Check out the Kwik Goal recaps of SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Thursday. Abington/Quakertown photos courtesy of John Gleeson, and North Penn/CB East photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of both games.
SOL Liberty Division
Wissahickon 4, Hatboro-Horsham 2
A fast start and an excellent first half was just what red hot Wissahickon needed as it rolled past Hatboro-Horsham in a return to SOL Liberty action on Thursday afternoon.
The Trojans haven’t lost since Sept. 2, and are 10-0-2 in that stretch.
Scoring:
First Half –
Nolan Reilly (W), 5th minute
Evan Paone (HH), 12th minute
Jack Horan (W), 32nd minute
Aidan Siemion (W), 39th minute
Second Half –
Nolan Reilly (W), 65th minute
Finn Marsden (HH), 75th minute
Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm:
“We had an early positive start with a goal from Nolan Reilly. We continued to create some chances before H-H drew level with a good finish. A great finish from Jack Horan shortly after coming on led to us taking the lead, which was followed by a smart finish from Aidan Siemion which gave us a 3-1 lead at the half.
“A good cross from Luke Frankenfield which Nolan Reilly headed home gave us a three-goal lead. A late penalty for H-H made the final score 4-2.”
Next up: Wissahickon (11-2-2, 4-1-2 SOL) is off until its next league game, Tuesday at Upper Dublin. Hatboro-Horsham (6-8-1, 3-4 SOL) plays at Abington in a night game on Tuesday.
Wissahickon 3 1 – 4
Hatboro-Horsham 1 1 – 2
Abington 9, Quakertown 0
It’s been a few games – and nine days – since Abington tasted a victory, and Thursday night the Galloping Ghosts made sure they put away an emphatic 9-0 win over Quakertown.
Eight different players scored for the Ghosts, led by Owen Gesing, who had two goals.
Scoring:
Sam Arruda (A)
Owen Gesing (A) from Sean Westmoreland
Kyle Kretschmann (A)
Brennan Ewer (A) from Jaza Vasquez
Owen Gesing (A)
Jaza Vasquez (A) from Sam Arruda
Kaleb Adams (A)
Augustynowicz (A) from Aidan Murray
Xavier Schulze (A)
Abington coach Issac Pitcow:
“(This) was an emphatic win for us today. It was our first win since Springfield, as we tied CB South and lost to Council Rock North in our last two games. It was good to see the boys get back in the win column.”
–Props: “We had some unbelievable attacking play today from our senior leaders and best players. Midfielders Sean Westmoreland and Owen Gesing were outstanding, and Gesing has been playing some minutes on the wing for us in the past few games and scored two goals today which we were very excited about.
“We also received strong play again from senior Jaza Vasquez, who scored a beautiful goal cutting in on his right foot and finishing from the top of the 18. Jaza also had the assist on a nice goal for Brennan Ewer. We also had some great attacking play from Kyle Kretschman
and Samuel Arruda. Sam had both a goal and assist, and Kyle played great minutes to start the game at center back and was dangerous as always when we moved him up top to striker and he scored his goal.”
–A look ahead: “We now sit on the season with (8-1-4). We have a massive game coming up on Saturday against St. Joe’s Prep, which we are very excited about on the heels of our huge win today against Quakertown. We are also really excited about the possibility of clinching the league next week if we can get some good results against Hatboro and Upper Dublin.
“Wissahickon has been phenomenal this year and they are right on our heels, but with two wins next week it looks like we could clinch the Suburban One Liberty Division for what would be now the eighth year in a row. Our boys are hungry, motivated, and determined, and feel like we are poised to hit our stride at the right time going into district playoffs.”
Next up: Abington (8-1-4, 6-0-1 SOL) – sixth in the latest Distrct 1 4A power rankings – plays Philadelphia Catholic League power St. Joseph’s Prep on Saturday. Quakertown (3-7-2, 0-6-1 SOL) plays at Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday night.
Quakertown 0
Abington 8
SOL Freedom Division
Springfield Twp 5, Cheltenham 0
A late first-half goal by Adam DiBattista broke the dam, as Springfield scored four times in the second half to shut out Cheltenham 5-0 and keep its Freedom Division slate clean with a 7-0 record.
Scoring:
First Half –
Adam DiBattista (S) from Brendan Noonan, 33rd minute
Second Half –
Jonah Hiestand (S) from Tyler DePolo, 43rd minute
Lorenzo Bedard (S) from Adam DiBattista, 58th minute
Porter Brookes (S) from Jack McCleary, 70th minute
Lorenzo Bedard (S) from Levi Shane, 73rd minute
Springfield coach Riley Woron:
“Similar to our first meeting it took a while to find a goal, but once we settled the ball down we were able to move quickly and find good openings. Very happy that the stat sheet was filled by multiple names including some first timers.
“Their keeper made some tremendous saves throughout the game. Made it really difficult to score early in the first half. Also good to see their striker back on the field for our second meeting. He’s lightning fast and tested our back line multiple times.
“Finally finished our double three-game week part of the schedule, so we’re looking forward to some much-needed rest days before getting ready for a tough night game at New Hope on Tuesday.”
Next up: Springfield (10-3, 7-0 SOL) plays at New Hope on Tuesday night. Cheltenham (0-13, 0-7 SOL) hosts Lower Moreland on Tuesday.
Springfield 1 4 – 5
Cheltenham 0 0 – 0
New Hope-Solebury 3, William Tennent 2
Two days after tying a powerhouse Pennsbury, New Hope-Solebury didn’t start Thursday’s division game with William Tennent well and found itself down two goals at halftime. But the Lions came roaring back in the second half and found the next three times to finish off a 3-2 comeback win.
Thomas Marschall scored twice for New Hope.
Scoring:
First Half –
Tennent goal
Tennent goal
Second Half –
Thomas Marschall (NHS), penalty kick
Thomas Marschall (NHS)
Jayson Cajeira (NHS)
New Hope coach Chris Van Pelt:
–The game: “We had a very slow start to the game, definitely some fatigue carrying over from our game against Pennsbury on Tuesday. Tennent came out strong, moved the ball really well and was rightfully up 2-0 at half time.
“We could barely connect a pass in the first half, but after collecting ourselves at halftime, we knew we would just have to fight and find a way back into the game. With about 20 minutes left in the game, we made some subs, every guy coming on was told to play striker even if they were subbing off a defender. We had four or five guys up top and just made the game as weird as possible.
“We won a penalty, which Thomas Marschall finished, and about four minutes later, Thomas had another opportunity at the top of the box and found the corner with a really nice volley finish.
“After the second goal we went back to a more ‘normal’ shape, we won a free kick with about five minutes left, and Jayson Cajeira got his head on the ball and looped it into the back of the net.
“Also a big shout out to Hudson West for making his first Varsity appearance today and making some really big saves in the second half to keep us in the game.
“Very proud of the boys today for finding a way and on the week getting two really good results.”
Next up: New Hope (4-5-1, 3-3 SOL) has another big one on Tuesday night when it hosts first-place Springfield. Tennent (8-5, 4-3 SOL) is back home for a night game with Upper Moreland Tuesday.
Tennent 2 0 – 2
New Hope 0 3 – 3
Lower Moreland 3, Upper Moreland 0
SOL Patriot Division
Bensalem 0, Neshaminy 0
The dogfight continued in the balanced SOL Patriot on Thursday, as Bensalem and Neshaminy played to a scoreless tie.
Bensalem is 5-0-2 since its last loss. CR North is 3-0-4 in its last seven games.
Bensalem coach Kevin Bock:
“Last time we played Neshaminy, it felt like a track meet up and down the field. There were 10 goals scored and we lost 7-3. This game was played at a much more manageable pace and ended in a 0-0 tie. Though both teams had decent runs of good play, neither had any really exceptional opportunities. We are a bit banged up right now, but we continue to battle and get solid results.”
–Props: “Really strong contributions from our back line of Brian Bock, Cole Everett, Danny Kalita, and Ben Reinert, with some solid fill-ins from Dylan Barnhart and Louka Lagoudakis. Joey Francis had another strong outing and finished with his fifth shutout of the season.”
Neshaminy coach Tom Foley:
–The game: “The ties keep piling up. I thought the first half we had a little bit more of the play. They had a couple of nice counters. They had one shot when our goalkeeper, Dylan Cloud, made a really nice save. Other than that, we kept them bottled up.
“The second half was more of the same. We had them bottled up even more. They ran a really nice offside trap and caught us about 12 times offsides today. We could not figure that one out, but overall, I thought defensively, we were really good. We won a lot of air balls. Nothing went for free today.”
–Shorthanded: “We were four guys short today. We managed to plug in some people, and they picked up the slack, which was great.
“We didn’t give them any good looks, especially in the second half, but we just couldn’t make that good pass, that good cross. We got to dangerous areas, but our decision making in that last touch was not where it needed to be today, but overall, we played a really solid game against a high-powered offensive team and shut them down, which was nice to see.”
–All tied up: “A tie at this point is not hurting us the in the power rankings. Bensalem has a good record, so it’s not going to drop. Hopefully, we can get back after it against South, which is going to be another war, and we’ll see what happens from there.”
–Props: “I thought Stephen Buczek did an outstanding job. We put him on Chase Esposito the entire game, and he made him a non-factor in the game. The kid has scored close to 20 goals, if not over 20 goals this year. So, we took him out of the game.
“We had a couple JV players come in and fill a role today. AJ Galloway did a really nice job in the back when he was in today, and Dylan Choi is a freshman midfielder, and he did an outstanding job in the midfield for us today.”
Next up: Bensalem (9-2-3, 3-2-2 SOL) hosts Council Rock North on Tuesday. Neshaminy (5-2-6, 2-2-3 SOL) is at Council Rock South on Tuesday night.
CR South 0 0 – 0
Bensalem 0 0 – 0
Council Rock North 7, Harry S Truman 0
Greyson Warner led a balanced scoring attack, as CR North dominated and pulled away from Harry S. Truman with a five-goal second half on the way to the 7-0 victory.
Six different players scored goals for the Indians, including Warner’s two second-half goals.
“We played patient and continued to play our game,” CR North assistant coach Brian Hoffman said.
Scoring:
First Half –
Andrew Foulke (CRN) from Arnov Chandola, 12th minute
Jason Foulke (CRN) from Shaun Riley, 17th minute
Second Half –
Greyson Warner (CRN) from Shaun Riley, 45th minute
Arnov Chandola (CRN) from Ben Purcaro, 50th minute
Greyson Warner (CRN) from Ben Novik, 55th minute
Anton Mikhov (CRN) from Christian Brozyna, 68th minute
Leland Silva (CRN) from Tej Petel, 76th minute
Next up: CR North (8-1-4, 4-0-3 SOL) is on the road Tuesday at Bensalem. Truman (2-10, 0-7 SOL) plays at Pennsbury Tuesday.
CR North 2 5 – 7
Truman 0 0 – 0
Pennsbury 2, Council Rock South 0
Anjur Curevac and Jackson Hilt scored second-half goals as Pennsbury broke a scoreless tie and maintained its slim lead atop the SOL Patriot standings with the 2-0 win over CR South on Thursday.
Scoring:
Second Half –
Anjur Curevac (P), 45th minute
Jackson Hilt (P), from Levin Diccio, 76th minute
Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart:
“Anjur Curevac scored off a broken corner kick in the 45th minute… Levin Diccio pressured the keeper, who came out of his box to field a through ball to all Jackson Hilt to score in the 76th minute to seal the win.
“James Purdum with another shutout. Great to secure a league win.”
CR South assistant coach Zach Orenstein:
–The game: “We played well enough to win today so walking away with that result is a tough pill to swallow but coach (Alan) Nicholl and I couldn’t have been prouder of the 80-minute product we put out.
“We played a really strong game today. Our physicality, energy, and commitment were top tier. We had some great chances that we were a hair off. Credit to Pennsbury, they are a good team.”
–Props: “It was a great game. Nolan Graham was exceptional for us in the back, winning just about every ball that came his way. It is easy to admire that display of leadership.”
–Looking ahead: “We turn our focus to Tuesday, at our place under the lights for Senior Night. It is a special night, always circled on the calendar, where we can honor these student-athletes and their families for what they’ve done for our program.
“Based on the showing we had today, I feel confident that this team won’t go quietly as we push for a playoff bid. We have the chance to get up off the mat, battle again, and fight for it. This is what we put the time and effort in for, and I am excited to see what these guys are made of.”
Next up: Pennsbury (8-1-3, 5-1-1 SOL) hosts Truman on Tuesday. CR South (5-8-1, 2-4-1 SOL) hosts Neshaminy on Tuesday night.
CR South 0 0 – 0
Pennsbury 0 2 -2
SOL Colonial Division
Central Bucks South 2, Souderton 2
AJ Pisoni scored the tying goal in the final minutes, as Souderton came charging back to earn a 2-2 tie with division-leading CB South on Thursday night.
“We obviously would have rather had the win, but we played really well,” said Indians coach Frank Demas. “I’m really proud of our guys. We combined it when we could, we played through the midfield where we could. I think we had the lion’s share of possession. Overall, we played a really good game.”
Scoring:
First Half –
Cole Manners (S) from Zyad Bouidi
Second Half –
Jackson Tait (CBS) from Tyler Jaskelewicz
CB South own goal
AJ Pisoni (S)
Souderton coach Frank Demas:
–The goals: “We scored in the first half to make it 1-0 on a really good finish from Cole Manners. Zyad (Bouidi) had put a ball in the box. It bounced around for a second, got knocked out to Cole, who took a touch and finished it. It was a really mature finish. He’s really starting to figure out the high school game, and he’s playing really well right now.
“From there, it was a good game. They scored early in the first half on an own goal. They played a ball over the top, one of our defenders tried to make a play, and just bad luck – it kind of looped over our goalie and went in. That made it 1-1.
“From there, it was a pretty even game. They had some threatening moments, we had some threatening moments. With maybe four minutes left, they got one of their players free on the end line. He cut it back and then another one of their players scored to make it 2-1, which was tough because our guys are playing really hard, working really hard.
“They gave up that goal late, and they could have easily put their heads down and said, ‘What a bummer, we lost,’ but that didn’t happen. We bounced right back, we got the ball, we got ready to go and then – a minute later – Owen Alderfer flicked on a header, and AJ Pisoni scored the tying goal with a minute-and-a-half left in the game.”
–Props: “That showed incredible spirit from our guys. They worked really hard all year, whether results have gone their way or not. They just keep working and they keep grinding, and the desire and the character they showed tonight was very high.”
CB South coach Ed Brnardic:
“It was a tough, energetic environment that had a bit of a playoff feel even though it was just another division game on our schedule. We went down 1-0 in the first half, and we knew finding a way back into the game wouldn’t be easy since goalkeeper Trevor Alderfer was having a great night. I’ve watched Trevor play for three years now, and not only is he an excellent goalkeeper, but he’s a good character guy as well. He made some tremendous saves tonight and kept us off the scoresheet for a long time.
“Halftime was great because we got to reset, and I thought we came out with a different level of pressure in the second half. Jackson Tait did a lot of work on a long ball, which eventually ended up going off their defender for an own goal to tie the game up. Then, with three minutes remaining, we finally got the goal that we had been working hard for. TJ found Jackson, and Jackson buried the ball into the far upper corner.
“Normally we know what ‘3 minutes’ means, and that’s a game we close out. But sometimes you are just unlucky. In a scramble we ended up kicking the ball into our goal. Perfectly in the bottom corner. Honestly, it was a beautiful finish; too bad it was in the wrong goal. I don’t fault any of our players for it. That is just the nature of the sport sometimes, so we’ll take this as a learning experience.
“A lot of our players want to be coaches someday, and I think it’s important for them to experience all sides of the game, the great moments and the unlucky ones. Those experiences help you keep the game in perspective.
“A tie tonight is still a positive result for us. More importantly, I am very proud of the perseverance we showed. To go down in that environment, fight our way back, and eventually take the lead showed a lot of guts and faith from our group.”
–Props: “In a chaotic environment, sometimes the best thing you can do is take a step back and observe, instead of getting caught up in the middle of everything and losing your perspective. Doing that tonight – one thing stood out was that Leo Propato was the coolest, most composed player there.
“Coach Anthony, coach Pat, and I looked at each other and had the same thought: this guy should be a captain.
“What made it even more meaningful was that our players saw the same thing. After the bus ride home, several underclassmen approached us and said, “Coach, can you make Leo a captain? He deserves it.”
“So tonight, we gave Leo that honor. It was a unanimous decision by the coaching staff, supported by our current captains and, most importantly, his teammates. He earned it.”
Next up: Souderton (7-4-2, 3-2-2 SOL) plays at Pennridge in a rivalry game on Tuesday afternoon. CB South (6-2-6, 5-1-1 SOL) has a non-league game at home Monday night against Holy Ghost Prep.
CB South 2 0 – 2
Souderton 1 1- 2
North Penn 4, Central Bucks East 2
It wasn’t easy, but North Penn battled back from a first-half deficit to knock off CB East on Senior Night for the 4-2 SOL Colonial victory on Thursday.
The Knights, according to coach Maurice Haye, showcased “the heart, determination and leadership of a strong, 15-player senior class.”
The win avenged a 2-1 loss to East from Sept. 8.
Scoring:
First Half –
Matt Bakic (NP)
CB East goal
CB East goal
Second Half –
Logan Bocklet (NP)
Logan Smith (NP)
Johnny Morales (NP)
North Penn coach Maurice Haye:
“The win was a testament to the resilience, teamwork and leadership of North Penn’s 15 seniors, who refused to back down when faced with adversity, and helped lead the Knights to a memorable finish.
“A huge thank you to all the fans, and especially the student section for bringing the energy and supporting the boys throughout the night. Your enthusiasm helped fuel the team as they battled back and secured the win.”
Next up: North Penn (5-5-2, 4-3 SOL) continues its trek through the Central Bucks portion of its schedule with a Tuesday night game at CB West. CB East (4-4-5, 3-2-2 SOL) hosts CB South on Tuesday night.
CB East 2 0 – 2
North Penn 1 3 – 4
Central Bucks West 3, Pennridge 1
Second-half goals by Paolo Leiva and Michael Rafalowski were the difference in this one, CB West bounced back from an early deficit and a tie score at halftime to post the road win at Pennridge on Thursday night.
It was the third straight win in six days for the Bucks.
Scoring:
First Half –
Pennridge goal
Beck Walton (CBW)
Second Half –
Paolo Leiva (CBW)
Michael Rafalowski (CBW)
CB West coach John Adair:
“It wasn’t our best start, but after falling behind, I was happy with how the boys responded positively. At halftime, we were able to regroup and probably put together our most dominant half of the season with and without the ball.
“Erik Chelminski played the best we’ve seen of him so far and it’s unsurprising as he’s been growing in confidence game by game.
“Paolo Leiva, Michael Rafalowski, and Beck Walton being on the scoresheet is great news to have all of those guys combining at the most important part of the season. Paolo deserves a special mention tonight with a goal and two assists. When he’s playing positively, he can really hurt the opposition in a number of different ways.”
Next up: CB West (4-6-3, 2-3-2 SOL) has another road game Tuesday, at home against North Penn. Pennridge (0-9-2, 0-6-1 SOL) hosts Souderton on Tuesday.
CB West 1 2 – 3
Pennridge 1 0 – 1
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