Check out the results for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action.
By Jarrad Saffren
Twenty-four SOL soccer teams kicked off afternoon games on Friday, and more than a quarter of the way into the conference season, pictures are forming in the National, American, and Continental standings.
Continental Conference
Pennridge 2, Souderton 1 (2 OT)
Senior captains Cameron Sheva and Dylan Henry carried Pennridge to its first league win of the season in this double overtime thriller.
Sheva and Henry each had one assist and one goal against Souderton. Sheva scored the first and assisted on the second, while Henry did the opposite.
Souderton struck first when David Hafler booted the ball into the net in the eighth minute. Pennridge countered shortly after halftime. Henry won the ball in a scrum near the net and passed to a cutting Sheva, who whistled it past the keeper.
Both goalies stonewalled scoring chances for the rest of regulation and the overtime sessions. Souderton’s Kevin Dustin made nine saves. Pennridge’s Brody Giblin, another senior captain, stopped two point blank shots in the second overtime.
Giblin’s saves allowed Henry to net the game winner on a header.
“Dylan is the finisher we’ve never had in the past few years,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont. “He was never able to become that finisher because past forwards were too selfish and didn’t pass enough. But him and Cameron work so well together.”
Pennridge (2-3, 1-3 SOL) goes for its first league winning streak Monday afternoon at North Penn. Souderton (1-5, 1-3 SOL) plays a non-conference game versus West Chester Rustin Saturday afternoon and continues league play Monday against Central Bucks South.
Pennridge 0-1-0-1 2
Souderton 1-0-0-0 1
North Penn 2, Central Bucks West 0
The Knights pulled into a tie with the Bucks for second place in the Continental standings. The loss was the first of the season for the Bucks, who opened the season with five straight wins – three in league play.
North Penn scored one goal in each half against Bucks goalkeeper Dylan Smith, who came into the game with four shutouts. Nate Baxter and Mike Kohler accounted for the game's ony goals.
CB West (5-1, 3-1 SOL) has the weekend off before returning to the field Monday night against Hatboro-Horsham. The Knights (4-1, 3-1 SOL) will wake up early Saturday morning for a 10 a.m. tussle with Lansdale Catholic. North Penn continues league play Monday against Pennridge.
North Penn 1-1 2
Central Bucks West 0-0 0
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Quakertown 0
Hatboro-Horsham snapped a two-game losing streak and evened its league record at 2-2.
Three Horsham players – Eduardo Romero, Joe LaRoche, and Logan Eldridge – scored goals in a contest that saw the Hats fired 18 shots on goal. LaRoche also assisted on one of the goals.
Keeper Stephen Dooney notched his third shutout of the season, and coach Kyle McGrath credited his back four of Mark Griffenburg, Alex Hoffman, Sean Rich and Colin Davis for their strong play.
Hatboro-Horsham (4-2, 2-2 SOL) battles Plymouth Whitemarsh Saturday night and travels to Central Bucks West Monday afternoon. Quakertown (0-6, 0-4 SOL) buses to Central Bucks East for a 5 p.m. start on Monday.
Central Bucks East 5, Central Bucks South 0
Evan Vare and Alex Parasky took turns finding the net in Friday’s win as the duo combined for all five goals.
Both also had a hand in all five goals as Vare finished with the hat trick and two assists while Parasky had a pair of goals and three assists.
“We played well,” East coach Mike Gorni said. “Actually, for the first 20 minutes, it was 0-0. We had opportunities, and we weren’t finishing.
“Then we got three goals in a nine-minute span, and in the second half – when you have a three-goal lead, it opened up a little bit, and we got two more. It was just one of those games – the next time we play them it could be a very, very tight game.
“For whatever reason, for the last 20 minutes of the first half, we were very committed and on, and that 3-0 (halftime) score and with the way we were playing, the second half opened up and that helped us more.”
The Patriots’ coach lauded the standout defensive efforts of Will Eisold and Stephen Sheehan as well as the strong midfield play of J.R. Eisold and Brian Gilligan.
Austin Prime recorded his fourth shutout of the year in goal.
Central Bucks East (6-0, 4-0) will host Quakertown on Monday at 5 p.m. Central Bucks South (3-2, 2-2) will host Souderton on Monday.
Central Bucks South 0-0 0
Central Bucks East 3-2 5
National Conference
Pennsbury 4, Harry S. Truman 0
Pennsbury blasted 20 shots on goal and did not allow one.
Four Falcon players netted goals and three were assisted. Colin Marks registered a goal and an assist and John Griffin had two assists. Contributing single goals were Peyton Salonick, Kevin Nagle and Sal Ficarotta.
Truman keeper Fernando Mendez stopped 16 shots.
Pennsbury (3-1-1, 3-0-1) battles Neshaminy on Monday at 3:30 p.m. Truman (0-5, 0-4) plays at Bensalem on the same day and time.
William Tennent 2, Council Rock South 0
The Panthers stayed hot, winning their third straight game while the Golden Hawks lost their third in a row. Tennent stands one point behind Pennsbury for first place.
Connor Weiss scored 10 minutes into the game, and JR McCabe netted the second goal in the 68th minute. Brendan Hanratty made four saves and earned his third straight shutout.
Tennent has outscored opponents 4-0 during its three-game winning streak.
The Panthers (3-1, 3-1 SOL) will go for four against Abington Monday night. South (1-4, 1-3 SOL) plays Unionville after breakfast on Saturday and archrival Council Rock North after school on Monday.
William Tennent 1-1 2
Council Rock South 0-0 0
Neshaminy 1, Council Rock North 1
Neshaminy got back on track but North salvaged a tie with a goal in the second half.
In the 29th minute, Jack McCourt netted his third goal of the season to put the Redskins up 1-0. But, in the 60th minute, North scored on a penalty kick to tie the score at one. Neither team scored again.
Neshaminy coach Tom Foley was happy with his team’s performance.
“It was our best game of the year,” he said.
Neshaminy (1-4-1, 1-2-1 SOL) plays Pennsbury Monday night. North (3-0-2, 2-0-2 SOL) hosts Council Rock South.
Neshaminy 1-0 1
Council Rock North 0-1 1
Bensalem 2, Abington 0
Bensalem upset Abington and moved into a tie with the Ghosts in the National standings. John Niemensky and Ronak Catel each scored a goal to lead the Owls to the big win.
Bensalem (3-2, 2-2 SOL) hosts Truman Monday. Abington (3-2, 2-2 SOL) travels to William Tennent.
American Conference
Cheltenham 4, Norristown 0
Cheltenham dominated Norristown and kept pace in the tight American standings, where four teams are separated by two points.
Jake Rucket scored a hat trick and Eli Tomasic added the fourth goal. Two were scored before halftime, two after. Cheltenham outshot Norristown 18-3.
Keeper Derek Zagragen earned his first shutout of the season.
Cheltenham (2-1-1, 2-0-1 SOL) meets Upper Moreland Monday afternoon. Norristown (1-3, 0-3 SOL) plays Wissahickon.
Cheltenham 2-2 4
Norristown 0-0 0
Upper Dublin 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 (2 OT)
In a battle for conference supremacy, it was the Cardinals eking out a win in double overtime.
“It was a game of few chances,” said UD coach Derek Priest. “Both goalies made crucial saves near the end.”
Neither team scored in the first half, but PW broke the ice in the 42nd minute. UD’s Anthony Wisdo sent the game to overtime by scoring in the 72nd minute. Both teams failed to score in the first overtime, as each goalie stoned a shot on a breakaway.
“It was just a really tight game between two very good teams,” Priest said. “I think in the second half they had one opportunity—they scored it. We had two opportunities, and we scored one.”
The Cardinals took advantage of a rare opportunity in the second overtime with Jake Rosen capitalizing to win the game for the Flying Cardinals, who leapfrogged PW into first place.
“As we got into overtime, both teams had breakaways, and both were stopped by the goalies – one for each,” Priest said. “Either team could have, should have maybe scored from their breakaways, but the goalies came up big for both teams."
Thomas Juelke notched the win in goal for the Cardinals.
Priest lauded the strong performances of both Wisdo and Rosen in the win.
Upper Dublin (3-2, 3-1 SOL) hosts Upper Merion Monday at 3:30 p.m. The Colonials (3-1-1, 2-1-1 SOL) play at Hatboro-Horsham Saturday night and host Springfield Monday afternoon.
Upper Dublin 0-1-0-1 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-1-0-0 1
Wissahickon 1, Upper Merion 0 (OT)
Wissahickon versus Upper Merion was about as evenly matched as a game can get. Both teams took eight shots and neither scored in regulation.
But, in overtime, Alex Escude passed to Darien Williams for the game winner.
Wissahickon is now tied with Upper Dublin atop the American standings. With two ties, Upper Merion is four points behind the leaders.
Both teams do not play again until Monday at 3:30 p.m., Wissahickon (3-2, 3-1 SOL) against Norristown, and Upper Merion (1-2-2, 1-1-2 SOL) at Upper Dublin.
Wissahickon 0-0-1 1
Upper Merion 0-0-0 0
Upper Moreland 4, Springfield 2
Upper Moreland rode a hot offense to its first league win of 2015.
The Golden Bears doubled up Springfield, 2-1, in each half.
“It was a great team performance for us,” said UM coach Dan Mannella. “We had a couple tough games early, and to be able to bounce back like this is another great step forward.”
Kenny Mitchell scored twice and Matt Brunner and Randy Meehl each netted one. Brunner also recorded two assists, totaling three points in the game.
Upper Moreland (2-3, 1-3 SOL) goes to Cheltenham Monday for a 3:30 p.m. start. Springfield (1-4, 1-3 SOL) buses to Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Springfield 1-1 2
Upper Moreland 2-2 4
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