Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ lacrosse teams in action Tuesday. Pennsbury/CB East photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson, and Pennridge/Souderton photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f900124885
National Conference
Pennridge 14, Souderton 12
Matt Kriney was only thinking about one thing Tuesday night.
The Pennridge junior midfielder had scored four times, the last coming via a highlight-reel worthy top shelf rocket that gave the Rams a four-goal
lead going to the final quarter, but that wasn’t where his focus was. Instead, it was on the green and white banner that had appeared on the field at the end of a tense finish against visiting Souderton adorned with just four words.
Suburban One National Champs.
Pennridge finished off a perfect league season with a 10-0 SOL record and an outright conference title, edging CB West by just one game to take the National crown.
“This is the first time our school’s ever done that, it’s incredible,” Kriney said. “I’m so happy for my guys. I’m more of a team player than a personal player in every aspect, I love my guys and I’m happy we can all have this, so I’m looking forward to every game we’ll have in the postseason.”
“This means a ton,” Pennridge coach Chris Pianko said. “I think we always at the beginning of the season put it up there as a goal to win the conference, and at the end of the day, it’s the buy-in and hard work of the kids.
“Joking about it with my brother (assistant coach Charlie Pianko) – looking at our record and have it be 16-1, it feels surreal and 10-0 against a great conference. There’s a ton of talent in the conference, and to be able to pull out the wins we
did in a lot of close games – it’s awesome.”
Getting to 10 wins in the conference took a lot of effort, mainly because the Indians forced the Rams to expend that kind of effort. Souderton, looking to snap a two-game skid, came out strong by scoring the first two goals of the game via Seth Grossman and Tyson Bui.
Kriney finally got the Rams on the board midway through the first quarter, followed by goals from Frankie Fanelli and Ryan Carickhoff. The trio of juniors combined for 10 goals on the night including the game’s biggest in Fanelli’s late insurance goal in the fourth quarter.
“A lot of players returning from last year helped us a lot,” Fanelli said. “All offseason, we were really clicking, and it carried right into the season.”
John Martin-Vince, who tied with Grossman to lead Souderton with four goals, tied the score 3-3 but Frankie Fanelli, off an assist from his brother Rocco – a freshman – put the hosts ahead 4-3 with a goal coming with 36.5 seconds left in the quarter.
Pennridge wouldn’t trail again, but would twice have to hold its ground after Souderton got within a goal.
Kriney, who played both ends of the field out of his midfield spot, bookended goals around a score by Rocco Fanelli and Matt Seiler answered a Vince goal for a 4-1 Rams run and an 8-4 lead with five minutes to the half. Pennridge’s goals came from a variety of places and plays, mixing some individual efforts with crisp passing and a combination of some power goals and finely-placed shots.
“We work the ball extremely well,” Kriney said. “The work rate put in by our guys, compared to previous years, it’s ridiculous. Coming from freshman and sophomore year to this year, it’s just a different vibe and amazing to be part of.”
Grossman and Seth Landis gave Souderton some momentum going to halftime with back-to-back goals, then Bui opened the third quarter with a close-in conversion that clipped the lead to 8-7.
Ben Souder, who won 16 faceoffs for Pennridge, gave his team some stability with a couple wins on the X that led to a goal by Carickhoff then just nine seconds later, long stick midfielder Andrew Horensky gathering the ground ball off the draw and going in for a blast from distance.
Vince and Bui connected for a pair of goals around a Carickhoff finish – his third of the game – but Pennridge closed the third quarter with goals from Levi Souder and Kriney who got his fourth with a line-drive take and the shot just under the crossbar.
“Our ground balls weren’t the greatest but in the key moments, we got the ones we needed,” Fanelli said. “Tyler had a big game, our defense held them and that’s what we need. If we put more goals in the back of the net, that’s all we need.”
Leading 13-9 with 12 minutes to play, the Rams nonetheless found themselves in a scrap as Souderton seized some control on the faceoff X, caused some turnovers and converted the shift in tide into three straight goals by Vince, Grossman and Ty Quintois. Both teams brought plenty of intensity to the final act, with Souderton holding the ball as the clock counted toward the final two-and-a-half minutes.
There, it would be a near-miss and a quick turnaround that helped seal the outcome. Souderton had a great look at a potential tying goal, a shot off the stick of Bui hitting a fraction of an inch too high, connecting with the crossbar then hitting off the turf and the back of goalie Tyler Vandermark, who collected the ground ball.
That let Pennridge outlet the ball up the field and less than 20 seconds later, Frankie Fanelli was depositing it in the back of Souderton’s net for a 14-12 lead with 2:14 to play.
“Going from 6-12 to 16-1 and winning the conference is a huge momentum changer and huge for Pennridge lacrosse,” Fanelli said. “It puts us on the map again. Our coaches put in a lot of work in the offseason helping us train and get better.
“Now we’ve got to focus on the playoffs, it’s a new season at 0-0.”
Pennridge’s Tyler Vandermark was credited with 23 saves in goal in another strong outing.
Pennridge closed out its regular season with a 16-1 record. Souderton (11-6, 6-4) will host Lansdale Catholic in a non-league game Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Pennridge 4-4-5-1 14
Souderton 3-3-3-3 12
Pennsbury 11, Central Bucks East 10 (2OT)
Pennsbury took just one shot on goal in the second of two overtime periods.
Sometimes, one shot is all you need.
That lone shot, off the stick of senior Troy Haynes, came with 1:38 left in the second extra session and found its way into the cage to cap off a stunning rally and give Pennsbury a huge 11-10 victory over Central Bucks East in Tuesday’s National Conference clash.
“The first overtime we traded possessions, we traded timeouts. It was just back-and-forth,” said Pennsbury coach Dean Curtis. “To start the second overtime, we won the faceoff and I called timeout. We had possession for 2 minutes and 22 seconds. Mike DeZutel dodged to the goal, and he got doubled. He passed the ball to John Curtis, and he passed to Troy Haynes, who put away the game-winner.”
East had jumped out to a fast start, leading 5-2 after one period. The Falcons trailed 10-6 late in the third quarter but found the net in the waning seconds of the third, then scored 3 unanswered goals in the fourth to force the extra sessions.
“At the end of the third quarter, we scored with 1 second left on the clock, which gave us momentum going into the fourth quarter,” Curtis said. “We had a possession with 6 seconds left. We have a set play that we run, and Logan Thorne got his lone goal of the game.
“(The fourth) was a defensive quarter. It looks like we had an offensive quarter, and yes, we did, but it was really the defense. CB East was taking the air out of the ball as every team would. We did a great job getting the ball on the ground and getting it back to our offense and rallying back. The defensive unit was really great, and they came up when they had to. We scored 2 goals in the last 3 minutes of the game in order to tie it. We scored the tying goal with 23 seconds left—it was Mike DeZutel’s fourth goal of the game.”
DeZutel finished the game with 4 goals, 2 assist, 2 GB, and went 1-for-1 on faceoffs. Kolby Ranniello scored a hat trick and added 1 assist. John Curtis had 2 goals and 1 assist. Haynes had 1 assist to go along with his game-winning goal, Logan Thorne scored once, and Will Taylor added 1 assist.
Jon Vereb made 12 saves to record the win in the cage, and Brad Hill went 14-for-23 on faceoffs and scooped up 9 GB.
“It just shows all the work the kids have put in throughout the season,” Curtis said. “For them to rally together and play for each other … on our team, we talk about the units we have, whether it’s the faceoff unit, the defense unit, and the offense unit and just being there to support each other throughout, and it’s critical to play as one, and they really did it today.”
Blake Bishop scored 5 goals to lead East. Luke Christmas scored 2 (along with 4 GB), Ben Bridegum, David Crespo (2 GB) and Adam Volm (1 GB) each scored once, and Zacary Ramey and Evan Riley each had 1 assist and 1 GB.
Ethan Greenlee and Chris Funston each had 4 CTO and 3 GB, Matthew Bowen had 2 GB, Dean Blackwell had 2 CTO and 1 GB, David Brown had 1 GB, Patrick Coleman had 1 CTO and 2 GB, Tristan Smith scooped up 2 GB, and Walters had 2 CTO and 1 GB.
Pennsbury improves to 7-3 in National Conference play (10-6 overall) and will face Holy Ghost Prep at 7 pm Friday. East falls to 6-4, 8-9, and will host nonleague opponent Academy of the New Church at 7 pm Friday.
Pennsbury 2-3-2-3-0-1 11
Central Bucks East 5-2-3-0-0-0 10
Central Bucks West 10, Council Rock North 8
Matt Jacobson and Austin Hahn have officially etched their names into the Central Bucks West history books.
Jacobson put three exclamation marks on his already stellar West career. Winning 12-of-15 draws in Tuesday’s 10-8 victory over Council Rock North, the junior has now won 203 draws on the season, with a 76.6 percent winning percentage. Both are West single-season records. Jacobson has also won 528 total faceoffs, setting a new career record for the Bucks with one more full season to add to that record.
“When you have a young man that leaves every ounce of himself out on that field every play, it’s hard not to have the accomplishments he has had so far in his career,” West faceoff coach Albie Snyder said. “He has a great ability to react and is quick to the ball. I had heard about Matt coming up as an eighth grader and was excited for what we had coming after the great three years we had from Garrett Hitchens (former record holder for season [190] and career [522]).
“Matt is a game-changer and makes a coach’s job easier when you possess the skills he has all over the lacrosse field. Pure effort and determination is what makes Matt so good.”
Hahn joined Jacobson in the record books. His game-high 4 goals gave Hahn the program’s single-season goal record. Hahn also added 2-for-6 from the faceoff circle.
Joining the newly minted record-holders, Alex Greenspan had 2 goals and an assist for the Bucks, Harrison Brownlow scored twice, and Aidan Kimberly and Garin Mangeot each added 1 assist.
Will Shandlay made 6 saves in goal for the Bucks.
For North, goalkeeper Zach Borden was stellar in a losing effort.
“It’s a shame,” Indians’ coach John Fitzpatrick said. “Zach Borden with 19 saves. He had a heck of a game.”
Liam Dudley led the Indians with 3 goals. Andrew Zazoff had 2 goals and 2 assists along with 2 GB. Sam Lewis scored once and had 3 assists and 2 GB. Nick Colavita had a goal, 2 assists, and 1 GB, and Billy McBride added 1 goal.
Tyler Rodriguez and Charlie Rambo each had 2 GB, while Jake Wellwood, Ben Wellwood, Noah Epstein, and Logan Atkinson each had 1 GB.
West moves to 9-1 in the National Conference (14-3 overall) and will close out the regular season by visiting American Conference champion Wissahickon at 7 pm Thursday. The Indians (7-3, 10-6) will host Haverford High at 5 pm Thursday.
Central Bucks West 4-3-2-1 10
Council Rock North 3-2-2-1 8
North Penn 12, Harry S Truman 5
North Penn held Harry S Truman scoreless in the first half as the Knights built up an 8-0 halftime advantage and cruised to a 12-5 victory in Tuesday’s National Conference game.
Truman goalkeeper Tommy Bryson made 17 saves (58.6% save percentage) and scooped up 6 ground balls on the day for the Tigers.
Patrick Berkery’s hat trick (with 1 GB) and Chris Glover’s 2 goals and 2 assists (with 5 GB and 2 CTO) led the Truman offense. Nate Cornell and Lawson Pearce each had 1 assist and 1 GB. Jack Rugarber had 3 GB and 4 CTO, Chase Tuttle had 2 GB and 2 CTO, and Kaiden Toombs added 2 GB.
With the win, North Penn improves to 2-8 in National Conference play, 5-11 overall. The Knights will visit Lower Merion for a 3:45 pm Friday game. Truman (0-10, 0-16) will look to earn its first win of the season in its final game when it hosts William Tennent at 4 pm Thursday.
Harry S Truman 0-0-2-3 5
North Penn 7-1-3-1 12
Central Bucks South 16, Council Rock South 15 (OT)
Tuesday night might have marked Reese Levinson’s final game for Central Bucks South. If that turns out to be the case, the senior couldn’t have gone out in a more heroic fashion.
Levinson scored a stunning 9 goals, and the final one was the game-winner in overtime as the Titans held off a furious Council Rock South rally attempt to pull out a 16-15 victory.
“We called a timeout in OT after winning the faceoff to set up an ISO play for Reese,” said Titans’ coach Mike Strayline. “He had a huge night for us. He scored with 3 minutes left in OT for the win.
“We have an outside chance to make playoffs and we went 4-0 in our last four, so credit goes to the boys. They really want another chance to play.”
The Titans had built up a seemingly safe 15-10 lead after three quarters, but the Golden Hawks netted 5 unanswered goals in the final period—including the tying goal with 20 seconds left in regulation—to force overtime.
“We had a good lead going into the fourth and we got sloppy on D and had a few bad penalties and gave them life,” Strayline said. “Council Rock South deserves a lot of credit for the way they fought back. Most teams would have given up, but they are a talented bunch of kids. I have known (Hawks’ coach) Mike Murray a long time and he’s doing a great job.”
Supporting Levinson were Ryan Gordon (2 G), Alex Fessler and Matt Waltrich (1 G, 1 A each), and Carter Kaplan and Keith Conner (1 G each). Liam Goss scored 1 goal, won 10-of-16 faceoffs, and scooped up 8 GB. Anthony Depedro was 14-for-17 on draws and nabbed 12 GB. Dom Varacollo made 16 saves.
For the Hawks, TJ Shores had 4 goals and 1 assist, Joey Smith had a hat trick and added 2 assists, MJ Fenney scored 3 goals, Jack Schink netted a pair, Conner McCaffery and Owen Dillon each had a goal and an assist, Tom Gallagher scored once, and Wes Waninger and Michael Houser each chipped in with 1 assist.
Central Bucks South finishes the regular season at 4-6 in National Conference play, 9-9 overall, and they must now wait to find out if the late-season surge will help them qualify for the District Tournament. Council Rock South (3-7, 8-9) ends the regular season at 5:30 pm Thursday visiting Holy Ghost Prep.
Central Bucks South 3-6-6-0-1 16
Council Rock South 3-3-4-5-0 15
American Conference
Wissahickon 12, Springfield Twp 6
Wissahickon won its third straight American Conference title in convincing fashion on Tuesday, doubling up Springfield Twp 12-6 en route to completing an undefeated league slate.
The Trojans scored the first 7 goals of the game, building a 4-0 lead after one quarter and leading 7-2 at halftime. The Spartans narrowed the deficit to 7-4 early in the third before the Trojans pulled away with 5 straight goals.
Kyle Lehman led the way for the Trojans with 6 goals and 2 assists. Andrew Slackman had a hat trick and 1 assist. Kyle Doll scored 2 goals and added 1 assist, Charles Stehlik had a goal and an assist, and Nicholas Donofrio added 1 assist. Kyle Crump made 8 saves to record the win in net for the Trojans.
“It was a good team effort tonight,” Wissahickon coach Matt Conway said. “Our seniors led the way like they have all season. I’m really proud of our four senior captains—Lehman, Slackman, Donofrio, and Gavin Myers—and the job they’ve done all year.”
Matt Capoferri led the Spartans with 3 goals and 2 assists. Kevin Bui, Peter Schmidt, and Mateo Ringgold each scored 1 goal, and Jack Sharpe posted 2 assists.
Carter Weiss made 8 saves in goal, and Colin Pennington was dominant on faceoffs for the Spartans.
The Trojans secure an undefeated 9-0 American Conference record (14-1 overall). They will close out the season hosting Central Bucks West at 7 pm Thursday. Springfield (3-5, 3-13) will visit William Tennent at 4 pm Friday.
Wissahickon 4-3-5-0 12
Springfield Twp 0-2-2-2 6
Hatboro-Horsham 13, New Hope-Solebury 6
David Benjamin burned the New Hope-Solebury defense for 5 goals and won 5-of-7 faceoffs as Hatboro-Horsham topped New Hope-Solebury 13-6 in Tuesday’s American Conference game.
Max Mariano had 4 goals for the Hatters, while Alex Cerminara netted a pair and Shane Phillips had a goal and an assist as well as 3-for-6 on faceoffs. Victor Lasher had 1 assist, Nate Phillips scooped up 4 GB, Tommy Pedicone had 3 GB and 2 CTO, Kevin Allison picked up 2 GB and 1 CTO, and Matt Duggan had 2 GB.
Brendan Kirn (5 saves) and Anderson Kirby (4 saves) split time in the cage to pick up the win for the Hatters, who improve to 7-2 in American Conference play (11-6 overall). The Hatters will host Neshaminy at 7 pm Friday. NH-S closes out the season at 3-6, 9-7.
Hatboro-Horsham 3-7-1-2 13
New Hope-Solebury 0-1-1-4 6
Abington 14, Quakertown 7
Abington doubled up Quakertown 14-7 in Tuesday’s American Conference matchup.
Alex Jalboot led Quakertown with 4 goals. Jackson Lesinski has a goal and an assist, while Freddy Hipple and Jack Diliberto each scored 1 goal.
Herb Arnold made 18 saves for the Panthers (1-8 in American Conference play, 3-14 overall). The Panthers will visit Pennsbury today at 4 pm. Abington ends the regular season at 6-3, 12-6.
Non-league
Manheim Twp 7, Upper Dublin 6
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