Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. Springfield/PW photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice. Abington/Lower Moreland photo courtesy of Greg Zesinger. Check back for galleries of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f131331739 (Neshaminy/Souderton photos provided courtesy of Trish Sexton/Neshaminy soccer)
SOL Patriot/Colonial Crossovers
Council Rock North 2, Pennridge 1
A second-half goal by Keertan Palayam was the difference, as CR North edged Pennridge in a crossover battle on Wednesday.
“In the first portion of the first half, we allowed them to control play,” said Indians’ assistant coach Brian Hoffman. “It wasn’t until about 20 minutes after we scored that we started stepping to the ball and being a bit more efficient with our passing, so it was a little frustrating going into halftime 1-1. It just seemed like our guys were lethargic coming off a long weekend where they just were waiting for the ball to come to them.”
Pennridge struck first with a penalty kick goal by Pat Fannon.
“We came out with great energy and earned a penalty kick in the first five minutes,” said Rams coach Aaron Rapsinski. “Pat Fannon buried it.
“We played really well throughout the rest of the half, but we were unfortunate to give up a goal with 18 minutes left in the half.”
Logan Adams finished CR North’s goal with a header to the far post off the corner kick from Zayd Najimi.
Late in the second half, the Indians took advantage of an opportunity to pick up the game-winner by Keertan Palayam.
“We controlled most of the second half, and with 15 minutes to go, there was a ball played up the middle from David Igval to Keertan Palayam,” Hoffman said. “Keerton faked one way, got the defender out of position and then hit a bouncing volley with his left foot to the upper 90 of the far post. It was beautiful. Then, we just controlled play the last 15-20 minutes.
“Pennridge – I know their record might not reflect it, but they came to play. They went to the ball, they beat us out for head balls, they beat us out for 50-50 balls, and that usually results in your team not being as successful as you’d like them to be, but I feel in the second half our guys responded well.
“We had multiple other very good chances to go ahead. Again, if the call that was made in the first half had been even in the second half, I think we would have had a couple more potential penalty kicks, but that is what it is. Aside from that, the second half we played like the team we’re supposed to be. We kind of fell asleep for the first portion of the game but played like ourselves the second portion.”
The Rock North assistant acknowledged the strong efforts of several players.
“Zayd (Najimi) played very well,” Hoffman said. “He’s coming off a groin injury for the first part of the season, but he’s really been a good spark for us offensively.
“Will Camp played very well for us up top – protected the ball, played smart.”
Pennridge may not have won, but took a lot of positives from the loss.
“We had a few chances back and forth in the second half, and they were able to get the winner with about 15 mins left in the game,” Rapsinski said. “My guys played hard today though and showed that despite a rough start to the season, we’re here to play with anyone and we can hang with anyone.
“Chase Rabinowitz had a great game in the middle of the field. He worked his butt off for 80 minutes. Gavin Dimmick made a handful of saves to keep us in the game. Pat Fannon, Logan Lamaina, and Parker Annan all played really well in attack. We just have to start finding more goals.
“We’re looking forward to a tough test Friday against CR South.”
First-place CR North (9-0-2, 8-0-2 SOL) has another crossover game Friday at Souderton.
Pennridge (3-7, 3-6 SOL) hosts CR South.
Pennridge 1 0 – 1
CR North 1 1 – 2
Neshaminy 1, Souderton 0
Rezi Tebidze’s goal in the 31st minute was the game-winner, as Neshaminy took out visiting Souderton on Wednesday.
“We had a nice buildup and finished with Matt Diamond feeding Rezi Tebidze,” said Neshaminy coach Tom Foley. “Rezi beat a kid off the dribble and got an opening at the
top of the 18, and he knocked it in just inside the right post. It was a very nice goal.
“The flow of the game in the first half, we moved the ball about as well as we’ve moved it all year. One thing we have done well this year was move the ball. I thought it was one of our better games moving the ball. We created a couple of dangerous chances, but it’s the same old, same old. We get to the 18, and it fizzles out. We did really well in that aspect of the game.
“We gave up too many transitional breaks for Souderton. Souderton probably had more looks at our goal than we got off them in the first half. It wasn’t that they were dominating the play. We just were slow picking up our marks defensively in transition, but overall, we played a really solid first half.”
Neshaminy didn’t score, but controlled play in the second half.
“I think we buttoned it up a little bit more defensively in the second half, but we didn’t knock the ball around as crisply in the second half,” Foley said. “It was a fair tradeoff. We didn’t want to give up any goals.
“In the 60th minute, Rezi got taken down in the box, and he got a penalty kick. Unfortunately, he hit the post with it. It would have been nice to have that breathing room, but we don’t do anything easily here at Neshaminy, so we had to defend for the last couple of minutes.
“I thought we did a nice job. There was really only one thrust Souderton had, and we did a nice job of limiting that opportunity, so I thought we did a real nice job protecting the lead. We got balls out and made them go chase it and go 70 or 80 yards. I thought the kids did a nice job.”
The Redskins’ coach praised the efforts of several players.
“Jack Sexton played really well,” Foley said. “He always plays hard, but he had a really strong game today. Ryan Hock-Smith played well on our left side. He gave it all he had today and did a nice job. AJ Kollie did a nice job in the back.
“Our freshman, Jake Fallon, got about 70 minutes today. He did really, really well in the midfield. That’s a tough task for a freshman to play in the middle, and he did a pretty good job. Our three sophomores – Ryan MacMullen, Damien Castro and Mark Andreyeu – all were big contributors to the game. It was a really good team win for us today.”
Souderton had moments but never was able to get the tying score.
“Hats off to Neshaminy, who dominated the first half and scored a nice goal from (Tebidze) midway through the first half,” said Indians coach Frank Demas. “(Souderton) responded well in the second half and never gave up but couldn’t really get anything going.”
Neshaminy (3-6-1, 3-6-1 SOL) plays at SOL Colonial leading CB East on Friday.
Souderton (4-4-1, 4-4-1 SOL) hosts SOL Patriot leading CR North on Friday.
Souderton 0 0 – 0
Neshaminy 1 0 – 1
Central Bucks South 2, Bensalem 1
The Titans shook off a slow start and an early deficit, and eventually emerged with the 2-1 win thanks to a strong second half.
“With a few days off from the high of victory over CR South, we started off today rusty by starting slow and conceding in the first five minutes,” said CB South coach Kyle
Pettican. “We managed to collect ourselves by Luke Fromal playing a low hard ball into the 6- yard box that resulted in an own goal to bring it back at the 12th minute mark. The first half was a poor showing from us, we didn’t not play well at all.”
But the second half was a different story with the big moment a goal by Anthony Bice that broke the 1-1 halftime tie and ended up being the game winner.
“After regrouping at halftime, we started the second half like our normal selves,” Pettican said. “Much better play and effort. We had way more opportunities and felt less pressured. Anthony Bice got the winning goal around 10 minutes into the second half. After that we were getting lots of chances.
“The Bensalem keeper was phenomenal against us last year and was phenomenal again this year. He always gives his team a fighting chance in games. He saved two point-blank range unbelievable shots from Evan Jaskelewicz and Luke Fromal within seconds of each other.
“We are fortunate to have a great keeper also in Pat VanLuvanee. He came up huge for us, especially in the last minute of the game where he kept out the Bensalem striker from being allowed to go 1v1 with him.”
The win pushes CB South’s record to 6-2-1 overall and in the SOL. It plays at Harry S. Truman on Friday.
Bensalem (2-8, 2-8 SOL) hosts North Penn on Friday.
Bensalem 1 0 – 1
CB South 1 1 – 2
Central Bucks East 2, Pennsbury 0
Two second-half goals helped break things open for CB East, which maintained its solid grip on the top spot in the SOL Colonial with the crossover win.
Max Willis and Joey Roth had the second half goals for the Patriots after a tough first half.
“It was a fairly even first half,” said CB East coach Josh Isaacsohn. “I think they had a few good chances. They started very strong up the spine of the team. They have two players, their center holding mid #10 (Saad Williams) and #5 up top (Bryan Sanchez) were just really talented, and we realized a lot of the play went through them.
“We had a few opportunities. We were probably giving them a little bit too much space and kind of letting them work it up the field a little bit more. To the boys’ credit, they kept them off the board. We had a few opportunities. We didn’t hit them very well, and their keeper played a very good game.”
The game’s first goal came off a corner kick from Roth, which Willis finished off with a header.
“At halftime, to the boys’ credit, we really made some adjustments, and this team is just so very coachable, and they immediately put them into effect,” Isaacsohn said. “We felt that we took out a couple of their playmakers a little bit and showed a little bit more energy. We had some more opportunities on goal.
“About five minutes into the second half, we earned a corner kick. We earned a lot more corners in the second half which really shows a lot about effort.”
Roth picked up a goal of his own 20 minutes later, off the assist from fullback Wesley Meyers.
“Wesley just gave a beautiful assist – a very calm, poised assist – and Joey just brought it down and finished it,” Isaacsohn said. “I would say on top of that we had three or four opportunities where we got behind them outside, crossed the ball right across the goal mouth and probably could have had a couple more if we just get a toe poke on it or something close.
“Tom (Stoddart) has those guys organized, and they’re really strong up the spine and were fairly dangerous in the first half.”
Isaacsohn also credited the defense of Meyers, Will Zlogar and Reese Davis.
“Justin Bardwell came in off the bench and gave us some really, really good minutes,” he said. “Dan Marino, in net, had a few really good saves. He had a very solid game.”
CB East (9-1, 9-0 SOL) hosts Neshaminy in another crossover game on Friday.
Pennsbury (2-7-2, 2-6-2 SOL) returns home to host CB West on Friday.
Pennsbury 0 0 – 0
CB East 0 2 – 0
Central Bucks West 4, Harry S Truman 0
A win is a win, and CB West found a way to get it done in its shutout of visiting Truman on Wednesday night.
“It certainly wasn’t our best performance of the season, and to Truman’s credit, they competed for the full 80 minutes,” said Bucks coach John Adair. “But it was a great opportunity for a lot of our younger guys to get minutes at the varsity level, and for some of the guys that have played a lot so far to get some rest as we head into the back half of the season.”
Goal scorers for the Bucks included Christian Woo, Chris Hannon, Jason Lee and Nico Propato.
CB West (5-5, 5-3 SOL) plays at Pennsbury on Friday.
Truman (0-10, 0-9 SOL) plays at CB South on Friday.
Truman 0
CB West 4
North Penn 3, Council Rock South 1
CJ Leonardo was the star of the match, scoring a pair of goals to lead the Knights to the win over the Golden Hawks. Connor Sullivan also added a goal, but they were not the only players to come up big.
“Troy Nine was excellent in goal, and we had some strong defensive performances by Brian Scott, Logan Smith and Caiden Myers,” NP coach Chris DePeppe said. “Diego Castellano played an important role in the midfield.”
Despite the outcome, the Knights’ coach knows his team can play better.
“We didn’t play particularly well, and we’re still making enough mistakes to cost us games, but the boys fought hard for this one,” DePeppe said. “We’ve had some good training sessions, and our pace of play and our focus and awareness were much better today, but we could have controlled play and moved the ball through midfield a lot better because South attacked with numbers, and we had chances to punish them.
“But we came in today determined to make this game the start of our turnaround. We get our best player back from suspension now, so we need to get some momentum and start racking up points. But in terms of our overall quality, we’re not where we need to be and i know we can play better.”
North Penn (3-4-2, 3-3-2 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Friday, and Council Rock South (6-3-1, 5-3-1) will host Souderton on Friday.
SOL Freedom/Liberty Crossovers
Springfield Twp 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
It was a big game for Justin Whang, who scored both of Springfield’s goals as the Spartans blanked visiting Plymouth Whitemarsh on Wednesday.
Whang, who had two goals against Hatboro-Horsham last week, started Wednesday because of injuries and made the most of his chances.
“He’s a good player,” said Springfield coach Dan Meder. “We have a pretty solid team, so there have certainly been other years where he would have easily been a starter. He’s fast, he’s tenacious, he works hard, and he wants to score, so he’s really aggressive in front of the goal.”
Nick Marino assisted on Whang’s first goal seven minutes into the game.
Roman Corcoran picked up the assist on Whang’s second-half goal, just 10 seconds into the half.
“I’m happy with the guys we rotated in,” Meder said. “We had to change the lineup, we had to shift some guys around. This team has remained flexible. We have players that are willing to play wherever the team needs them to play. Even some of our stars had to move and play a different position so that the team would benefit, and they’re happy to do it, so it’s been a pleasure.
“Roman Corcoran did a good job. He started today, and he doesn’t normally start, and he played great for us in the midfield.”
Springfield (12-0, 10-0 SOL) plays at Abington in a battle of first-place teams on Friday afternoon.
PW (4-7, 4-5 SOL) will look to rebound Friday at William Tennent.
PW 0 0 – 0
Springfield 1 1 – 2
Quakertown 2, Upper Moreland 1
Alex Jalboot scored the game-winner late on a penalty kick to give Quakertown the exciting crossover win over visiting Upper Moreland Wednesday.
“I was proud that our boys were able to pull off a win as we know how tough these games can be,” said Panthers coach Bill James. “I’m really excited to see if the team can start reaching their full potential that I know that they are capable of reaching.”
The game was scoreless at half, before Quakertown jumped ahead early in the second half as Carter Tull scored off a Jared White assist.
Upper Moreland tied it up, but the Panthers emerged with the win, holding off the Golden Bears after Jalboot’s PK.
“Ryan Dauter played an entire 80 minutes at center back and did a great job,” James said. “Jacob Mosser had a really nice game in net and just continues to get better and better.”
Quakertown (3-6, 3-6 SOL) looks to make it two in a row Friday at Cheltenham.
UM (2-8, 1-8 SOL) hosts rival Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
UM 0 1 – 1
Quakertown 0 2 – 2
William Tennent 3, Hatboro-Horsham 1
After a scoreless first half, the teams went back and forth in the second and combined for four goals. Fortunately for Tennent, it scored the last to knock off the Hatters on Wednesday in a crossover game.
“It was 0-0 at the half of a very even game,” said Panthers coach Angelo Albanese. “Second half, the Hatters pressured up the field and disrupted (our) possession attempts. The game became more direct in second half.”
Dominic Grassey gave Tennent the lead with a “laser shot from 25 yards,” according to his coach, assisted by Patrick Gillespie.
Logan Gisondi scored for H-H to tie it up, off a Isaac Kakiko assist.
Tennent answered to take the lead again, this time with a Ryder Holt goal, from Connor
Hanratty. Hanratty scored himself off an assist by Nazariy Kukhniy to put the game away at 3-1.
Tennent (5-5, 4-5 SOL) hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh in another crossover game on Friday.
H-H (3-7, 3-7 SOL) looks to bounce back at rival Upper Moreland Friday.
H-H 0 1 – 1
WT 0 3 – 3
Abington 3, Lower Moreland 0
Brady Hartman scored two first-half goals, as Abington remained unbeaten in SOL play with a solid shutout of Lower Moreland in crossover play on Wednesday.
Hartman scored on a header, off an assist from Braden Delgado, and then later scored off an assist from Braden Brownholtz.
In the second half, Brownholtz picked up a goal himself on the feed from Liam Makowski.
Justin Waterfall earned the clean sheet in goal for the Ghosts.
The win sets up Friday’s showdown with undefeated Springfield in a battle of division leaders, at Abington (3:30 p.m.).
Lower Moreland (6-5, 5-5 SOL) looks to bounce back Friday at Wissahickon.
Abington 2 1 – 3
LM 0 0 – 0
Wissahickon 2, New Hope-Solebury 0
The Trojans made the long bus ride to New Hope on Wednesday, and after a scoreless first half, picked up two goals in the second half to get past the Lions in a crossover game.
Jeevan Jouhal scored first for Wissahickon in the 58th minute, with Charlie Fortescue picking up the assist.
Then, in the 72nd minute, Andrew Gejan scored from Jofi Contreras.
With the win, Wissahickon improved to 6-4 overall (5-4 SOL) and will host Lower Moreland in another crossover on Friday.
New Hope (0-8, 0-8 SOL) plays at Upper Dublin on Friday.
Wissahickon 0 2 – 2
New Hope 0 0 – 0
Upper Dublin 3, Cheltenham 0
(Game info will be added when it’s received.)
Upper Dublin 7-2, 6-2 SOL) will host New Hope-Solebury on Friday, and Cheltenham (6-5, 4-5) will host Quakertown on Friday.
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