they were composed throughout the game and shut us down in the second half.”
–Props: “Was a great season for these boys but definitely feels like it ended a bit premature. Had some great moments and excellent performances from several players. Chase Esposito had an amazing year, finishing with 33 goals and 5 assists. Trying to track down numbers, but that is a Bensalem record for goals scored and has to be up there on the all-time lists. Dylan Barnhart was a Swiss-army knife for us all year and has a work rate like no other. Got great wing play from Jordan Posten, Mamadou Diallo, David Romero, Aiden Price, and Daniel Mathieu. Our central midfield of Declan Corbett, Brian Bock, Artur Drizd, and Brandon Bock were steady throughout. And our defense of Cole Everett, Chris Fielding, Ben Reinert, and Danny Kalita were strong and physical all year. Our freshman goalie of Joey Francis was great for us as well and will only get better going forward. We got key minutes from several other players including Anderson Mora-Martinez, Kevin McCarron, Victor Kowalski, Louka Lagoudakis, and Thomas Gomez.”
While Penncrest advances to the second round at #2 Conestoga on Thursday, Bensalem saw its season come to an end with an 11-5-3 record.
Penncrest 0 5 – 5
Bensalem 0 0 – 0
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