Check out the results for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. To view photos of the North Penn/CB East game, please check the Photo Gallery.
By Jarrad Saffren
Two marquee matchups headlined Tuesday’s Suburban One League boys’ soccer slate. First-place teams battled second-place squads in both the SOL National and Continental conferences. One first-place team defended its throne, the other did not. The other 10 games were no slouch either, as upsets threw the standings into chaos. The results and recaps are below.
National Conference
Pennsbury 5, Council Rock North 0
The Falcons accomplished a lot with this win. They ended a two-game losing streak, leapfrogged the Indians back into first-place, and made a strong case to move up from 21st in the District One Class AAA Power Rankings.
“Those power rankings are a nice and even necessary snapshot right now,” said Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart. “But they don’t mean a whole lot yet. Like we (the SOL National) have five teams in there. But that won’t last because we all have to play each other and beat up on each other.”
That may be true, but Pennsbury will do most of the beating, if Tuesday is any indication. The Falcons scored five goals after netting zero in their first meeting with North.
In the 10th minute, John Griffin buried a Colin Marks pass into an open net. The next two Pennsbury goals were just as easy. Twelve minutes later, Zach LoBasso cut past four North defenders and zipped the ball through the box to Kevin Nagle, who blasted it home. Fifteen minutes after that, Griffin dribbled past two defenders and hit Brad Edwards on a streak to the net. Edwards kicked it into a wide open net as North keeper Anthony Caruso could not recover in time.
“I didn’t even see Brad,” Griffin said. “I just crossed it and hoped that someone would be there.”
Caruso was frustrated after the third goal.
“We’ve got to start to possess,” he hollered. “Nothing works if we just kick it. We have to realize that.”
North didn’t realize it.
The Indians pressed up in the second half but continued to settle for shots from 20-30 yards away. Pennsbury keeper Anthony Rosso stopped six shots, and most were lazy fly balls.
Pennsbury scored two more goals late in the second half. In the 71st minute, Nagle assisted LoBasso on a two-on-one. Six minutes later, Connor Thomas netted his first goal of the season for a 5-0 lead that stood the rest of the way.
Pennsbury (6-3-1, 6-2-1 SOL) goes to Bensalem Thursday for a 3:30 p.m. start. North (7-2-2, 5-2-2 SOL) welcomes Harry S. Truman on the same day and time.
Pennsbury 3-2 5
Council Rock North 0-0 0
Council Rock South 4, Bensalem 2
Bensalem dropped its second straight game, falling to the Golden Hawks after coming up short in a 2-1 decision to Neshaminy last Thursday.
South broke the game open after halftime, scoring three times to put Bensalem away. Four Golden Hawks—Mike Dawicki, Dylan Schwartz, Conor Sweeney, and Pat Wilczynski—netted goals. Brent Weinstein had two assists.
Nate Zadjowicz and Nolan Gaudet combined for the win in goal.
Council Rock South (4-7, 3-5 SOL) travels to Abington Thursday for a 7 p.m. start. Bensalem (6-4, 5-4 SOL) hosts first-place Pennsbury at 3:30 p.m.
Council Rock South 1-3 4
Bensalem 0-2 2
William Tennent 2, Harry S. Truman 0
Tennent got back on track after a frustrating loss to CR North last Thursday. The Panthers moved into a tie with Bensalem for third-place in the SOL National.
Tennent broke a 0-0 tie with two second half goals. Lorenzo Amaro (JR McCabe assist) scored in the 48th minute to put the Panthers on the scoreboard, and 16 minutes later, Amaro found the net with his second goal of the night, this one with an assist from Mike Masella.
“They smothered us in the first half. Truman plays a good defensive system,” said Tennent coach Ryan Todt. “It’s tough to penetrate the box on them. So we played balls higher instead of through balls and dribbling. We needed one-time shots on better angles.”
Tennent keepers Joe Lees and Brendan Hanratty combined for four saves in the shutout win. Fernando Mendez had 12 saves for the Tigers.
The Panthers (8-5, 5-4 SOL) bus to Neshaminy Thursday for a bout with the Redskins. Truman (0-9, 0-8 SOL) goes for its first win against CR North.
William Tennent 0-2 2
Harry S. Truman 0-0 0
Abington 3, Neshaminy 2 (2 OT)
Five days after upsetting Bensalem, the Redskins suffered a tough loss to the Galloping Ghosts.
The Redskins and Ghosts traded goals until the sudden death rule ended that.
In the 18th minute, Abington started the scoring by bending a free kick around a wall of Neshaminy defenders. Teddy Krimnel answered for Neshaminy later in the half.
Abington took a 2-1 lead in the 65th minute on a long break down the right sideline. Neshaminy answered again when, with seven minutes left, Dan Grindrod floated the ball into the box and Dylan McDonald headed it into the net.
But, in the second overtime, Abington scored the winning goal on a free kick that was lofted high over the keeper’s head.
Abington (7-3, 6-3 SOL) hosts Council Rock South Thursday afternoon. Neshaminy (3-7-1, 3-5-1 SOL) plays William Tennent.
Abington 1-1-0-1 3
Neshaminy 1-1-0-0 2
Continental Conference
Central Bucks East 1, North Penn 0
One key player returned for the Patriots, another was lost to injury.
Austin Prime was back in goal after missing the last five games with a stress fracture in his eye socket. But, center midfielder JR Eisold missed the game after suffering an injury in gym class earlier in the day.
“We finally got Austin back on the field, and we got to school, and JR has a broken nose,” said CB East coach Mike Gorni. “A little bit disappointed in that to say the least.”
Gorni said he is not sure when Eisold will return.
“The simple truth of the matter is we’re in a holding pattern until we get more medical information,” he said.
As usual though, the Patriots compartmentalized their distractions and pulled out a win.
Without Eisold, Gorni moved Andrew Zach from outside back to center mid. Andrew Walters came off the bench to take Zach’s usual spot at outside left back.
Gorni credited his defense and keeper for holding North Penn down.
“We got excellent games from Will Eisold, who stayed at center back, Ian Lutz on the right, and Andrew Walters stepped in and did a very good job at the outside left back, and Stephen Sheehan played another really strong game,” the Patriots’ coach said. “North Penn was excellent.
“Neither team had a ton of opportunities. Both goalkeepers came up big. Jordan (Katz) made two really good saves for North Penn, and Austin made two excellent saves for East.
In the 60th minute, the Patriots were awarded a penalty kick when Evan Vare was taken down in the box. Vare blazed a penalty kick past the keeper to put East up for good.
North Penn now has two one-goal losses to its archrival, and Gorni is not taking the Knights for granted.
“I love (North Penn) Coach (Paul) Duddy and they are a great team,” he said. “Somehow we keep figuring out how to stay the course and win.”
Gorni was proud of his guys for adapting quickly without a key player.
“Right now we’re not getting a lot of preparation time,” he said. “Five games without our starting goalkeeper, and now, with absolutely no notice or practice time, we dealt with JR not being there. Basically, it’s really not one person making the replacement. We have to do it by committee.”
CB East (12-0, 9-0 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham Thursday afternoon. North Penn (7-2-2, 5-2-2 SOL) plays Quakertown at 7 p.m.
Central Bucks East 0-1 1
North Penn 0-0 0
Pennridge 4, Central Bucks West 2
Pennridge upset CB West, handing the Bucks their fourth loss in five games.
Freshman Matt Stevenson stole the show for the Rams, scoring twice and assisting on another goal. The Rams jumped out to a 2-0 first half lead on goals by Stevenson and Cam Sheva. Joel Acaster and Brandon Morris answered for West, and the score was knotted at two at halftime.
Early in the second stanza, Stevenson rocketed the ball into the upper left corner of the net. West keeper Dylan Smith never had a chance.
“That was like one of those goals you see on Saturdays in those Premier League games,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont. “It was a heck of a shot for a ninth grader.”
Pennridge added one more later in the half to seal the deal.
The Rams (4-6, 3-6 SOL) battle red hot CB South Thursday afternoon. CB West (9-4, 5-4 SOL) clashes with Souderton at 7 p.m.
Pennridge 2-2 4
Central Bucks West 2-0 2
Central Bucks South 5, Hatboro-Horsham 1
CB South improved to 5-0-1 in its last six games and climbed past North Penn into second-place behind CB East.
The Titans’ offense exploded for two goals in the first 12 minutes and three in the last 12. Jason Reimert and Connor Bethel netted the first two, Colin Green scored the third, and Giani Goss booted the last two.
Horsham’s Joe LaRoche cut the 2-0 lead in half in the 38th minute, but the Hatters could not tie the game during the 30 minutes between South’s second and third goal.
CB South (8-2-1, 6-2-1 SOL) plays Pennridge Thursday. Hatboro-Horsham (6-6, 4-5 SOL) battles undefeated CB East.
Central Bucks South 2-3 5
Hatboro-Horsham 1-0 1
Souderton 5, Quakertown 1
Souderton exploded for five goals to win for the third time this season while Quakertown – coming off back-to-back non-league wins – is still searching for its first win against SOL Continental opponents.
Souderton scored three goals in the first half and two in the second. Three were assisted. Nick Marculo struck first in the 15th minute, unassisted. John O’Keefe followed 11 minutes later, on a pass from Marculo. A couple of Davids, David Hafler and David Benitez, netted the next two. And Ethan Bell capped the scoring with three minutes to go in the game.
Souderton (3-9-1, 3-6-1 SOL) plays struggling CB West Thursday. Quakertown (2-12, 0-10 SOL) buses to North Penn for a 7 p.m. start.
American Conference
Norristown 3, Springfield 2
Norristown overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit to earn its third win of 2015 and second in league play.
“(We) turned the game upside down in the second half,” coach Jared Elias said.
The Spartans received first half goals from Trevor McCaffrey (Ethan Steinberg assist) and Jake Welsh to go on top 2-0.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Ethan Sylvester served a ball from the corner and Carlos Chavez headed it into the net to make it a 2-1 game. With eight minutes left in the game, Johan Navarrete fed a through ball to Brendan Kelly, who booted it past the keeper to not the score 2-2.
Then, with three minutes left, Chavez stole the ball from a defender, dribbled past another, and slid the ball by the keeper, propelling the Eagles to the dramatic 3-2 win.
“It was a great team effort and a much overdue victory,” said Elias.
Norristown (3-9, 2-8 SOL) goes for its first winning streak of the season Thursday against Upper Merion. Springfield (2-10, 1-9 SOL) plays Cheltenham.
Norristown 0-3 3
Springfield 2-0 2
Upper Dublin 4, Cheltenham 0
Upper Dublin kept pace with Wissahickon while Cheltenham continued to struggle.
The second-place Cardinals remain three points behind the first-place Trojans since both won Tuesday. The Panthers, meanwhile, dropped their fourth game in a row. The Panthers have scored just one goal in the last four games.
Upper Dublin did not score either on Tuesday, until the second half at least. Jake Rosen broke the ice in the 47th minute and Jerry Bardol followed in the 52nd. Kevin Hoxha made it 3-0 11 minutes later and Jose Palomeque capped the scoring with one minute left.
Upper Dublin coach Derek Priest praised Bardol after the game.
“Special mention should go to Jerry Bardol, who came on as a halftime sub and gave the UD offense a shot in the arm, setting up the first goal and scoring the second,” the Cards’ coach said.
The Cardinals (7-3, 7-2 SOL) will try to keep it going Thursday against Upper Moreland. Cheltenham (4-5-1, 4-4-1 SOL) will try to get its offense going versus Springfield.
Upper Dublin 0-4 4
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Wissahickon 3, Upper Moreland 2 (OT)
There were nine minutes left in the game. First-place Wissahickon trailed sixth-place Upper Moreland 2-0. The Trojans were about to lose a game they dominated.
But then, the Trojans began finishing their chances.
In the 72nd minute, Alex Escude cut the deficit in half with a goal. Five minutes later, Blake Geisler scored the equalizer to send the game to overtime. Sixteen minutes into overtime, Aidan Conway thwarted the upset bid and salvaged a win.
Randy Meehl scored both Upper Moreland goals – putting the Golden Bears on the scoreboard with a goal in the fourth minute and adding a second in the 35th minute to give the Bears a 2-0 lead.
Wissahickon squeaked by in a game where they outshot Upper Moreland 16-5. The Trojans also held onto first-place over Upper Dublin by three points, or one win.
Wissahickon (8-2, 8-1 SOL) goes to Plymouth Whitemarsh Thursday for a 3:30 p.m. start. Upper Moreland (3-7-1, 2-6-1 SOL) battles Upper Dublin at 7.
Wissahickon 0-2-1 3
Upper Moreland 2-0-0 2
Upper Merion 1, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 (OT)
Upper Merion won for the fourth time in five games and continued its charge toward the top of the SOL American standings.
Alan Castillo netted the game winner in overtime on an assist from Trevor Looby to give the Vikings their first win over the Colonials since Sept. 5, 2008, when they defeated PW by an identical 1-0 score.
The Vikings and Colonials came into this game tied for third with 17 points. Upper Merion took sole possession with the win and has now jumped over Cheltenham and PW in the last week.
Upper Merion (6-3-2, 5-2-2 SOL) will travel to Norristown on Thursday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-2-2, 5-2-2) will host Wissahickon.
Upper Merion 0-0-1 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0-0 1
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