Check out the results for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action. Check back to view photos of the Wissahickon/Cheltenham game.
By Jarrad Saffren
There are only four days left in the Suburban One League boys soccer regular season, and most teams finished their conference schedules Wednesday night. Many big questions were answered. Could Upper Dublin clinch the SOL American title? Could CB East complete its undefeated, untied regular season? Could Neshaminy further improve its playoff position? Those answers and more below.
National Conference
Council Rock South 2, Neshaminy 1
Neshaminy was having a really good week. On Monday, the Redskins climbed from 35 to 16 in the district power rankings and crushed Harry S. Truman 8-1. But Council Rock South overcame a 1-0 deficit and handed the Redskins only their second loss in nine games.
The Redskins probably won’t fall out of the playoffs, as 28 teams make the field, but their seed could drop.
Neshaminy scored first when DJ Pierson tapped in a pass that was rolling in front of the goal. In the 10th minute, South tied it when Brent Weinstein blasted the ball past the keeper from outside the box. Later in the half, the Golden Hawks took the lead when Pat Wilczynski kicked the ball off a Neshaminy defender and into the net.
“We dominated the first half and got lucky with our second goal,” said South coach Alan Nicholl.
Neshaminy bombarded South in the last 15 minutes of the second half but could not score.
“They missed plenty of chances,” Nicholl said. “It was a tale of two halves really.”
Nicholl also said his team was fortunate at the end.
“They just missed the target,” he said. “They worked hard but lacked the final touch. My keeper didn’t really have much to do.”
Council Rock South (5-11, 4-9 SOL) ends its season at Truman Thursday afternoon. Neshaminy finishes 9-8-1 overall and 7-6-1 in the SOL National.
Council Rock South 2-0 2
Neshaminy 1-0 1
Council Rock North 1, Bensalem 0
Two seniors led North to victory on Senior Night.
Senior keeper Billy Storm recorded his eighth shutout of the season, and senior midfielder Max Mykhyluk scored his fourth goal of the season.
Another senior, Bensalem keeper Greg Citrino, stoned eight shots to keep the Owls in the game.
CR North ends the regular season 11-5-2 overall and 8-4-2 in league play. The Indians were third in the SOL National behind Abington and Pennsbury. They are also the eighth seed in the power rankings.
Bensalem closes 2015 8-8-2 and 5-7-2. The Owls are 22nd in the power rankings.
Pennsbury 5, William Tennent 1
Pennsbury defeated William Tennent and wrapped up second place in the National Conference.
Colin Marks put the Falcons on the scoreboard early in the opening half, and they took that 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Zach LoBasso scored in the opening minute of the second half, and the Falcons were off and running. Six minute later, John Griffin connected to put the Falcons on top 3-0, and that lead grew to 4-0 after another LoBasso goal less than 10 minutes into the second half. Kevin Nagle found the back of the net midway through the period to give the Falcons a 5-0 advantage. The Panthers ruined the Falcons’ shutout bit when Dan Mehaffey scored on a penalty kick late in the half.
Pennsbury was ninth in the latest district power rankings, one of three National Conference teams in the top 10. William Tennent finished 9-8-1 overall and 6-7-1 in league play. Tennent was 29th in the power rankings and probably did not help its cause with a loss and a tie this week.
“And this concludes my chapter in the National Conference, the toughest conference in the state hands down,” said William Tennent coach Ryan Todt. Tennent moves to the Continental Conference next season.
Pennsbury 1-4 5
William Tennent 0-1 1
ABINGTON 4, HARRY S TRUMAN 0 (Tuesday, Oct. 20)
It had been a long time between conference titles for the Ghosts. Nineteen years to be exact, but on Tuesday, Abington clinched sole possession of the SOL National Conference crown with its win over Truman, ending a drought that went back to 1996.
“It’s a very competitive conference,” coach Randy Garber said. “Anybody can beat anyone on any given day, and the scores tell you how close it was.
“All of our four losses this year have been in the league. We are in a difficult league, and when you win a title in our conference, you’ve accomplished something. It’s probably one of the better leagues in the whole entire state because day after day we go out and beat each other up.
“Not only do we see teams once, but we have to see them twice. It’s never ending, and it’s tough to keep everyone healthy. We’re banged up right now, and I’m sure every team in our league is banged up because it is a hard, physical conference. It becomes who can stay healthy in order to survive.”
To say this year’s squad is senior-oriented would be an understatement. There are 14 seniors on the Ghosts’ roster – Jason Gales, Aidan Coyle, Matt Keiser, David Pohle, Jacob Katro, Nick Gottemoller, Ben Williard, Robby Durham, Brian Hoover, Jarrod Gibson, Connor Gallagher, Matt Bachman, Alex Vitek and Sam Wells.
That veteran leadership paid dividends.
“They’ve been around for three years, and it’s their year,” Garber said. “What we have going for us is we have a good mix.
“We have kids that can score goals, we have a very good goalkeeper in Sam Wells, who’s doing a great job for us this year, and we have some kids that are good defenders. Our midfielders are strong, winning a lot of balls.
“They’re hard working guys, and I think the key is they like each other. They enjoy playing with each other. They work hard for each other, and right now we’re won our last six games, and I think we’re peaking at the right time. A lot of the games could have gone either way, but they just found a way to win some important games for us down the stretch.”
Ten of the Ghosts’ 17 games have been decided by one goal. The Ghosts are 8-2 in one-goal games with three of those one-goal wins coming in their current six-game winning streak.
Garber credited several players – in addition to Wells – for leading the way.
“Aiden Coyle, one of our captains, is a very good defender and wins a lot of balls for us,” he said. “Jacob Katro is a big, strong, athletic kid that plays in the middle. Jason Gales does a nice job, wins a lot of balls for us in the air. Connor Gallagher is another senior that’s played since he was a freshman, and Matt Bachman is scoring a lot of goals for us.”
In Tuesday’s win, Jarrod Gibson scored 15 minutes into the game with assists from Matthew Bachman and David Pohle. A Bachman goal (Jason Gales assist) with 11:22 remaining in the first half put the Ghosts on top 2-0. They took that lead into halftime.
In the second half, Juan Castillo scored, using a Robbie Durham assist, and the Ghosts had their final margin of victory after Brian Hoover found the back of the net with 4:44 remaining, again using a Durham assist.
Only the standout effort of Truman goalie Fernando Mendez kept the Ghosts from winning by an even larger margin.
“It’s a good group, it’s a fun group,” Garber said. “They’re enjoying themselves.
“Our kids like each other, they work for each other, and they’re tough, gritty kids.
“It’s not the prettiest soccer at times, but it’s what works for the hand you’re dealt. We basically play to our strengths.”
The Ghosts had a good run in the 90s – winning conference titles in 1993, 1995 and 1996.
More recently, Neshaminy captured the last three conference crowns, and before that, Council Rock North had a two-year run at the top, sharing the title in 2010-11 with Council Rock South. Pennsbury owned the top spot two years prior to that.
This year, the Ghosts (13-4, 10-4 SOL) edged Pennsbury by one point in the standings. They will host Souderton in a non-league game on Thursday (7 p.m.) and then will await their district draw. They were fourth in the most district power rankings.
“Once the district tournament starts, anyone can come out a winner – it’s just a matter of staying healthy, some luck and getting the right draws,” Garber said.
The Ghosts proved that, winning the District One AAA title in 2012 after entering the tournament as the 19th seeded team and a regular season record of 10-7-1. Garber has taken the Ghosts to three district title games – 1993, 2007 and 2012.
Abington 2-2 4
Truman 0-0 0
Bensalem 1, William Tennent 1 (OT)
Overtime could not determine a winner in a contest that saw Omar Luviano score Bensalem’s only goal.
Continental Conference
North Penn 4, Hatboro-Horsham 1
Kyle Shue scored a pair of goals in the opening half to send the Knights into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
Owen Nakatani and Noah Kwortnik scored one each in the second half to triple the lead. Joe LaRouche scored for Hatboro-Horsham.
North Penn completes its league schedule with a 9-3-2 record. If Central Bucks South beats Central Bucks West Thursday night, the Knights will finish third in the SOL Continental. If CB South loses, the Knights will finish second.
North Penn is 12-4-2 overall and seventh in the district power rankings. Hatboro-Horsham finishes 7-11 and 5-9 in conference play.
North Penn 2-2 4
Hatboro-Horsham 1-0 1
Central Bucks East 4, Souderton 0
The Patriots did it.
For the first time in 21 seasons under coach Mike Gorni, CB East finished the regular season without a loss or a tie. The Patriots went 18-0-0 overall and 14-0-0 in Continental play.
“They’ve been great. I’m very proud of them,” said Gorni of his players. “We’re going to take this and feel good about it and enjoy it for a day or two, and then you have to get ready because it can be a very short season in single elimination.”
“Now we start the new season in the playoffs, so it’s a whole new beginning for us.”
Gorni said the Patriots will be the one or two seed, but one is more likely. The seeding meeting is Sunday.
In the meantime, the Patriots bask.
Evan Vare netted his third hat trick of the season and Andrew Walters added the fourth goal. JR Eisold and Justin Chomik each had two assists. The Patriots led 3-0 at halftime.
Souderton closed out conference play with a 2-11-1 record. The Indians (2-14-1 overall) will be on the road at Abington on Thursday for a 7 p.m. contest.
Central Bucks East 3-1 4
Souderton 0-0 0
Pennridge 1, Quakertown 0
Pennridge won its fifth game in a row and continues to make a strong case for a postseason berth. The Rams were 31st in the latest power rankings, three spots behind the final playoff berth, but they have won two more games since the latest rankings came out Monday.
“Our motto and our theme this week is take care of the 80 minutes we have to play and then onto the next one,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont.
The Rams dominated both halves Wednesday, possessing the ball for about 90 percent of the game.
“We were unlucky,” Valimont said. “We were shooting wide, heading balls over the net, and their goalie made a sensational save on a free kick.”
Finally, in the 55th minute, Cayce Giblin passed the ball to Brian Zuluaga, who booted it into the net. It was Zuluaga’s first goal of the season.
“Brian’s done a great job and worked really hard,” said Valimont. “Tonight he finally got an opportunity.”
Pennridge keeper Brody Giblin made three saves.
Pennridge (9-7, 7-7 SOL) plays Cheltenham Friday and Upper Moreland Saturday in its regular season finale.
“We need every win,” said Valimont. “Those are two good teams with nothing to lose and we got to bring it.”
Quakertown finishes the season 2-16 overall and 0-14 in league play.
Pennridge 0-1 1
Quakertown 0-0 0
American Conference
Upper Dublin 5, Springfield 0
Upper Dublin won its sixth straight game and clinched sole possession of the SOL American title after trailing Wissahickon for most of the season.
“I’m very pleased and proud of the team,” UD coach Derek Priest said.
Anthony Wisdo, Jerry Bardol, Josh Saitsky, and Jake Chinn scored for the Cardinals.
Upper Dublin (12-4, 12-2 SOL) ends its season Friday at Lower Merion. The Cardinals sit 11th in the power rankings. Springfield (2-14, 1-13 SOL) plays its season finale on the same day, against Christopher Dock.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5, Norristown 0
PW finished the regular season strong, winning its last three games by a combined score of 14-1.
The Colonials finished 12-3-2 overall and 9-3-2 in the league. They are 15th in the district power rankings.
Austin Betterly scored twice and Mark Melvin, Noah Goldstein, and Tyler Goldman all scored once. The game was over by halftime as PW led 4-0.
Norristown closed the season 5-13 and 3-11.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4-1 5
Norristown 0-0 0
Wissahickon 3, Cheltenham 1
Tom McHale put the Trojans on the scoreboard with a goal in the 17th minute, and the Trojans went on top 2-0 after a goal from Darien Williams in the 24th minute. The Panthers made it a 2-1 game when Brendan Chaplin scored in the 36th minute.
That 2-1 score stood until Wissahickon’s Aidan Conway scored in the last five minutes from 40 yards away for the 3-1 final.
Keeper Justin Grady recorded a pair of saves for the Panthers.
The Trojans bounced back after falling to Upper Dublin Monday, wrapping up second-place in the American. Wissahickon (11-5, 11-3 SOL) is 25th in the district power rankings and went 1-1 this week after the rankings came out. Stay tuned.
The Panthers (7-8-1, 6-7-1) wrap up their season Friday versus Pennridge.
Wissahickon 2-1 3
Cheltenham 1-0 1
Norristown 2, Upper Perkiomen 0 (Tuesday, Oct. 20)
Tuesday’s non-league game appeared destined for overtime as neither team managed to find the net for almost 75 minutes, but with five minutes remaining, junior Marlon Melgares-Romero beat a defender 25 yards from goal and ripped a laser past the goalie to put the Eagles on the board. In the final minute of play, Brendan Kelly broke free and scored to put the game away.
Norristown 0-2 2
Upper Perkiomen 0-0 0
Upper Merion 6, Springfield Township 1 (Tuesday, Oct. 20)
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