Jarrad Saffren recaps all of Thursday’s SOL boys’ soccer action. Souderton/William Tennent photos provided by Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos.
By Jarrad Saffren
Eighteen Suburban One League boys’ soccer teams played league games on Thursday, the last day before the long Yom Kippur weekend. The busy day capped a busy, short week for most teams.
All nine results and recaps are below.
SOL National
Pennsbury 4, Harry S. Truman 1
Harry S. Truman, ever the pesky underdog, played Pennsbury to a 1-1 tie through 60 minutes. But Pennsbury scored three goals in the last 20 minutes to run away with the win.
“We moved the ball well and were more dangerous,” said Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart. “Our defense did a great job handling the impressive pace of Truman’s forwards.”
Two Pennsbury goalies—Chris Clark and Peter Beidler—“both played well,” Stoddart added.
Matiss Mendis, Garrett Zeller and Arlyn Buondonno scored for Pennsbury. Ilhas Nashid scored Truman’s goal.
Pennsbury (6-3-1, 4-2 SOL) plays Bensalem on Monday at 3:30. Truman (4-6, 0-6 SOL) hosts George Washington on Friday at 3:30.
Pennsbury 1-3 4
Harry S. Truman 1-0 1
Council Rock South 5, Neshaminy 2
Neshaminy took an early 1-0 lead. Council Rock South answered with three goals and led 3-1 at halftime. Neshaminy cut it to 3-2 midway through the second half. But CR South closed the game with two late goals.
Conor Nelms led the offensive explosion with three goals. Dan Maggio scored the other two. Conor Sweeney had two assists for South. Luke Evans had one.
A Neshaminy red card in the first half “changed the dynamic of the game and allowed us to work our way back on top,” said South coach Alan Nicholl.
“Neshaminy was very much in the game even after going down a man, and I credit them for their work rate and effort, especially after clawing back a goal to keep it close at 3-2,” Nicholl added.
CR South (5-6, 3-3 SOL) plays Abington on Monday night at seven. Neshaminy (3-6-1, 2-4 SOL) battles Holy Ghost Prep on Monday at 3:45.
Council Rock South 3-2 5
Neshaminy 1-1 2
Abington 2, Bensalem 1 (2 OT)
Danny Heller scored a goal in double overtime to lift Abington to a league win. Reese Gibbs passed him the ball and earned the assist.
Alfardy Ali gave Bensalem a 1-0 lead in the first half. Sean Touey tied the game at one for Abington.
Abington (9-3, 4-2 SOL) hosts CR South on Monday night at seven. Bensalem (4-5, 2-4 SOL) welcomes Pennsbury on Monday at 3:30.
Abington 1-0-0-1 2
Bensalem 1-0-0-0 1
SOL American
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Cheltenham 1
Colin Bateman scored two goals, both on penalty kicks, to lead Hatboro-Horsham to a league win. Nick Hatzenbeller scored late to cushion Hatboro’s lead.
“It was a good game,” said Hatters’ coach Kyle McGrath. “Cheltenham played well and their field is a challenge. It’s small and not what we are used to, but we persevered and got an important bounce-back win after (a loss on) Tuesday.”
Andrew Hurrell had an assist for Hatboro-Horsham.
The Hatters (8-2-1, 5-2 SOL) host Springfield Township on Monday at 3:45. Cheltenham (3-6, 2-5 SOL) plays Upper Dublin on Monday at 3:30.
Upper Dublin 1, Upper Moreland 0
This result was a bit of a surprise. Upper Moreland has struggled in 2017. Upper Dublin has been lighting teams up.
“It’s very unlike us,” UD coach Andy Meehan said. “It wasn’t our best game. Normally, our offense is the thing that shines in the game, but today it was the defense on both teams really.
“We came out flat. We just didn’t come out like we wanted to play. That’s something we discussed as a team. Maybe it could have been tired legs or whatever it was, but it was very unlike us. Fortunately, with a good defensive effort, we were able to squeak out a victory over that team.”
Tom Hiltwine and Garrett Breslin played well on defense for the Flying Cardinals. Jerry Bardol scored UD’s only goal midway through the first half. Max Adams got the assist.
Upper Dublin (6-2, 6-1 SOL) plays Cheltenham on Monday at 3:30. Upper Moreland (0-10, 0-7 SOL) battles Plymouth Whitemarsh on Monday night at seven.
Upper Dublin 1-0 1
Upper Moreland 0-0 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 8, Quakertown 2
The Colonials exploded for six first-half goals and coasted through the second half.
Alex Lefkowitz scored two goals for Plymouth Whitemarsh. Ryan Heaton had a goal and two assists. Gavin Hendrick had a goal and three assists.
Jacobe Sandcroft notched a goal and an assist. Brandon Cohen and Sam Cohen also scored goals. Andrew Stricklin also had an assist.
Quakertown generated some offense in its own right, blasting 10 shots on goal. Two went in. Nate Besch and Brendan Kishbaugh scored those goals. Andy Munsell and Brandon Strecker assisted on them.
Two PW keepers—Patrick Corpus and Blake Rosen—each made four saves. Two Quakertown keepers—Zach Mahler and Ethan Ericksen —made eight and four saves, respectively.
PW (6-3-1, 5-2 SOL) plays Upper Merion on Friday at three. Quakertown (2-7-2, 1-5-1 SOL) hosts Wissahickon on Tuesday night at seven.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 6-2 8
Quakertown 2-0 2
Wissahickon 4, Springfield Township 0
Wissahickon improved to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in league play.
The Trojans took a 1-0 lead in the first half on Michael Steitz’s goal, assisted by Liam Weiss. They went up 2-0 on an own goal right before halftime.
Trey Schwartz and Kevin Sammon scored in the second half to complete the rout. Steitz assisted on Schwartz’s goal.
The Spartans have been without their starting goalie since the Upper Dublin game last week.
“We have seen Springfield doing well. Their backup goalie went in and tried his best with it, but he was very new to the position,” said Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm. “We had a lot of opportunities, we created a lot of opportunities.”
“We had a freshman who got a lot of playing time, Christian Vorchheimer, and our captain Jacob Cohen. Both are midfielders and they played well,” Malcolm added.
Wissahickon (7-3, 5-2 SOL) plays Quakertown on Tuesday night at seven. Springfield (6-3-1, 3-3-1 SOL) takes on Hatboro-Horsham on Monday at 3:45.
Wissahickon 2-2 4
Springfield Township 0-0 0
SOL Continental
William Tennent 1, Souderton 0
William Tennent climbed above .500 with this league win, improving to 5-4 overall. Souderton fell to 2-6-2.
Tennent (5-4, 3-3 SOL) plays Central Bucks West on Monday at 3:30. Souderton (2-6-2, 2-4 SOL) battles Central Bucks South on the same day and time.
North Penn 3, Pennridge 1
The Knights won their eighth straight game and fourth straight league game. They are tied in first place in the Continental with CB West.
Carter Houlihan, Luke McMahon and Ryan Stewart scored for North Penn.
The Knights (9-1, 5-1 SOL) play Central Bucks East on Monday at 3:30. Pennridge (4-6, 1-5 SOL) battles Southern Lehigh on Monday at four.
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