Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. CB East/Truman photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos. All SOS photo galleries for BOYS’ SOCCER can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Colonial-Patriot Crossovers
Central Bucks South 2, Council Rock South 1
On the road and needing a win to keep pace in the logjam atop the SOL Colonial standings with Pennridge and CB East, CB South saw itself fall behind against a very good Golden Hawks team in the first half.
“The game started off really well from both teams,” said Titans coach Kyle Pettican. “Both teams actually really tried to get the ball down and play. (CR South) started pressing really high and it eventually led to a goal about halfway through the first.”
Tyler Derby scored the goal for the Hawks, off an assist Garrett Cohen.
In the second half, it was CB South that tried to press the attack quickly, and it paid off as Brayden Roach “buried a scramble in the box” to tie the game at 1-1.
“We didn’t want the momentum to change so we continued to press,” Pettican said. “Brayden Roach again pressed the defense to win the ball, where he sent Colin O’Hara through on a 1-on-1, where he chipped the keeper to take the lead.”
Pettican also credited Thijs Popma, Andrew Sherstinyov and Mikey Nemec as standouts as well.
“We didn’t want to sit back and be pressed for the last 10 minutes, so we kept pressing to try to balance it out,” Pettican said. “Overall, it was a good, close, competitive game between two teams of similar styles and philosophies.
“CR South is one of the better teams I have seen so far.”
For CR South, having a halftime lead at home and giving that up in the second half was disappointing.
“We had a 1-0 lead at home and gave up two second-half goals – very unlike us,” said Hawks coach Alan Nicholl. “Neither team gave up much, as there were very few shots on target on both sides.
“Disappointing, but hopefully it’s the motivation we need moving forward.”
CB South (7-2, 6-2 SOL) next plays at Pennsbury Thursday afternoon. CR South (6-3-1, 5-2-1 SOL) will look to bounce back at North Penn on Thursday.
CB South 0 2 – 2
CR South 1 0 – 1
Council Rock North 4, North Penn 2
Mike Brusca scored two goals as CR North broke a 2-2 tie with 15 minutes remaining and then added an insurance goal to get past the visiting Knights Thursday night at home.
With the win – and losses by both CR South and Pennsbury, the Indians moved into first place in the SOL Patriot Division standings.
“The game was a back-and-forth battle with North Penn playing an extremely high-paced, ball control game,” said CR North coach Joe Stackhouse.
This was a back-and-forth battle from the start, as Brusca put the Indians up 1-0. Nate Kim came right back and tied it up for North Penn.
Ari Pollack put the Indians up at halftime, only to see the Knights tied it up on a penalty kick by Matt Willis early in the second half.
Brusca picked up the game-winner with 15 to play, and then Chase McCaffrey clinched the win with a penalty kick for the final 4-2 margin.
Stackhouse also credited junior Hunter Klein with having “a hand in each of CR North’s three goals on restarts,” as well as goalkeeper Calvin Hopkins and midfielders Cole Mayer and Tanmay Ondkar.
North Penn coach Chris DePeppe was also pleased with how his team played.
“(It was) tough for the boys, but we played very good soccer tonight and I could not be prouder of this group,” DePeppe said. “We may be young and under-sized, but we can play.
CR North (6-1-2, 5-1-2 SOL) plays at Pennridge in another key game on Thursday night. North Penn (3-6-1, 2-5-1 SOL) hosts CR South on Thursday afternoon.
North Penn 1 1 – 2
CR North 2 2 – 4
Bensalem 1, Central Bucks West 1 (2 OT)
CB West jumped ahead early in this one, but Bensalem scored in the second half to tie it up and the two squads settled for a tie after neither could get the game-winner in the two overtime periods.
Bucks’ center back Kyle Flaherty opened the scoring as he “made a great play on a ball in the air and beat the keeper from inside the box,” said West coach Cooper Moyer. “Kyle was incredible tonight and the brightest part of our entire team with the way he played.
“At halftime, the message to the team was that we need to find more goals in this second half because the longer we let Bensalem hang around the more dangerous they will become.
“We came out in the second half and created tons of chances, but I guess everyone forgot their shooting boots at home today because we couldn’t have scored another goal if our lives depended on it. It was incredible. Honestly, I’ve never seen so many shots sent wide or over the bar in my life.”
Bensalem’s Tommy Hurst then tied the game at 1.
“They tied it up and grew into the game late in the second half, and again in overtime, more chances were created but still couldn’t find the game-winner,” Moyer said. “It’s a focus thing for us, and when we focus on the task at hand, we can do some really good things, but the second we lose sight of what we’re trying to do is when we get ourselves in trouble.
“I thought Bensalem was great tonight. Those boys never put their heads down and never stopped playing for 100 minutes.”
CB West (4-5-1, 4-4-1 SOL) look to get one in the win column Thursday at Harry S. Truman. Bensalem (1-7, 1-6 SOL) hosts CB South on Thursday.
Bensalem 0 1 – 1
CB West 1 0 – 1
Central Bucks East 6, Harry S. Truman 1
CB East remained in a first-place tie in the SOL Colonial, scoring 25 seconds into the game and never looking back on the way to the win over visiting Truman.
“Everybody got in, everybody played really well,” said Patriots coach Josh Isaacsohn. “I was so incredibly impressed with Truman’s attitude, sportsmanship and work ethic. I really, really was impressed with how they held themselves and carried themselves. I loved their attitude. They were fantastic kids, they really were.
“Also, my guys were great sportsmen too. The referee even commented that we were really great sportsmen, and we really have tried to work on our character. Those were two really big things that are bigger than soccer.”
Michael Montabana got the Patriots started with a goal 25 seconds into the contest off a Trevor Jopling assist. Joey Roth made it 2-0 with a goal midway through the first half, using an assist from Justin Bardwell, and then Montabana scored on a penalty kick to make it 3-0 at the half.
In the second half, Patrick Bartley, Zach Tinari and Ben Renneisen scored for CB East. Daniel Frye and Eric Girsh had assists.
Truman broke up the Patriots’ shutout bid, connecting for a goal with 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
CB East (7-3, 6-2 SOL) plays at Pennsbury on Thursday. Truman (0-9, 0-8 SOL) hosts CB West on Thursday.
Harry S. Truman 0 1 – 1
CB East 3 3 – 6
Pennridge 2, Neshaminy 0
Jared Hess scored just five minutes into the game and that sent Pennridge on its way with a solid shutout victory over visiting Neshaminy Tuesday afternoon.
“Overall, it was just a fantastic job,” said Rams coach Pete Valimont. “Tommy McKinney, Shane Velez, Andrew Parlee, Jhoa Hernandez – those guys in the back, and Roman Arcade did a fantastic job.
“This is our fourth shutout in a row after our week where we lost both games on the road the second week of the season. CJ Dimmick had another shutout, played the entire game, played fantastic.”
Hess’ first goal came off a Zac Curran throw-in.
“Just a quick restart,” Valimont said. “He was able to get behind their defense, took a first touch and was able to bury it, which was a great start for us.
“We had a chance very late in the first half on a breakaway, but their goalie was able to push it away. Neshaminy had a couple of chances. They hit the post once, so they had one good counterattack, but overall, I would say pretty much the run of play was in our possession and we were able to keep their shots to a minimum, and any shots that did come in weren’t that threatening.”
Neshaminy coach Tom Foley knew going up against a Pennridge team playing well, at Pennridge, was going to be a challenge.
“We know going in that Pennridge is going to be a difficult out because Pete Valimont is a standup guy,” Foley said. “He and his staff do a great job from sportsmanship to tactics, especially defensively. In my opinion, I think he has them primed to get that elusive Colonial Division title this year. They are definitely a tough out, so we knew what we were up against going in.”
Ayoob Herzi was able to get a key insurance goal in the second half for the Rams, off an assist from Hess.
“Ayoob got a great one-touch flick from Jared Hess around the 50, and Ayoob was able to finish it off,” Valimont said. “We came pretty darn close at the end with about four minutes left when a Shane Velez restart bounced off the crossbar. If we have a rounded bar, it’s probably in, but ours is square and doesn’t help us there.”
Overall, it was a solid effort at home to keep the Rams (7-2, 6-2 SOL Colonial) in a tie atop the Colonial Division standings.
“Our middle, Quinn Annan, helped out to set up the second goal with a second assist type of play,” Valimont said. “Troy Thanel was running all over the place, and Zac Curran on the wing not only had an assist but was also running all over the place as well.
“It was just a real overall good game for us. We know Neshaminy is struggling a bit on their end, but we know they’re still a dangerous team. We just really came out and were able to do what we had to do, get the ‘W’ and move on to our next one which is going to be a good game, a night game at our place against Council Rock North Thursday at 7 p.m.
Thursday’s game is Pennridge’s Community Night Game.
According to Foley, the Redskins (1-6, 1-6 SOL), who hosts Souderton Thursday, need to cut back on their untimely miscues.
“We just can’t seem to eliminate that catastrophic mistake that kills us,” Foley said. “We didn’t challenge a ball three minutes in, and we let a guy walk right around us without even touching him, and he went in on a breakaway on our keeper. I was like, ‘How does that happen?’
“And we’re down 1-0, and truthfully, we were stringing passes together, and even in the first three minutes, we were doing a nice job. To the kids’ credit, they kept plugging away and created several dangerous opportunities in the first half.
“Along with the catastrophic mistakes, we’re struggling to score goals, so it’s a double whammy, and that’s a killer. We can’t seem to get out of our own way. If you’re watching the game, I thought we had the more dangerous opportunities. They’re excellent with quick counters, and that’s what killed us. A quick throw-in was the first goal. They score in the 68th minute, and it’s basically off our corner kick – a long ball out to midfield that our guy doesn’t challenge. The kid spins, takes it 50 yards and blasts it past our keeper. All that hard work we put in, we can’t seem to buy a goal. Two bang-bang plays by them, it’s 2-0 and we lose.”
Despite the outcome, the Redskins’ coach was pleased with his team’s play.
“We played pretty well. If you’re just a neutral party in the stands, you’ll say, ‘That team’s not too bad,’ but we didn’t have anything to show for it,” Foley said. “I thought Joe Joe Maxwell played really well. He led our midfield, he distributed the ball really well. Waseem Jawawdeh had his best game of the season so far.
“We moved Owen Beideman up top, and he created some dangerous opportunities. Josh Anderson up top did a really nice job. It’s one of those things we’ve got to keep plugging away, and hopefully, our hard work starts to pay off. As poorly as we played on Friday against North Penn, we played that well today against Pennridge. We just were not rewarded for our hard work.”
Neshaminy 0 0 – 0
Pennridge 1 1 – 2
Souderton 2, Pennsbury 1
Souderton has needed a big win to get back into the thick of things in the SOL Colonial, and Tuesday at home, it came up with its biggest win of the season, knocking off a Pennsbury team that is tied atop the SOL Patriot standings.
“Very pleased with the boys’ effort today,” said Indians coach Matt Benner. “They worked hard all over the field against a quality side. Pennsbury was dangerous all game on restarts and in transition.
“I think it was a strong showing for our defense and our goalkeeper, Chris McKenna, and Matt Andryushin’s throws were a big factor in both goals.
“We’re hoping to continue getting better each day and play our best soccer down the stretch.”
In the 15th minute, Souderton took the lead with a Brayden Power goal, with Andryushin picking up the assist. Pennsbury tied it up and the game was 1-1 at the half.
The game-winning goal came in the 71st minute, as Ty Quintois scored off a Logan Good assist.
Goalkeeper Chris McKenna had five saves for Souderton.
The Indians (4-5, 4-5 SOL), who have now won three straight games, play at Neshaminy on Thursday. Pennsbury (5-3-1, 5-2-1 SOL) hosts CB East on Thursday.
Pennsbury 1 0 – 1
Souderton 1 1 – 2
SOL Liberty-Freedom Crossovers
Hatboro-Horsham 1, Springfield Twp 0
For the second time in as many games, Tony Kuhner came up with the big goal for the Hatters, who won a tight one in a crossover game against SOL Freedom Division leading Springfield on Tuesday afternoon.
“Obviously, Springfield is having a great season,” said H-H coach Kyle McGrath. “It was a little bit of a sneaky win today. I thought they were better the first 20-25 minutes, and then I thought we took control a little bit.
“In the last minute of the game, they had a corner kick, and they sent everybody up. My goalkeeper, Noah Schlosser, made three or four just absolute saves on the goal line because we couldn’t clear the ball. We were able to sneak out of there at the end without conceding. He deserves a big shout for that performance at the end.”
Kuhner’s second-half game-winner came off a set piece.
“We had a free kick right around midfield, and Paul Guevara put a ball into the box at the back post,” McGrath said. “Jacob Kim got on the end of it and headed it across the box, and Tony Kuhner was able to knock it in with his head.
“It was a good set piece that we worked on a little bit at practice yesterday, just playing some more dangerous balls into the box. Paul did that, and Jacob (Kim) got on the end of the initial ball, and Tony followed it up like we had talked about.”
The win was the third straight for H-H (7-2, 6-2 SOL), and it has allowed just one goal in those three wins.
“Our back four were great,” McGrath said. “Riley Martin from Springfield is a fantastic player, and we were able to keep him in check, so Jacob Kim, Brian Cooper, Tommy Shegogue and Matt Wingen were all great. Anytime we get a shutout we’re happy. It was a good result against a good squad.”
The Hatters play at William Tennent on Thursday afternoon, while Springfield (8-2, 7-2 SOL) looks to bounce back at home against Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Springfield 0 0 – 0
H-H 0 1 – 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5, Lower Moreland 1
It was a statement win Tuesday for the Colonials against one of the top teams in the SOL Freedom Division, winning in convincing fashion and doing so with a decided advantage for most of the game as well.
“Really great team performance from the entire group to get a win,” said PW coach Rich Kessler. “We played with 10 players for most of the game after we were issued a red card in the 20th minute for a retaliatory action. I think it should have been a yellow (card).”
Lower Moreland jumped ahead 1-0, only to see PW bounce back quickly shortly after the red card was issued. The Colonials scored again to make it 2-1 at the half.
“We controlled the game after the first five minutes of the second half, adding three more and creating plenty more chances,” Kessler said.
Mason Clatterbuck scored three goals, bringing his season total up to 13. Sam Cohen and Jeffrey Schneider also scored for PW.
The Colonials (5-3-1, 5-3 SOL) play at Springfield on Thursday. LM (6-3, 6-3 SOL) has another tough one at SOL Liberty leading Abington on Thursday.
Lower Moreland 1 0 – 1
PW 2 3 – 5
William Tennent 3, Quakertown 1
Two first-half goals gave Tennent the early push, and in the second half, the Panthers put the game away to post the crossover victory at home Tuesday afternoon.
Tennent coach Angelo Albanese said his team’s defense was strong, led by keeper Zach Dinnis, as well as Mason Adelson and Gabe Yacovone.
“Peter Comas put us in a solid performance as a center back and defensive midfielder, and Dave Dziekonski and Sean Black were very active upfront pressuring Quakertown’s backs,” the Panthers’ coach said.
Bryce Defonteny started off the scoring off an assist by Nazariy Kukhniy. Then, Gavin McSherry scored from Patrick Gillespie.
After Quakertown cut it 2-1 early in the second half, Gillespie scored off a Connor Hanratty assist to help put the game away for Tennent.
Tennent (3-5, 3-4 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday, while Quakertown (0-8, 0-8 SOL) plays at Upper Moreland.
Quakertown 0 1 – 1
Tennent 2 1 – 3
Upper Dublin 1, Upper Moreland 0
The Flying Cardinals scored in the 28th minute and then were solid the rest of the way to hold off host Upper Moreland on Tuesday. With the win, UD (7-1-1, 6-1-1 SOL) remained in second place, three points behind Abington in the SOL Liberty standings.
To keep pace, the Cardinals needed to pull out a win against UM and did just that, as Reilly McLaughlin’s first-half goal turned out to be the game-winner.
“I guess it took some time to get used to and really settle into our new ‘UD way,’” said coach Noah Johnson. “Just really being patient and not looking to rush things and just really working on things we’ve been working on in training and eventually putting together a series of maybe 11-12 passes and then finding Reilly McLaughlin on the back post with a nice little cross for him to have a touch and pass the ball into the back of the net past the keeper. It was really a good team goal.”
Johnson gave credit to Upper Moreland too, and in turn said his team’s goalkeeper, Gabe Loza, had a big game as well.
“Everyone on the team played really well but the person that stood out to me the most was Gabe Loza,” Johnson said. “He did a really good job today, denying multiple opportunities that were sent his way. In the last five minutes of the game, he definitely bailed us out, saving a shot that literally was on the line, making sure that he got it off the line in time and recovered the ball. Definitely big thanks to Gabe for making sure that he helped us close out that game. Other than that, it was a great team win for us and another shutout for the boys.
“It was a very good game for both sides. It was definitely a fun game for our guys to play against those guys. Upper Moreland looked pretty good. Some unfortunate calls didn’t go their way, some unfortunate things happened and the ball just didn’t end up in the back of the net for them, but definitely a great game from both teams.”
Golden Bears coach Justin Allegra credited his goalkeeper Aaron Snyder and the defense with solid games.
UD is back home Thursday afternoon against Cheltenham Upper Moreland (4-5, 3-5 SOL) hosts Quakertown on Thursday.
Upper Dublin 1 0 – 1
Upper Moreland 0 0 – 0
Abington 6, New Hope-Solebury 0
The Galloping Ghosts kept on rolling with the shutout win on the road Tuesday to remain unbeaten and atop the SOL Liberty standings.
Liam Hartman was the offensive standout with four goals, including the first two of the game, off assists from Brady Hartman and Brandon Delgado.
Brian O’Neill made it 3-0, from Brandon Brownholtz. In the second half, there was an unassisted goal by Hartman and another assisted by Luke O’Donnell. O’Neill then wrapped up the scoring from Brandon Murtaugh.
And on the other side, the host Lions didn’t have a whole lot of chances.
“Drew Paxson, our center back, Peter Cleary played well, and Jose Rosario Martinez played extremely well,” said Abington coach Randy Garber.
“Kevin Kretschman had a shutout for the first half and is doing well because he’s only been playing a half (in the Ghosts’ big wins).”
Abington (8-1-1, 7-0-1 SOL) hosts Lower Moreland on Thursday night. New Hope (2-7, 1-6 SOL) plays at Wissahickon.
Abington 3 3 – 6
New Hope 0 0 – 0
Wissahickon 4, Cheltenham 0
Jeevan Jouhal scored three goals as the Trojans cruised to the crossover win against Cheltenham on Tuesday afternoon.
Jouhal got the scoring started seven minutes into the game, and then made it 2-0 in the 20th minute. In the second half, he added another and then in the 78th minute, Jofi Contreras made the 4-0 final.
Picking up assists for Wissahickon were Michael Orn, Ryan Berger, Sam Grossberg and Charlie Stehilk.
Keepers Eric McEvily and Gavin Malloy combined for the shutout.
Wissahickon (5-4, 4-4 SOL) hosts New Hope-Solebury on Thursday. Cheltenham (0-8, 0-8 SOL) plays at Upper Dublin Thursday.
Wissahickon 2 2 – 4
Cheltenham 0 0 – 0
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