Check out the preview capsules for SOL boys’ soccer teams who will be competing in the District 1 Tournament. (Photo courtesy of Tracy Valko)
Class 4A (Tuesday’s Games)
#17 Neshaminy at #16 Council Rock South, 4:30 p.m.
CR South
–10-4-4, 6-2-2 SOL, tied for second Patriot Division
–Key Wins: Not much separated these two teams, which had the same league records and overall records, and the two games between them were a 0-0 tie and a 1-0 win for CR South. The Golden Hawks also had key wins over #28 Pennsbury (2-0) and Class 3A #3 Lower Moreland (3-2).
–Top Players: Sr. F Reid Van Demark, Sr. F/M Sean Davis, Sr. F Josh Coehlo, Sr. D Tim Grabowski, Sr. D Owen Lubieski, Sr. D Diego Soto-Pinzon, Sr. D Ryan Conway
Neshaminy
10-4-4, 6-2-2 SOL, tied for second Patriot Division
–Key wins: Neshaminy played in 13 games either decided by one goal or three scoreless ties. Own wins over division rivals #11 CR North (1-0) and #28 Pennsbury (2-1),
–Top Players: Sr. D/M Damien Castro, Jr. D/M Jake Fallon, So. M Dean Goodwin, Sr. F Ryan MacMullen
Up Next: The CR South-Neshaminy winner will play at #1 West Chester Henderson on Thursday.
#24 Upper Dublin at #9 Central Bucks East, 4 p.m.
Upper Dublin
–7-6-4, 6-1-3 SOL, second place Liberty Division
–Key Wins: The Flying Cardinals lost just one league game, to champion Abington, and also had a 1-1 tie with the Ghosts. UD took care of business against the rest of the league, and also had a nonleague Class 3A #3 Lower Moreland (3-1).
–Top Players: Sr. F Jackson Bryan, So. F Adriano Roman, Sr. D Kaleb Abebe, Sr. D Dom Bova, Sr. M Chase Rappaport, Sr. D Leo Kuznits
CB East
–11-6-1, 7-2-1 SOL, second place Colonial Division
–Key Wins: A tough 1-0 loss to rival CB West in the final week cost the Patriots the Colonial Division title in a season where they also own wins over #22 Souderton (4-1 and 1-0), #10 CB South (6-5), #6 Springfield Township (3-1) and #26 CB West (2-0).
–Top Players: Sr. M Dan Frye, Sr. D Matt Wallof, Sr. F Jack Thibeault, Sr. F Aidan Pasternak, Jr. M Dustin Weber
Up Next: The UD-CB East winner will play the winner of #8 Great Valley and #25 Boyertown in the second round on Thursday.
#28 Pennsbury at #5 Lower Merion, 1 p.m.
Pennsbury
—9-8-1, 5-4-1 SOL, fourth place Patriot Division
–Key Wins: A win over Class 3A #5 Holy Ghost Prep (2-1) on Thursday was a big boost to end the season for the Falcons, who also own wins this season over #17 Neshaminy (1-0) and #26 CB West (1-0).
–Top Players: Ryan Mathis, Levin Diccio, Duncan Reed
Lower Merion
–12-3-5, 8-2-1 Central League
–Key Wins: #2 Conestoga (1-0), #4 Haverford (2-0)
–Top Players: Jr.Ben Bradway, Jr. Nathan Conte, Jr.Caden Arnold
Up Next: The Pennsbury-Lower Merion winners plays the winner of #12 Unionville and #21 Norristown in the second round on Thursday.
#26 Central Bucks West at #7 Abington, 7 p.m.
CB West
–9-9, 5-5 SOL, tied for third Colonial Division
–Key wins: The Bucks won three straight to end the season and earn the playoff berth. Biggest wins were over #24 Upper Dublin (1-0), #9 CB East (1-0), #27 North Penn (1-0), #23 William Tennent (3-2) and #10 CB South (2-0).
–Top Players: Sr. D Xan Dickinson, Jr. M Michael Rafalowski, Sr. D Kieran Thompson, Sr. D Ethan DeHaven, Jr. F Beck Walton
Coach John Adair: “We’re really pleased with the way that we’re playing in this late stretch of the season. Our boys had a difficult road to this point but absolutely deserve to be here. Abington is a difficult match-up for anyone so we’ll need to continue to be at our best to make a run in the postseason.”
Abington
–14-1-3, 9-0-1 SOL, Liberty Division champions
–Key wins: The Ghosts rolled to another division title, outscoring Liberty foes 42-4. Their only loss was to #4 Haverford (2-1) back on Aug. 22 in the season opener. They also own wins over #6 Springfield Township (3-1), #9 CB East (1-0) and in the division over #24 Upper Dublin (2-0).
–Top Players: Jr. F Kyle Kretschman, Jr. F Jaza Vasquez, Jr. M Owen Gesing, Jr. M Sean Westmoreland, Sr. GK George Hooven
Next up: The Abington-CB West winner will play the winner of #10 CB South and #23 William Tennent.
#23 William Tennent at #10 Central Bucks South 7 p.m.
William Tennent
–10-7-1, 5-5 SOL, third place Freedom Division
–Key Wins: The Panthers’ best win against a playoff team was over #28 Pennsbury (3-0), but they also had other nonleague wins against the likes of Bensalem, Hatboro-Horsham, and Methacton, along with five league wins, that helped secure the spot in districts.
–Top Players: Sr. M Peter Comans, Sr. M Julian Krapivnitskiy, Sr. D Carter Jameson, Jr. M Ryder Holt, Jr. D Vincent Kurz, Sr. F Travis Donovan
Coach Angelo Albanese: “Obviously, we’re very pleased to be in the playoffs, in spite of the fact that we will face an extremely tough and very talented team that has proven itself against very tough opponents throughout the season.”
CB South
–12-5-1, 8-2 SOL, Colonial Division champions
–Key Wins: The Titans went 5-0 down the stretch to claim the division title. They own nine wins over district qualifying teams, including #22 Souderton (3-1 and 1-0), #26 CB West (3-1), #27 North Penn (8-1 and 2-1), #14 Upper Dublin (5-3), #16 CR South (3-1), #9 CB East (3-0) and #15 Downingtown West (3-2).
–Top Players: Sr. D Lucas Tyson, Sr. D Rowan McDonald, Sr. M AJ Okoniewski, Sr. M Josh Dozier, Jr. M Tyler Jaskelewicz, Jr. F Jackson Tait
–Coach Ed Brnardic: “We are happy that we qualified for districts with a home game but the road ahead of us is daunting. Looking at all the teams that qualified there is not much that separates the top teams from the bottom and there is no clear favorite in any of the first round matches. William Tennent proposes a challenge for us right away and our focus remains on that first game.”
Up Next: The CB South-Tennent winner will play the winner of #7 Abington and #26 CB West in the second round on Thursday.
#27 North Penn at #6 Springfield Twp, 4 p.m.
North Penn
–9-8-1, 4-5-1 SOL, fifth place Colonial Division
–Key Wins: The Knights were 2-6 down the stretch, but did have a big win over #22 Souderton (1-0) late to help earn the bid in districts. Also won early-season wins over #26 CB West (2-1) and #18 Spring-Ford (2-1).
–Top Players: Sr. M Fionn Regan, Sr. F Carson Schell, Jr. D Matt Bakir, Sr. GK Brady Schwengels
Coach Chris DePeppe: “Springfield in the first round will be a pretty even match i think. But we are not satisfied with just making the postseason. We play in the toughest conference in the district (and we play each team twice), so the power rankings can be misleading.
“We are looking to win a few games.”
Springfield
–13-4, 9-1 SOL, Freedom Division co-champions
–Key wins: The Spartans are battle-tested for the Class 4A field, with five wins over district qualifiers, including over #23 William Tennent (2-1 and 3-0), #8 Great Valley (3-2), #11 Council Rock North (2-0), #24 Upper Dublin (3-1) and a split with Class 3A #3 Lower Moreland to earn a share of another division title.
–Top Players: Sr. Harry Bates, Sr. Roman Corcoran, Sr. William McLaughlin, Jr. Adam Dibattista, Jr. Brendan Noonan
Coach Dan Meder: “Based on the scores, there seems to be parity among a lot of schools this year. North Penn is a powerhouse five times the size of Springfield. In year two of our PIAA punishment to play AAAA, we’ll do our best to compete with these large schools.”
Up Next: The Springfield-North Penn winner will take on the CR North-Souderton winner in the second round on Thursday.
#22 Souderton at #11 Council Rock North, 5 p.m.
CR North
–12-4-2, 8-1-1 SOL, Patriot Division champions
–Key Wins: CR North won a fourth straight division title and played well down the stretch heading into the postseason. The battled-tested Indians outscored league opponents 22-5, and own wins over playoff teams #28 Pennsbury (1-0 and 4-0), #16 CR South (1-0 and 3-2) and #9 CB East (3-2).
–Top Players: Sr. F Logan Adams, Jr. F Matt Broznya, Jr. M David Morais, Jr. M Chase Murphy, Sr. D Darek Miller, Jr. GK Elias Berman
Souderton
–12-6, 5-5 SOL, tied for third Colonial Division
–Key Wins: Three straight division losses to end the season took Souderton out of Colonial title hopes, but the Indians put a lot of quality wins in the bank this season, including over #26 CB West (3-1 and 2-1) and #27 North Penn (2-0).
–Top Players: Sr. M Liam Shaw, Jr. GK Trevor Alderfer, Sr. D Bryaden Russel, Sr. D Will Cusano, Sr. F Liam Manners
Coach Frank Demas: “We can’t wait to get the district playoffs underway. It’s been a great year for the team. After graduating 10 starters last year, we’ve had a lot of players step up and make an impact for the program. The boys are working really hard. Every player plays for the guy next to him and leaves it all out on the field.
“CR North is a great program with a lot of really good players. We are looking forward to what I’m sure will be an intense game. The entire district is filled with really strong teams this year, so any match up will be tough.”
Up Next: The Souderton-CR North winner will play the Springfield-North Penn winner in the second round on Thursday.
Class 3A
#6 Marple Newtown at #3 Lower Moreland, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Marple Newtown
–10-8, 4-7 Central League
–Key Wins: Class 4A #5 Lower Merion (1-0), #9 Penncrest (2-1, OT)
–Top Players: Sr. Benk Gheler, Jr. Tejpal Bacchal, Sr. Aran Trainor, Sr. Matteo Badolato
Lower Moreland
–12-3-2, 9-1 SOL, Freedom Division co-champions
–Key wins: The Lions shared the division title and split a pair of games with rival Springfield. They also own quality wins over a Class 4A playoff team William Tennent (2-1 and 2-0), and were battle-tested in nonleague games against big school opponents as well.
–Top Players: Sean Greenleaf, Nathan Fellah
Up Next: The Lower Moreland-Marple Newtown winner will play the winner of Strath Haven-Bayard Rustin in the semifinals on Monday.
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