Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Thursday. CR North/CR South photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos. All SOS photo galleries for BOYS’ SOCCER can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Patriot Division
Council Rock North 1, Council Rock South 0
The game-winning goal by Ari Pollack came early, and then Council Rock North held the lead the rest of the way for the key win over rival Council Rock South, giving the Indians the prestigious Rock Unity Cup and even more importantly, clinching the Patriot Division regular-season championship with two games remaining next week.
It caps a huge turnaround from a team that won just six games a year ago.
“I’m really proud of this group of kids,” said CR North coach Joe Stackhouse. “As opposed to some of the past groups that won it, they aren’t as talented, but they have a very good work ethic, they have a very good chemistry. I think they all love to be together. There’s no backbiting. They all support each other from the first guy to the last guy.”
Pollack scored CR North’s goal in the 18th minute, off the assist from Windsor Varady.
Stackhouse credited the play of the defensive unit – Danny Ugrass, Corey Brennan, Chase McCaffrey, Mike Pinho and Hunter Klein – as well as goalkeeper Calvin Hopkins, who made seven saves, including two that were “spectacular.”
“Today we kind of stole one,” Stackhouse said. “I’m pretty sure Alan (Nicholl) would say the same thing. Most of our wins this year – we have 12 wins and 10 of the 12 are one-goal wins – we bend, but we don’t break.
“Nicky Wise up top is probably our premier player. Today, they surrounded him with two or three guys at a time. I think he’s got six of those one-goal, game-winning goals plus overall he’s probably got a dozen goals on the year.”
Thursday’s win was CR North’s fifth consecutive shutout.
“We’ve done a lot of rotations,” Stackhouse said. “In any given match, we’ve probably played 16, 17 kids. We’ve played solid defense, and we have two solid goalkeepers.
“Our everyday starter, Calvin Hopkins, is only a sophomore, but we don’t sweat it. We gave Gavin Roon a couple of games this year on purpose because God forbid something would happen to Calvin, I don’t want to send a kid out there cold. Gavin is a senior, and he’s played really well. He got the shutout in the (Archbishop) Ryan game the other night (a 1-0 win), and as a result of it, I got contacted by a couple of college coaches about it.”
On most championship teams, there’s usually a lot of reasons, and players, that are a key to a team’s success.
“The one kid that has played really solid for us and is one of our top three players is Ari Pollack,” Stackhouse said. “He’s only a junior, and he’s really solidified his game. A couple weeks before we went into camp, he was over 
playing in Northern Ireland. He had a real good overseas experience. He came to camp in fantastic shape. He was really fit.
“One kid who’s really been a surprise for us is a kid who’s playing with him in the midfield, Max Leff. Max was a junior on the JV last year. We expected him to give us some time, but he’s really helped solidify the midfield as well.
“The kid that was definitely the hinge-pin that brings the whole thing together was our last defender, Chase McCaffrey. I told everybody a year ago at our banquet, ‘We are only going to be as good as Chase plays,’ and Chase has played fantastic for us and not just as a defender. He’s scored four or five goals and scored the winning goal against Ryan the other day. Earlier in the year, he scored both goals in the Bensalem game that we won 2-1 at their place. I want to say he had five goals, and that’s pretty good for a central defender. He’s really done his job well.”
And it’s not just the players.
“We had some changes in the coaching staff this past year,” Stackhouse said. “Brian Hoffman, who was our JV coach, is now my assistant. Brian is a phys ed guy, and he handles a lot of our day after game stuff. He’s a good sports science guy.
“We hired two new guys for our JV team, one of them is a Neshaminy grad who played 
at West Chester, Danny Grindrod. (He) was all-league in the SOL and I think he was all-league in college. Steve Hrybak, who also coaches JV, is a counselor in our building, so I’m lucky to have two guys that work in the building, not just Brian.”
The foundation for this year’s success may have been laid two years ago in the COVID-shortened season when Stackhouse – in the absence of a freshman coach – also coached the freshman team that compiled a 6-0 record.
“Not that freshman teams are the end-all, but I think you can see a future prediction,” the Indians’ coach said. “Everybody they played that year they pretty much thumped. Five of them made varsity as sophomores last year, and they took their lumps.
“One of the things I said to the group last year, ‘If we’re going to be mediocre, I want to play the younger guys first.’ I know a lot of people don’t like to hear that, but I think that’s the way you build a program.”
CR North (12-2-2, 10-2-2 SOL) – which played its third game in four days Thursday – can now turn its attention to District One Class 4A playoff seeding. After Thursday, the Indians are at No. 11 in the 28-team field, with games remaining next week against Neshaminy and Pennsbury on Monday and Wednesday.
CR South (8-6-1, 8-5-1 SOL) is No. 20 in the district power rankings, and next plays Monday night against Pennsbury.
CR South 0 0 – 0
CR North 1 0 – 1
SOL Freedom Division
Springfield Twp 2, Upper Moreland 1
Division championships don’t come around very often, and for Springfield, it hadn’t come around at all for its boys’ soccer program. Until Thursday when the Spartans clinched the Freedom Division title for the first time with the win over Upper Moreland.
“I’m really proud of the boys,” said Springfield coach Dan Meder. “When we were in the (SOL American Conference) with Abington, Hatboro-Horsham, Wissahickon and Upper Dublin, we were happy if we finished in the middle. We’re like, ‘Hey, we think we won enough games to qualify for the playoffs.’
“That’s all our goal was – to qualify for playoffs. That’s obviously still our goal, but this is a great honor.
“There’s not a banner in Springfield’s gym for boys’ soccer. That will be really exciting when it happens. I know the kids are excited, but the celebration will be short-lived for now. At one point, I’ll sit back and say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we did that,’ but right now, that’s not the way I’m thinking.”
A year ago, the Spartans were close, just missing out to rival Lower Moreland.
“We were second last year, so this was certainly one of the goals,” Meder said. “The big thing was to qualify for district playoffs. That’s always been our goal because once you get there, you never know what can happen. We’re going to keep playing and keep trying to improve our seed for districts. We’re not done yet.”
Springfield led 1-0 at halftime, as Nick Hanushcak scored on a Harry Bates assist.
“We hit the post several times, had a few more good chances, but just didn’t put the ball away,” Meder said. “We left them hanging around, and Upper Moreland plays us tough. They played a tough game as they always do.”
UM tied the game early in the second half, but the Spartans came back and took the lead for good on a Chase Rubincam goal, off the corner kick from Ben Hubley.
What has been the key to the team’s success?
“The flexibility, the desire to win from everybody,” Meder said. “Many of our wins have been team wins. Everybody had to play well. It’s not necessarily one or two guys doing all the work. It’s all of them.
“Today, Riley Martin, who’s our leading scorer, didn’t score today, but I thought he played terrific. Just his movement and the way he played quickly and released the ball to other guys. I thought he was great, and it was one of the few games he didn’t score in. It’s just all of them. Every one of them.”
Springfield (12-3, 11-3 SOL) next plays at Lower Moreland on Monday. Currently, the Spartans are No. 3 in the District One Class 3A power rankings.
Upper Moreland (7-8-1, 5-8-1 SOL), currently No. 9 in Class 3A, returns Monday at Cheltenham.
Springfield 1 1 – 2
Upper Moreland 0 1 – 1
William Tennent 3, Cheltenham 1
In a game that William Tennent coach Angelo Albanese called a “very evenly matched contest,” Tennent pulled away with two goals in the second half for the well-deserved Freedom Division victory.
Cheltenham scored the game’s first goal, but Tennent’s Connor Hanratty tied it up on a “solo run” just before halftime
Senior Gabe Yacovone’s goal on a long-range shot made it 2-1 and later he converted a penalty kick to make it 3-1.
“He played an outstanding game,” Albanese said of Yacovone. “John Ellis was also very tough up front with Matt Jenkins.”
Next up for Tennent (5-10, 5-9 SOL) is a Monday afternoon game at home against New Hope-Solebury.
Cheltenham (1-13, 1-12 SOL) has a scheduled nonleague home game Friday against George Washington.
Cheltenham 1 0 – 1
William Tennent 1 2 -3
Lower Moreland 4, New Hope-Solebury 1
SOL Liberty Division
Wissahickon 2, Quakertown 0
It was a cold and rainy night in Quakertown, but Wissahickon traveled north needing a win and did enough to do just that with the 2-0 shutout of the Panthers.
“We had to get a response after not doing so well on Tuesday (a 5-2 loss to Upper Dublin),” said Trojans coach Stuart Malcolm. “We got a few chances in the first half but didn’t manage to connect until two minutes remaining at the end of the half.”
Captain Michael Ohn scored from 25 yards out to give Wissahickon the 1-0 lead at the break, and then two minutes into the second half, Jeevan Jouhal scored to make it 2-0.
“We went up real quickly 2-0 in like five minutes,” Malcolm said. “We had a number of other chances in the second half and, unfortunately, didn’t convert.”
The weather conditions definitely didn’t help.
“You set the team up and ask them to play in a particular way,” Malcolm said. “But as game rolls on, you recognize that passing is not going to come off in conditions like that. Some days are good days for that, but today it wasn’t. Today, at halftime, we told them to be precise and pass at the feet, as opposed to space, and we did a much better job in the second half recognizing and creating opportunities.”
Wissahickon (8-7-1, 7-7 SOL), currently sits at No. 24 in the district power rankings, with games remaining against Abington and Plymouth Whitemarsh next Monday and Wednesday.
“We probably need to win at least one of the two to have a good chance,” Malcolm said. “I don’t think if we were to lose both games we would make the playoffs. We’re just above .500 now, we’ll just have to wait and see how everything shakes out.”
Quakertown (1-14, 1-12 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham on Monday night.
Wissahickon 1 1 – 2
Quakertown 0 0 – 0
SOL Colonial Division
PENNRIDGE 2, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0
This was a big one.
The Patriots – trailing the Rams by two points in the division standings – travelled to Pennridge with a chance to vault to the top of the standings with a win. The Rams, however, had other ideas, turning in another standout defensive effort and scoring a pair of timely goals to earn a win that moves them one step closer to a division title. With two conference games remaining, the Rams have a five-point lead over second place CB East and CB South.
In Thursday’s showdown, both teams had to deal with conditions that were anything but ideal.
“We didn’t do starting lineups or national anthem – we just agreed we were going to get it going,” Pennridge coach Pete Valimont said. “The last five minutes of the first half it was difficult to see the other side of the field. The rain just came in waves. You thought it was going to stop, and the next thing you know – here it comes. It was crazy.
“But overall, it was a great game given the circumstances. We were fortunate that nothing screwed up in front of our net. The boys were able to keep it to a 2-0 win.”
Neither team scored in the first half that was a rematch of a contest the Patriots won 3-0 in the first go round.
“They kicked our butt the first game,” Valimont said. “We didn’t play well, we had a couple starters that didn’t play that could have made a difference, but they really mopped us across the turf in the first game.
“The first half we got lucky a couple of times. We did have a couple restart chances the first half but just couldn’t find the end of it, and I think it was probably the same for coach Josh (Isaacsohn) and his boys – they really had some quality chances. Fortunately for us, they were just pushed either high or wide.”
The Patriots saw their best chance at a goal in the second half turned away by senior goalie CJ Dimmick.
“CJ played really well,” Valimont said. “In the second half, their forward, Brandon Epstein, is so good. He’s one of the best players in the league. You always have to mark him and be aware of him, and he hit a rope, and CJ came out of nowhere to push it aside. I don’t know how many goalies are going to make that save. Fortunately for us, we have CJ.”
Late in the second half Jared Hess scored with a Dimmick assist.
“There was a scrum in front of the East net with 13 minutes left, and Jared Hess was able to knock it in,” Valimont said. “CJ (Dimmick) served the ball in from the 50. It just bounced around, and Hess was able to find the last touch to get it past the keeper.”
With six minutes remaining in regulation, Shane Velez added an insurance goal.
“It was a direct kick coming in from about the 35-yard line far side opposite our benches, and Shane (Velez) hit a rocket from the near side to the far side, and it skipped about a quarter of the way from the goal up over the goalie’s hands with the congestion of bodies in front and found the back of the net.”
The Rams’ coach lauded the efforts of several players whose names won’t show up for contributing a goal or assist but made key contributions.
“In the middle, Luca Angello, Pat Fannon, Jack Bruno, Quinn Annan – those guys really worked hard tonight,” Valimont said. “I thought Zac Curran came off the bench and did a really nice job helping us out.
“Jhoa Hernandez played one of his best games in the back tonight – just everything was where we wanted it to be cleared, and CJ (Dimmick) did a really nice job in terrible conditions. Most goalies probably let in two or three goals with some of the balls that he had to save. He doesn’t get enough credit. Especially in game like this, you kind of forget that he’s back there just because it’s expected. We don’t expect him to let anything in, and he takes pride in it. He just did fantastic.”
The Rams’ coach tipped his hat to his counterpart.
“Coach Josh (Isaacsohn) – he’s a really good friend of mine,” Valimont said. “We joke and we call each other throughout the season. This is one of the games where you hug each other, and whoever wins is the one smiling and the other one is a person to himself, but at the end of the day, we’re good friends. His team is fantastic – they’re so good this year, but credit to my guys.”
Pennridge (13-3, 11-3 SOL) will celebrate Senior Night Monday (7 p.m.) when the Rams host Central Bucks West. Central Bucks East (10-5-1, 9-4-1) will travel to Souderton on Monday.
Central Bucks East 0-0 0
Pennridge 0-2 2
Wednesday, Oct. 12
NESHAMINY 6, HARRY S TRUMAN 1
The Redskins celebrated Senior Night on Wednesday with a win – their fourth in a five-game stretch that saw the team compile a 4-0-1 mark.
“It was a good night,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said. “It was our Pink Out Night, and we had pretty sharp pink and black uniforms for the night that our boosters picked up for us. That went well.
“All our seniors got at least 40 minutes of time, so it was a good night. Probably when it got to be 4-1, we got all our underclassmen in. It was a good night all the way around. Just a total team win tonight – everyone got in, everyone contributed, so it was really nice.”
The Redskins scored three goals in each half. Connor Dixon connected for his first varsity goal. Chris Valley and Jon Lopez also scored in a first half that saw the Redskins open up a 3-1 lead. Truman converted a penalty kick 15 minutes into the half for the Tigers’ lone goal.
Truman got a penalty kick 15 minutes into the first half to make it 3-1.
In the second half, the Redskins received single goals from Joe Joe Maxwell, Wasseem Jawawdeh and Josh Anderson for the 6-1 final.
Maxwell also had three assists while Jack Sexton and Jawadeh each chipped in one assist.
Neshaminy (6-8-1, 5-8-0 SOL) will host Bensalem on Friday at 3 p.m., and Harry S Truman (0-15, 0-14) will host Bensalem on Monday.
Harry S Truman 1-0 1
Neshaminy 3-3 6
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