Check out the results for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Thursday. To view photos of the Souderton/Hatboro-Horsham game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Jarrad Saffren
Eleven Suburban One League boys’ soccer teams played league games Thursday. Only Harry S. Truman and Council Rock South had off. The results and recaps are below.
SOL Continental
CB East 2, Pennridge 0
Pennridge played CB East tough for the second time this season.
On Sept. 9, The Rams lost to the undefeated Patriots on a penalty kick in the final minute.
On Thursday, at CB East, Pennridge allowed two goals early and missed a few chances to get back in the game.
“Pennridge has always played us tough,” said East coach Mike Gorni. “They have a number of quality players and gave a great effort last time. It was the same thing today.”
“We didn’t play a complete game but we didn’t get blown out like a lot of other teams they’ve played,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont.
The Rams lapsed between the 25th and 30th minutes, when East’s JR Eisold scored the only two goals. In the 25th, from 25 yards out, Eisold rocketed a bouncing ball into the upper 90 of the net.
“That’s a goal you can’t defend,” Valimont said.
Eisold’s second goal was defendable, said Valimont. He headed the ball into the net off a corner kick.
“We didn’t mark up,” said Valimont.
Evan Vare assisted on the first goal and Justin Chomik on the second.
Pennridge could not get anything going offensively until the end of the second half, when East turned away two or three scoring chances by clearing the ball off the goal line.
“East finished and cleared the ones that are close – that’s the difference,” Valimont said.
The Rams only played one up top for most of the game, choosing to pack defenders near the goal and “play high school boom ball,” as Valimont called it.
Karl Bandlow earned the shutout for the Patriots.
CB East (11-0, 8-0 SOL) plays Methacton Saturday and North Penn Tuesday. Pennridge (3-6, 2-6 SOL) plays at Cheltenham Friday at 3:30 p.m.
CB East 2-0 2
Pennridge 0-0 0
Central Bucks South 1, North Penn 1 (2 OT)
North Penn crushed CB South 4-1 on Sept. 9. With that loss in mind, Titans coach Don Brady said a double overtime tie with the Knights was “very encouraging.”
The tie ended the Titans’ four-game winning streak but was also their fifth straight game without a loss.
North Penn coach Paul Duddy said the score of the first meeting was misleading.
“They dominated the first 20 minutes and didn’t score,” he said. “We came down for just the second time in the game and scored and that just turned the game around.”
South owned the first half on Thursday too. In the seventh minute, Colin Fagan slid the ball across the box to Giani Goss, who knocked it in from seven yards out.
Once again, North Penn took control in the second half.
“We had a 15-20 minute stretch where we played really well,” Duddy said.
Nick Terchek evened the score in the 51st minute when he booted home a through ball in the box, using a Mike Kohler assist.
South had the best chance in either overtime, when, in the second session, Goss kicked the ball into the side of the net on a two-on-one break.
Brady said the defenders were the main reasons why neither team scored again.
“Both played really well. And the conditions weren’t great,” he said.
CB South (7-2-1, 5-2-1 SOL) welcomes Pennsbury Friday and travels to Hatboro-Horsham Tuesday. North Penn (7-1-2, 5-1-2 SOL) plays CB East Tuesday.
CB South 1-0-0-0 1
North Penn 0-1-0-0 1
Hatboro-Horsham 2, Souderton 0
Hatters goalkeeper Stephen Doney stopped seven shots and earned his fifth shutout of the season.
“Our defense and goalkeeper played very well,” said Horsham coach Kyle McGrath.
That has been a theme in Horsham’s victories this season. The Hatters have allowed just one goal in their six wins.
Horsham’s offense woke up after getting goose-egged by North Penn Tuesday. Nick Hatzenbeller scored in the 27th minute and Zack Flaville followed in the 75th. Colin Davis and Joe LaRoche assisted on the goals.
Hatboro-Horsham (6-5, 4-4 SOL) battles Boyertown on Saturday and CB South on Tuesday. Souderton (1-9-1, 1-6-1 SOL) plays at Abington Saturday at 4 p.m.
Hatboro-Horsham 1-1 2
Souderton 0-0 0
Central Bucks West 4, Quakertown 0
CB West handled Quakertown and won for just the second time in its last five league games.
The Bucks suffered through a gauntlet in their previous four, going 1-3 with losses to CB East, North Penn, and CB South, the three teams ahead of them in the standings.
But West got back on track against winless Quakertown behind a hat trick from Brandon Morris. Jack Tilley added the fourth goal and Eduardo Ordonez racked up two assists.
Goalkeepers Dylan Smith and Sean Day combined for the shutout.
CB West (8-3, 5-3 SOL) hosts Council Rock South Monday at 5:30 p.m. Quakertown (0-10, 0-8 SOL) plays Saucon Valley and Upper Perkiomen before continuing league play Tuesday versus Souderton.
CB West 2-2 4
Quakertown 0-0 0
SOL National
Council Rock North 1, William Tennent 0
In a battle of contrasting styles, North edged Tennent behind strong defense and a difference-making goal.
“We play really well across the field rather than up and down,” said North coach Joe Stackhouse. “Tennent plays a lot of balls up the field and into the offensive zone.”
The contrast perhaps explains why Tennent outshot North 13-5.
“We had a lot of opportunities and missed the net with key shots,” said Tennent coach Ryan Todt. “I mean we missed a couple rockets. They were just wide. We were a little snake-bitten today. We played well but just didn’t stick the ball.”
Only one player did: North’s Nikita Ihlin, who settled the ball, dribbled in, and scorched it home from 20 yards out in the 10th minute.
Ihlin received the ball from a throw-in, which has been a theme on North’s goals this season. Stackhouse estimated that the Indians have scored half their goals off restarts, including corner kicks and throw-ins.
“We don’t have a natural scorer,” the Indians’ coach said. “Our system of play is getting us through.”
The Indians’ defense took care of the rest. Billy Storm stoned five shots and earned his fifth shutout of the season. Backup Anthony Caruso also has two shutouts, giving North seven as a team.
“Billy has the maturity, guys are used to playing with him,” said Stackhouse. “But Anthony probably has a better skill set. Billy has more moxie.”
Todt said Tennent missed a golden opportunity to move up in the district power rankings. Tennent entered the game ranked 31st out of 56 teams.
North (5-1-2, 4-1-2 SOL) hosts La Salle Saturday and then Abington Monday. William Tennent (6-4, 5-3 SOL) plays Great Valley Saturday and then Harry S. Truman Tuesday.
CR North 1-0 1
William Tennent 0-0 0
Neshaminy 2, Bensalem 1
Neshaminy coach Tom Foley thinks Thursday’s win over Bensalem may have been a seminal moment in his team’s season.
“Hopefully we can put wins together and get into the top 28 and into the playoffs,” said Foley.
The Redskins entered Thursday’s game with just one win. But the three-time defending SOL National champions never lost hope.
“We told the kids before the game we haven’t quit on them,” Foley said.
And the kids went out and showed that they haven’t quit on the coaches either. Jack McCourt blasted the ball into the net early in the first half to put Neshaminy up 1-0. Later in the half, Dylan McDonald ripped a penalty kick past the keeper after a teammate was pulled down in the box.
“We really controlled the first half,” said Foley.
Bensalem pressed in the last seven minutes and scored with two minutes to go. But it wasn’t enough, and the Redskins finished off the upset.
Neshaminy (2-6-1, 2-4-1 SOL) clashes with Wissahickon Friday and Harry S. Truman Monday. Bensalem (6-3, 5-3 SOL) plays Penn Wood Friday and Council Rock South Tuesday.
Neshaminy 2-0 2
Bensalem 0-1 1
Abington 2, Pennsbury 1
A week ago, Pennsbury was undefeated in league play and four points ahead of its closest competitor. But the Falcons were upset for the second game in a row, tightening the SOL National race.
Abington joins Bensalem, which lost Thursday, in second place, one point behind Pennsbury. Third-place Council Rock North, who won Thursday, is now just two points back.
Overall, four teams are separated by two points, and five squads, including William Tennent, have at least four league wins. If this were baseball, we’d call the SOL National a pennant race.
Zachary Lobasso accounted for the Falcons’ only goal.
Abington (6-2, 5-2 SOL) plays Souderton Saturday and CR North Monday. Pennsbury (5-3-1, 5-2-1 SOL) will try to end its losing streak Tuesday against North.
SOL American
Upper Merion 2, Cheltenham 0
Upper Merion leapfrogged Cheltenham into fourth place in the SOL American.
Just over a week ago, the Panthers were in second-place at 4-0-1 in league play. But a three-game losing streak has come at the wrong time.
“We are struggling to score,” said Panthers’ coach Chuck Gesing, whose team has scored just one goal in its last three games. “We are just not getting the same looks in the box we were getting earlier in the year.”
Upper Merion is sprinting in the opposite direction, winning three of four.
“This is a big win,” said Merion coach Tom Dodds. “It puts us back in the mix in the league.”
Thursday’s win was powered by free kicks. Abdu Bakillah and Brendan Magdamo both scored on them, albeit 50 minutes apart. Bakillah scored in the 25th minute, Magdamo in the 75th.
Dodds said the Vikings could have scored more, but Cheltenham’s keeper “played really well and made three really nice saves.”
“We had a lot of opportunities,” added Dodds.
Upper Merion (4-3-2, 4-2-2 SOL) buses to Harriton Saturday and hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh Tuesday. Cheltenham (4-4-1, 4-3-1 SOL) battles Pennridge Friday.
Upper Merion 1-1 2
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Upper Moreland 1, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 (OT)
Second-place PW scored with 10 minutes left to salvage a tie against sixth-place Upper Moreland.
In the first half, Kenny Mitchell put Upper Moreland in front when he blasted a free kick into the net from 30 yards out. Neither team scored in overtime and each keeper stopped nine shots.
Well, actually two keepers, Ryan Varella and Brennan Coleman, did the stopping for Upper Moreland.
“They are both great kids, great teammates with great potential and work very hard day in and day out,” said Moreland coach Dan Mannella.
The junior keepers always play one half each.
Mannella was happy with the tie.
“It was a great start to the second half for us,” he said.
Upper Moreland (3-6-1, 2-5-1 SOL) battles first-place Wissahickon Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-1-2, 5-1-2 SOL) buses to Upper Merion on the same day and time.
Upper Moreland 1-0 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-1 1
Upper Dublin 4, Norristown 0
Upper Dublin mopped up Norristown behind two goals from Todd Spirt, one in the fifth minute that made it 1-0, the other in the 60th that pushed the lead to 4-0.
In between, in the 18th and 22nd minutes, Anthony Wisdo and Jose Palomeque punctuated this one before it ever really got started.
Upper Dublin outshot Norristown 15-5 and keeper Jason Stone notched his second shutout of the season.
Upper Dublin (6-3, 6-2 SOL) plays Cheltenham at home on Tuesday. Norristown (1-9, 0-8 SOL) travels to Springfield for a 3:30 p.m. start.
Upper Dublin 3-1 4
Norristown 0-0 0
Wissahickon 3, Springfield 2
Wissahickon stayed in first ahead of Upper Dublin and Plymouth Whitemarsh, taking care of Springfield behind two goals from Darien Williams.
Eddie Fortescue scored the first goal, in the 37th minute, and Williams added the next two, in the 40th and 48th minutes.
Corey Cottone (Mike Bonacci assist) and Dillon Donnelly (Trevor McCaffrey assist) both scored for Springfield.
Wissahickon (7-2, 7-1 SOL) travels to Neshaminy Friday and Upper Moreland Tuesday. Springfield (1-8, 1-7 SOL) goes to Lower Moreland Friday and hosts Norristown Tuesday.
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