To view photos of the CR South/Pennridge boys' game and the CR South/Upper Dublin girls' game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Alex Frazier
Boys
No. 1 Wissahickon 3, No. 17 Radnor 0
After having had a bye in the first round, the Trojans came out a bit flat. It took them until the last 30 seconds of the first half before Brandon Irvine scored on an assist from Eric Hibbs.
“We did OK in the first half,” said coach Stuart Malcolm, “but we weren’t very good although we didn’t concede too much.”
The second half the Trojans got into their rhythm. Seventeen minutes in, Dam Matthews scored on a direct kick from about 30 yards out, and two minutes later Joe Farrell added an insurance goal on an assist from Irvine.
“They had very few opportunities in the second half,” said Malcolm.
Keeper Erik Riefenstahl made six saves for the shutout.
“He came out and claimed some high balls and crosses under pressure,” said Malcolm.
The Trojans will meet No. 8 Pennsbury at 3 p.m. Saturday at Wissahickon.
“We have to start faster and better,” said Malcolm.
No. 8 Pennsbury 2, No. 9 Unionville 1
Thaddeus Heinz gave the Falcons the lead 18 minutes into the frame on a re-start. The Indians tied it on a free kick that went off a Pennsbury defender, but with 2:28 left in regulation Jason Hyman scored the game winner.
“It was a good game,” said coach Tom Stoddart. “Everybody was into it. There were a lot of good chances.”
Falcon keeper Pat Lescingi stopped eight shots.
“It was a very solid performance top to bottom,” said Stoddart. “It was a big time team win.”
No. 13 Pennridge 2, No. 4 Council Rock South 0The Rams took advantage of prior playoff experience to upset the Golden Hawks.
Cody Zickler set the tone right from the beginning with a goal in the first three minutes. Alex Stear tossed the ball in and Aaron Raspinski got it to Zickler.
Joe Larwa scored an unassisted insurance goal on a similar play 18 minutes into the first half. The ball bounced in front of the goal and wasn’t cleared before Larwa got his foot on it.
“They played their butts off,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont. “We wanted it more.”
Valimont praised the work of his defensive unit that includes Raspinski, Tyler Henry, Tyler Lordi and Jack Duffy.
“They did a fabulous job,” he said.
After a slow start to the season, the Rams are coming on.
“It’s better to be hot now than in September,” said Valimont.
The Rams will play No. 5 Lower Merion, a 2-0 winner over Marple Newtown Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
No. 2 Conestoga 3, No. 15 North Penn 2 (2OT)
Conestoga led 1-0 at the half. North Penn came back with a pair of second half goals from Eric Wang and Matt Robinson, but the game was tied at the end of regulation, and the Pioneers went on to win it in the second overtime.
No. 23 Central Bucks South 2, No. 26 Souderton 0
Keith Crews scored what turned out to be the game winner on a great service from Mike Serban in the 22nd minute of play.
“We didn’t play particularly well in the first half,” said coach Don Brady. “There were a lot of turnovers and the boys didn’t take any risks.”
In the second half, however, South regained its rhythm and gave up only two or three shots.
Meanwhile, Steven Pieri made a great move down the flank and crossed the ball to Brendan Rennie, who finished it for the insurance goal.
South keeper Drew Sutliffe made nine saves for his fifth shutout.
“He’s come on strong,” said Brady. “He’s a good leader in the back.”
South will play Conestoga Saturday on the road.
“We’re doing well and having some fun,” said Brady.
No. 6 Central Bucks East 2, West Chester Rustin 1 (OT)
Coach Mike Gorni was worried about playing Rustin, which he considers to be one of the top five teams in the state.
“Rustin is all that and more,” he said. “I’m unbelievably excited we came out on top.”
Mike Gleason scored on a penalty kick in the first half to give the Patriots the lead. Rustin scored in the second half to send the game into overtime.
Keeper Shane Donovan came up huge on a Ryan Dodds’ penalty kick with 15 minutes left. He dove and then collected the rebound to save the game.
Eight minutes into the extra period, Ken Haug tossed a long ball from the touchline. It sailed across the box to Nick McGarry, who blasted it in off the far upright. It was McGarry’s third goal in the last four games.
“It was one of the most exciting high school games I’ve been a part of,” said Gorni.
East will play No. 14 Strath Haven Saturday at War Memorial Field at a time to be determined.
Girls
No. 1 Council Rock South 5, No. 16 Upper Dublin 0At one point during the season, coach John Oberholtzer was concerned about the offense. Paige McDowell, a key playmaker and scorer, had been in and out of the lineup with a pulled quadriceps.
She is now back and made her presence known, scoring one goal and assisting on two others.
“She was flying today,” said Oberholtzer. “She adds another dimension to our team. She created a lot of opportunities.”
Rock scored within the first two minutes of the game.
Cara Deola led the team with two goals, while Colleen Diviny, Gabi Rosenfeld and McDowell added insurance goals. Michaela Mikula also contributed an assist.
“We had the ‘A’ team there today,” said Oberholtzer. “Our seniors came up big.”
The Golden Hawks will take on No. 24 Conestoga, a 4-2 winner over No. 25 West Chester Henderson at home Saturday in the quarterfinals.
No. 4 Central Bucks West 1, No. 13 Bishop Shanahan 0 (CBW 3-1 on PKs)
It was no surprise that it was a scoreless game.
Anticipating a shootout in districts, coach Chris Freudig had his team practicing penalty kicks for the past month.
That preparation paid off.
After both teams missed their first shot, Quin McNamara and Elena Ochsenreither gave the Bucks a 2-1 lead.
After Kelly Clark gave the Lady Bucks a 3-1 lead in PKs, Bree Benedict came up huge, making her third PK save to ensure the victory.
The Bucks are battling a batch of injuries, including three or four players out with concussions and stress fractures.
“We look like the walking wounded,” said Freudig.
It’s so bad that Freudig had to call up three jayvee players and one part-time varsity player to fill in. Those included sophomore McNamara (midfield) and freshmen Gwen Harvey (midfield), Sammy Ernst (midfield) and Kelly Bandish (forward).
The second half turned out to be better for the Bucks as the new players began to adjust.
“As the game went on, they stepped up,” said Freudig.
West will play No. 5 Strath Haven, a 3-0 winner over Methacton, in the quarterfinals Saturday night at 7 p.m. at War Memorial Field.
No. 15 Central Bucks South 2, No. 2 Downingtown East 1
The Titans continue rolling.
“This was an unbelievable victory,” said coach Joe Bocklet. “The girls played so well and executed the game plan the way we needed to.”
The Titans tried to bottle up East’s two big playmakers, which they were able to do.
“We didn’t let them get free to develop anything,” said Bocklet.
South led 2-0 until Downingtown East broke up the shutout with eight minutes left.
Ashley Saylor collected a through ball from Sam Whalen 32 minutes into the game, took on a defender in the box and gave the Titans a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes into the second half, Lauren Hensel assisted on Kaitlin Mitchell’s goal.
“The girls are more focused than ever,” said Bocklet. “They played with unbelievable grit.”
Bocklet praised the play of Hensel and Whalen in the back as well as Cara Armstrong.
“Every single player made contributions,” he said.
Saturday the Titans will meet a familiar foe in No. 7 Pennridge at 1 p.m.
No. 7 Pennridge 2, No. 23 Avon Grove 1 (OT)
Avon Grove came out fired up, and Pennridge was disorganized on defense, resulting in an Avon Grove goal off a corner kick.
But the goal woke up the Rams. The defense became more intense and the attack started clicking.
However, despite dominating the last 15 minutes, Pennridge went into the half down 1-0.
With a few adjustments to the formation in the second, the Lady Rams began pummeling the Red Devils. Seven minutes in, Stevi Parker knotted the score, assisted by Carly Henry, but despite launching 20-25 shots at the Avon Grove defense, the Rams couldn’t find an opening.
It wasn’t until there was five minutes left in the second overtime, that Molly O’Brien scored on an assist from Natalia Pinkney.
“She had an unbelievable performance,” said coach Jorge Rodriguez of Pinkney’s play. “It was the best in the three years I’ve coached her. From beginning to end she gave us an incredible lift.”
Ashley Schoellkopf saved five shots for Pennridge.
The Lady Rams will play No. 15 Central Bucks South at home Saturday at 1 p.m.
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