Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Monday. CR North/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos. All 2022-23 SOS photo galleries for BOYS’ SOCCER can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Freedom Division
William Tennent 2, Lower Moreland 1
The Panthers pulled off the upset of the early season Monday, shocking first place and previously unbeaten Lower Moreland at home.
“It was definitely unexpected,” said Tennent coach Angelo Albanese. “Lower Moreland is a really good team, they were undefeated, and we only had one win, so the kids were really excited. They were aware that it was not something that was expected, but I thought we were pretty well-prepared.”
A big key for the Panthers was getting the first goal and that came just before halftime.
“Right before the half, our left back, Mason (Adelson) found Matty Jenkins at midfield,” Albanese said. “He was able to turn, and as he turned, Connor Hanratty started his run. Matty hit a great ball over the defense, over the center back’s head. Connor sneaked in behind, got it before the keeper and one-touched it into the net.
“We tried to keep things calm (at halftime). Forty minutes is a lot of time. We had to get ready for the worst. We just poked the bear, and they have a really good team. We were under pressure right away. They were all over us in the second half. We tried to move our line around, and our goalkeeper (Zach Dinnis) was very aggressive, almost like a sweeper.
“So, we made some good adjustments, but our guys were pretty exhausted. It was a gutsy performance.”
Late in the second half, Bryce DeFonteney played a direct kick to the right side, it just missed the last defender and Sean Black was there to put Tennent up 2-0.
“Sean Black dropped that like he’d been playing soccer for 100 years,” Albanese said. “It was off his check, and he hit it far corner. He was very composed.”
Tennent held on from there. Lower Moreland cut it to 2-1 with three minutes remaining on a goal by Nathan Fellah, but the Panthers were able to post the one-goal victory three minutes later.
“Our back four played really well,” Albanese said about seniors John Ellis and Gabe Yacovone, as well as freshman Peter Comans and junior keeper Zach Dinnis.
Tennent (2-3, 2-2 SOL) looks to make it three straight on Wednesday when it hosts Wissahickon in a crossover game. Lower Moreland (4-1, 4-1 SOL) will look to bounce back against Quakertown Wednesday afternoon.
Lower Moreland 0 1 – 1
Tennent 1 1 – 2
Upper Moreland 3, New Hope-Solebury 1
The Golden Bears scored two unanswered goals in the second half to pull away from New Hope-Solebury for their third win in four games before heading into the crossover portion of the schedule.
Upper Moreland got started early, scoring two minutes into the game on a goal by Max Gerlach, off an assist by Diego Melgar. New Hope scored on a penalty kick to tie it at 1 at halftime.
The second half included UM goals by Shawn Townsend and Chris Heron. David Acosta, Jackson Costello and Gerlach had assists.
Bears coach Justin Allegra also said Aiden Scollion played well in the back.
UM (4-2, 3-2 SOL) plays at Abington on Wednesday afternoon. New Hope (1-4, 1-3 SOL) plays at Hatboro-Horsham.
New Hope 1 0 – 1
UM 1 2 – 3
Springfield Twp 5, Cheltenham 0
Springfield rebounded from a tough loss to rival Lower Moreland on Friday with a 5-0 shutout of Cheltenham on Monday.
Riley Martin, Harry Bates and Bryan Garbarini scored goals, while Nick Marino, Chase Rubincam, Garbarini and Vincent Kerper picked up assists. The Spartans scored all five goals in the opening half.
With Lower Moreland’s upset loss to William Tennent, Springfield (5-1, 5-1 SOL) is now back in a first place tie. The Spartans host Upper Dublin on Wednesday. Cheltenham (0-5, 0-5 SOL) plays at Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Springfield 5 0 – 5
Cheltenham 0 0 – 0
SOL Liberty Division
Upper Dublin 1, Hatboro-Horsham 0
The red-hot Flying Cardinals picked up a big road win at Hatboro-Horsham Monday to remain unbeaten in SOL Liberty Division play.
Upper Dublin has not given up a goal in five league games.
“Elias (Abebe) and Mason (Pensabene) did a fantastic job on our back line,” said UD coach Noah Johnson. “Once again, Dan Gorman rises to the occasion. (Goalkeeper) Gabe Copley – another amazing game.
“Another player who had an amazing game was (striker) Owen Smith. He worked really, really hard to help us stay in the lead in the closing minutes of the game while Hatboro was pushing to get a goal. Off his efforts alone, he was able to press their back line and keep them from scoring or advancing the ball forward.”
The only goal of the game came in the seventh minute when Erik Petushi scored for the Cardinals on a free kick.
“That goal came from 100 percent team effort in the first 15 minutes,” Johnson said. “Our game plan – having several injuries and having a couple key players out to COVID this week – we knew we had to, in the first 15 minutes, use as much energy as we could to try and get up a goal. From there, we’ll figure it out.
“It came from us just pressing, being patient, relaxing and working the ball around. Our captain, Christopher McMeel, did an excellent job of drawing a foul on top of the 18, and without a doubt, everyone looked at Erik and was like, ‘Erik, Erik, I can take you.’ Everyone is looking at me, and I said, ‘Hey, it’s your call. You’re the captain. If you want to give it up, you give it up. That’s fine.’
“Me, having some faith in my players to make those game-time decisions at times, and them having faith in me, I think it all worked out. Erik banged in a goal – his first goal of the season – and a big goal too, for us, to go up and beat Hatboro after not being able to really get any big points off the Abington tie. It was awesome.”
UD (5-0-1, 4-0-1 SOL) plays a crossover game at Springfield on Wednesday afternoon. HH (4-2, 3-2 SOL) looks to bounce back against New Hope-Solebury.
Upper Dublin 1 0 – 1
H-H 0 0 – 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4, Wissahickon 1
Mason Clatterbuck scored two goals and assisted on another as PW pulled away for the 4-1 victory on Monday. Corey Metzger and Zach Smith both netted their first goals of the season.
“Mason Clatterbuck was excellent in the attack,” PW coach Richard Kessler said. “The game was pretty back and forth, both teams did a lot of attacking.
“It’s a great win for us at home. We’ve been going through some injury issues, and we’re missing a substantial part of the team, but the rest of the guys really stepped up this afternoon and produced a nice team win. We’ve had some tough results lately, so it feels great to get back in the win column.”
The Colonials got on the scoreboard first, but the Trojans answered with a goal late in the first half on a counterattack after a PW corner, and the two teams went into halftime deadlocked 1-1. The Colonials erupted for three second-half goals to earn the win.
Ryan Berger scored for Wissahickon
PW (2-3-1, 2-3 SOL) hosts Cheltenham on Wednesday. Wissahickon (2-4, 1-4 SOL) plays at William Tennent.
PW 1 3 – 4
Wissahickon 1 0 – 1
Abington 5, Quakertown 0
The Galloping Ghosts remained in a first-place tie in the Liberty Division with the convincing road win over Quakertown on Monday night.
Liam Hartman scored three goals to lead the way, three in a row after Drew Paxson had given Abington the early 1-0 lead. Josh Malka also scored.
Hartman and Luke O’Donnell assisted on Paxson’s goal, which turned out to be the game-winner. Paxson and goalie Kevin Kretschman – who earned the clean sheet – assisted on Hartman’s first goal, which sent the Ghosts into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Hartman buried a penalty kick to make it a 3-0 game, and he completed the hat trick with a goal assisted by Brady Hartman and Luke O’Donnell.
Malka – up from the junior varsity – scored with an assist from Nicholas Gray.
“Kevin Kretschman, our goaltender, did a nice job,” said Abington coach Randy Garber, who lauded the three-goal effort of Hartman. “Drew Paxson did a great job in the defense.”
Abington (5-1-1, 4-0-1 SOL) goes into crossover play tied with Upper Dublin. It hosts Upper Moreland on Wednesday. Quakertown (0-5, 0-5 SOL) plays at Lower Moreland.
Abington 2 3 – 5
Quakertown 0 0 – 0
SOL Colonial Division
Central Bucks East 2, North Penn 0
The Patriots took over sole possession of first place in the Colonial Division with a shutout win over North Penn. It was their fourth straight league win.
“It was a solid game,” said CB East coach Josh Isaacsohn. “I thought at times we had the better of play. We had a couple of really good shots, and their keeper made a couple of really, really nice saves.
“They had a few opportunities that came off such not so great play by us, but I think in general for the game we held them, and truthfully, I was a little disappointed that we didn’t put a couple more in, but we aim for the shutout first and go from there, so I was really proud of the boys.
“We had a sickness going through the team, so we had two or three kids that were coming off being sick that were real troopers.”
Nine minutes in, Michael Frye gave East the 1-0 lead, off a Dylan Walker assist. It took that lead into halftime, and then in the 66th minute, Joey Roth picked up a key insurance goal off an assist from Luke Christmas.
“Michael Frye has been real solid in the middle,” Isaacsohn said. “We’re just happy that Brandon Epstein was able to play because after our game on Friday he was feeling junky, but he very maturely took the whole weekend and recovered.
“It was nice that we were able to get a lot of guys off the bench to see some time.”
Isaacsohn also credited his back line of Dylan Walker, Trevor Jopling, Cole Biruk and Luke Christmas in the shutout.
CB East (6-2, 4-1 SOL) plays at Council Rock North in a crossover game on Wednesday. North Penn (2-4-1,1-3-1 SOL) hosts Pennsbury on Wednesday.
North Penn 0 0 – 0
CB East 1 1 – 2
Pennridge 3, Central Bucks South 0
After getting ranked in the state’s top 10, the Rams proceeded to drop back-to-back league games, so starting off this week well was important. And they responded with a dominant win over visiting CB South.
“CB South has been playing fantastic at the start of the season,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont. “We were not looking past them whatsoever. Their new coach (Kyle Pettican) is doing a great job.
“We made some changes after last week’s rough stretch that we had, we adjusted some things, and the guys – without even practicing – were able to execute it. It starts with CJ (Dimmick) in the back.
“They had a PK eight minutes into the second half, and that changed everything because it’s a 1-1 game if they score that. CJ did a fantastic job with that. He had a PK save and an assist on top of several other point-blank saves. He just played his butt off today.”
Offensively, Pennridge jumped up 1-0 with a Jared Hess goal, off the assist from keeper Dimmick.
“It was an awesome drop punt,” Valimont said. “CJ just hit a rope on his punt, and Hess was able to get to it first, and he finished. The goalie came out to defend him, and he was able to slip it by him for a really nice goal.”
Two minutes after Dimmick’s PK save, Pennridge went up 2-0 with a Hess goal, off of a Ayoob Herzi assist.
“He got a flick from Ayoob Herzi, and Hess was able to cut it back at the top of the box and just hit an absolute laser on the far post, which was a fantastic shot,” Valimont said. “Jared Hess finished his chances. He got himself in the right spot, and he was able to get them in the back of the net.”
Shane Velez wrapped up the scoring with a goal off of a Pat Fannon assist.
“Shane Velez and Tommy McKinney in the back did a really nice job shutting everything down, limiting their chances, taking away number seven (their top offensive player), who we knew was really shifty and a really fast, good player,” Valimont said. “Just a really nice job there.
“Luca Angello, Pat Fannon and Jack Bruno in our middle – those three guys did a really nice job combining and just working hard the whole game for us.”
Pennridge (4-2, 3-2 SOL) hosts Harry S. Truman in a crossover game on Wednesday afternoon. CB South (4-2, 3-2 SOL) has an afternoon game at home against Neshaminy.
CB South 0 0 – 0
Pennridge 1 2 – 3
SOL Patriot Division
Pennsbury 1, Council Rock North 1 (2 OT)
Two halves and two overtimes of soccer couldn’t provide a winner on Monday, as these top SOL Patriot Division teams battled to a 1-1 tie.
“In 11 years of doing this, today’s game has got to be top five in terms of entertainment,” said CR North coach Joe Stackhouse. “Back and forth between the two teams, up and down the field. Both
goalkeepers for them and our goalkeeper (sophomore Calvin Hopkins) made unbelievable saves. It was very entertaining, to say the least.”
The Indians went up 1-0 in the first half, with Ari Pollock picking up the goal off a Nick Wise assist.
“It was pretty nice,” Stackhouse said. “Five guys touched the ball – bing, bing, bing, and that’s how it finished.”
It was also the first goal given up by Pennsbury in five Patriot Division games.
“We started really well, but then they got their footing, and they were very dangerous,” said Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart. “We were bending and not breaking. We had a long shutout streak in the league. We gave up the rebound, they had composure and found Nick Wise running through the box and he was able to score. It was really well done.”
Pennsbury came back and tied it up in the 48th minute, as Josh Rodriguez scored off a Bryan Sanchez assist.
“Josh did a lot of work,” Stoddart said. “He actually beat a couple of guys on the left side and brought the ball over to the right. We’ve been working really hard on knowing where your partners are, and Sanchez – in the 10 role – was able to get the ball that bounced loose, and Josh was able to recycle, come back, get the ball and it was just a gorgeous shot.”
Both teams had chances the rest of the way.
In one crazy sequence in the second half, the Indians just missed.
“We had a corner kick, and somebody headed it off the crossbar,” Stackhouse said. “It came back out, and we headed it again. Their goalie made a save. Somebody shot it from close range, and one of their kids cleared it off the line right back to one of our kids, who fired it again off the crossbar. It was non-stop.”
The Falcons also had some opportunities.
“But if I’m being fair, we were lucky to get to overtime,” Stoddart said. “Council Rock North had one scenario where they hit the post four times – all within one scenario, so we got a little frazzled, but we were able to again just constantly keep our feet moving and get ourselves there.
“I was really, really pleased with how hard we played in overtime. We really did everything but get the game-winner. Down to the end, we actually had a goal-scoring opportunity that their keeper made a great save, turned it into a corner kick, which we created a goal-scoring opportunity again, and then it was over.”
Stoddart echoed Stackhouse’s assessment that it was a special game.
“It was a fantastic game all around,” the Falcons’ coach said. “The referees did a great job. Even though it was heatedly contested,
they controlled the game. It was as good a high school match as you’re going to see, and it was a fantastic match to be a part of.”
Stoddart went on to credit the efforts of several players.
“The goaltenders (Henrik Boekamp and Justin Brown) split time again, and they were fantastic,” the Falcons’ coach said. “Josh (Rodriguez) got us the big goal when we needed it. Chris Vergantino did everything he possibly could to try and win us the game. He just fell a little bit short, but he was fantastic.”
Stackhouse also gave props to Chase McCaffrey and Michael Brusca,
“Sophomore Windsor Varady played really well for us, and Max Leff really, really played well for us in the middle of the midfield,” he said. “We just have to keep grinding away. The first 20 minutes they dominated. We were kind of asleep. For the next 80, at times we had the better of play and at times they had the better of play.”
CR North (4-0-2, 3-0-2 SOL) hosts Central Bucks West on Wednesday, while Pennsbury (4-1-1, 4-0-1 SOL) plays at North Penn.
CR North 1 0 0 0 – 1
Pennsbury 0 1 0 0 – 1
Council Rock South 8, Harry S. Truman 0
Everett Kurtz scored three goals, as the Golden Hawks rolled to the 8-0 in this SOL Patriot game on Monday afternoon.
Other goal scorers for CR South were Tyler Dobson with two goals, and one each for Alex Lose, Garrett Cohen and Tyler Derby.
George Simon had two assists, while Kurtz, ColinConway and Alex Bloom had one assist each.
CR South (3-2-1, 3-1-1 SOL) has a crossover game Wednesday at home against first-place
Central Bucks East. Truman (0-6, 0-5 SOL) plays at Pennridge.
CR South 8 – 8
Truman 0 0 – 0
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