By Alex Frazier
Fall soccer – The move to the fall for girls’ soccer is generally getting a big thumbs up.“I love it,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Ben Winderman. “First of all it’s fall, so it feels like soccer season.”
“It’s nice to actually get a proper preseason with the girls,” said Council Rock North coach Roman Escobar. “It’s less of a crunch. In springtime, especially, with club soccer you have a lot of those girls being overplayed and over used which led to a lot of injuries.”
“I’m very happy with the change,” said Upper Dublin coach John Topper, “just to be able to get a full couple of weeks of fitness and work with the team before we see our first opponents. It has made a difference for us.”
Winderman also agrees with that. Having lost just two seniors from last year’s team, he feels like “we hit the ground running.”
His girls played a lot of club ball over the summer, so they came into the season in good shape, “still feeling excited about improving a lot over the last two years.”
Another positive of fall soccer is that the Suburban One has an opportunity to face new competition and see how it measures up to the fall teams.
So far so good.
C.B. South tied West Chester East (1-1) and beat Archbishop Wood (2-1), Neshaminy defeated both Downingtown East (2-1) and West (2-1), and Council Rock South took Villa Joseph Marie (1-0) and Pennsbury notched a pair of wins against Archbishop Ryan (3-1) and GreatValley (4-1).
One of the concerns about moving to the fall was the availability of referees. That has been mitigated somewhat by playing varsity and jayvee games back to back.
“It’s probably a little early to say how the referees and fields will work out,” said Topper.
Varsity coaches are not happy about the back-to-back arrangement because it means they have to stand around until the jayvee game is over, unless they can arrange different transportation.
“I was never for the move in the first place,” said C.B. South coach Joe Bocklet. “People are standing on the field from 2 to 7 at night and not getting home until 8. I understand that’s what they have to do because of all the games, but they overlooked the impact that might have for people who have time constraints or other commitments.”The move to fall has mixed results in terms of losing and gaining players. Wissahickon lost one of its best players Lauren Becker to field hockey.
Upper Dublin lost one girl to field hockey, but gained one from lacrosse.
“In our district we’ll probably gain more from lacrosse than we would have lost to field hockey,” said Topper.
C.B. South kept one of its best players when Ashley Saylor quit field hockey so she could continue soccer.
At Hatboro-Horsham, Winderman picked up junior Carly Black, who had opted out of spring high school soccer to play club ball. A national pool player, Black will be a huge addition for the Hatters this year now that she can play club and high school.
Upper Moreland may have been the team that gained the most. The Golden Bears were the recipient of three very good players as a result of the change to the fall. Junior Kate Costello, a club soccer player, played softball as a freshman and sophomore, making first team all-league as a ninth grader.
Softball teammate Erin Dixon also had the opportunity to play soccer in her senior year.
The Golden Bears also picked up Maddie Mauro, who gave up field hockey to play soccer.
Size isn’t everything – One thing nice about soccer is that you don’t have to be a brute to play the game, though being big does have its advantages.
At Upper Moreland, coach Joe Joyce has a pair of freshmen that he calls his “smurfs.”
Lindsay Walder and Morgan Valera are about knee high to a grasshopper, but that doesn’t deter from their game.
“Size isn’t the only factor,” said Joyce. “They’ll beat you on speed, they’ll beat you to the ball. They’re very tenacious for small kids. They have a fight and a desire. They have a ball out on the field. It’s great to watch them play.”
Both Walder and Valera, along with another freshman Karli Lynch (who isn’t a “smurf), played club ball for VE until this year when Walder signed with FC Delco and Valera went to Southampton.
Joyce calls the freshmen trio his “three-headed monster.” He fully expects them to catapult the Golden Bears into the top echelon of the American Conference.
Walder, he predicts, will be one of the top players in the league. He’s so impressed with her play he installed her at center midfield.
“She’s phenomenal with the ball,” said Joyce. “She’s undersized for the position, but what she doesn’t have in size she makes up for in finesse. She moves the ball extremely well.” Valera is a forward.
“Morgan is a slasher up front, she moves in and out, she’s real fast,” said Joyce. “Those two work together. They look for each other out on the field."
Lynch plays sweeper/stopper.
“I don’t think I’ll get this kind of talent coming through here in a long time,” said Joyce. “They’re extremely well-coached kids.”
While all three players can hold their own skill-wise with the oldest, they are susceptible to injury because of their size and age.
“Karli holds her own, but the other ones do get knocked around,” said Joyce. “They’re getting accustomed to being in this league.”
The three freshmen have taken the field together just once this year in the opener against John Paul II. Unfortunately, Walder suffered a knee injury.
Lynch went down in the second game against Phoenixville.
The two are expected back next week. Lynch may make the league opener against Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday.
So far Valera has escaped injury.
“We keep kidding Morgan that we’re not going to start her the next game because she’s the next freshman in line to go down,” said Joyce.
Because Upper Moreland lacks depth, injuries can play a huge role in the outcome of games.
“If the team stays healthy, we’ll move up in the standings,” said Joyce.
Kudos to…Pennsbury’s Alyssa Navroth came up with a clutch save in the second half in a 4-0 win against GreatValley. Although the offense had done its job to secure a victory, Navroth anticipated the worst on defense to cover for her goalkeeper. After a GreatValley attacker took a shot behind the defense and goalkeeper, Navroth came from the weak side to clear the ball off the goal line before nearly crashing into the post.
“Alyssa's effort shows the type of determination and focus we expect from all of our defenders to preserve our first shutout of the season,” said coach Kaitlyn Battiste.
Additionally, Navroth is a senior captain and a member of the National Honor Society.
•On Friday, Sept. 10, the Wissahickon girls found themselves down 2-0 at halftime to Souderton. Senior captain Alex Schaefer rallied her teammates at halftime. Schaefer then scored once in regulation to tie the game at 2-2, and also scored the game winner in the second overtime period to defeat Souderton 3-2.
• Despite losing two games to Pennridge (2-0) and Downingtown West (3-1), Upper Dublin midfielder Taylor Bryant stood out for her efforts in the midfield.
“During week one, she was our best ball winner and did a great job of disrupting the opposition's attack and controlling the midfield,” said Cardinal coach John Topper. “She played 80 minutes in both games and is looking like an emerging star in the American Conference.”
Around the league – In a huge National Conference matchup on Thursday, Neshaminy edged archrival Pennsbury 2-1. Council Rock South also dominated William Tennent, 3-1.
Chris Vollrath scored two goals and Colleen Diviny added another, while Cara Deola recorded two assists.
Council Rock North defeated Abington 2-0 at Schwarzman Stadium. Emily Rankin and Ciera Ellison provided some sparks for the Ghosts, but Council Rock was able to handle the pressure and stymie Abington's attack.
Wissahickon eased past Norristown, 3-0.
In Tuesday and Wednesday’s league openers, Hatboro-Horsham blanked Central Bucks East 4-0. Marykate Bateman led the charge with a pair of goals, while Sam Bickel and Kelsey Shafer added singles tallies. Lindsay Day earned the shutout in goal.
Wissahickon edged Plymouth Whitemarsh 2-1 in overtime. The Colonials took the early lead on a goal by Amanda Craney. Jackie Carradorni tied the score moments later.
In overtime, Zoe Gomez notched the game winner, her second in two games. She scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Quakertown.
In the Continental Conference, C.B. West won its first game of the season 2-0 over Souderton. Lauren Schofield scored the game winner on a header assisted by Erin McQuate two minutes into the second half.
Alexis Haug (Lindsay Horst assist) notched the insurance goal with less than 10 minutes to play. It was the first win for the Lady Bucks after tying Boyertown in their season opener.
North Penn began its league season with a 2-0 win over Central Bucks East. Junior Megan Kelley scored the first goal and assisted Gina Scotto on the second.
The Patriots’ Paige Marcinkowski stopped four shots, while her North Penn counterpart turned aside two shots.
Hatboro-Horsham received first-half goals from Marykate Bateman and Gina Mallinder to down Quakertown, 2-1.
Pre-season/non leagueCentral Bucks South tied West Chester East 1-1 on Ashley Saylor’s goal in the 32nd minute. Pennridge handed Upper Perkiomen a 2-0 loss, and Pennsbury cruised past Archbishop Ryan 3-1. North Penn had a huge 3-1 win over Neshaminy. Megan Schafer scored the Redskins’ lone goal.
Council Rock South’s Mikala Mikula scored the lone goal of the game on an assist from Cara Deola to defeat Villa. Jos. Marie, 1-0.
Neshaminy’s Megan Schafer scored a pair of goals (Amy Gallagher and Alyssa Kirk assist) to defeat Downingtown East 2-1.
Alex Schaefer scored her second goal in overtime to give Wissahickon a 3-2 win over Souderton.
Ali Swider’s second half goal was enough to give Upper Merion a 1-0 victory over Harry S Truman.
Top 5 SOL
1. Council Rock South
2. Central Bucks South
3. Neshaminy
4. Pennsbury
5. Pennridge
Southeastern Pa. Soccer Coaches Poll
(through Sept. 12)
1. Neshaminy (2-0-0)
2. Downingtown East (3-1-0)
3. Council Rock South (2-0-0)
4. Unionville (3-0-0)
5. Central Bucks West (0-0-1)
6. Boyertown (2-0-1)
7. Strath Haven (2-1-0)
8. Owen J. Roberts (3-0-1)
9. Lower Merion (3-0-0)
10.Avon Grove (2-0-1)
PA Soccer Coaches Association Poll
(Sept. 12)
Rank Team (district)
1. Council Rock South (1)
2. Peters Twp. (7)
3. Unionville (1)
4. Neshaminy (1)
5. Central Bucks South (1)
6. Downingtown East (1)
7. Mt.Lebanon (7)
8. Pine-Richland (7)
9. Owen J. Roberts (1)
10.Archbishop Wood (12)
Honorable mention: Lower Merion (1), Mercyhurst Prep (10), Radnor (1), State College (6)
National Soccer Coaches Association Poll
(Sept. 14)
Region III Rankings
Rank Team Record
1. Immaculate Heart (NJ) 1-0-0
2. Council Rock South 2-0-0
3. PingrySchool (NJ) 1-0-0
4. Peters Twp. 4-0-0
5. Lenape (NJ) 1-0-0
6. Unionville 3-0-0
7. Northern Highlands Regional (NJ) 1-0-0
8. Neshaminy 2-0-0
9. PenningtonSchool (NJ) 1-0-0
10. Ramapo (NJ) 1-0-0
11. Central Bucks South 2-0-1
12. East Brunswick (NJ) 1-0-0
13. Eastern Voorhees (NJ) 1-0-0
14. Mt.Lebanon 1-0-2
15. Owen J. Roberts 3-0-1
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