Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Monday. CB South/William Tennent photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to the SOS boys' soccer galleries.
SOL National Conference
NESHAMINY 4, PENNSBURY 3
After scoring 10 goals in their first three games combined, the Redskins suffered through a scoring drought, managing only four in their next five. Coach Tom Foley made some changes, and on Monday, the Redskins reaped the dividends.
“We rearranged our formation,” the Redskins’ coach said. “We changed it and went back to the standard 4-4-2 formation to get a little more offense.
“We had struggled getting forward lately and generating a lot of offense, so that worked for us. We just have to do a better job on the set pieces. That was kind of our bugaboo today.”
Three times in Monday’s battle between the neighboring rivals, the Redskins opened up two-goal leads, and each time the Falcons pulled to within one, keeping themselves in it to the final whistle.
Tim McNamara headed a long throw off the post, and an opportunistic Mike Thomas was there to knock in the rebound, giving the Redskins a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Seven minutes later, Cole Jackson made it a 2-0 game when he collected a loose ball 22 yards out and struck a low hard shot to the right of the keeper.
The Falcons went into halftime with some momentum when – in the 37th minute – Josh Panaro scored on a free kick rebound.
In the 53rd minute, Christian Rodgers slotted a Gavin Rowan pass by the keeper to put the Redskins on top 3-1. Again, the Falcons answered, this time with a Randy Dickersbach header into the corner that made it a 3-2 game.
The Redskins regained their two-goal lead on a highlight reel Gavin Rowan score.
“Gavin took a pass from Cole Jackson and made a dynamic run from 45 yards out, beat two guys and went in on the goalkeeper and calmly tucked it by him,” Foley said.
The Falcons answered with Panaro’s second goal of the game in the 71st minute.
“They had a set piece from about 50 yards out, and the kid hit a laser into the box to the far post and got inside the six and had an easy head-in,” Foley said of Panaro’s goal. “We just held on a little bit.”
The win came on the heels of the Redskins’ 4-1 loss to Abington on Friday.
“We kind of got our butts handed to us on Friday,” Foley said. “We had some sit-downs with people, and we had a really good practice on Saturday and turned things around.”
The Redskins’ coach – whose team is 22nd in the latest District One 4A power rankings – called Monday’s win a team effort but gave special props to his sophomores.
“We played seven sophomores and a freshman, and they all got meaningful minutes today,” Foley said. “Cole Jackson played a real good game in the right midfield. He had a goal and an assist. We put Gavin Rowan, who’s a sophomore, up top as a second forward, and he got a goal and an assist today.
“Mike Albarran did a nice job controlling the midfield for us, and he’s also a sophomore.
Neshaminy (5-4, 4-2 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Tuesday, and Pennsbury (4-5-1, 3-3-1) will host Bensalem on Thursday.
Pennsbury 1-2 3
Neshaminy 2-2 4
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1, BENSALEM 0
Kyle Dearie scored the game-winner midway through the second half of Monday’s conference battle, using an assist from Sean Finneyfrock.
The Indians held a 10-3 advantage in shots but couldn’t stretch their lead on the scoreboard. Bensalem keeper Austin Shay, according to Rock North coach Joe Stackhouse, was the reason why.
“Austin Shay played big in keeping the score down in goal,” the Indians’ coach said. “North forwards Ed Long and Zain Saidi were dangerous all day.”
Andrew Daries collected his fourth consecutive shutout for the Indians, who are seeded 16th in the latest District One 4A power rankings.
Council Rock North (7-2-1, 6-0-1 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Tuesday, and Bensalem (4-4, 3-3) will host William Tennent.
Council Rock North 0-1 1
Bensalem 0-0 0
SOL Continental Conference
NORTH PENN 4, SOUDERTON 0
The Indians were the latest victim for a red hot North Penn squad that notched its 11th win and is the lone undefeated team in the SOL.
Carter Houlihan led the Knights’ attack with a goal and two assists.
The Knights wasted little time before taking control, scoring three goals in the first 20 minutes of the game. Houlihan. Luke McMahon and Jamie Stewart each had a goal in the Knights’ tear. Jared Huzar also had a first-half goal.
McMahon and Huzar both chipped in an assist.
Mitchell Race recorded five saves in goal for the Indians. Riley Finger, according to coach Matt Benner, played a strong second half in the net for the Indians as well.
North Penn (11-0, 7-0 SOL) – the second seed behind Conestoga in the latest District One 4A power rankings – will travel to Central Bucks East on Thursday. Souderton (1-8-1, 1-4-1) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Tuesday.
North Penn 4-0 4
Souderton 0-0 0
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2, WILLIAM TENNENT 1
With the regular season coming down to its final weeks, South coach Jarrett Cutsler is trying to give some of his regulars a rest.
“We’ve been playing a lot of our bench because we’re a little bit banged up, so we’re trying to give some players some time off going into a big game against East (Tuesday) night,” Cutsler said. “We’re getting hit with these three games a week, which is tough on them.
“We did well in the first half with our starters.”
The Bethel brothers combined to put the Titans on the board midway through the first half when Kyle turned a cross by Corey into a goal. An own goal allowed the Panthers to knot the score but not for long. Junior Jake Heilig headed a Ryan Rieber throw-in into the net for a 2-1 lead that stood until the final whistle.
“It was sort of a deflection that popped across the box, and he headed it in,” Cutsler said.
The Titans’ first-year coach credited several players for their strong performances.
“Jake Heilig had a really strong game,” Cutsler said. “Obviously, he had the one goal, but he always has a strong showing for us. He’s one of our more consistent midfielders.
“RJ Visco had a very good game. He had a few opportunities that he wasn’t able to put in goal, but he got them on goal.
“We’ve had a couple of strong showings from freshman AJ Peev. He’s had a couple of really strong games. He also had a really, really good game in the tough loss we took against (CB) West.”
Players have been picking up the slack for the Titans, including Ryan Gross, who stepped into goal in the Titans’ win over Quakertown last week when Gavin Campbell – who was battling a cold – was given the night off.
“He played really well,” Cutsler said of Gross. “We had Gavin back in there today, and he’ll see East and then hopefully we can give him another rest, but we’ll see.
“We’ve had a few players who are sort of getting over injuries, and we’re just taking precautions. We’re really trying to make some smart decisions and play smart coming into a tough end of the season.”
Central Bucks South (6-3, 4-3 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday at 7 p.m., and William Tennent (3-5, 2-4) will be on the road at Bensalem Tuesday.
William Tennent 1-0 1
Central Bucks South 2-0 2
PENNRIDGE 4, SOUTHERN LEHIGH 0
The Rams – seeded ninth in the latest District One 4A rankings – continued to roll, notching their eighth win of the season and third shutout in their last four games.
“Overall, it was a great team win against a very good Southern Lehigh team from the Lehigh Valley,” said coach Pete Valimont. “We have a huge game at home tomorrow night – Quakertown for our Senior Night, and we hope to keep the momentum moving forward.”
The Rams – who took a 3-0 lead into halftime – were led by the two-goal effort of junior Marco Grenda. Adding one goal each were junior Matt Stevenson and junior Nick Dunn. Junior Aidan Link and Jack Taplett both had a pair of assists.
The win was the 83rd of Valimont’s career – the most by any Pennridge men’s soccer coach.
Pennridge (8-2-1, 3-2-1 SOL) will host Quakertown for Tuesday’s Senior Night game at 7 p.m.
Southern Lehigh 0-0 0
Pennridge 3-1 4
SPRING-FORD 3, WISSAHICKON 2
Trey Schwartz scored a pair of goals for the visiting Trojans, who trailed 1-0 at the intermission.
For the Rams, Colin Trainor scored a pair of goals and Brandon Duke added a single goal.
Wisssahickon (6-2-2, 5-1-2 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Wissahickon 0-2 2
Spring-Ford 1-2 3
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