Springfield Twp & Abington were winners in the District 1 4A Tournament. Springfield Twp/Souderton photos courtesy of Michael Rice Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ SOCCER GALLERIES.
District 1 4A second round
#6 SPRINGFIELD TWP 1, #22 SOUDERTON 0
Springfield Twp may own the distinction of being the smallest school in District 1 4A, but the Spartans once again stood tall when the postseason rolled around.
Thanks to a goal by Harry Bates on a penalty kick, the Spartans advanced to the district tournament’s quarterfinal round for
the second time in as many years after moving up to the higher classification.
“It’s crazy,” Springfield Twp coach Dan Meder said. “Obviously, last year, we had low expectations because of the punishment and then did really well. Actually, the last two games that we lost – I thought we easily could have won. We lost in a shootout in one game, and Souderton last year, we could have been up at halftime – even their coach said, ‘you should have been up 3-0 at halftime, and then we lost 2-1.
“The run we had last year was amazing, and now we’ve matched it somehow. We graduated a lot of really good players and had to replace seven of our starting lineup. I don’t know – we worked some magic and made it happen again. It’s amazing. When you look at this on paper, it shouldn’t be happening.”
Scoring summary:
First half – No score
Second half
Harry Bates (S) Penalty kick, 67th minute
Springfield Twp coach Dan Meder:
–On the game: “The game was intense. It was really evenly matched. It was back and forth. I’d like to win like 5-0 next time. That would be great because it was too intense. That’s a good team – we had chances, they had chances. It could have gone either way.
“Harry Bates scored on a PK in the 67th minute after Souderton was whistled for a hand ball. They didn’t have any clear scoring chances after that. They pressed hard, obviously.
“They’re a good team. They played hard, but our guys matched that intensity and did a great job of shutting them down at the end.”
–Props: “Daniel Caruso was the defensive player of the game for us. He was always in the right spot when we needed someone. When they were at the most dangerous, he was the one who bailed us out.
“The team played really well. Our midfield worked so hard because their midfield is very good, and our midfield worked very, very hard to shut them down in the second half because in the first half they were dangerous. We rotated our midfield – Roman Corcoran, Cody Natali, Matty Corcoran and Jake Gibson. We moved Adam DiBattista around. He was part of that midfield and attack that worked really hard, and obviously Harry Bates – he’s a handful, but they have a tough defense. They gave him a hard time. It was a physical game, it was a good game.”
Souderton coach Frank DeMas:
–On the game: “The only thing separating the teams was a late PK for Springfield. I’m really proud of what our guys did tonight and all year. We battled for everything and worked our butts off tonight. We had so many guys step up all year and tonight. We couldn’t have asked our guys to do anything else.
“We knew they had strength up top, but our CBs gave nothing up all night. It’s never fun to lose and the game could’ve gone either way. They had chances, we had chances. But to lose on that call for the PK was really unfortunate.”
–Credit all around: “Congrats to Springfield, they played really hard all night. And the game was a typical high school playoff game. Both teams battling.
“Congrats to our guys as well, underdogs in both playoff games and probably all season. With the huge turnover, our boys had to fight and scrap and grind for everything they got this year. We showed really strong and these boys represented Souderton with pride.”
Props: “Shoutouts to Shaw, Cusano and Russell. Who were 10 out of 10 today.”
Up next: Springfield Twp will travel to #3 Owen J Roberts for a District 1 4A quarterfinal on Saturday.
Souderton 0-0 0
Springfield Twp 0-1 1
#7 ABINGTON 1, #10 CENRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
Never underestimate the importance of a home field advantage.
Abington coach Randy Garber is well aware that opposing teams do not look forward to playing his team on the grass football field of Schwarzman Stadium.
Add Central Buck South to that list.
“They didn’t like our surface a little bit, they didn’t like the width of our field a little bit, but that’s what you play for all season,” Garber said. “The homefield advantage is huge.”
If the Ghosts needed any additional incentive, they got it.
“Right before the game started – we’re in the locker room at about 5:30, and we heard Conestoga loses,” Garber said. “The boys lost 4-1 which means Saturday’s game is at our place.
“It was like – what incentive to win to play at home rather than go to Conestoga. We haven’t had any kind of luck at Conestoga. That was a shot in the arm.”
Neither team got on the scoreboard until just nine minutes remained in regulation when the Ghosts scored on a set piece. Zach Yurchyshyn – on the near post – turned Jaza Vasquez’s corner kick into the game-winner, heading it into the net.
The Titans never seriously threatened the rest of the way, and the Ghosts had punched their ticket into Saturday’s district quarterfinal round.
“It was a team win,” Garber said. “The boys were excited.
Scoring summary.
First half – No score
Second half
Zach Yurchyshyn (A) assisted by Jaza Vasquez, 70th minute
Abington coach Randy Garber:
–On the game: “It was a battle. They’ve got a very good team. Isaac does statistics, and that team apparently scored 50-some goals in the regular season, and they’re in a good league, so they’re capable of scoring goals. I thought it was going to be a 5-4 or a 3-2 game with a bunch of goals. But they had four in the back all throughout, and they even put five in the back towards the end.
“We didn’t score until nine minutes to go in the game on a corner kick. Jaza (Vasquez) served it in. Zach (Yurchyshyn) ran near post and headed it in. It was one of our set pieces – long throw-ins and corners, and we had a bunch of them tonight.
“Their defense was very good. They had a couple chances, but we pretty much were down at their end most of the game.”
— Props: “Kyle Kretschman played in the defense, and we pushed him up the last 15 minutes of the game, which they had to be aware of.
“George (Hooven) in goal had another shutout. He must have 11, 12, 13 shutouts this year. Sean Westmoreland in the midfield, Owen Gesing in the midfield. They had someone following Gaza (Vasquez).
“Carter Shannon played in the defense. He’s the kid that throws the ball in long as well as a defender. He had an outstanding game as well. Sam Arruda started for the first time tonight, and he did a fabulous job as well.”
Central Bucks South coach Ed Brnardic:
–On the game: “It was not our night. I held my breath every single time they had a long throw-in, but overall, I thought it was an even battle. We had some chances, and I know Abington had some chances because our keeper Ryan Wiener made some excellent saves. He came up big tonight! We knew that the game would come down to corner kicks and throw-ins, and we prepared heavily for it. Unfortunately for us, Abington got a man free with a nice pick play on a corner kick with 6 minutes to go and that was the only goal. Absolutely nothing we could do about it. “
–On the season: “We are thrilled with our season overall. We had a very tough schedule which helped us learn a lot of life lessons that extend beyond the game, but we also enjoyed so many moments on the pitch. Some heartbreaking losses, some dramatic comebacks, and we got to celebrate the first back-to-back division championship in school history. We will throw an amazing party at our banquet to celebrate.”
–Props:
CB South Titans: “We feel tremendous support from our school. It all starts at the top with our Principal Jason Bucher and our Athletic Director Justin Farrell. Our staff and trainers Michael Waltrich, Katie Stine, Joe Weber, Ian Stratton, Brett White, Jimmy Fynes and Kevin Scholl. And our parents led by Annemarie Sauder, Mike Tait and Luka Okoniewski – who were amazing in our event planning and our fundraising efforts. Finally, major props to our coaches – Our Varsity Assistant Coach Anthony Ditri, our JV Coach Geovanni Bennett and our Freshman Coach Mark Hayward for giving their all and providing our players with exemplary leadership.
–Senior Class: “We say goodbye to an incredible senior class. This year we carried more sophomores and freshmen than we normally do because I knew the amazing character that we had this year and I wanted the younger players to have the opportunity to hang around this group so that they could learn from them. Our seniors are leaving CB South with much more than the trophies in our athletic wing – they are leaving a legacy for the future generations to emulate.“
–Message from the CB South Senior Class
“As a senior class, we are very proud to have represented our school these past 4 years. We had the opportunity to show who CB South really is and what the program is capable of. Unfortunately, the year didn’t end as we had hoped but each of us is still very proud of one of another and what the program has become over our 4 years. We end our 4 years, with 3 division titles and state finalists in 2023, solidifying ourselves as the best class in Titans History.”
Love, The 2026 Senior Class: Josh Dozier, AJ Okoniewski, Lucas Tyson, Rowan McDonald, Nate Monser, Dylan Lynch, Ryan Wiener, Luca Giglio, Jose Lucas Avilia, Andriy Popelnytskiy, Finn Commins, James Fash and Luka Jonjic.
Up next: Abington will host #16 Downingtown West in Saturday’s quarterfinal contest. Central Bucks South, which captured the SOL Colonial crown, closed out its season with a 13-6-1 record.
Central Bucks South 0-0 0
Abington 0-1 1
#1 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON 1, #17 NESHAMINY 0
Henderson scored an early goal, and despite a valiant effort, the Redskins never could find the equalizer and saw their season come to an end in Thursday’s second round of districts.
Neshaminy coach Tom Fole
–On the game: “They scored on a long free kick that bounced around in the box. Dylan (Cloud) made a couple of good saves on some shots. We were kind of flat-footed watching Dylan do his work, and they scored in the first five minutes.
“With our lack of scoring prowess this year, it was a big mountain to climb. Credit to them – they were very well organized in the back. They always had six guys back to clog up the middle effectively.
“Their field is a very fast field – it’s one of the older turfs. What we like to do is get balls wide, but that wasn’t effective because they kept rolling out without a touch. We just had to try and find different ways. They kept us locked up pretty good. We had a couple chances, but nothing noteworthy. Honestly, they didn’t really have many chances either. It was a pretty tight game.
“We were just a little flat. Maybe the moment was a little big for us, I don’t know, but we didn’t particularly play our best game.”
–Props: “Overall, I thought we had a really great season, getting to 11 wins – double-digit wins is always a credit to the group.
“Our senior leadership – especially Damien Castro who was our captain- was outstanding this year.
“Kudos go to Dean Goodwin who probably was our most consistent player all year. He was a rock story in the back tonight. He was winning every ball when no one else was. Dean was always on the end of something, so kudos to him.”
Neshaminy closed out its successful season with a record of 11-5-4.
“Overall it was a great season,” Foley said. “I’m going to miss our seniors. They were all great kids whether they played a lot or a little. They were all into the season, and they all did a great job. They’ll definitely be sorely missed.”
Neshaminy 0-0 0
WC Henderson 1-0 1
#8 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 1, #24 UPPER DUBLIN 0 (2 OT)
The Flying Cardinals certainly didn’t look the part of the tournament’s 24th seed, extending the eighth-seeded Whippets to double overtime before falling in a heartbreaker.
Upper Dublin coach Noah Johnson:
–On the game: “The boys did really well. I think it was something we’ve been struggling with all season where we’re having a bunch of opportunities to score, and we just couldn’t do it today.
“Everyone played very well. A hundred minutes of playing – you’re going to make some kind of mistake, and all you do is just pray that the mistake doesn’t punish you. Today, unfortunately for us, we got punished by a mistake that we made.
“I’m really proud of my seniors. They gave their all today. I’m really proud of everyone that stepped on the field today. They all played really well. Especially playing against a way higher seed than us, this game could have gone either way realistically.
“We had so many chances – our shots just kept going by the net or against the crossbar. It’s hard the way we went out, but I’m very pleased with the performance that we had. Today wasn’t a day where I’m scratching my head and saying, ‘What the heck are we doing.’ It was more of a day where ‘Hey, you did everything you could. Sometimes in life you get knocked down. It’s up to you now – As a senior, do you want to get back up and fight for something else in life.’
“For my younger guys, the sophomores, it’s – ‘Okay, you made a deep run into the playoffs, and you were part of this team as sophomores. Coming in next year, can you refocus again and use the experience you had to get back to where we were and change it up a little bit.’
“For me, I’m very pleased with their performance all year. With what we had, we did a very good job. I’m looking forward to next year with the guys and seeing where my seniors land in college and seeing what they’re doing with their lives but also seeing all the guys coming back to help us get ready again for another crazy year. We’ll be okay.”
Upper Dublin closed out its season with an 8-7-4 record.
Upper Dublin 0-0-0-0 0
Downingtown West 0-0-0-1 1
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