Jarrad Saffren recaps Wednesday’s SOL boys’ soccer action that saw North Penn & Hatboro-Horsham clinch conference titles. UD/Upper Moreland photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
By Jarrad Saffren
Twenty Suburban One League boys’ soccer teams played league games on Wednesday. Most SOL teams finished their league seasons, and some even finished their regular seasons. Others still have one game left.
All 10 results and recaps are below.
SOL Continental
Central Bucks East 1, Central Bucks South 0
Central Bucks South was about to pull the upset. In overtime, one Titans player crossed the ball to another, right in front of the net. He kicked the ball forward, and it was certain to go in.
But then Jordan Geller dove across the goal line and snared the ball out of midair. “Good save Jordan!” shouted Central Bucks East coach Jerry White.
A little more than a minute later, from the right side, East’s Gabe Ortiz floated the ball toward the far post. Luke Schloffel headed it across the box to Will Eisold, who settled it, dribbled right as the keeper fell and blasted the ball into an open net.
“I was like, ‘Gabe, we need this, it’s OT, and we need a win to stay in there,’” Eisold said. “He put it in and (Kyle) Bethel was marking me, making sure I didn’t go back post, which is what we wanted. So I wrapped around front post, and luckily, Luke got the header.”
“Right in front of my defender, I just jumped up and it hit the side of my head,” Schloffel said. “It was a perfect deflection over to Will.”
“I was around the six, and the goalkeeper was going for it,” Eisold said. “I just got it before.”
CB East had finally beaten CB South goalkeeper Gavin Campbell, who made nine saves before that shot. Yet the Patriots barely celebrated, and hustled off the field right after the goal.
East outshot South 15-3 on Wednesday, yet its coaches were not satisfied.
“We weren’t doing a good enough job watching our offside line today,” said East coach Jeremiah White, referring to the five offsides calls against his team. “It was an ugly game. They could have stolen it. In the beginning we had control, but then they started to pick it up and we started to go down a little bit.”
Pretty or not, the win was big for the Pats. They are ninth in the District One Class 6A Power Rankings, and the top eight seeds earn first round byes.
CB East (12-5, 9-3 SOL) has one more chance to earn power points, on Saturday at noon against West Chester Henderson. CB South (4-12-1, 3-9 SOL) ends its season on Thursday at four against Conestoga.
Central Bucks East 0-0-1 1
Central Bucks South 0-0-0 0
Souderton 1, William Tennent 1
Souderton played a kind of spoiler role in this game. The Indians, at 35th in the power rankings, are out of the playoff race, but William Tennent, at 26th, is very much alive, and the Panthers could have used a win.
“Now we are in the same situation as before,” said Tennent coach Nick D’Andrea.
But Tennent didn’t lose ground, either, so it was hard for D’Andrea to be too upset, especially given the quality of Wednesday’s game.
“It was an exciting game, a great high school game. Back and forth. Kids on both teams played really well,” D’Andrea said. “The kids played with a lot of heart.”
Tennent led 1-0 until the 77th minute, when David Hafler tied it for Souderton. It was senior night at Souderton, so starting keeper Mitchell Race ceded the first half to his backup. But Race started the second half, made six saves and kept the Panthers off the board.
“We wanted to win, obviously, but the boys played really hard from the opening whistle. We really came out strong in the second half. They fought really hard for all 100 minutes,” said Souderton coach Matt Benner. “Mitchell played really well. It’s tough for some guys to come in cold, but he did.”
Souderton (4-10-3, 3-8-1 SOL) hosts Garnet Valley on Thursday night at 6:30. Tennent (8-8-1, 5-6-1 SOL) plays Holy Ghost Prep on Friday night at seven, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, home of the Philadelphia Union.
“We have to win on Friday night. If we win that, we should get in,” D’Andrea said. “We’ll just have to put everything on the line and see what happens.”
William Tennent 1-0-0-0 1
Souderton 0-1-0-0 1
North Penn 3, Pennridge 0
North Penn earned the outright SOL Continental title with this win, its second in a row. The Knights are 20-4 against Continental rivals in the last two years.
“I’m extremely proud of our team. It’s not easy to do in this conference. When you have CB East, CB West and the others, it’s very good and very competitive. That shows when we play out of conference teams,” said North Penn coach Paul Duddy. “To win it outright is a great accomplishment for the boys.”
A different combination connected on all three North Penn goals. Aidan Jerome scored the first goal on an assist from Jack Johnston. Luke McMahon scored the second goal off a Jerome pass. And Ryan Stewart netted the third courtesy of a Brett Katz pass.
“We still have things to work on. For the first 10 minutes tonight, Pennridge outplayed us. But the first time down into their area we scored, and then it was like. ‘Oh ok,’” Duddy said. “The 3-0 score kind of does not justify how well Pennridge played. They were in our half probably 60 percent of the time. When you have Aidan and Luke, though, they find a way to score.”
North Penn (14-2-1, 10-2 SOL) plays Upper Dublin on Thursday at 3:30, in its regular season finale. Pennridge (6-11, 2-10 SOL) battles Harriton on Friday at 3:30.
North Penn 2-1 3
Pennridge 0-0 0
SOL American
Hatboro-Horsham 2, Cheltenham 0
Hatboro-Horsham clinched its first league title since 2002. The Hatters joined the SOL American in 2016.
“It feels good. I’m really happy for the boys. They’ve worked really hard. For it all to come together and win the league title, I’m really happy for them,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Kyle McGrath. “Our record the last two years, 26 wins, I’ve had a great group come through, and my senior class has been awesome for four years, so to get a league title on their senior night was incredible.”
Andrew Hurrell and Matty Harmon scored after halftime for the Hatters, breaking a 0-0 halftime tie. Colin Bateman and Josh Luke assisted on the goals.
Hatboro keeper Shane Carpenter made three saves.
“He’s a senior and it was our senior night. He played well. He’s been working hard in practice,” McGrath said. “I knew that once he got his chance he would step up and play well, and he did.”
Hatboro-Horsham closed its regular season at 14-2-2 overall and 11-2-1 in league play. The Hatters are fourth in the power rankings, and should earn a first round bye.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-2 2
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2, Quakertown 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh finished the regular season at 12-5-1 overall and 10-4 in SOL American play. The Colonials are 14th in the power rankings and will make the playoffs.
In the second half on Wednesday, Alex Lefkowitz scored to put PW up 1-0. Then Gavin Hendrick scored to make it 2-0. Hendrick assisted on the first goal, Lefkowitz on the second.
Quakertown’s Brandon Strecker scored on a breakaway with seven minutes left, but the Panthers could not net the equalizer. Zach Mahler had 16 saves for Q-town.
“Their goalie stood on his head. We could have had 3-4 goals easily in the first half,” said PW coach Jeff Heaton. “We had a lot of possession but gave up the ball too many times uncontested. But sometimes you need those ugly wins.”
Quakertown (2-12-3, 1-10-2 SOL) plays Upper Moreland on Thursday at 3:30.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-2 2
Quakertown 0-1 1
Wissahickon 3, Springfield Township 0
Wissahickon improved to 12-3-2 overall and 10-2-2 in league play, finishing second in the American behind Hatboro-Horsham. The Trojans are 10th in the power rankings and will make the playoffs.
Jacob Cohen, Eddie Fortescue and Jacob Kaffey scored for Wissahickon. Fortescue and Michael Steitz assisted on goals.
“In the first half they came out strong. They chased us all over the field, but then we got an early goal, and in the second half we got forward and played more on their half,” said Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm. “The defense played pretty solid. The backline has settled in the last three games. We’ve been moving things around all season. Kaffey and Liam Weiss played well defensively.”
Wissahickon hosts Radnor on Thursday at 3:30. Springfield Township ended the regular season at 7-8-3 overall and 4-7-3 in SOL American play. Springfield is third in the District One Class 2A Power Rankings, and two teams make the playoffs.
Wissahickon 1-2 3
Springfield Township 0-0 0
Upper Dublin 7, Upper Moreland 2
Upper Dublin broke a 2-2 halftime tie with five second-half goals.
“We changed our tactics. We weren’t working the ball wide and getting it to the end line and crossing it. In the second half, that was our focus. We opened up the game and got back to our scoring ways,” said Upper Dublin coach Andy Meehan. “We played very well in the second half. I was proud of how they came out. We sorted some issues out at halftime. We got back to how we had been playing at the beginning of the season.”
“It was also one of those games where everyone chipped in. Total team effort,” added Meehan. “I give credit to Kevin Devlin and Quinn, my captains, for leading.”
Dan Ness scored three of Upper Dublin’s goals. Quinn Middleton, Corey Schonberg, Tom Hiltwine and Ryan Melick also scored for the Flying Cardinals. Jerry Bardol had two assists, and Middleton and Matt Yoon each had one.
UD keeper Alex Goldenberg made six saves.
Upper Dublin (12-4-1, 10-3-1 SOL) plays North Penn on Thursday at 3:30. Upper Moreland (0-15-1, 0-12-1 SOL) battles Quakertown on the same day and time.
Upper Dublin 2-5 7
Upper Moreland 2-0 2
SOL National
Pennsbury 3, Harry S. Truman 0
Pennsbury scored three first-half goals and rolled to a win in its season finale. The Falcons finished the season at 11-6-1 overall and 8-4 in SOL National play. They are 25th in the power rankings, and 24 teams make the playoffs.
“It’s going to come down to the math, so we’ll see what happens. We played well in spurts,” said Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart. “I think we’re better than over half the field. Do we deserve to be in, though? If we don’t get in, then no, because we didn’t do enough.”
On Wednesday, Arlyn Buondonno scored Pennsbury’s first goal and Alec Lobanov scored its next two. Garrett Zeller assisted on the first two goals. Pennsbury keeper Nate Slotnick had six saves.
Harry S. Truman (4-13, 0-12 SOL) plays New Hope-Solebury on Thursday night at seven.
Pennsbury 3-0 3
Harry S. Truman 0-0 0
Abington 4, Bensalem 2
Abington closed out its regular season with an important win, finishing 13-5 overall and 8-4 in SOL National play. The Galloping Ghosts are 16th in the power rankings, and should make the playoffs.
“They did a good job. We played pretty direct. I was pleased with the way they played because of the importance of the game,” said Abington coach Randy Garber. “We needed the result to stay in the thick of things, and the players definitely rose to the occasion.”
Sean Touey and Jaden Joy scored for Abington. Nevin Baer scored twice. Abington keeper Nick Brownholtz had six saves, including one on a penalty kick when the Ghosts led 2-1.
Bensalem (7-10, 5-7 SOL) plays Penn Wood on Thursday night at seven.
Abington 2-2 4
Bensalem 1-1 2
Neshaminy 2, Council Rock South 0
Vince Hosephros and Mike Thomas scored goals to lead Neshaminy to a win. Eric Clayton assisted on Thomas’s goal.
Neshaminy keepers Nick Walker and Trevor Rush each had three saves.
“We did a nice job and held them in check most of the night. They only had eight shots, and most were from long range,” said Neshaminy coach Tom Foley. “It was back and forth between the 18s, and we finally put some passes together in the second half and got a couple goals.”
“We were okay. We gave up a very bad goal midway through the second half. A long ball into the box, and you don’t expect those types of mistakes,” said Council Rock South coach Alan Nicholl. “The game was very uneventful. We didn’t get many clean looks. There wasn’t a whole lot at stake, so maybe that went into it.”
Neshaminy finished its season at 7-10-1 overall and 5-7 in league play. CR South closed at 7-10-1 and 5-6-1.
About the Author
