Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Monday.
Patriot/Colonial crossovers
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 3, ABINGTON 0
The Spartans have made quite an impression in crossover play, winning four of six games. Two of those – a 2-0 win over Upper Dublin and Monday’s win over the Ghosts – came over a pair of teams that share the top spot in the SOL Liberty Division standings.
Listening to veteran coach Randy Garber tell it, those wins weren’t a fluke.
“We got beat by a good team,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I told their coach – ‘You were the better team today, you deserved it.’ We had a lot of chances – we won a lot of balls, had a lot of possession, but we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. It just wouldn’t go in.
“I told my guys – we didn’t lose that game, we got beat today. It just wasn’t our day. Were they three goals better than us? No, but you know what – you had to push forward. Whether you lose 1-0 or 3-0, what’s the difference? That’s what we tried to do. They did a nice job and got the two goals they needed to finish.”
Riley Martin had a hand in all three goals in a stellar showing, scoring twice and assisting on the third, but he was hardly a one-man show. Goalkeeper Julian Casabon was brilliant in the shutout, and Bryan Garbarini came off the bench to score a goal.
“I can’t emphasize enough how much of a team win this was,” Springfield Township coach Dan Meder said. “Every guy played well. We brought in guys off the bench, and they played well.
“Obviously, Abington is a very good team. We got up, Julian Casabon kept us in it, made a couple of big saves, and when we were up two goals, they were really pressing, and Julian made three or four saves right in a row. He’d save it, they’d get a rebound. He’d save that, they’d get a rebound, and he saved that. He was outstanding when we needed him. It was an incredible team win.”
Martin (Hubley assist) put the Spartans on the scoreboard 12 minutes into the game, capitalizing on a corner kick.
“It was a great service, a great goal,” Garber said. “Every one of their goals was better than the next. They scored their second and third goals the last 10 minutes. We pushed forward and tried to get the equalizer. They countered and they capitalized on the counter. The balls that they shot went in the back of the net.”
The Spartans’ 1-0 lead stood until eight minutes remained in regulation and Garbarini – who came in off the bench – found the back of the net, using a Martin assist. Five minutes later, Martin connected on his second goal, also with a Hubley assist.
“It was a nail biter,” Meder said. “They were pressing, they played well. We weren’t just sitting there defending. We were playing.”
When it was over, there was plenty of credit to go around.
“They were all great,” Meder said. “Chase Rubincam was great, Jack Sharpe was great, and Dan Fitzpatrick. Ben Hubley had two assists.”
The list of players who came up big didn’t end there but included Jack McKittrick, Nick Marino and Vincent Kerper.
“Peter Schmidt is a guy that’s never happy when he plays because he wants to score three goals, but he played outstanding for us,” Meder said of his midfielder. “He didn’t have to score the goals.
“We have a young striker that played really well, Harry Bates. It really was a great team win. Everybody had to do their job.”
With the win, the Spartans hold a six-point lead over second place Lower Moreland in the SOL Freedom Division, and they appear to be peaking at the right time.
“The start of the year was an odd start – with the games starting sooner, we had less practice,” Meder said. “Getting guys healthy – some guys came in hurt, and we’re sorting things out, and it’s starting to look like it.”
Garber acknowledged that his team was not in its element playing on the Spartan’s turf.
“Here again is why it’s so important to play at home,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Here’s a team that’s used to playing on turf. They knock the ball, and you could tell they were comfortable with it.
“We didn’t connect a lot of passes. A lot of our passes went out of bounds because of the difference between playing on a grass field all the time and playing on turf, but we had our opportunities.
“Their goalkeeper (Casabon) had an outstanding game. He made some great saves. He’s a big boy – he’s got to be 6-6, and he did a nice job in the back, and their number 10 (Riley Martin), the forward they have – he’s scored a lot of their goals. He had the header on the first goal, and he had the assist on the second goal. They did a nice job.”
Springfield Township (9-3, 8-3 SOL) will host William Tennent on Friday, and Abington (10-2-1, 9-1-1) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday.
Abington 0-0 0
Springfield Twp 1-2 3
Patriot/Colonial crossovers
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, SOUDERTON 1
Things were not exactly going the Golden Hawks’ way early on in Monday’s crossover game at Souderton. In the 55th minute, the Indians broke a scoreless tie with a goal by Drew Kerns that was assisted by Ryan Schewe.
The Golden Hawks – or Tyler Dobson more specifically – responded emphatically with the equalizer almost before the Indians had a chance to celebrate and then scored two unanswered goals to close out the game.
“It was a real ‘team’ win,” Rock South coach Alan Nicholl said. “We went down a goal in the second half, but we showed great belief. Their heads didn’t go down, no blaming, no negativity.
“We actually increased our work rate, and Tyler Dobson scored with a great touch a minute later. Scoring that goal so soon after they went ahead was a statement and full credit to Dobbie for finding the net when we needed it.”
Frankie Rafferty – who had a hand in all three goals – was credited with an assist on Dobson’s equalizer. Seven minutes after knotting the score, the Golden Hawks took a 2-1 lead when Rafferty found the net with an assist from Reid Vandermark.
In the 72nd minute, Vandermark connected on an insurance goal, also with a Rafferty assist.
“We were very lucky today to be 0-0 at the half as Souderton was the better team for long spells through the first 40,” Nicholl said. “We gave up a very sloppy goal at 55 minutes but recovered very well by scoring one minute later.
“We dominated the last 20 to win on a cold and rainy evening. I feel very fortunate with three points today. (Coach) Matt Benner has those boys playing very good football, and we struggled to find our stride. Rafferty and Vandermark were the difference as the game wore on.”
Souderton keeper Chris McKenna recorded six saves.
Council Rock South (7-4-1, 7-3-1 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Friday, and Souderton (5-7) will be on the road at Central Bucks South on Thursday.
Council Rock South 0-3 3
Souderton 0-1 1
Non-league
UPPER DUBLIN 3, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2
Miles Bondi scored a pair of goals, and the Cardinals – who battled the visiting Titans to a 1-1 halftime time – opened up a 3-1 lead on their way to the impressive non-league win.
“Once again, our entire team played very, very well,” UD coach Noah Johnson said. “The boys are starting to show that we can be mature. We definitely learned from our mistakes last year with being arrogant and going into games a little too confident. Now, for us, it’s one day at a time, and everyone we play – they’re a state championship team. That’s how we take everyone. It doesn’t matter who it is.”
It’s an approach that is paying dividends. As a result of Abington’s loss to Springfield Township Monday, the Cardinals – who finished 8-8 in league play last year – find themselves sharing the top spot in the Liberty Division standings. Both teams boast identical 9-1-1 records in league play.
Miles Bondi put the Flying Cardinals on the scoreboard, connecting from 35 yards out on a free kick. South knotted the score 10 minutes later.
“It was just poor decision-making on our part,” Johnson said of South’s goal. “Just being too relaxed and not being locked in at the moment and just made a poor decision. We played the ball backwards, they took it away, and they scored off that.”
The two teams went into halftime deadlocked. Bondi broke the tie 15 minutes into the second half, connecting on a penalty kick, and a goal by Erik Petushi gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.
“Christian Broome played a beautiful in to Erik Petushi’s feet, and Erik passed it past the keeper,” Johnson said.
The Titans pulled to within one, scoring with five minutes left in regulation.
“They were definitely threatening,” Johnson said. “We haven’t faced a team yet that is very similar to the way that we play. Almost the same exact playing style. I can see a part of their culture is the same as ours – when we lose the ball, we have to win it back as fast as we possibly can.
“Their press is very good, so hats off to their coaches for getting their guys in order and doing the right thing. They have this kid, #8 (Nolan Helsel) – he’s a really good player, and he definitely led their team today. He had an awesome game.”
The UD coach also credited the efforts of several of his players.
“Miles Bondi had a great game -besides the goals, overall, he had a very good game,” Johnson said. “He’s definitely becoming one of our go-to boys whenever it comes to set pieces. Christian Broome had a good game. It was nice to see him back on the field – he’d been struggling with an injury for a while, and it’s nice to see him back and playing.
“Mason Pensabene had a very good game. With Mason, you never know what you’re going to get, but I’m glad we got the ‘Masonator’ – as they call it – today.
“I think everyone on our team is starting to get comfortable, and they’re letting go of the ego a little bit. We’re doing what’s best for the team in the moment. A lot of the boys now, they don’t say – ‘Can I have the free kick?’ ‘Can I have the PK?’ It’s more like – ‘We know who the best person to take this is, so we’re going to get him up here to make sure we get a goal out of it.’ Definitely, as a team, we did very, very well today.”
Upper Dublin (11-1-1, 9-1-1 SOL) – which is fifth in the latest District One 4A power rankings – will host Quakertown on Thursday (7 p.m.), and Central Bucks South (9-4, 8-3) will host Souderton on Thursday. The Titans are ranked 11th in the latest district power rankings.
Central Bucks South 1-0 1
Upper Dublin 1-2 3
PENNRIDGE 4, QUAKERTOWN 0
The Rams overcame the elements to win their annual Pink Out game against the visiting Panthers.
“It was just a nice night,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont, tipping his hat to the Rams’ neighboring rival. “(Coach) Billy James graduated with my brother back in the day at Pennridge, and he’s doing a fantastic job. I told him at the end – that’s probably one of the best Quakertown teams we’ve played.
“The score won’t reflect it, but the way that they played, the way they put pressure on us in the conditions – they didn’t quit. Some teams – that could have been an 8, 9 or 10-0 game. They did a really nice job playing under him. He’s going a great job with what he has.
“For us, it was a nice win. Now we refocus, get locked and loaded for North Penn at their place to start round two.”
Pennridge took a lead they would not lose when Jared Hess turned a pass from Luca Angello into a goal 25 minutes into the first half. Two minutes later, Pat Fannon scored with a Quinn Annan assist to send the Rams into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
“Pat (Fannon) made a nice rip across the box, which was a great finish,” Valimont said.
Twelve seconds into the second half, Troy Thanel scored with a Logan LaMaina assist.
“Troy got on the back end of a great ball from Logan LaMaina, who put an absolute laser from basically around the 50 right in front of our bench to the back side of the 18, Troy took a setup touch and hit a great shot,” Valimont said.
With 23 minutes remaining, Jack Bruno scored with a Pat Fannon assist.
“Jack Bruno might have been offsides, probably was offsides, but we’ll take it,” Valimont said. “He got a ball from Pat Fannon, and he was able to finish it, which was nice with a good amount of time left. We were able to get everybody in, we rotated a couple of keepers. We got everyone off with no injuries.”
Pennridge (11-2, 9-2 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Friday, and Quakertown (1-11, 1-9) will be on the road at Upper Dublin Friday.
Quakertown 0-0 0
Pennridge 2-2 4
NESHAMINY 0, ARCHBISHOP WOOD 0 (OT)
The Redskins – according to coach Tom Foley – had plenty of chances but could not find the back of the net in Monday’s non-league contest.
“It was disappointing because I thought we controlled the play,” the Redskins’ coach said. “We out-possessed them, we outshot them probably 18-8. We hit the post twice, we missed a wide-open net. It was one of those things – we can’t finish.”
Due to Neshaminy field conditions, the game was moved to the Ukrainian Club.
“Their coach managed to get the Ukrainian Club, so we didn’t have to postpone since things are starting to get a little tight now,” Foley said. “He was kind enough, and they rented it.
“We’re doing a nice job moving the ball around, the Ukrainian Field is really big, but we did a nice job of using the whole field.
“We’re snakebit in the box. If we should pass it to person A, we pass it to person B, and we just don’t get the shot we should get. It’s just one of those things. Overall, we played well, so I was pleased with that. It was just disappointing to get out of there with a tie. We certainly didn’t deserve anything less than a tie, but it would have been nice to get a win against that group. That’s a pretty nice side, they’re a team with a good record.”
Foley lauded the performances of several players.
“We moved a couple kids around,” the Redskins’ coach said. “We moved Kaleb Raymond from the back up to the top, and he generated a few opportunities. Josh Anderson played well again. He hit the post.
“Our back line of AJ Kollie, Jack Sexton, Wolvo Mokhnatskyi did a nice job. I was overall pleased with how we played. I was just disappointed in getting out of there with a tie when maybe we could have won 2- or 3-0 today.
“We’ll move forward against Pennsbury and see if we can put a little streak together.”
Neshaminy (3-8-1, 2-8 SOL) will be on the road at Pennsbury Friday for a rivalry game that makes the beginning of the second go-round in division play.
Archbishop Wood 0-0-0 0
Neshaminy 0-0-0 0
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