By Alex Frazier
Welcome to the 2009 girls soccer season. The league will have a slightly different look to it this year with Council Rock North, Council Rock South and William Tennent moving up to the National Conference and Central Bucks South, Pennridge and North Penn dropping to the Continental. Quakertown will move from the American Conference to the Continental, while Norristown drops to the American.
These changes should renew some of the traditional rivalries as well as save commuting time.
I will be covering a game every week and posting a notebook every other week. I welcome your ideas and suggestions. Please send them to suburbanonesports@comcast.net.
To begin the season I would like to recognize the new coaches in the league.
Roman Escobar, Council Rock North
Escobar takes over the program from long-time coach Bruce Jacobs, who produced some of the best teams in District One.
Escobar brings a rich tradition of soccer to the Rock program. He grew up playing in the Southampton Soccer Association for 10 years and also played in the ODP before going to LaSalle, where he was second team all-Catholic one year and first team two years.
His next stop was St. Joseph’s University where he set the freshman scoring record, was named A-10 Honorable Mention, Soccer Seven Rookie of the Year and First Team Soccer Seven.
After graduating from college, he started playing for the Phoenix Soccer Club’s amateur men’s team on which he is still active.
He also has a wealth of coaching experience. In 2002 he was the LaSalle freshman coach before becoming the assistant women’s coach at St. Lawrence University from 2002-04. In 2006-07 he was the assistant jayvee girls coach at C.R. South. He has coached the Southampton Sting for the past three years and was an assistant for the Rock North girls last year.
“This season looks to be a very promising season with a great core of girls returning from last year and a vast amount of youth,” said Escobar. “Our expectations as a team are to improve on the success of last season. We will do this by winning the SOL, placing better in districts, and making it once again to states and passing the quarterfinals.
Nicole Marczak, Harry S Truman
Marczak has been playing soccer for 20 years, “and counting.”
She started with the Middletown Soccer Club and continued playing in junior high. A Truman grad, she was the goalie for four years.
After graduating in 2000, she went on to play at Kutztown University until 2005. While attending KU, she coached a junior high and a jayvee boys’ team at two area high schools. She is still playing in various leagues in the area.
“This season I hope to get the team to a level where they will be competitive in such a tough conference,” she said.
Chris McCormick, Pennsbury
McCormick grew up playing for numerous club teams in the Downingtown area. He was a three-year starter and two-year captain at Methacton High School, where he received all-area honors in both his junior and senior years and finished among the top10 all-time in scoring there.
As a sophomore, he helped lead Methacton to its only league title to date.
After high school, he played and was captain for two years at Penn State Abington campus while leading the team in scoring in his sophomore year.
He continues to play approximately seven months of the year for a YMS men’s league.
McCormick has been teaching health and physical education at Pennsbury for the past five years.
He has coached 11 combined boys’ and girls’ seasons at Pennsbury from 2003 to the present at the jayvee level, meanwhile acquiring his state coaching license/diploma.
He has also coached the 9-10 year old girls at the Bensalem Soccer Camp and at the Pocono Cup Soccer Camp.
McCormick will have his work cut out for him this year as the Falcons graduated 12 seniors last year and return only three starters.
“We have a fairly young squad in addition to new coaching staff,” he said. “We have some very nice young talent thus far. With the help of rigorous training and technical daily skill work, we look to be clicking fully by mid-season and should be competitive in one of the toughest girls’ soccer leagues in the state.”
Ben Winderman, Hatboro-Horsham
Winderman played high school soccer at Central Bucks West but did not play at Penn State. Since then he has played on a variety of men's teams.
He started coaching at Hatboro-Horsham as jayvee coach in 1992 and became head boys’ coach in 1997 and remained in charge for seven years. During that time, the Hatters won three Liberty Division championships and made the playoffs for six straight years.
He took four years off to be with his own kids before taking over the reins again in 2007.
This is his first year as the coach of the girls’ program.
“My expectations are that the players are challenged and stretched in a way that they can perform their best,” he said. “The league is a great challenge, and if we can improve throughout the season and stay competitive, then we can be a dangerous playoff squad. The players are very receptive and are working hard and I am really enjoying their spirit.”
Joe Joyce, Upper Moreland
Joyce has been playing and coaching for the past 30 years. He started soccer playing club ball for FC Bayern in Philadelphia and then played at Father Judge high School before going on to play at LaSalle University.
He started coaching club ball about 20 years ago and helped form the Willow Grove United Soccer Club two years ago, which most recently won the state challenge cup at the U-15 level.
“At Upper Moreland High School, we are in the beginning stages of transforming this program into a more competitive one,” said Joyce. “The girls are excited about that and have been training hard. We are taking the season one game at a time and we will gain our experience that way. These girls are hungry to win.”
League previews
National Conference
Neshaminy is the favorite to repeat. The Redskins went undefeated in league play last year (14-0) and only lost twice all season, as they finished third in districts and made it to the state quarterfinals.
Neshaminy will be particularly strong in the back with Diana Rowan, Kelli Kerr, Bridgette Kelly and Jenny Hentz returning on defense to protect senior goalie Chelsea Rota.
Also returning are midfielder Lyndsay Pierson and forward Jen Hutchinson. Two underclassmen, junior Brianna Hires (midfield) and sophomore Kelly Boyce (midfield) will also help the Redskins.
Council Rock North made it to the state quarterfinals last year for the first time since the split into North and South. The Indians are planning on doing it again.
And there’s no reason to think they won’t as they return 10 key players—Casey Attanasio (senior, center midfield); Clare Roche (senior, center midfield/forward); Emily Marks (senior defensive center midfield); Sarah Kopytko (senior forward); Rachael Lassoff (senior forward); Carlina Pagano (junior outside midfield); Kaitlyn Schultz (junior forward/ outside midfield); Deven Everett (junior outside midfield); Sarah Zuber (sophomore defender); and Kelsey Kausch (sophomore goalkeeper).
After winning the Continental Conference last year, William Tennent improved on its historic season by finishing second in the district.
While many new faces will dot the field, coach James Barry will be looking to his seniors Sam Fox, Sarah Tomlinson, Becky Allen and Meg Zimmerman to fill in for the departed.
How well the newcomers integrate will determine the success of this year’s team.
Pennsbury has new coach Chris McCormick at the reins this year, but he is no stranger to the team as he coached the jayvee for the past three years. That should make the transition of a new coach that much easier. The adjustment may still take some time, but McCormick is optimistic he will have the girls on track by mid-season.
Returning seniors for the Falcons are: Kaitlyn Wylie (midfield), Ilana Cooper (midfield/defense), Leigh Deininger (midfield), Jenna Alley (defense), Taylor Dugan (forward).
Council Rock South finished fifth in the Continental last year, but the Hawks’ record is a bit deceiving. Although they are still young, they are beginning to gain confidence and experience and have started the season well, nearly shutting out the Central Bucks School District with wins over C.B. West and East, before falling to powerful C.B. South, 1-0.
There are only two returning seniors—Jenna Cunningham and Julie Oberholtzer—in a lineup that is deep with juniors and sophomores.
The returning underclassmen include: Julia Gomes (junior), Lauren Heath (junior), Jessica Levy (junior), Brianna Schlupp (junior), Nicole Ulrick (junior), Jamie Vaniver (junior), Jaclyn Webber (junior), Erin Kerwick (junior), Jenna Miniscalco (sophomore), Mary Kate Callahan (sophomore).
Harry S Truman should be improved this year. The Tigers clobbered Norristown in an early non-league game and lost a close game to Cheltenham.
Jayvee coach Nikki Marczak takes over the program and will look to develop younger players.
The Tigers will look to Brooke Edwards (senior, defense), Heather Ziegler (senior, midfield), Kerri Kirbarchi (senior, goalkeeper), Kierstan Ryan (junior, midfield/defense), Yvonne Rohan (junior, midfield), Mallori Kalor (sophomore, forward) to move the program along.
Abington is still in a developing stage, but the Ghosts should be improved. Seniors Laura Delbeccaro, and Kaitlyn Fowler will supply leadership for the younger players along with juniors Amanda Fisher and Gina McCoy.
Coach Chris Hill is hoping a good incoming freshman class will show early maturity.
After a successful season last year, Bensalem graduated a lot of players. But with five seniors—Jackie Deegler (defense), Jess Williams (defense) Kate Clarkson, (keeper/midfielder), Alex Solomon (midfield) and Danielle Barleti (forward)—returning, the Owls are hoping to be competitive again this year.
Predicted finish
1. Neshaminy
2. Council Rock North
3. William Tennent
4. Council Rock South
5. Pennsbury
6. Harry S Truman
7. Abington
8. Bensalem
Continental Conference
Central Bucks South could well be the team to beat this year, not just in the conference, but in district as well.
The Titans return seniors Julia Goldsworthy (defender), Brittany Middleton (midfielder), Meredith Fox (midfielder) and juniors Casey Walsh (midfielder) and Melanie Keer (defender).
Six of eight returning seniors have already committed to playing soccer in college.
The Titans have jumped out to a 4-0 start with wins over Council Rock North, Council Rock South, Neshaminy and Quakertown.
Lest the Titans become complacent, Pennridge, Souderton and North Penn will all be prepared to pounce.
With a player of the quality of Shannon Zickler in goal, Pennridge will be hard to score on. Pennridge also returns defenders Bridgett Hess, Marissa Kunkle and Karin Wolset to make it that much harder for opposing offenses to penetrate the final third. The Ram defense gave up just one goal in its first five games.
This year Pennridge also appears capable of scoring goals, something it struggled with last year.
A potent and technical midfield unit, led by Lindsey Lyons and Sarah Senoyuit, is providing the attack with numerous scoring opportunities.
Souderton returns an experienced team and could be in the hunt for a conference title after finishing 10-8-2 last year. Strikers Ingrid Moyer and Becca Inman provide plenty of speed up top. Courtney Silbert is a threat to score from midfield, while Sarah Conroy and Emily Farrell will supply stability in the midfield. Becca Chylack returns for her fourth year in goal.
North Penn, which also moves into the Continental Conference after placing third in the National last year, has been a contending team for the past few years. North Penn lost quite a few good players to graduation, but returns a top-notch goalie in Gabrielle Pakhtigian as well as senior defender Christine Celenza in the back.
The Maidens should be strong in midfield with Madlyn Dionne (senior), Patty Squicciarini (senior) and Sophie Eiger (junior).
The big question is who is going to score?
Hatboro-Horsham had an uncharacteristic season last year, finishing at 4-9-1 in the conference. New coach Ben Winderman hopes to rejuvenate the program like he has done with the boys’ side.
The Hatters have a good balance of returning starters led by senior defenders Colleen Eppinger and Kelsey Daley, senior midfielders Jenna Gould and Laura Hordis and senior forward Lauren Morgan.
Winderman is shooting for the playoffs this year.
Don’t count out Central Bucks West just yet. The Lady Bucks have started the year at 1-2, including a 3-0 loss to Pennridge. But as anyone who has followed West knows, their time comes in late May and June.
West will rely on the considerable talents of Amanda Fleischut to generate goals, but she will need help. The Bucks also have two young new goalies that they are platooning, so senior Colleen McQuate will have her work cut out for her anchoring a young defense.
Seniors Cate Smith and Taylor Viniarski along with junior Allie Riegel will roam the midfield.
Like West, Central Bucks East is also a young side that struggles to put the ball in the net. East has also been decimated by graduation, losing nine of 11 starters.
Theresa Weiss will be the senior anchor on defense in front of another young keeper in Sam Gladnick (sophomore). Sarah Einstine is the only senior midfielder with juniors Alex Shaw and Aleigh Wosewick.
If the young kids come along, East could be in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Moving up from the American Conference is a big step for Quakertown, which will no longer will be one of the top dogs, even though they return five all-league players.
Coach Mike Freed will look to his seniors Kayla Joseph (forward), Myra Ames (forward), Jackie Gibat (midfield) and Taylor Diaz (goalkeeper) to focus the team and provide leadership.
Predicted finish
1. Central Bucks South
2. Pennridge
3. Souderton
4. North Penn
5. Central Bucks West
6. Central Bucks East
7. Hatboro-Horsham
8. Quakertown
American Conference
Upper Dublin is again the team to beat. The Cardinals will be loaded at all positions. On offense they will be led by all-state forward Larissa Nysch, who has been the leading scorer for the past two seasons. She will be helped up top by Samantha Waters.
In the midfield, look for Brianna Barnes, Kristen Kane, Samantha Feldman and Emily Marvill.
Allie Dayno (goalie) and Marissa Gaab round out the starters in the backfield.
Last year, Upper Dublin tied for the title with Methacton, which has since moved to the Pioneer Athletic Conference. Quakertown, which finished fourth, moved up to the Continental Conference.
Upper Merion showed a lot of growth last year as the Vikings had one of their best ever finishes, coming in third with a 10-5-1 record.
The Vikings return senior captains Samantha Blewitt (forward/midfield) and Katie Boyk (midfield) as well as seniors Lisa Ridgeway (defense) and keeper Kate Cortellessa.
Coach Jeff Kushner is hoping to improve on the team’s third place finish last year.
After a disappointing 6-8-2 league season last year, Wissahickon is looking to rebound from an off year.
The Trojans have one huge hole to replace in goal with the graduation of Caroline Williams, who also doubled as an elite field player. But the rest of the defense returns including eight starters.
This year’s focus will be on scoring goals.
Winning districts and having state playoff experience from last year can only help Springfield, which returns Caroline Mountney and Tierney Carabba from that team.
The Spartans will have speed and technical ability that should help them improve on last year’s 7-11 record.
New coach Joe Joyce is hoping to inspire his Upper Moreland players to improve on last year’s 4-11-1 SOL record with an emphasis on team play. He will rely on seniors Jill Wasson, Aly Loyd, Alyssa Levy, Meredith Rohrbaugh and Caitlyn Engle to provide leadership. The Golden Bears return nine starters.
Cheltenham should be improved this year. Part of that will depend on how well a number of promising freshmen adjust to the varsity level. Seniors Kristina Koutsouros, April Doroski and Dana Krimker will provide leadership for the younger players.
The Panthers had trouble scoring last year. If they are to improve on their 7-12 record, they will have to find a way to hit the net.
Plymouth Whitemarsh won only one game last year. The Colonials hope to improve on that this year. Coach Steve Slack will look to returning seniors Vicky Shivick and Jenny Thiess as well as junior Brittany MacDonald to lead the team.
Slack is focusing on defending and getting players forward in scoring situations. A few of the younger players, like sophomore Alyson Melvin and freshmen Jess Knudsen and Kelsey Plona, could help.
Newcomer Norristown will once again struggle. The Eagles are only in their fifth year as a program. This year they return junior Alyssa Spencer and sophomoresAndrea Stickley and Bose Omo-Ekpadi. Amanda Assemacher (midfield) and Lupe Mina (striker) are promising freshmen to watch.
Obviously, the Eagles are still young and inexperienced, but coach Carmen Carfagno is optimistic for the future.
Predicted finish
1. Upper Dublin
2. Upper Merion
3. Wissahickon
4. Springfield
5. Upper Moreland
6. Cheltenham
7. Plymouth Whitemarsh
8. Norristown
NSCAA/adidas® High School Spring Rankings
Region I Second Poll - March 31
1. Hershey (Hershey, Pa.) 5 - 0 - 0
2. Neshaminy (Langhorne, Pa.) 1 - 0 - 0
3. Penn Manor (Millersville, Pa.) 3 - 0 - 0
4. Central Bucks South (Warrington, Pa.) 2 - 0 - 0
5. Hempfield (Landisville, Pa.) 3 - 0 - 0
6. St. Marks (Wilmington, Del.) 3 - 0 - 0
7. Lancaster Mennonite (Lancaster, Pa.) 4 - 0 - 0
8. Wilson (West Lawn, Pa.) 3 - 1 - 0
9. Fleetwood (Fleetwood, Pa.) 5 - 0 - 0
10. Padua Academy (Wilmington, Del.) 2 - 0 - 0
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