CR North and CR South were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie in Wednesday’s hard-fought rivalry game. Photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Patriot Division
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1 (2 OT)
It was another classic battle between the neighboring rivals.
Neither team scored in a first half that saw the Golden Hawks have the better of play. A goal by Sean Davis in the opening minutes of the half gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead, but they didn’t have a whole lot of time to celebrate as the Indians answered almost immediately with a goal by Corey Brennan.
That was the extent of the scoring for both sides, but it wasn’t the end of the drama as both goalies came up with big plays to preserve the tie.
Scoring Summary
1st half – No score
2nd half
Sean Davis (CRS) 42nd minute (1-0)
Corey Brennan (CRN) 43rd minute (1-1)
2 OTs – No score
CR North assistant coach Andrew Roberto: “It’s always a great rivalry. The records never matter coming in when it’s North/South.”
–The game: “They took it to us right away. Maybe we had tired legs from playing Neshaminy yesterday, but they came out hungry. The first 25-30 minutes was all them. We weren’t playing our game. South knew what they had to do to annoy us, and hats off to (coach Alan) Nicholl, hats off to their keeper, who made some good saves.
“Our heads were down after the first half. We came out in the second half, and it took for them to score for us to really kick it into gear.
“After we scored, from that point forward, it was all us. We had the ball down their throat for the rest of the 30 minutes of that half. They did have a great opportunity in the 79th minute where our keeper Calvin Hopkins made a save to keep the game alive to force overtime.
“Overtime was all us as well. They kind of packed it in – they only were sending one guy forward, and everyone else was booting it to him. Overall, it was definitely a back-and-forth game as they usually are.”
–The goal: “Corey Brennan took a took a few touches and hit it. It was a terrific shot. I would say from 25 or 30 out. He hit an absolute screamer with his right foot. That woke us up. I think that was the turning point in the game.”
–Props: “Landon Lentz is our workhorse, and he played well yet again. Jasper Ring played very well for us on the left side.”
CR South coach Alan Nicholl on the game: “It was a typical rivalry, where both teams gave it their all. I thought we did enough to take a lead into halftime but had to wait until two minutes into the second half to finally break the deadlock (Sean Davis). It didn’t last long as North tied it two minutes later. As the game wore on, we tired and dropped further back, allowing North to take the game to us.
“At the end of the day, North showed their superiority, and we held on for the draw. We put in a huge shift this evening and were dealing with cramping late on and in every position… we did way too much chasing and it took its toll.”
–Props: “I thought Farid Ganiyev was excellent, and our goalkeeper, Andrew Freeman, did a terrific job commanding his box.”
Next up: Council Rock North (6-0-1, 3-0-1 SOL) will host New Foundations Charter in a non-league match Friday, and Council Rock South (2-3-2, 1-2-1) will host Bensalem on Tuesday.
Council Rock North 0-1-0-0 1
Council Rock South 0-1-0-0 1
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