Check out the results for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Monday. Check back to view photos of the Council Rock North/Council Rock South game.
By Jarrad Saffren
Eight Suburban One League boys’ soccer games kicked off Monday afternoon. The other four were late games. The results and recaps are below.
National Conference
Bensalem 2, Harry S. Truman 1 (OT)
Bensalem’s Ronak Patel is a defender, but “he’s great at head balls,” said coach Joe Leone.
In the first overtime Monday, Patel ran up to the offensive zone as Ryan Molz lofted the ball toward the box on a corner kick. Patel leaped and headed the ball past the keeper.
“We send him up whenever we can,” Leone said.
The game winner was Patel’s second head ball goal of the season.
Truman, looking for its first win, struck first. About 20 minutes in, Carlos Chirines booted the ball into the net to put Truman up 1-0. Midway through the second half, Giovani Saez tied it up for Bensalem.
The Owls could have scored a lot more goals against a lesser keeper. Truman’s Fernando Mendez stopped 10 shots and impressed Leone.
“Some were point blank, some were diving. He’s very good. He basically stood on his head to keep them in the game,” said Leone.
The Tigers have not won this season, but they’ve come awfully close. Monday was Truman’s fourth one-goal loss.
Bensalem finally put together a winning streak after alternating wins and losses for the first few weeks of the season.
“Hopefully this will start a trend of us putting some wins together,” said Leone.
Bensalem (4-2, 3-2 SOL) goes for its third straight win Friday afternoon at William Tennent. Truman (0-6, 0-5 SOL) plays George Washington Tuesday at 3:15 p.m.
Bensalem 0-1-1 2
Harry S. Truman 1-0-0 1
Pennsbury 3, Neshaminy 1
Pennsbury took a 1-0 lead into halftime and never looked back on its way to the win in a battle of neighboring rivals.
Colin Marks converted a penalty kick for the first goal that turned out to be the game winner in the fifth minute.
Tyler Williams added an insurance goal in the 43rd minute, using a Marks assist. Kevin Nagle iced the game with a goal in the 75th minute. Neshaminy's Zach Ryder prevented the shutout when he scored in the 79th minute.
"We were beaten by a bigger, stronger, more experienced team tonight," Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said. "We played eight sophomores (started six), and we are getting better every game."
Anthony Rosso stopped four shots for the Falcons. Chris Rush made seven saves for the Redskins.
Pennsbury (4-1-1, 4-0-1 SOL) travels to Council Rock South Friday afternoon. Neshaminy (1-5-1, 1-3-1 SOL) also plays South in its next league game, next Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
Pennsbury 1-2 3
Neshaminy 1-0 1
Council Rock North 3, Council Rock South 0
North scored one goal in the first half and two in the second to stay undefeated in league play.
The Indians netted all three goals on set pieces. Noah Ehlin, Eric Levine, and Nikita Illin scored the goals. Nick Guarna and Brett Miller recorded assists.
Neither team took many shots. North keeper Billy Storm made three saves. South keepers Nate Zadjowicz and Nolan Gaudet combined for four saves on seven shots.
North (4-0-2, 3-0-2 SOL) is off until Saturday night and does not have another league game until next Tuesday at Bensalem. South will rest for three days before hosting Pennsbury Friday.
Council Rock North 1-2 3
Council Rock South 0-0 0
Abington 2, William Tennent 1
With about 10 minutes to go, Jason Gales headed the ball past the keeper, clinching a huge win for the Ghosts.
Abington climbed into a tie with Tennent and Bensalem for third place in the National Conference. All three teams have nine points, and Pennsbury leads the conference with 13.
Tennent led 1-0 at halftime, but Matt Bachman scored early in the second half to even the score.
Abington (4-2, 3-2 SOL) has eight days off before hosting Harry S. Truman next Tuesday. Tennent (4-3, 3-2 SOL) battles Bensalem on Friday.
Abington 0-2 2
William Tennent 1-0 1
Continental Conference
Central Bucks South 3, Souderton 2
CB South scored in the 71st and 74th minutes – using goals by Colin Fagan and Colin Green – to turn a one-goal deficit into a one-goal win.
John Keefe scored in the 64th minute to give Souderton a 2-1 lead, but the Titans – who received a goal in the seventh minutes from Jake Helwig (Jason Reimert assist) refused to be denied.
“We didn’t close down space quickly enough, and to South’s credit, their players hit two very good shots from outside the 18,” said Souderton coach Matt Benner.
South climbed above .500 in conference play but remains six points behind first place CB East.
The Titans (4-2, 3-2 SOL) play at Quakertown Friday afternoon. Souderton (1-7, 1-4 SOL) hosts North Penn.
Central Bucks South 1-2 3
Souderton 1-1 2
Central Bucks East 8, Quakertown 0
Another game, another scintillating performance by Patriots forward Evan Vare. The defending player of the year blasted three goals to lead East to its seventh straight win.
Two other Patriots, Joey Bowen and Jeffrey Rodgers, added two goals each. Justin Chomik added the eighth.
East is the only undefeated, untied team in all three SOL conferences.
The Patriots (7-0, 5-0 SOL) will try to keep it that way Thursday at Central Bucks West. Quakertown (0-7, 0-5 SOL) plays CB South Friday.
Central Bucks East 3-5 8
Quakertown 0-0 0
Central Bucks West 3, Hatboro-Horsham 0
Freshman keeper Dylan Smith continued his hot start, making three saves and earning his fifth shutout of the season.
Smith was aided by a balanced offensive attack that netted one goal in the first half and two in the second. Each goal was scored and assisted by a different player as six West players got on the score sheet.
Joel Acaster, August Meyer, and Joey Recupero scored the goals. Marcos Urffer, Tarin Morris, and Jack Tilley tapped the assists.
With one loss in league play, West is the best of the rest in the Continental Conference behind only perennial power CB East.
The Bucks (6-1, 4-1 SOL) host the Patriots in a pivotal matchup Thursday night. Hatboro-Horsham (4-4, 2-3 SOL) plays Pennridge at home.
Central Bucks West 1-2 3
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0 0
North Penn 4, Pennridge 1
North Penn defeated Pennridge and stayed even with CB West in second place in the Continental Conference.
The Knights beat West on Friday but lost to first place East earlier in the season.
Scoring goals for the Knights, who led 3-1 at the intermission, were Aiden Jerome, Liam Parker (Mike Kohler assist), Nick Terchek (Parker assist) and Musa Sheriff (Kevin Seipt assist) as six different players had a hand in goal.
North Penn (6-1, 4-1 SOL) goes to Souderton Friday for a 3:30 p.m. start. Pennridge (2-4, 1-4 SOL) rides to Hatboro-Horsham Thursday afternoon.
Pennridge 1-0 1
North Penn 3-1 4
American Conference
Upper Dublin 2, Upper Merion 0
Upper Dublin took control in the final 12 minutes, scoring twice to put pesky Upper Merion away.
“We maybe had more chances but not that many more,” said Cardinals coach Derek Priest. “There was a lot of time spent in the middle of the field.”
Upper Dublin finally scored off a corner kick in the 68th minute. The ball bobbled around in a crowd in front of the net before Kevin Hoaxha kicked it home. Ten minutes later, Merion was pushing up when a Dublin defender booted the ball to the other side of the field. Todd Spirt controlled the ball on the edge of the box and pushed it past the keeper.
Each goalie made five saves. Priest said that UD’s defense was the difference, especially Josh Franklin.
“Josh had an absolutely outstanding game,” said Priest. “He won everything in the air and made so many great short passes, cross field passes, and 40-50 yard balls. He’s a captain and he played a captain’s game.”
Upper Dublin (4-2, 4-1 SOL) plays Wissahickon Friday afternoon. Both teams are one point behind Cheltenham in the American standings. Upper Merion (1-3-2, 1-2-2 SOL) goes to Springfield for a 3 p.m. start.
Upper Dublin 0-2 2
Upper Merion 0-0 0
Wissahickon 5, Norristown 0
Wissahickon’s Darien Williams missed most of last season with an illness. The senior is making up for lost time early in 2015.
Williams scored three of Wissahickon’s five goals Monday, bringing his season total to six. Two of the three before Monday were game winners, one against Springfield and another versus Upper Merion.
“I knew he’d (Darien) give us a different element with his speed,” said Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm. “But speed doesn’t mean goals. He’s really understanding the places he needs to get to to give himself opportunities.”
The Trojans netted three goals in the first 20 minutes Monday. The fourth came five minutes before halftime, and the fifth happened two minutes after the break. Tom McHale and Alex Escude scored one each.
Keepers Brad Schwartz and Zach Reiner combined for six saves.
Wissahickon (4-2, 4-1 SOL) clashes with Upper Dublin Friday afternoon. Norristown (1-5, 0-5 SOL) buses to Upper Moreland Tuesday.
Wissahickon 4-1 5
Norristown 0-0 0
Cheltenham 3, Upper Moreland 1
Cheltenham won its fourth straight game and stayed one point ahead of Upper Dublin and Wissahickon in the American standings.
The Panthers struck twice in the first half with goals from Scarphins Codio and Noah Michel, but the Golden Bears cut the lead in half in the 30th minute.
The score remained 2-1 until Brendan Chaplin dribbled around Moreland’s right back and crossed the ball to Jake Rucket, who headed it into the net.
Cheltenham (4-1-1, 4-0-1 SOL) travels to Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday afternoon in a battle of great American contenders. Upper Moreland (2-4, 1-4 SOL) hosts Norristown Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
Cheltenham 2-1 3
Upper Moreland 1-0 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5, Springfield 1
Four players scored for PW and one, Austin Betterly, scored twice. Skyler Goldstein, Nick Lockard, and Mark Melvin each netted one.
Springfield’s goal was scored by Mike Bonacci and assisted by Trevor McCaffery.
With nine points, PW is in a close four-team race at the top of the American standings. All four are separated by three points.
The Colonials (5-1-1, 3-1-1 SOL) battle first place Cheltenham Friday at 3:30 p.m. Springfield (1-5, 1-4 SOL) welcomes Upper Merion Tuesday afternoon.
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