Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Friday.
Non-league
ABINGTON 3, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2
“Turnabout is fair play.”
It’s an old proverb that certainly rang true in Abington’s non-league opener at Central Bucks East.
“It was the same game it was a year ago, but with us winning today where last year East did the same thing to us,” Abington coach Randy Garber said. “We were up 2-0 a year ago and cruising. They scored a goal and caught fire.”
In last year’s contest, the Patriots rallied to knot the game in regulation and won it in double overtime.
“They beat us 3-2 at our place when we had no business losing when we’re up two goals,” Garber said. “We’re up 2-0, and the kids are thinking – no way, they’ll score three goals.”
In Friday’s non-league opener, it was the Ghosts staring at 2-0 deficit after East’s Michael Montabana capitalized on a Ghost miscue with 23:50 remaining in the game, and they came roaring back with three unanswered goals to win it in regulation when Braden Delgado scored his second goal of the game with three minutes remaining.
“They have strong, aggressive players that are well coached,” Garber said. “They were disappointed like we were disappointed a year ago. I know Josh (Isaacsohn) very well, and I know they were very disappointed because they were up 2-0 and thought the game was over. They didn’t play the 80 minutes – that’s high school soccer.
“This is a good start, but that team is going to do well. He (Isaacsohn) shouldn’t have any worries.”
The Patriots lost close to 20 seniors from last year’s squad to graduation, so there were plenty of new faces in the lineup.
“After a very hard-fought game with a lot of solid soccer for playing their first match together, the newly formed Patriots showed many positives and learned some tough lessons today,” East coach Josh Isaacsohn said. “Credit to the Abington coaching staff as their boys stuck it through and played for 80 minutes. Coach Randy, Coach Matt and Coach Isaac always do a really good job of making sure their team is hard-nosed and organized.”
The two teams were deadlocked 0-0 at halftime, but the second half was another story entirely. Andrew Walloff scored with a Daniel Frye assist with 25:56 remaining in the game to put East on the board. Two minutes later, Montabana scored, giving the Patriots a 2-0 lead.
“They scored both their goals on restarts, throwing the ball into the mix and us no clearing the ball and winning the ball,” Garber said. “Their kids got a foot on the ball, and both of their goals were scored inside the six-yard line.
“It should have never gotten to that. We were our own worst enemy by keeping on fouling them, and they kept moving people forward on restarts to create chances. I said, ‘Guys, you’re punishing yourselves. Don’t foul where they can bring people forward,’ and that’s where we got ourselves in trouble.”
Brian O’Neill put the Ghosts on the board with a goal assisted by Peter Cleary, and suddenly it was a 2-1 game.
“O’Neill somehow got behind their defense on a nice through ball by Peter Cleary,” Garber said. “It was just him and the goalkeeper, and he just slotted it in the corner to make it 2-1, and you said, ‘Okay, there’s enough time.’
“We started pressing again, and it was a pass from Braeden Brownholtz to Delgado, and he hit the ball from at least 17-18 yards out on the floor, and the goalkeeper never moved. He just hit it with some pace to go in the back of the net and make it 2-2 with about 10 minutes to go. We’re like, ‘Okay, this is good.’”
With three minutes remaining in regulation, Delgado scored the game-winner.
“We got a restart 18 yards out – it was outside the box, so it was 19 yards away,” Garber said. “They set up a wall, and Delgado just hit the ball, sliced it in the far corner along the floor into the side panel.”
The Ghosts held on for the win that was anything but easy.
Garber acknowledged the strong efforts of several players.
“Jose Rosario Martinez and Daniel Olivera, our two center backs, and Oscar Hoffmann, our left back, were the three outstanding defensive players, there’s no question about it,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Brownholtz is one of our captains and was our central midfielder and Brandon Murataj – he was a central player that did extremely well with Peter Cleary. Delgado scored two goals, O’Neill scored a goal, and the third forward that contributed a lot was Brady Hartman. Justin Waterfall was our goalkeeper and did a nice job.”
On the other side of the field, Isaacsohn put the loss in perspective.
“Both teams saw chances and had small bouts of possession in the first half,” the East coach said. “Unfortunately, during the last 18 minutes, some bad bounces, not quick enough decisions and poor body positioning put us in some compromising situations that Abington took advantage of. Although the score was extremely disappointing, this team seems to have character to take all of the information gathered today and apply it favorably to the rest of our season.”
Abington (1-0, 0-0 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh in Tuesday’s SOL opener, and Central Bucks East (0-1, 0-0) will be on the road at Central Bucks West for Tuesday’s SOL opener at 7 p.m.
Abington 0-3 3
Central Bucks East 0-2 2
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 3, HOLY GHOST PREP 2 (OT)
Harry Bates was opportunistic.
With the final seconds ticking off the clock in the first OT and the score still deadlocked, a second overtime seemed inevitable, but Bates (Justin Whang assist) scored in wild sequence in the box, propelling the Spartans to the dramatic come-from-behind win.
“It was a scrum – Justin got in there and mixed it up, poked the ball in, and Harry followed it up and popped it in the net,” Spartans’ coach Dan Meder said.
It was Bates’ second goal of the game, and for Whang, it was his second assist off the bench, and as season openers go, it was a very good one for a Spartan squad with some new faces in its lineup.
“It made for some exciting TV – I definitely have less hair than I did to start the game,” said Meder, whose team twice rallied from a goal down to knot the score. “It was a good win. Kudos to Holy Ghost. They looked great – they have a young team. They started a lot of young players, and they looked really good.”
The Firebirds struck first on a goal by Sean Fleming, and they took that 1-0 lead into halftime. Bates, using an Adam DiBattista assist, scored the equalizer. The Firebirds had an answer. This time it was Dylan Logan-Stewart scoring the go-ahead goal. With 20 minutes remaining in regulation, Riley Martin scored with an assist from Whang to even the score.
“We had a lot of chances early – in the first half, I would say we had three or four solid chances and were hitting them over the crossbar, hitting them wide, hitting them to the goalie,” Meder said. “Their goalie played great, but I thought we had the better chances in the first half even though we walked out at the half down 1-0. Luckily, we came back and tied it up, and then we gave up a bad goal and went down again and had to find a way to fight back through it.”
That 2-2 score stood until Bates’ game-winner in the first OT.
“We played 18 guys, and they all played really well,” Meder said. We’re still piecing it together. Coach Ken (Lawson) from Holy Ghost and I were talking about it.
“It’s the earliest we’ve ever had a game. I’ve never felt so unprepared for a game, and this was a big game. We only had one scrimmage. There wasn’t a lot of time to experiment with players and see who could do what. You’re trying to replace your seniors who graduated, and it’s not easy to do, but everyone is in the same boat.”
The Spartans’ coach credited the strong play of several players whose names don’t show up in the scoring column.
“Chas Rubincam, our center back, is consistently great,” Meder said. “He plays great every game. He’s just so hard to beat back there.
“Our defense in general – even though we gave up two goals – played well. Nick Hanushchak played great, Jack McKittrick ended up playing great, and Nick Marino is like our Energizer bunny. He just never stops. It was so hot and humid, and I was trying to rest guys, get guys out for five minutes. He’s just a guy – as long as he’s still running, I’m not taking him out.”
Springfield Township (1-0, 0-0 SOL) will host William Tennent in Tuesday’s SOL opener.
Holy Ghost Prep 1-1-0 2
Springfield Twp 0-2-1 3
UPPER MORELAND 6, HARRY S TRUMAN 2
Junior forward Jackson Stuetz scored four goals in a standout offensive effort to lead the Golden Bears to the convincing win in Friday’s non-league opener. UM opened up a 5-0 halftime lead and never looked back.
“We’re so young this year,” said UM coach Justin Allegra, who has just two returning varsity players.
Gabe Hendrickson and Jackson Townsend each tallied a goal for the Golden Bears as well.
Allegra credited the strong play of several Golden Bears.
“Captains Anthony Carson in goal and Jackson Costello in the midfield played well,” the UM coach said. “Gabe Hendrickson also had a good game.”
Upper Moreland (1-0, 0-0 SOL) will host Lower Moreland in Tuesday’s SOL opener, and Harry S Truman will be on the road at Council Rock North on Tuesday.
Harry S Truman 0-2 2
Upper Moreland 5-1 6
UPPER DUBLIN 4, METHACTON 0
The Cardinals opened up a 2-0 halftime lead on their way to the shutout win in Friday’s non-league opener. Four different players scored for UD while senior Gabe Copley and sophomore Anthony Ginaldi combined for the shutout in goal.
“We dominated in possession, but Methacton definitely had a lot of opportunities as well,” UD coach Noah Johnson said. “We still have a lot to work on.”
Senior Kyle Spirt put the Cardinals on the scoreboard with a goal that turned out to be the game-winner, and a goal by senior Owen Smith sent UD into halftime with a 2-0 lead. Early in the second half, senior Dominick Plaku found the back of the net, and closing out the scoring was sophomore Chase Rappaport with a goal.
Johnson acknowledged the strong play of senior left winger Yuvraj Lidder and sophomore center mid Maxwell Obando.
“Overall, we played very well,” Johnson said. “The sophomore group played very well today.”
Upper Dublin (1-0, 0-0 SOL) will host Quakertown in Tuesday’s SOL opener.
Methacton 0-0 0
Upper Dublin 2-2 4
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, ARCHBISHOP WOOD 0
The Golden Hawks opened the season on a strong note, jumping out to a 2-0 halftime lead and going on to earn the road win in Friday’s non-league opener.
Sean Davis scored a goal that turned out to be the game-winner, using a Farid Ganiyev assist, and the Hawks’ lead grew to 2-0 heading into halftime when Reid Vandemark converted a penalty kick.
Ganiyev set up his second goal of the game, assisting on a goal by Frankie Rafferty that gave the Golden Hawks their final margin of victory.
Rock South goalkeeper Evan Zawodniak earned the clean sheet.
Coach Alan Nicholl praised the efforts of several players in the win.
“Defender George O’Brien didn’t put a foot wrong all day,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “Mike Burns and Garrett Cohen were tireless in the midfield, and Farid (Ganiyev) looked very comfortable, especially logging two assists.
“We were industrious throughout, and that made the difference against a tough Wood team on a hot day.”
Council Rock South (1-0, 0-0 SOL) will travel to Bensalem for Tuesday’s SOL opener.
Council Rock South 2-1 3
Archbishop Wood 0-0 0
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 1, NORTH PENN 0
The Crusaders scored a first-half goal, and that 1-0 score stood the rest of the way in Friday’s non-league opener.
“Full credit to (coach) Casey (Farrell) and LC,” NP coach Chris DePeppe said. “They really kept us off balance in the first half, and we had to make some last-minute changes on our back line, and it showed early, but we still should not have allowed a goal, but we have to play with much more determination and more composure, especially at home.
“It’s a disappointing start but, hopefully, a lesson learned.”
North Penn (0-1, 0-0 SOL) will host Pennridge in Tuesday’s SOL opener at 7 p.m.
Lansdale Catholic 1-0 1
North Penn 0-0 0
NORTHWESTERN LEHIGH 2-0
The Falcons opened the season on the road and fell to the defending PIAA 2A state champions. They lost by an identical score to the Tigers in last year’s season opener.
Pennsbury (0-1, 0-0 SOL) returns to action on Tuesday when the Redskins will host Pennsbury in the league opener for both squads.
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