Pennsbury defeated Abington in a key SOL National Conference showdown. Check out all of Friday’s results. To review photos of the Pennsbury/Abington game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Pennsbury 11, Abington 9
Pennsbury is a team with its eye on the big picture.
The more the Falcons challenge themselves with their non-league schedule, the better prepared they'll be to take on the top teams in the National Conference as well as the elite teams in the area come playoff time.
Defending National Conference champion Abington certainly qualifies as the class of both the conference and the area.
"The reason we play difficult teams in our non-league schedule is to prepare us for the league season and for the playoffs," said Pennsbury coach Jamie Huber. "We want to challenge ourselves. Abington is a team that is always a challenge. Scheduling teams like Plymouth Whitemarsh, Emmaus and Penncrest prepares us for games like this."
In a game in which Pennsbury never trailed, but never had much breathing room, either, the Falcons pulled out an 11-9 victory in Friday's showdown against the Ghosts.
"It was pretty back and forth the whole game," Huber said. "We would score a goal or two and they would come back and tie it.
"Our kids followed exactly what we asked them to do. It helped that we had two days to practice and I think we scouted Abington well. We used a very short bench, maybe 15 kids played the whole game. But we have eight seniors, they've been there. We rely on them and they did the job. This is a big win for us."
The game was tied 2-2 after one quarter and 4-4 at halftime. The Falcons had a 4-2 edge in scoring in the third quarter, and each team netted three in the final frame.
Andrew Probst led the Falcons with four goals and two assists. Ryan McDonald also had four goals. Calvin Hopkins had a goal and two assists, and Sean McDonald and Luke Matthews each added a goal and an assist.
Hopkins also earned praise from Huber for his solid defending against Abington's Austin Pifani.
"Drew (Sweetland) had a good day," Huber said of his goalkeeper. "He made two or three saves he had no business making. Lewis Sears played a great game on defense. Our whole defense played well. The defense put their offense into positions so Drew could make those saves."
Matt Figeroa (three goals, one assist) and Ryan Ambler (one goal, three assists) led the Ghosts with four-point games. Matt Lomady scored twice, while Matt Gormley, Shane Dunn, Pifani and Hunter Jones each added one goal. Pifani and Ambler were each credited with four ground balls. Travis O'Connor made 11 saves in goal for the Ghosts.
Upper Dublin 16, Upper Moreland 9
Sparked by a seven-point effort from Drew Potts, Upper Dublin jumped out to an 11-1 halftime lead and went on to defeat American Conference opponent Upper Moreland, 16-9, on Friday.
Potts led the Flying Cardinals with five goals and two assists. Mike Rama had a hat trick and one assist for the Cards, Liam Duke scored twice and had two assists, Pete Vernacchio and Ben Winebrake each had a goal and an assist. Danny Demchick and John Minehart each scored twice, Zach Hanson recorded two assists and Brian Lunney had one helper. Jack Deragon (8 saves), Robby Moran (9 saves) and Chris Day (1 save) shared time in goal for the Cardinals.
Billy Costello (four goals, two assists) and Ellis Fattizzi (two goals, four assists) each had six-point games for the Golden Bears. Josh Barber scored two and Talon Blickley added one goal and one assist. Upper Moreland goalkeeper Matt McGlinsey made 13 saves.
Neshaminy 14, Harry S. Truman 2
Nine different players scored for Neshaminy in the Redskins' 14-2 victory over National Conference opponent Harry S. Truman on Friday.
Alex McKenzie led the Redskins with three goals, Matt Magdelinskas, Mike Hires and Andy MacDonald each scored two and John Blickle, Steve Corletto, Matt Miller, Cale Kitchenman and Andrew Pavonarious each chipped in with one. Brad Tebeest, Corletto and Hires each registered two assists in the victory. Troy Jones made seven saves in goal.
Matt Sullivan scored for Truman.
Central Bucks East 14, Central Bucks South 10
A low-scoring first half led to an explosion of goals in the second half. While Central Bucks East never trailed, their neighborhood rivals, a young, upstart Central Bucks South team, fired in eight goals in the fourth quarter to make things interesting in Friday's Continental Conference matchup.
East scored the only two goals of the first quarter and led 4-1 at halftime. The Patriots expanded their lead to 9-2 after three, but the teams combined for 13 goals in the final 15 minutes.
Parker Self led East with five goals and three assists. Chris Vetter had a hat trick. Chris Schneeklof, Brian Garcia, Zach Kane, Tyler Butler, Ethan Debuque and Eric Riva each added one goal. Garcia registered two assists, while Kane and Anthony Casselli each had one assist. Ryan Connors came up with five ground balls.
Among the Titans' scorers, Jake Snavely led the Titans with three goals and an assist. Tyler Brittin had two goals and an assist, Willie Pendleton scored twice, Tyler Strayline had a goal and an assist, and Tommy DiBrino registered one assist.
Shawn McSherry made eight saves and Bryan Szymanski made two stops for the Patriots. Ryan Kelly made 15 saves in goal for the Titans.
Pennridge 11, Souderton 6
In a Friday evening game, Pennridge topped host Souderton, 11-6, in a meeting of neighborhood and Continental League rivals.
Cameron Trick scored twice for Souderton. Drew Nice had a goal and an assist. Trevor Zwaan, Ridge Schultz and Tyler MacDougall each scored one. Remi Reeves made 10 saves in goal for the Big Red.
Hatboro-Horsham 9, Central Bucks West 3 (4-12-12)
The Hatters jumped out to an 8-1 halftime lead an never looked back in Thursday’s win over the Bucks. Jimmy Murphy led the Hatters with four goals while Jimmy Durkin added a pair. Trevor Downing, Connor Kreston and Steve Palo each scored one goal for the Hatters. Kreston also had a pair of assists.
Riley Kratzke contributed a goal and an assist for the Bucks while Jon Steigerwald and Corey Schott each added a single goal.
Mark Poust was credited with 10 saves in goal for the Hatters while West’s Lucas Janos had eight saves and Alex Ingrassia had one in a contest that saw the Hatters hold a 32-18 advantage in shots.
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