Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Monday.
SOL Crossover
UPPER DUBLIN 1, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 (2 OT)
With time winding down in the second overtime, a tie seemed all but inevitable, but Tommy Clayton had other ideas, turning a pass from teammate Nick Fiore into a goal that propelled the Cardinals to the win in Monday’s thriller.
Clayton, however, wouldn’t have had a chance to be the hero had it not been for the stellar outing in goal by sophomore Gabe Copley.
“The number one player for me today would have to be our sophomore goalkeeper Gabe Copley,” UD coach Noah Johnson said. “He’s been hurt a lot – it hasn’t been his fault. It’s always either in training and someone’s hurting him or our game against Quakertown he got injured, so he’s been in and out of the trainer’s room.
“But now that he’s finally back, we put him in today, and he showed up big time. He is the reason why – to me – we win this game. (Hatboro-Horsham) had a free kick in the beginning of the first half – very, very scary on the 18,, and he made just a full-on diving save, fully stretched out and saved it. Got back up, saved another shot that came right at him, and he kept us in the game. He was a key player because every save he made – you could feel the energy that he gave off to our team. It was, ‘Hey, Gabe saved it. We’ve got to fight now, we’ve got to keep going.’ Definitely just having him back there – for me, a breath of fresh air and definitely for the team, a breath of fresh air. Just having that new energy, just keep responding every time we get a big save.”
For close to 100 minutes, neither team could find the back of the net, but both had their chances.
“It was a really weird game, and I say it was weird because the game could have gone either way – either team could have won,” Johnson said. “The referees did pretty well with just letting the boys play.
“It was really windy, and you could tell it affected both teams whether you were with the wind or against the wind. It looks like both teams like to play possession, so when you had the wind against you and got stuck in certain situations, not being able to get the ball out and find a teammate. Or when you have the wind, it’s keeping the ball up or sending the ball 50 miles down the field. The game was weird for the boys just because of not being able to hear each other. In general, just playing on Monday – maybe some people were trying to conserve energy.”
The Cardinals received a lift with the return of some familiar faces to their lineup.
“We have some of our injured boys coming back and bringing life back into the team, but even then, they can only have a couple of minutes,” Johnson said. “One of the kids, Dan Gorman – he plays a big role on the team. He’s finally coming back, but he’s only going to be playing maybe 10-15 minutes at a time.
“Just having him back kind of lifted everyone’s spirits a little bit. I don’t know what happened today – I know a couple of things were said in the locker room, and a lot of music was playing, so maybe we need to start doing that a little bit more.
“This was a big game for both sides. Most of the boys know each other, so it was fun to see them happy. Last year being so tough with COVID and kids not being able to socialize or be out, it’s nice to just see both teams being friendly with each other and just being able to come out and have a good game.”
Upper Dublin (3-4, 3-3 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (5-2, 4-2) will host Lower Moreland on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-0 0
Upper Dublin 0-0-0-1 1
SOUDERTON 6, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Nolan Hughes scored a pair of goals and five other players added one goal each in the Indians shutout win over the Tigers in a crossover game.
In the second minute, Hughes turned a pass from Joe Sirchia into a goal that turned out to be the game-winner. Then it was Brandon Fornwall connecting for a goal in the 10th minute, using assists from Tyler Bovell and Thomas Smith. Ty Quintois scored in the 21st minute with an assist from Parv Kumar. Ben Lane’s goal with a Joel Molina assist in the 26th minute was followed by an unassisted goal from Hughes in the 39th minute that sent the Indians into halftime with a 5-0 lead.
Midway through the second half, Sirchia scored with an assist from Elijah Yoder for the 6-0 final.
Goalkeepers Aidan McClure, Roman Sigafoos and Chris McKenna combined for four saves in the shutout win.
Souderton (4-1-2, 3-1-2 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Thursday, and Harry S Truman (0-8, 0-7) will host Central Bucks South on Wednesday.
Souderton 5-1 6
Harry S Truman 0-0 0
Non-league
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 7, COLLEGIUM CHARTER SCHOOL 0
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