Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action. CR North/Bensalem photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f131331739
SOL Liberty Division
Abington 1, Hatboro-Horsham 0 (2 OT)
This one looked destined to end in a tie, but with 2 minutes, 30 seconds remaining, Abington’s Brady Hartman scored to give the unbeaten Galloping Ghosts the win.
“It’s one of those games,” said Abington coach Randy Garber. “The last 2 minutes and 30 seconds we go and score a goal in the second overtime, and the game’s not fair for them because they played well enough for at least a tie.
“Brady Hartman gets a ball on the corner of the six to his chest. He brings it down and hits one in the far panel on the ground. It just had eyes and hit the back of the net. Their goalkeeper made tremendous saves prior to that. Their defense was tired. We platooned our players in. A lot played, not a whole bunch of Hatboro kids played. We played well, but we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”
The Ghosts had quality play on both ends of the field.
“If anyone watched the game, they’d say, ‘Abington deserved to win because of the way they possessed the ball and the way they were down in their half of the field the entire game,’” Garber said. “If you weren’t there and saw double overtime and it was 1-0, you’d say, wow,’ and honestly, it was one-sided, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to win.
“You can connect a hundred passes together and still lose. There were times we had mistakes whereby they got into our offensive third of the field and could have easily scored a goal, but they missed and our goalkeeper, who didn’t have much to do, the shots he saw he took care of. In overtime, a mental breakdown or a bad decision by any of our backs, and we could have very easily lost 1-0. We should have won the game if you watched the film, but that’s not always the case.”
Garber credited the Hatters and coach Kyle McGrath.
“Their coach did an excellent job,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “He had a plan. We knocked the ball around and had a lot of possession, but their goalkeeper – Sawyer Cruz – stood on his head. He was absolutely brilliant. They were very organized, they played a lot in the back, and we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. I can’t tell you how well their goalkeeper played. We’re tickled pink to get out of there with a win.”
There was plenty of praise to go around after this one.
“Braden Delgado always plays well, Brandon Murataj played well in the midfield, and Nicky Gray is a junior who played well at a forward position,” Garber said. “Sean Westmoreland, a freshman, played in the midfield. He came off the bench and gave us some really big-time minutes. He’s going to be a name you’ll hear a lot of at Abington, I hope.
“(Braeden) Brownholtz, one of our captains, is a very, very steady player, and Brady Hartman, who scored our goal, is the hero.
Abington (3-0, 2-0 SOL) has a quick turnaround. The Ghosts will host Archbishop Ryan Friday at 10 a.m..
Hatboro-Horsham (1-1, 1-1 SOL) hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh on Wednesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 0 0 0 0 – 0
Abington 0 0 0 1 – 1
Quakertown 5, Plymouth Whitemarsh 4 (OT)
Carter Tull scored his second goal of the game in overtime, as Quakertown picked up its first win of the season Thursday at Plymouth Whitemarsh.
“I knew the game was going to be high scoring, being the field was so small,” said Panthers coach Bill James. “It was an exciting game. Both teams played extremely physical and tough. It, honestly, could have went both ways, so we were happy to get out with the win.
“I’m extremely proud of the guys to get their first win.”
Alex Jalboot also had two goals for Quakertown, while Rhauan Ferreira also scored.
James credited the play of Ayden Walsh and Jared White in the exciting road win.
With the win, the Panthers are now 1-1 (overall and in Liberty Division play), and next play Wednesday against Wissahickon at home.
PW (0-3, 0-2 SOL) plays at Hatboro-Horsham on Wednesday.
Quakertown 5
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4
Upper Dublin 3, Wissahickon 2
Yuraj Lidder scored two goals for the Flying Cardinals, who improved to 2-0 with the win in Liberty Division play.
“Great team win today,” said UD coach Noah Johnson. “Being able to go 2-0 this week makes this Labor (Day) weekend even sweeter.”
Lidder scored in the first half off a Jackson Bryan assist.
Tied at 1 at halftime, the Cardinals went back in front with a Kyle Spirt goal, off a Campbell Hecker assist and then made it 3-1 as Lidder scored from Owen Smith.
UD has a tough game Wednesday at Abington.
Wissahickon (1-2, 0-2 SOL) plays at Quakertown on Wednesday.
Upper Dublin 1 2 – 3
Wissahickon 1 1 – 2
SOL Freedom Division
Cheltenham 3, Lower Moreland 1
Freedy Kelman and Cameron Rhoades scored in the first half to break the game open as the Panthers won again in SOL Freedom play on Thursday.
“We started really slow at the beginning of the game,” said Cheltenham coach Bill Tonkin. “We made an adjustment and had a conversation with a couple of guys that they needed to step it up around 20 minutes into the game, and they went back in and really set a tone for the rest of the game.”
Lower Moreland cut the lead to 2-1 early in the second half.
“We are still learning how to play with leads, and we got a little too much on our heels for a little bit,” Tonkin said. “We had to really get on them to step out of the back and close the space down in the middle of the field.
“We got some breathing room when Cameron (Rhoades) got a loose ball around the top of the 18 and hammered a shot into the net at the far post. That was a huge boost for us. Lower Moreland pressured the rest of the game, but our defense stepped up to the challenged and finished the game strong. It was another all-around team effort for this win.”
Tonkin also credited Noah Jutzi with an outstanding game.
For Lower Moreland, Thursday’s game was its season opener.
“We had a game canceled earlier in the week due to lack of officials, and I think that was unfortunate for us to go so long without a contest,” said Lions coach Bob Barnhart. “We tried to simulate an inter-squad game, but that’s not the same.
“Playing at Cheltenham is always a tough gig, and that as a first match was unfortunate for us. Bill’s guys play physical, and it took a little while for us to match that physicality.”
LM was able to battle back from the early deficit, a good sign as the schedule picks up.
“We made some adjustments at half based on how they were trying to get to goal and were able to be effective on defense,” Barnhart said. “We had our chances during the run of play and on set pieces, but we weren’t able to test their goalie nearly enough all game long.
“That’s something me and the coaching plan to work on in training. They finished their chances and that is usually the difference at the varsity level. Every team is usually going to get chances, and the team that finishes more comes out on top and unfortunately, today wasn’t our day, but the season is still young and we will reset and get back at it tomorrow in preparation for our three games in four days next week.”
Cheltenham (2-0, 2-0 SOL) next plays at William Tennent on Wednesday.
LM (0-1, 0-1 SOL) starts its busy week by hosting Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
LM 0 1 – 1
Cheltenham 2 1 – 3
Springfield 6, New Hope-Solebury 2
Six different players scored goals for Springfield, which raced out to a big lead in the first half with five goals and cruised to the Freedom Division win. It is their third win without a loss.
Goal scorers for the Spartans included Chase Rubincam, Ben Hubley, Harry Bates, Kayden Sowell, Riley Martin and Nick Hanushchak.
Rubincam also had two assists. Martin, Hubley, Adam DiBattista and Nick Marino each had one assist.
Springfield (3-0, 2-0 SOL) has a nonleague game Tuesday at Academy Park.
New Hope-Solebury (0-2, 0-2 SOL) is back in action Wednesday when it hosts Lower Moreland.
Springfield 5 1 – 6
New Hope 0 2 – 2
William Tennent 5, Upper Moreland 0
After a tough loss to open its season, William Tennent picked up a big win on Thursday, blanking Upper Moreland in a Freedom Division game.
“I think the kids were pretty excited,” said Panthers coach Angelo Albanese. “We played a good game versus Springfield (on Tuesday). They’re a talented and better team than we are, but our kids stayed close and were galvanized and looking forwarding to playing a little bit better and were able to do so today.”
All five of Tennent’s goals came in the first half.
Nazaryi Kukhniy opened the scoring and also had one assist. Pat Gillespie had one goal and one assist. Bryce deFonteney scored one goal and had two assists. Gavin McSherry had a goal and Connor Hanratty had an unassisted goal.
Keeper Zach Dinnis recorded the shutout with Caden Chickanoski.
“I think (Upper Moreland) graduated a lot of seniors; most of their starters, so they have a very young team,” Albanese said. “With the size of the field, we were able to spread them out a little bit.
“We were fairly efficient. We didn’t have that many chances but were fortunate enough to score on ones we had.”
Albanese also credited sophomore Peter Comans at defensive midfield.
Tennent (1-1, 1-1 SOL) returns Wednesday at home against Cheltenham.
UM (2-1, 1-1 SOL) plays at Lower Moreland on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 0 0 – 0
Tennent 5 0 – 5
SOL Patriot Division
Council Rock South 4, Neshaminy 1
A first-half goal and then two quick second half goals gave CR South the big lead, and the Golden Hawks picked up an impressive Patriot Division win on Thursday.
But this one was closer than the final score indicated.
“Neshaminy scored in the 62nd minute to make it 3-1 and were the better team after their goal,” said CR South coach Alan Nicholl. “Neshaminy had some excellent chances during that second-half stint, and we were fortunate to hold them at one.
“My goalie (Andrew Freeman) made a few great saves to keep them at bay until Frankie (Rafferty with a Sean Davis assist) secured his hat trick with 5 minutes left in the game to put the game out of reach.
“I think we took our foot off the gas after 3-0, and that’s a risky approach against a powerhouse program like Neshaminy. It’s a typical Foley team – disciplined, hard-working and resilient. Lesson learned.”
Rafferty had a big night for the Hawks.
After Reid Vandermark’s first-half goal off a George Simon assist, Rafferty pushed his team’s lead to 3-0, with two quick goals early in the second half.
“He’s a big, strapping lad,” coach Tom Foley said about Rafferty. “His second goal, he just outmuscled my center back.
“For whatever reason, that got our guys’ attention. They started playing really well. I was really proud of the fact that they didn’t quit. They started knocking the ball around, they started winning some balls in the midfield.”
Ryan McMullen’s goal made it interesting at 3-1.
“Ryan McMullen got a nice little tap past Owen Beideman, and he half followed it into the upper 90,” Foley said. “That seemed to excite us a little bit. We had a couple of really nice buildups. Someone hit the cross, Owen plucked it out of the air again, and their goaltender made an unbelievable save to keep it 3-1.
“We had a couple more flurries, a couple near misses where the volley goes in, and with a little luck, we could have made it 3-3.”
Rafferty’s final goal ended up putting the game out of reach.
Despite the outcome, Foley liked a lot of the things he saw.
“Owen Beideman left it all on the field,” the Redskins’ coach said. “He was up and down the field like a madman.
“During a 25-minute stretch (in the second half), my midfielders – Damien Castro, Rezi Tebidze and Mark Andreyeu – all played really well. They distributed the ball really well. Mark and Damien are both sophomores, so that’s really good for our future. They’re getting some good game experience.
“All in all, I was happy that we didn’t quit, we moved the ball pretty well. Full marks to South, they’re big, they’re strong, and they’re physical. They know how to use their body. Frankie Rafferty really knows how to use his body, and he’s kind of a man amongst boys. They’re going to be a tough out for anybody to play.”
CR South (3-0, 2-0 SOL) next plays at CR North on Tuesday night.
Neshaminy (0-1-1, 0-1-1 SOL) hosts Archbishop Wood in a nonleague game Tuesday.
CR South 1 3 – 4
Neshaminy 0 1 – 1
Council Rock North 1, Bensalem 0
Windsor Varady scored in the 12th minute and CR North held off a pesky Bensalem squad in the second half for its second straight Patriot Division win to start the season.
Keertan Palayam picked up the assist on the Indians’ goal.
CR North coach Joe Stackhouse described the game as a “two-half game” as his team dominated the first half.
“Credit to Bensalem for making halftime adjustments, greater effort and execution after intermission,” Stackhouse said. “Bensalem coach Kevin Bock did a fine job of getting his squad to disrupt North’s attack in the final 40 minutes.”
CR North goalkeeper Calvin Hopkins picked up the shutout, with solid efforts from Mike Pinho, Darek Miller, Dom Czachor and Jasper Ring on the defensive end, and defensive midfielders David Ivgal and Isaac Morais.
“We couldn’t find the net,” Bensalem’s Bock said. “It was a tale of two halves. We made one bad mistake that they scored on and that was the difference in the game.
“It was a good game – it was physical. I I think the refs did a good job. We made a bad pass to the goalie, and they ended up getting it in. We had a tough first half, but they responded really, really well in the second half and played really well this second half. I’m proud of how they played, and on to the next one. At some point, it has to turn around for us.”
The Indians held a 14-3 shot advantage and had 11 corner kicks to four for the Owls.
CR North (2-0, 2-0 SOL) has a nonleague game Friday against Archbishop Wood.
Bensalem (0-2, 0-2 SOL) plays at Archbishop Ryan on Saturday night.
CR North 1 0 – 1
Bensalem 0 0 – 0
Pennsbury 4, Harry S Truman 0
Goals three minutes apart broke open a scoreless game, and then Pennsbury blew it wide open in the second half to blank Truman on Thursday.
Caleb Mangiaracina scored off a Nico Espinoza assist in the 30th minute for the Falcons. In the 33rd minute, Bryan Sanchez made it 2-0, assisted by Evan Soriano.
The second half saw Rocco Ciaccia score off a Sanchez assist, and then Mangiaracina picked up his second goal of the game, this one off a Connor Labiak assist.
Ben Bedard and Filip Milik shared goal-keeping duties for the Falcons in recording the shutout.
Pennsbury (1-1-1, 1-0-1 SOL) next plays at Bensalem on Wednesday.
Truman (0-3, 0-2 SOL) plays at Neshaminy on Wednesday.
Pennsbury 2 2 – 4
Truman 0 0 – 0
SOL Colonial Division
Central Bucks West 1, North Penn 0
Michael Panno scored the game’s only goal in the first half and that was enough to give the Bucks the big road win, bouncing back from a tough loss to rival CB East on Tuesday night.
“I thought we really controlled things from the beginning of the first half,” said Bucks coach John Adair. “We settled in really quick and created a few chances that we didn’t put away.
“With that said, the boys continued to plug away and be patient, believing there would be more moments. We were a lot more threatening today and probably should have been up by another at halftime.
“To (North Penn coach Chris DePeppe) and his team’s credit, they gave us some problems in the second half, and we never really established back the control that we had in the first half.
“But still, really proud of our boys’ effort and ability to manage the crucial moments of the game.”
Adair also credited sophomore defender Kieran Thompson and junior goalkeeper Jarrett Wodotinksy.
North Penn was a little shorthanded, but battled and kept the Bucks at bay after the goal, which came with three minutes left in the first half.
“We were missing two center backs to injury, and we just learned today to strep throat,” DePeppe said. “So, we had to patch it together a bit and we couldn’t come out and play as aggressively as we’d like to at home. But we looked okay early and forced mistakes and held our shape fairly well for about 30 minutes.
“But, West certainly is dangerous in the attack. The goal was a mistake by our fullback, who made a great play to beat their forward to the ball and just tried to do too much instead of putting it in the bleachers. He ended up on the ground and they buried it.
“We had very few chances and that’s the main concern for us. We’re fine defensively and hopefully we’ll get healthy next week. But injuries early are rough. I think we’ve played eight different center backs in three games. But we had to be very aware of 4-5 talented attacking players, so West is legit.”
Central Bucks West (1-1, 1-1 SOL) will host Father Judge in a non-league game Friday at noon, and North Penn (1-2, 1-1) will travel to Souderton on Wednesday.
CB West 1 0 – 1
North Penn 0 0 -0
Souderton 2, Pennridge 1 (OT)
Drew Kerns converted a penalty kick late in the first overtime, as Souderton picked up its first win of the season over rival Pennridge on Thursday.
“I’m really proud of these young men for the hard work and never say die attitude they scored tonight,” said Indians coach Frank Demas. “Hats off to both teams who battled for 95 long minutes tonight.
“Competitive games like these are what makes our league so special.”
After a scoreless first half, Souderton jumped ahead 10 minutes into the second half, as Lukas Sailer scored his first varsity goal.
“It was just a ridiculous laser of a shot by number five (Sailer),” Pennridge coach Aaron Rapsinski said. “It was a heck of a hit from pretty far out.
With seven minutes remaining in regulation, Pennridge’s Eddie Jakubowicz scored with a Logan Lamaina assist to even the score.
“We were able to bounce back,” Rapsinski said. “We had a lot of pressure in the second half, and we tied it up.
“I was happy with how we adjusted and came out in the second half even after we gave up the early goal. We just didn’t do enough in the overtime to put the game away, and we gave up an unfortunate penalty that I didn’t quite agree with. Our goalie had to come off the field after getting a yellow in the situation. Our back-up goalie almost got the save. He got a hand on it, but it was a good finish to put the game away.”
Pennridge answered with a late goal to force overtime.
Souderton (1-1, 1-1 SOL) has a nonleague game at Lansdale Catholic on Tuesday.
Pennridge (0-2, 0-2 SOL) has a home league game against CB East Wednesday.
Pennridge 0 1 0 – 1
Souderton 0 1 1 – 2
Central Bucks East 3, Central Bucks South 0
After a big win over rival CB West on Tuesday, the Patriots took care of their other big rival, CB South, with a 3-0 shutout of the Titans.
“We had a lot of energy and we just kept the heat on them,” said CB East coach Josh Isaacsohn. “They certainly like to possess the ball around the back third a lot, and we just kept on them.
“Honestly, we had so many guys in, and every single player that made their way on the field absolutely did everything we asked of them and just shut them down. We didn’t really give them any opportunities.
“Coach Kyle (Pettican), coach Bob and those guys over at South do a really good job and they were really organized, but I thought we held the midfield in check, and that was a really big deal where I’m not even sure if they had one or two shots the whole game, and that was really our idea – let them possess if they want to, but keep them in the defensive half and not let them up the field.”
CB East’s two first-half goals came two minutes apart. Michael Montabana scored off a Joey Roth assist in the 25th minute, and Andrew Walloff followed that up in the 27th minute, with Reese Davis assist.
In the 45th minute, the Patriots made it 3-0, as Roth scored on a free kick.
“It was really great to see Andrew Walloff rise to the occasion,” Isaacsohn said. “He had a beautiful 25-yard curling left-footed shot, and he stepped up.
“Joey Roth has been an incredibly hard worker up top. He had the first assist, and his free kick goal was just beautiful. It was a really well-placed ball. Again, what I’m so proud of is the guys that went in stuck to the plan, did what they had to do until the very last second of the game. We knew at halftime – our goal was to come out with a shutout. No matter how many goals we had, it was to keep that zero.”
CB South coach Pettican gave CB East a ton of credit.
“East came out firing and hungry,” the Titans’ coach said. ”It was their first home night game coming off a victory over West, so they put their foot (to) the pedal and came at us. We were pinned from minute one and put on the back foot immediately.”
CB East (2-1, 2-0 SOL) next plays Wednesday at Pennridge.
CB South (1-1, 1-1 SOL) is at CB West on Wednesday.
CB South 0 0 – 0
CB East 2 1 – 3
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