Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. Photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos, CLICK HERE to go directly to the SOS galleries.
SOL American Conference
Hatboro-Horsham 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1
Hatboro-Horsham notched a much-needed with over Plymouth Whitemarsh, but it didn't come easily.
"PW has been playing well and they're very good with possession of the ball," Hatboro-Horsham coach Kyle McGrath said. "But we played well. We're halfway through the season now, and we set some goals for the season, and the boys put in a good performance today and beat a really good PW team.”
The Hatters got on the board first with 10 minutes gone in the second half when Matt Harmon knocked in a pass from Andrew Hurrell.
"It was a nice play by Matty," McGrath said. "He was able to break down the defender and got in on goal and finished."
Bradan Mallon scored what would be the game-winner with 15 minutes to play off a scrum in front of the net after a Ryan Cole corner kick.
“We had a corner kick, we played it into the box, we won the initial ball, but it kind of fell down to Bradan Mallon’s feet at about the six, and he finished it past the goalkeeper who was coming out to block it,” McGrath said.
The Colonials' Tommy Hoy sliced the Hatters' lead in half just two minutes later.
“They had a nice goal," McGrath said. "It was a counter attack and we got caught out of position and he finished. From there, we were able to see the game out."
Several Hatters came up big in the victory in a game played in steady rain.
“I thought Ryan Cole played well at center mid," McGrath said. "He and J.D. Mallinder did well. My back four again, they gave up a goal, but throughout most of the day they were solid, especially Jake Weiss as an outside back. He and Fran Moio are two sophomores playing back there and doing well."
Every conference game the Hatters have lost has come by just one goal.
"Obviously, we’ve been very close so far with all of our losses being one-goal losses, so to come out on the other end of that was important," McGrath said. " Any time you can win a league game like that it’s crucial, especially this year. It seems like there’s some more quality amongst some of the schools who maybe we’re not used to seeing at the top of the standings, so any time we can get three points is obviously a bonus.
“The weather conditions were unfavorable today. The entire game was played in a pretty steady downpour, which we’ve played in a couple of times this year so my guys are a little accustomed to it, but it definitely started to affect the game at the end because even on the turf, the turf field was starting to puddle, so balls were not moving as quickly as we’re used to.”
Hatboro-Horsham (4-5-1, 2-4-1 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Thursday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-3-3, 3-2-2) will be on the road at Wissahickon Thursday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-1 – 1
Hatboro-Horsham 0-2 – 2
Upper Dublin 3, Springfield Township 0
The Cardinals celebrated Senior Night with a victory over the Spartans.
"Everybody stepped up and contributed for us," UD coach Andy Meehan said.
"We got lucky with the weather, but it was wet out there. It started out as an ugly game, but we got some luck when Colin Asper took a free kick from about 45 yards out and got it over the keeper's head. From then on, we made some adjustments at halftime and were able to get some good runs from our forwards and midfielders in the second half."
John Visher, off a feed from Chris Kenney, gave the hosts a 2-0 lead 13 minutes into the second half before Corey Schonberg capped the scoring with a tally with 10 minutes left in regulation.
"All of the boys put in a max effort," Meehan said. "We have a lot of talent on the team this year both old and young and we're working on putting it all together."
The Cardinals upped their record to 3-3-1 in conference with the victory (5-4-1 overall). The Spartans are 0-5-2 in the conference and 2-5-3 overall.
Upper Dublin will host Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday, and Springfield Township will host Abington on Thursday.
Springfield Township 0-0 0
Upper Dublin 1-2 – 3
SOL Continental Conference
Souderton 1, Quakertown 0
Couple a strong defensive effort with a timely goal and good things usually happen.
That was the case for Souderton as the Indians picked up their first victory of the season by topping visiting Quakertown.
"I thought our back line was really good today," Souderton coach Matt Benner said. "Our goalie didn't have to make a lot of saves because the back line played so well. Those guys, Luke Atiyeh, Kyle Russell, Tyler Bovell and Dillon Barbieri all played great for us."
Sophomore T.J. Hibsman's corner kick found junior Reece DiRenzi about 16 minutes into the game and DiRenzi knocked it home from six yards out.
"We had some quality opportunities," Benner said. "But we were only able to get the one goal.
"I'm very happy for the team. It was our first win of the season. We've had a lot of one-goal losses, and an overtime loss, but this was great for the boys and we hope to keep it going in the second half of the season."
Mitchell Race notched his first shutout in goal for the Indians, who earned seven corner kicks.
The Indians are now 1-2-1 in conference (1-6-1 overall) while the Panthers are 0-6 (1-8 overall).
Souderton will host North Penn on Thursday, and Quakertown will host Central Bucks South on Thursday.
Quakertown 0-0 0
Souderton 1-0 – 1
North Penn 3, Pennridge 0
North Penn – the lone SOL team without a loss – remained unbeaten and at the top the conference standings with a win over Pennridge.
The Knights took a 2-0 lead to halftime on goals from Luke McMahon (from Jared Huzar) and Carter Houlihan (also from Huzar). Ryan Stewart, on a direct kick, capped the scoring in the second half.
North Penn is second in the latest District One 4A power rankings and Pennridge – which suffered its first conference loss – is 12th.
North Penn (8-0, 5-0 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Thursday, and Pennridge (6-2-1, 3-2-1) will host Lansdale Catholic in a non-league game Thursday.
Pennridge 0-0 0
North Penn 2-1 – 3
Central Bucks West 1, Central Bucks South 0
Just a little bit of offense is usually enough for Central Bucks West and that was again the case in a win over Central Bucks South.
Jimi Leder, off a feed from Kyle Holt, had the game's only tally and the Bucks made it stand up as they improved to 5-1 in conference and 7-2 overall.
West goalkeeper Dylan Smith was outstanding again as he turned away four shots to record his remarkable seventh shutout of the season.
Central Bucks West is 14th in the latest District One 4A power rankings.
The Bucks (7-2, 5-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Thursday, and Central Bucks South (4-3, 3-3) will be on the road at Quakertown.
Central Bucks South 0-0 0
Central Bucks West 1-0 – 1
SOL National Conference
Council Rock North 1, Council Rock South 0
Zach Saifer has become Mr. Clutch for the Indians.
"Zach had our only goal and he's had back-to-back-to-back game-winning goals for us," CR North coach Joe Stackhouse said. "He ripped it from just inside the box. Eddie Long had the assist."
Saifer, whose goal came with 23 minutes left in regulation, scored his previous two goals on headers.
"He's 6-7," Stackhouse said. "In our last two games before this, he scored on head balls, but today was a great shot."
Stackhouse also praised the play of his defense.
"Ryan Sirota, Jeremy Smithline and Spencer Berman, our back line, really played well," Stackhouse said. "And our goalie, Andrew Baries, was also really good. This was our third-straight shutout and all the boys played well.
"It wasn't the prettiest game, and we had to stop in the middle of the first half for about a half an hour because of thunder, but we'll take winning ugly. We played with a lot of energy and that was good to see."
The Indians (6-2, 5-0 SOL) have a big game Thursday at Pennsbury at 3:30 p.m. Council Rock South (3-7, 3-3) will travel to Harry S Truman on Thursday.
Council Rock South 0-0 0
Council Rock North 0-1 1
William Tennent 1, Harry S. Truman 0
William Tennent and Harry S. Truman battled all the way in a game that wasn't decided until just 20 minutes remained in regulation.
"This game could have gone either way," Tennent coach Nick D'Andrea said. "It was a great match by both teams. And Truman really played well."
The Panthers' Colin Hires provided all of the offense when he scored off a scramble in front after a corner kick.
"The ball popped out to him with about 20 minutes left in the game," D'Andrea said.
Tennent improved to 2-4 in the conference (3-4 overall) while the Tigers dipped to 0-6 (1-7 overall).
William Tennent will travel to Cheltenham on Friday, and Harry S Truman will host Council Rock South.
Harry S. Truman 0-0 – 0
William Tennent 0-1 – 1
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