Jarrad Saffren recaps all of Tuesday’s SOL boys’ soccer games.
By Jarrad Saffren
Twenty Suburban One League boys soccer teams played conference games Tuesday. One—Central Bucks West—played a non-conference game.
All three SOL conferences remain two-horse races. Council Rock North and Pennsbury in the National. Upper Dublin and Hatboro-Horsham in the American. North Penn and Central Bucks East in the Continental.
Tuesday’s results did not change that. They only confirmed it more.
That’s what we know halfway through the season.
We also know that four players—Upper Dublin’s Anthony Wisdo, Hatboro-Horsham’s Danny Bateman, North Penn’s Mike Kohler and Neshaminy’s Dan Grindrod—can really score. More on that below.
The results and recaps await you…
SOL National
Pennsbury 5, Harry S. Truman 0
Pennsbury is the last undefeated, untied team in all three Suburban One Leagues.
“It’s been a total team effort,” Falcons coach Tom Stoddart said. “Zach (LoBasso) is our leader, our goal scorer who comes through when we need him to. But everyone has been stepping up.”
Tuesday’s win was a total team effort.
Five Pennsbury players—Obi Onuha, Randy Dickersbach, Javier Sosa, Andrew Rocco Grandi and John Griffin—scored goals. Onuha and Dickersbach scored in the first half. Sosa, Rocco Grandi and Griffin scored in the second half.
Metiss Mendis assisted on the first goal. Matt Tennant assisted on the second.
Stoddart did not rave about his team after the game. He did not have to. Pennsbury expected to win this game.
“We just tried to keep our rhythm, get everyone involved and move the ball around a little bit,” Stoddart said. “Overall I’m pleased with how we played. We are just keeping things going.”
Pennsbury’s hot start is no fluke.
“Our record should be 10-0. It’s surprising but not based on how the team is playing. I knew we’d be in the mix. But it’s surprising any time you are undefeated this late,” Stoddart said. “To win 10 straight games is definitely an accomplishment. But for the most part, we’ve been the better team in most of our matches.”
Pennsbury (10-0, 5-0 SOL) plays Bensalem Tuesday at 3:30. Harry S. Truman (2-7, 0-6 SOL) takes on Council Rock North on the same day and time.
Pennsbury 2-3 5
Harry S. Truman 0-0 0
Abington 1, Bensalem 0
Nevins Baehr scored the only goal in the eighth minute. Ghosts defender Sean Touey booted the ball 60 yards downfield, over Bensalem’s back line.
Baehr won a race to the ball and slotted it inside the far post.
“It was a great individual effort from a kid who’s a good player,” Abington coach Randy Garber said.
Touey and keeper Nick Brownholtz assisted on the goal.
Abington hit the post twice later in the game. But the Ghosts could not add to their lead.
Abington’s defense prevented Bensalem from generating chances. Brownholtz did his part as well, racing out to catch high balls in the box.
The keeper made four saves.
“He did what he had to do to get a shutout,” Garber said. “He didn’t have a whole bunch of work.”
Brownholtz did make a “brilliant save” in the second minute. A Bensalem player raced in and fired from point blank range. Brownholtz raised his hand and pushed the ball over the net.
“He stoned the kid,” Garber said. “That saved the game. They could have very easily won 1-0.”
The Ghosts (7-2, 4-2 SOL) play at Council Rock South Thursday at 3:30. Bensalem (2-5-1, 1-4-1 SOL) plays at Pennsbury on the same day and time.
Abington 1-0 1
Bensalem 0-0 0
Neshaminy 4, Council Rock South 2
Dylan McDonald and Dan Grindrod are Neshaminy’s two best players. McDonald scored three goals in Neshaminy’s 6-1 win over Harry S. Truman last Thursday.
Grindrod got the hat trick against Council Rock South Tuesday.
“This was probably his best game. He played well offensively and defensively,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said Grindrod. “Two of his goals were pretty goals. The third was a gift from the goalkeeper.”
Grindrod made it 1-0 in the 15th minute. McDonald made a “slick pass” to set up the goal. Grindrod’s second goal was a “rocket of a half volley” from 30 yards out. It also put Neshaminy up 3-1. In the 77th minute, Grindrod’s corner kick deflected off the keeper’s hands into the net. That was the gift. But the kid earned it.
Jack McCourt put Neshaminy up 2-0 in the 30th minute. Four Redskins “one touched the ball up the field.” Vince Hosephros kicked the ball to McCourt and got the assist.
Grindrod is up to eight goals in 2016.
“That’s a very good start. It’s almost a goal a game,” Foley said. “That’s pretty good in this area.”
McCourt has four. Nine Neshaminy players have scored this season.
“We’ve gotten pretty well rounded scoring,” Foley said. “That’s pretty good. We are spreading the wealth around a little bit.”
Neshaminy’s defense has not been as strong. CR South hung around Tuesday. Reid Czapor scored in the 41st minute to cut Neshaminy’s lead in half. Pat Wilczynski scored in the 76th minute to make it 3-2.
“Once they made it 3-2 we played more solidly in the back and limited their chances in the end,” Foley said. “But we struggled a little bit defensively. We will take a look at the video tomorrow and see what we need to correct. But that’s what we need to iron out going forward.”
“We’ll keep plugging away with the guys we have back there,” Foley said. “They need to forget about mistakes and have the confidence in themselves that the coaches have in them. I tell them a zillion times no one’s ever played a perfect game.”
Foley was happy with his keeper, Val Scarsellatto.
“Val has played very well. He hasn’t let up any soft goals,” Foley said. “He made a couple really good saves early in the game tonight when it was 0-0. He bailed us out once or twice.”
Scarsellatto made six saves Tuesday.
Neshaminy sits in third place behind Council Rock North and Pennsbury.
“I told our kids tonight was a big game if we want any chance of winning the league,” Foley said. “We can’t drop another. There is no way Pennsbury is losing three games in the league with seven games left.”
Neshaminy (6-3, 4-2 SOL) battles Spring-Ford Thursday at 3:30. CR South (4-5-1, 1-4-1 SOL) hosts Abington on the same day and time.
Neshaminy 2-2 4
Council Rock South 0-2 2
SOL American
Hatboro-Horsham 1, Cheltenham 0
Hatboro-Horsham controlled the ball for most of the game. But the Hatters did not score until the 74th minute.
“It was a combination of things. We were generating opportunities. We just weren’t very composed in front of the goal,” Hatters coach Kyle McGrath said. “Cheltenham closed down our space when we got within 20-25 yards. Our guys weren’t clinical in that area. That’s why it was 0-0 for so long.”
A Cheltenham player threw the ball in in the 74th minute. A Hatters defender intercepted the ball and kicked it upfield to Danny Bateman. Three Panthers players approached Bateman. He dribbled around the first two and held off the third. Bateman toed the ball to the top of the 18 and rocketed it across the box. The ball swooshed into the net inside the far post.
“It was a great individual effort by him,” McGrath said. “There was no assist. We just cleared the ball to midfield and he did the rest.”
Bateman has seven goals in 2016.
Hatters’ keeper Stephen Doney stopped two shots.
“We controlled possession,” McGrath said. “Other than their counter attacks and restarts, we kept them at bay for the most part.”
Cheltenham keeper Lou Ledeka made 10 saves. Justin Grady missed the game with an illness.
“We weren’t very efficient with our shots today,” McGrath said. “Lou is doing really well, from what I’ve seen at least.”
The Hatters (8-1-2, 5-0-2 SOL) remain undefeated in SOL American play. Hatboro-Horsham battles Springfield Thursday at 3:30.
Cheltenham (2-6, 2-5 SOL) plays Upper Dublin Wednesday at seven.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-1 1
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Upper Dublin 5, Upper Moreland 1
These are the final scores of five of Upper Dublin’s eight wins: 5-1. 5-1. 6-0. 6-0. 6-2.
Four different players scored at least one goal in all five wins. The Flying Cardinals are the hottest, most dominant team of the 2016 first half. Coach Derek Priest credited a three-day preseason retreat to New York State.
“We had a very good preseason overall. That camp in particular went really well,” Priest said. “We trained a lot and bonded a lot. Things are always easier when you’re winning. But we seem to have very good chemistry between the guys.”
That was evident Tuesday. Upper Dublin controlled the ball for most of the game.
“Early in the second Upper Moreland had their best spell of the game. They made it 2-1,” Priest said. “But for the most part we controlled the game.”
Anthony Wisdo made it 1-0 in the 19th minute. Jake Chinn doubled the lead in the 23rd.
Kevin Devlin put UD up 3-1 in the 68th minute. Jerry Bardol made it 4-1 in the 70th. And Dan Mess punctuated the blowout in the 75th minute.
Jose Palomeque assisted Wisdo’s goal. Graham Tomko set up Chinn. Bardol – who received a pass from Colin Asper – played the ball to Devlin. And Chris Touchet assisted on Mess’s goal. Bardol did not need an assist. He dribbled through multiple defenders.
Wisdo has nine goals in nine games.
“Wisdo is really firing on all cylinders,” Preist said. “He’s a senior captain and a great leader. He’s really playing well.”
Bardol has seven goals. Chinn has four.
“And Chinn’s a central defender,” Preist said.
UD keeper Jason Stone made two saves and still has not lost a varsity start. Stone is 12-0-1 dating to 2015.
Upper Dublin, at 6-0-1 in conference play, is two points ahead of Hatboro-Horsham for first place.
“We needed a win because they won. Hatboro-Horsham has a strong team,” Preist said. “That’s going right down to the wire. I’m expecting them to keep winning.”
Upper Dublin (8-0-1, 6-0-1 SOL) plays Cheltenham Wednesday at seven. Upper Moreland (3-5-1, 1-5-1 SOL) takes on Plymouth Whitemarsh Thursday at 3:30.
Upper Dublin 2-3 5
Upper Moreland 0-1 1
Wissahickon 1, Springfield 1
Springfield ended Wissahickon’s four-game winning streak. Two of the wins came against SOL American opponents.
Wissahickon outscored its last four opponents 13-2.
Springfield improved to 2-4-1 in conference play. It also moved ahead of Quakertown and Cheltenham for fifth place. Wissahickon sits in fourth place behind Hatboro-Horsham, Upper Dublin and Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Jake Welsh scored for Springfield Tuesday. Mike Bonacci assisted.
Eddie Fortescue scored for Wissahickon. Tom McHale assisted.
Springfield (2-6-1, 2-4-1 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham Thursday at 3:30. Wissahickon (5-3-2, 3-3-1 SOL) welcomes Quakertown on the same day and time.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3, Quakertown 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh won its second straight conference game and took sole possession of third place. Quakertown dropped to 2-5 and is tied with Cheltenham in sixth.
PW's Alex Goldring opened the scoring in the 20th minute. Kyle Blumenthal assisted. Zach Finkelman made it 2-0 five minutes later. Noah Goldstein kicked him the ball. The Colonials took that 2-0 lead into halftime, and in the 45th minute, Finkelman found the net for the second time, this goal with a Jacobe Sandrcroft assist.
Quakertown's Brandon Strecker scored an unassisted goal in the 70th minute.
"Zach Finkelman, Alex Goldring and Kyle Blumenthal played well for PW," Colonials coach Jeff Heaton said. "Brandon Strecker played well for Quakertown."
PW (4-5, 4-3 SOL) takes on Upper Moreland Thursday at 3:30. Quakertown (3-5, 2-5 SOL) battles Wissahickon on the same day and time.
Quakertown 0-1 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2-1 3
SOL Continental
Souderton 3, William Tennent 2
Souderton needed a conference win after a 1-4 start. Now the Indians are tied in fifth with William Tennent.
“We know the SOL Continental is a really, really tough league,” Souderton coach Matt Benner said. “We played well in some games in the first half that we didn’t win. We wanted to make sure we closed games in the second half of the season.”
Souderton led 2-1 at halftime Tuesday. Dylan Molyneaux scored in the ninth minute off a Nick Marculo assist. Ben Campman beat the keeper in the 39th minute. Cameron Hart assisted.
“We got off to a good start offensively in the first half. We created good chances in the early portion of the game,” Benner said. “And we were still pretty dangerous even after we took the lead. It was good to get a goal even after they scored, so we had momentum going into the half. We felt like if we had a similar second half, we would get the win at home.”
Souderton closed. Marculo scored on a penalty kick in the 48th minute. William Tennent made it 3-2 nine minutes later.
“That made the last 20 minutes a bit hairy,” Benner said.
But the Indians held on.
“They got close on a couple set pieces. But (goalkeeper) Mitchell (Race) didn’t have to come up with any huge saves to bail us out,” Benner said. “The back line did a good job keeping play in front of them and closing out the game. Dylan Molyneaux and Cameron Hart played well in the center back spots. Luke Atiyeh, Abbel Carranza and Tommy Sonn played well at outside back.”
Benner also praised his offensive standouts.
“Marculo showed up on the stat sheet quite a bit. He’s given us a lot of quality play. He’s a good senior leader,” Benner said. “Ben Campman had a really solid game in the midfield as well. For him to get a goal was a nice little added bonus.”
Race made four saves for Souderton.
Souderton (5-5, 2-4 SOL) hosts Central Bucks South Thursday at seven. William Tennent (3-4, 2-4 SOL) plays Central Bucks West on the same day and time.
Souderton 2-1 3
William Tennent 1-1 2
Central Bucks East 2, Central Bucks South 0
Central Bucks East continues to win with defense and goalkeeping.
“The defense did well. The first half was a little shaky. Then we made some adjustments and solidified the defense,” CB East coach Jeremiah White said. “They had an extra guy in the midfield. We had to make sure we had enough guys covering. I had my second striker shift to mark the defensive midfielder. I also had my outside mids tuck in a little bit.”
The changes paid off. CB East limited CB South’s chances and scored two goals after halftime. Jordan Stokes scored the second goal in the 60th minute.
“In the second half they all did well. In the first half we lacked a bit of energy. They were winning all the second balls,” White said. “The second half was a really good group effort. Jordan gave us a spark. Liam Creedon gave us good offensive moments. Will Marks too.”
Keeper Karl Vandlow made five saves and earned the shutout. In the first half, a Titans player headed the ball toward the net. No defenders stood between the player and the goal. Vandlow ran over and knocked the ball away with his hand.
“That was his one really significant save,” White said. “It was an open header, and he made a good reaction. It was in his area and he adjusted and got it. One on ones are the hardest saves.”
CB East is a good defensive team. But its real strength is controlling the ball and limiting opponents’ possessions.
“When we have good tactical organization, we are able to do well. When we don’t, we get bad results. For the most part we’ve done well,” White said. “But we’ve had a few games where we’ve been a little off. These are teenage kids. Sometimes they lose a little bit of focus. We also need to focus on putting more goals in the net, especially against teams we should score against.”
Defense is almost enough at the moment. CB East is in second place at 5-1-1 in conference play.
The Patriots (6-2-2, 5-1-1 SOL) take on archrival North Penn Thursday at 3:30. CB South (4-6-1, 2-3-1 SOL) plays Souderton Thursday at seven.
Central Bucks East 0-2 2
Central Bucks South 0-0 0
North Penn 5, Pennridge 2
North Penn improved to 5-1 in conference play and stayed in first place. The Knights have won five straight.
Mike Kohler had a goal and four assists for the Knights. He has seven goals and 13 assists in nine games.
"What can you say about the kid?" coach Paul Duddy said. "He's just a great player."
North Penn led 5-0 at halftime, thanks to goals from Nick Terchek, Aidan Jerome, Nate Baxter, Luke McMahon and Kohler (Brett Katz assist).
Kohler's pass on Jerome's goal, according to Duddy, was highlight reel material.
"(He) put an incredible through ball," the Knights' coach said. "It was probably 30 yards on the ground. Aiden got it on the run and put it away.
"The referee turned to me and said, 'That's the best high school pass I've ever seen,' and it was. It was incredible."
The Rams scored a pair of second-half goals.
"Pennridge actually got the better of the the play for the first 10-12 minutes, but once we scored we got rolling," Duddy said. "We controlled the game from there."
North Penn goalkeeper Bobby Dean recorded three saves in the shutout, all in the first half. He did not play in the second half.
The Knights (7-2, 5-1 SOL) play archrival CB East Thursday afternoon in a battle for first place. The Patriots beat the Knights on Sept. 7.
"That's a huge, huge game," Duddy said. "They've had our number the past few years. They beat us three times last year, and if somebody beats you three times, they are the better team.
"We know that's who we need to beat to win this league. We are looking forward to the challenge. Then we have Archbishop Wood on Saturday, and that's no picnic. We want to play all of the toughest teams we can play."
Pennridge (3-5-1, 0-5-1 SOL) hosts Cheltenham Friday at 3:30.
North Penn 5-0 5
Pennridge 0-2 2
Non-League
Central Bucks West 4, George Washington 0
Central Bucks West lost 80 percent of its goals and assists from 2015.
“We knew that replacing that would not be easy,” CB West coach Stefan Szygiel said.
Seniors Sean Burke and August Meyer did not account for much of that other 20 percent last season. Meyer had three goals. Burke did not score any.
“He (Burke) didn’t get that much time,” Szygiel said.
Now Burke and Meyer are making up for the other 80 percent. Burke had two goals and an assist Tuesday. Meyer had two assists and a goal. Meyer assisted on Burke’s first goal. Burke assisted on Meyer’s goal.
“Those two seniors are producing in the offensive third for us right now,” Szygiel said. “It’s always good to see the chemistry between those guys. They are picking up the slack for the guys who graduated last year, which is important.”
Burke has four goals and three assists. Meyer has four goals and five assists. Both have exceeded their goal totals from 2015, halfway through the season.
“To see them both step up like that is fabulous,” Szygiel said.
Reed Sturza set up Burke’s second goal. Josh Hannon netted the fourth. Meyer assisted.
The Bucks continue to get offensive contributions from a lot of players.
“We knew we’d have a lot of guys score five or six goals by the time the season ends,” Szygiel said. “We’re not going to have a guy blow up for 15 goals. It’s just not who we are.”
CB West keeper Dylan Smith made three saves and earned his fourth shutout of 2016. “Dylan’s been great,” Szygiel said. “He had the luxury last year of an entire senior back line. This year we have two sophomores, a junior and a senior back there. We have a young back line. So we are seeing a couple more goals conceded this year at the halfway point than last year. It’s part of the learning and growing experience for Dylan and the team.”
CB West (5-3-1, 3-2-1 SOL) plays William Tennent Thursday at seven.
Central Bucks West 2-2 4
George Washington 0-0 0
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