Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Friday. CB West/Pennridge photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. New Hope-Solebury/William Tennent photos courtesy of Karla Donohoe. Check back for galleries of both games.
SOL Liberty
Hatboro-Horsham 1, Abington 0
Winners of just two of its last six games, Hatboro-Horsham earned a statement win with the shutout of first-place Abington.
“We’ve been kind of all over the place, and like every other team, we’ve been dealing with injuries and illness,” said Hatters’ coach Kyle McGrath. “Even today, we were without one of our starters, so we got big minutes from Matt Wingen again. The boys bought in today; they were committed. They know what it means to beat a team like Abington in terms of potential playoff stuff for us. They performed awesome today.”
The only goal of Friday’s game came via the penalty kick.
“Enrico Romano was able to turn the corner against their outside back and get in behind,” McGrath said. “He was getting into the box, and he got fouled from behind, and the referee signaled for a PK right away. Tommy Harmon, one of my senior captains, stepped up and slotted it home past their goalkeeper.”
That was pretty much it as far as the offenses go, as both teams received solid defensive efforts.
“Hatboro-Horsham played extremely well,” said Abington coach Randy Garber. “They were the better team today. A penalty kick in the first 10 minutes of the game was the difference. We had chances. I don’t know that Kevin (Kretschman, our goalkeeper, actually had a legit save on a shot that could have possibly gone in the back of the net. He touched the ball a lot.
“They played a lot of defense and wouldn’t let us get behind, and we made a lot of bad decisions. Everything we played in the air in the box, their goalkeeper won.”
To win a game like that, obviously, there was plenty of praise to go around.
“It was a typical Abington-Hatboro-Horsham game, and it’s a battle for both teams back and forth,” McGrath said. “Both defenses played well, both keepers played well. Obviously, Randy (Garber) is a legend in Pennsylvania high school soccer, and his team played great, and we came out on top.
“My back four – Caleb Hudson, Jacob Kim, Tommy Shegogue and Paul Guevara – obviously, to keep those guys off the scoreboard is massive,” McGrath said. “Noah Schlosser, my goalkeeper, did a great job controlling his box, catching everything clean and really commanding the back.
“Again, Ryan Toporowski was arguably the best player on the field. (He was) super calming, real composed. He just really led us today in a difficult game.”
H-H (10-6, 9-5 SOL) are back in action Tuesday night at Quakertown.
Abington (13-2-1. 11-2-1 SOL), which clinched the SOL Liberty title on Friday despite the loss, hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
“We weren’t very smart today,” Garber said. “There’s no rhyme or reason for it because all that was on the line as far as our seeding goes. Now it’s going to be interesting to see exactly what happens.
“Hatboro-Horsham played tough. They did a nice job defensively. Their goalkeeper was outstanding, and they just didn’t let us get behind them. We had a couple good chances but not enough. It’s one of those games. You score seven goals in two games, and you can’t pinch one goal in an 80-minute game that you should have taken care of.”
Hatboro-Horsham 1 0 – 1
Abington 0 0 – 0
Upper Dublin 4, Plymouth Whitemarsh 2
Senior Zach Berman had his second hat-trick this week, and Upper Dublin earned one of its biggest wins of the season over rival PW on Friday.
Berman hadn’t scored a goal this season before this week but had three on Tuesday and three more Friday. He scored five minutes into Friday’s game, before making it 2-0 later in the half. Tommy Clayton added a goal for a 3-0 halftime advantage.
In the second half, PW scored twice early to make it 3-2, but Berman later completed the hat-trick and put the game away for the Flying Cardinals.
“Zach Berman, ‘The Magician’, put the game to bed for us,” said UD coach Noah Johnson.
“Nick Fiore had an excellent game, offensively getting forward and finding Zach Berman and Tommy Clayton, putting balls in to help these guys out, get forward and get goals.
“Christian Broome once again had an excellent game. Kyle Spirt had an excellent game. Gabe Loza and Mason Pensabene did a really, really good job. Gabe did an awesome job stepping in today as a keeper.”
Brendan Corpus scored both goals for the Colonials.
Upper Dublin (8-8, 8-6 SOL) plays at Wissahickon on Tuesday. PW (9-6, 9-5 SOL) plays at Abington Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 3 1 – 4
PW 0 2 – 2
Wissahickon 6. Quakertown 1
After just one goal through the first 40 minutes, Wissahickon exploded in the second half on its way to the 6-1 win over Quakertown.
Sam Grossberg actually scored in the first minute of the game for the Trojans, who were held in check the rest of the half.
In the second half, however, Blake McClinitic scored to make it 2-0, but Quakertown answered right back to cut it to one again. Andrew Slackman then scored three straight in a 20-minute stretch to put the game away. Jeavon Jouhal followed that up with his first varsity goal to round out the scoring.
Julian Merris had four assists in the game, while Ryan Berger had one assist.
Wissahickon (7-8-1, 7-7 SOL) next hosts Upper Dublin Tuesday. Quakertown (2-14, 1-13 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham Tuesday.
Wissahickon 1 5 – 6
Quakertown 0 1 -1
SOL Freedom
William Tennent 3, New Hope-Solebury 0
Up one at the half, William Tennent put the game away with two in the second half to earn the win over New Hope.
“Ryan Kerr scored 14 seconds into the game off a nice passing sequence assisted by Christian Huslin,” said Panthers’ coach Nick D’Andrea. “New Hope dominated the first half, missing chances and great play.”
Connor Hanratty scored both of Tennent’s second-half goals.
“The first goal (Hanratty) took a pass from Jimmy Manning and made a beautiful shot,” D’Andrea said. “The second, he received a through ball from Paul Nedeoglo and went around the keeper.
“(It was a) well played match by both teams, with chances. I think my goalie Pat Corley played well, earning the shutout.”
Tennent (7-7-2, 7-6-1 SOL) hosts Upper Moreland on Tuesday. New Hope (1-14, 1-12 SOL) hosts Cheltenahm on Senior Night Tuesday.
Tennent 1 2 – 3
New Hope 0 0 – 0
Springfield Twp 3, Upper Moreland 1
Peter Schmidt scored two goals and Springfield remained on pace in the SOL Freedom Division with the win over Upper Moreland.
Springfield is 11-3-1 overall and 10-3-1 in the SOL, one point behind first-place Lower Moreland. The two teams play at Lower Moreland on Tuesday night. First, the Spartans play a nonleague game at The Christian Academy on Monday.
Friday, Schmidt’s goals were assisted by Riley Martin, who scored the team’s other goal, assisted by Julian Casabon.
Upper Moreland (7-6-3, 5-6-3 SOL) plays at William Tennent Tuesday.
Springfield 2 1 – 3
Upper Moreland 1 0 – 1
Lower Moreland 1, Cheltenham 0
Midway through the first half, Braden Alecia scored from 20 yards out and that was all the scoring first-place Lower Moreland would need, as the Lions held off Cheltenham and set up Tuesday night’s battle for first in the Freedom Division against Springfield.
“It’s always a tough place to play,” said LM coach Bob Barnhart. “We had a bunch of chances in the first half that missed the mark. They pushed us in our defensive third with the speed they have up top. Midway through the first, Braden Alecia picked up a pass at the top of the box and slotted home a goal from about 20 out. I was glad to see him pick up a goal.
“The defense was able to play solid for the remaining time and we were able to work a few bench players in throughout the second half. I know our guys – we’re more focused on our matchup against Springfield on Tuesday so I was glad to get out of there today with a win.”
The Lions (10-2-2, 10-2-2 SOL) host Springfield, Tuesday at 7 p.m. Cheltenham (2-12, 1-12 SOL) plays at New Hope-Solebury Tuesday.
Lower Moreland 1 0 – 1
Cheltenham 0 0 – 0
SOL Colonial
Pennridge 2, Central Bucks West 1
Coming off of a huge win over North Penn, Pennridge maintained its possession of first place with the win over CB West on Friday.
“For us, it was very sloppy,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont. “It was hot. Both teams were playing with the heat. We had a couple starters that were sick and didn’t go to school, so we had to make an adjustment on that end, so we had some guys playing out of their normal positions. A lot of stuff you don’t plan for that we had to deal with and try to make it as normal as possible.”
Pennridge scored the game’s first goal and had a 1-0 lead at halftime.
“A shot was taken by Jake Saville with six minutes left, and the goalie gave up a rebound on it, and Pat Fannon was there and was able to slot it in,” Valimont said.
The Rams then went up 2-0, scoring four minutes into the second half. CB West was able to cut that deficit to one later in the half, but Pennridge was able to secure the win.
“Jake Saville was able to get a ball from Pat Fannon and turned and was able to finish on the goalie,” Valimont said. “Nice work between the two of them, and then we just weathered the storm.
“(CB West coach Stefan Szygiel’s) group was fantastic the whole game. They scored around the 20-minute mark of the second half to make it 2-1. We had a breakdown, and they were in the right spot and capitalized. Fortunately for us, we were able to do enough to see the game through.”
The Rams’ coach lauded the efforts of several players.
“Shane Velez stepped up really good in the back and did a great job,” Valimont said. “Ryan Saville stepped up and did a great job. We had to move him around.
“Luca Angello played well, and Pat Fannon had a goal and an assist and he played really well. Troy Thanel on the wing really worked hard for us today.”
Christian Evans scored for CB West, with assists from AJ Rihl and Ryan Horst.
“Pennridge outworked us all over the field,” Szygiel said. “They competed harder physically than we did and won nearly every ball in the air. That’s why we lost.”
West goalkeeper Griffin Blokker recorded five saves.
Pennridge (12-2-2, 10-2-2 SOL) hosts Souderton on Tuesday. CB West (5-10-1, 5-8-1 SOL) plays at CB East on Tuesday.
Pennridge 1 1 – 2
CB West 0 1 – 1
SOL Patriot
Council Rock South 5, Pennsbury 0
CR South inched closer to clinching the SOL Patriot championship, jumping up 3-0 in the first half and never looking back on the way to the shutout victory.
“It was 3-0 at half and the game was put well out of reach 10 into the second half when Gavin (Hagan) scored our fourth,” South coach Alan Nicholl said. “It was a rather uneventful affair and played at a slower pace and less intensity than our usual SOL battles. It was a welcomed change to be able to get some guys off the field and relax a bit given the string of games we’ve had.”
Everett Kurtz, Lex Lenoir, and Cooper Walters scored in the first half for the Golden Hawks, while Hagan and Frankie Rafferty added second-half goals.
“After 16 games, you could see a tired looking bunch giving whatever they had left today,” Nicholl said. “The ball bounced favorably for us, and we were able to put this one to bed much earlier than we’re used to.
“After 20 years of coaching, it’s not often I’ve walked off Pennsbury’s field with all three points. (I’m) very proud of the defense – Isaac Burenga, Lex Lenoir, Garrett and Shane Cohen, and Andrew Lindros – for not giving Pennsbury many looks and my keeper Kieran Barry for the shutout.”
With the win, CR South is now 8-5-1 with 25 points, atop the Patriot Division standings. It has a three-point lead over Neshaminy, with two games remaining. The Golden Hawks are at Bensalem on Tuesday and home against Harry S. Truman Thursday. Pennsbury (4-9-2, 4-9-1 SOL) plays at Truman on Tuesday.
CR South 3 2 – 5
Pennsbury 0 0 – 0
Neshaminy 7, Harry S Truman 0
Four first-half goals by four different players set the tone for a Neshaminy team still fighting for its playoff life, on the way to the seven-goal win over Truman.
Neshaminy (7-5-4, 6-4-4 SOL) is currently in second place in the SOL Patriot standings, and unofficially is ranked 28th in the District One Class 4A power points. Twenty-four teams qualify for districts.
Wasseem Jawawdeh scored two minutes into the game off an assist from Vince DiMaria, and two minutes later, Matt Lamp scored to make it 2-0. Jose Rivera and JoeJoe Maxwell also scored in the first half.
Sam Johnson, from Ethan Roney, scored in the second half, as did Dan Lowman and Josh Anderson.
“Everybody on the roster got in,” coach Tom Foley said. “Casey Foley and Evan Fitch combined for the shutout. They each had two saves in a half to preserve the shutout.”
Neshaminy next plays at home Tuesday against Council Rock North. Truman (0-15, 0-14 SOL) hosts Pennsbury Tuesday.
Neshaminy 4 3 – 7
Truman 0 0 – 0
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