SOL Boys’ Soccer District Preview (11-1-22)

Four SOL boys’ soccer teams will be in action on Tuesday in the District One Tournament. Check back for game recaps.

Pennridge is enjoying its magical postseason run. On Saturday, the Rams punched their ticket to the PIAA 4A State Tournament – the program’s first trip to states in 25 years. The Rams ensured themselves a berth in states with their 1-0 upset of third-seeded Downingtown East in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. The Rams will take on defending state champion Conestoga in Tuesday’s semifinal round.

Central Bucks East will travel to Central Bucks South for the third meeting between the two teams. The stakes are high in this one with the winner earning one of the two remaining state berths while the losing team will go home.

Springfield Township is traveling to top-seeded Radnor with both teams vying for a spot in Thursday’s District 1 3A title game and also a berth in the state tournament.

District 1 4A semifinal

#11 PENNRIDGE at #1 CONESTOGA (Tuesday, 4pm)

Pennridge

16-5 overall
11-5 SOL Colonial Division second place
Earned first trip to state tournament in 25 years
It was a topsy-turvy regular season for the Rams, who battled for the division title into the final week of the regular season. They started the season with three wins, then lost two, then won eight straight – 6-0 vs. SOL Patriot Division – and finished 2-3 in their final five.
Pennridge is led by senior Shane Velez, a pre-season All-American and team leader with 14 goals, as well as 10-goal scorer Jared Hess.
Defensive leaders are Thomas McKinney and goalkeeper CJ Dimmick, who has 11 shutouts.

How they got here: In Saturday’s quarterfinal, Pennridge edged #3 Downingtown East 1-0. Jared Hess scored the game’s only goal 13 minutes into the contest, and CJ Dimmick was outstanding in goal.

In the second round, Pennridge defeated #6 Upper Dublin, scoring a pair of second-half goals. Both came on corner kicks, the first by Tommy McKinney and the second by Luca Angello with a McKinney assist.

In an opening round game, Pennridge used a second-half goal by Jared Hess to defeat #22 Wissahickon 1-0.

Conestoga

18-2 overall
10-1 Central League tied for first with Lower Merion & Radnor
Lost seven starters to graduation from 2021 PIAA 4A state championship squad
Third trip in four years to district semifinal
Returning from last year’s state title squad are seniors Colin Wurth, Lorenzo-Vargos-Clarke & AJ Nordone.
Handed top-seeded Lower Merion its only loss (3-2).
Losses came at the hands of Class A #1 Radnor (1-0) in the final game of the regular season and Class 2A #3 Holy Ghost Prep (2-0).

How they got here: In Saturday’s quarterfinal game, Conestoga downed #10 Spring-Ford 2-0. Diego Ramirez scored five minutes into the game and added his second goal in the second half. The Rams did not take a shot on goal.

In a second round contest, Conestoga defeated #15 Council Rock North 2-0. Midway through the first half Kole Wintersteen converted a penalty kick, and eight minutes later sophomore Bedwick scored.

Opening round bye

Next up: The winner will face the winner of Lower Merion/West Chester Henderson in Saturday’s District 1 4A title game at Spring-Ford High School. The losing teams will meet in the third place game Friday.

District 1 4A playback

#13 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST at #8 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH (Tuesday, 7pm)

Central Bucks South

14-5-2 overall
11-3-2 SOL Colonial Division champions
First division title in program history
Impressive turnaround under first-year coach Kyle Pettican from last year’s 9-8-1 record
The Titans battled for the division’s top spot all season and clinched the title late with a 3-0-2 stretch in its last five games, a stretch that included a huge win over #11 Pennridge as well as #27 North Penn and Souderton, and ties with #13 CB East and #20 CB West.

How they got here: In Saturday’s quarterfinal game, Central Bucks South fell to #1 Lower Merion 3-1 in a game that was tightly contested until the closing minutes.

In a second round game, Central Bucks South edged #9 Downingtown West 1-0. Colin O’Hara scored the game-winner in the second half.

In the opening round, Central Bucks South defeated #22 Boyertown 2-0. Brian Schmidt and Colin O’Hara each scored a goal with O’Hara’s goal breaking a 1-1 tie with three minutes remaining in regulation.

Central Bucks East

13-6-2 overall
10-4-2 SOL Colonial Division third place
The Patriots are led by senior center midfielder Brandon Epstein and solid defense – seniors Dylan Walker, Luke Christmas and Josh Daniels, and junior Andrew Walloff – as well as junior forward Michael Montabana.
CB East was in the mix for the division title going into the second half of the division schedule. It owns wins over three teams seeded higher – #4 Abington, #8 CB South, #11 Pennridge – and it split games with CB West.

How they got here: In Saturday’s quarterfinal contest, Central Bucks East fell to #5 West Chester Henderson 1-0.

In the second round, Central Bucks East upset #4 Abington 1-0. Joey Roth scored 17 minutes into the first half, and East goalie Dan Marino came up big in goal.

In an opening round game, Central Bucks East edged #20 Central Bucks West 1-0. Brandon Epstein scored the game’s only goal in the second half.

Next up: The winner will play the winner of the Downingtown East/Spring-Ford contest in the fifth place game on Friday. The season ends for the losing squad.

District 1 3A semifinal

#4 SPRINGFIELD TWP at #1 RADNOR (Tuesday, 7pm)

Springfield Twp

16-3 overall
13-3 SOL Freedom Division champions
First boys’ soccer title in program history
It’s been a team effort for the Spartans with contributions from a list that includes Julian Casabon-Aznar, Dan Fitzpatrick, Jack Sharpe, Peter Schmidt, Nicholas Marino, Riley Martin, Jack McKittrick, Nick Hanushchak, Ben Hubley, Igor Hyvel, Vincent Kerper, Chase Rubincam, Harry Bates
Battle-tested with wins over Class 4A #4 Abington, #6 Upper Dublin & #22 Wissahickon.