Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Tuesday.
SOL Patriot Division
PENNSBURY 4, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2
The Falcons overcame nasty weather conditions and a pesky Golden Hawk squad to earn their first win of the young season.
“It poured – the weather was not favorable at all,” said Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart, acknowledging his team needed a win. “We just had to play better. We put the onus on the kids, and they took control.
“We said we really wanted to possess the ball. We were looking to have 70 percent possession in the first 10 minutes, and I thought we did absolutely just that.”
Senior Damian Kostrzewa scored the first goal by sealing off the back post, using a Jaden Haig assist, and then it was senior Erik Mauro finding the back of the net on a strong individual effort to put the Falcons on top 2-0. The Golden Hawks cut that lead in half before intermission, thanks to a Dylan Bennett goal with an assist from Andrew Rosenfeld.
In the second half, Rosenfeld set up another Rock South goal – this one by Lex Lenoir to knot the score 2-2.
With just under 10 minutes remaining, senior Alec Snedaker scored the go-ahead goal
“The third goal was a great team game and Alec Snedaker taking advantage of some extra playing time today and getting in the right spot to knock it in,” Stoddart said.
Senior Alvin Wang turned a corner kick by Zach Summer into a goal in the waning minutes that sealed the win for the Falcons.
“We were able to get the early goals again and then were able to keep that possession to keep Council Rock South chasing,” Stoddart said. “Even though they chased themselves back in the game, I think the way we were able to play and move the ball today really tired them out and allowed us to be the stronger team at the end of the day.”
The Falcons’ coach acknowledged the strong play of several players.
“Jaden Haig was extremely dangerous and was giving them fits, which was opening up the other guys on the outside, so it was great to see Damian (Kostrzewa) get his first goal especially since it was our first goal – it was good to get him off to a good start,” Stoddart said. “Gustavs Mednis was very physical in the box and really set a tone for the game that everyone followed. The defense was solid in those conditions. They had to make a lot of plays.”
Rock South goalkeeper Andrew Roberto was credited with nine saves.
Pennsbury (1-1-1) is off until next Tuesday when the Falcons will travel to Council Rock North. Council Rock South (1-1-1) will be on the road at Bensalem on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
Council Rock South 1-1 2
Pennsbury 2-2 4
SOL Colonial Division
SOUDERTON 2, NORTH PENN 0
The Knights brought an impressive 24-game winning streak into Tuesday’s conference contest at Souderton, but that number didn’t mean a whole lot to Matt Benner.
“That’s news to me – I don’t really get caught up in stats,” the Souderton coach said. “All I know is it’s been a while since we beat them, so I’m more happy about that.”
It’s actually been more than eight years since Souderton last defeated North Penn (1-0) on Sept. 6, 2012. Tuesday’s win over the Knights was the first for Benner, who took over the helm in 2013 after serving as an assistant under Tom Quintois.
Since 2012, the Knights have won 14 of 15 games against the Indians, who forced them to settle for a 1-1 tie in 2015.
Although the Knights had the better of play early in Tuesday’s contest, it was the Indians striking first 19 minutes into the game and then again 18 minutes later to go into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
“If we’re being honest, North Penn had the better run of play in the first half, in the first half of the first half at least,” Benner said. “They had some quality chances created, they had a penalty kick in the first two minutes of the game that they were unable to convert.
“Josh Jones was his normal self. He was getting on the end of head balls, he was a real presence in the box. Our goalie, Aiden McClure, did a fantastic job of keeping us in the game and coming up with some big saves.”
Junior Brandon Fornwall ensured that his first varsity goal would be a memorable one, using an assist from Ty Quintois for a goal that turned out to be the game-winner.
“We were able to catch them a little bit in transition,” Benner said. “We got a good ball over the top for Brandon, and he was able to run onto it and get a ball over the goalie.
“He was really psyched, and I’m so happy for him. He worked so hard in the offseason, and he’s getting his time now. It was a great goal for him.”
Senior TJ Hibsman scored his first goal of the season in the 37th minute with an assist from Ryan Shewe.
“It was similar to the first goal – we were able to get the ball through midfield, made a couple of nice passes, and sophomore Ryan Shewe made a great through ball to TJ, who just outran his defender and slotted the ball home nice and hard and low into the corner – it was a really good goal,” Benner said. “We think it’s really important to get TJ going. He’s a very attacking-minded player. He’s got great skills and a great understanding of attacking back line, so if we can get him rolling, we’ll feel even better about our situation moving forward.
“Ryan Shewe is another guy getting his first varsity time who has been working really hard since last year. We just have a really, really good team spirit right now – everybody understands that we’re going to work really hard in games, and our hard work is going to try and pay off. We’re all in this together, everybody is excited for one another. There’s a really good team cohesion and atmosphere we have cooking right now.”
Souderton’s 2-0 lead stood the rest of the way,
“The first (goal) was big, but I would argue that the second one was even bigger,” Benner said. “We were fighting the wind pretty good in the first half. For us to go into the halftime break up 2-0 was a real big confidence boost for us.”
Playing a starring role in the win was McClure, who recorded 11 saves in a busy afternoon in the net.
“It was a great team effort – we got contributions from everybody, but our goalkeeper Aiden McClure was fantastic again today,” Benner said. “We had him down for 11 saves, and some of them were just beauties.
“He had to reach his top hand over to tip a couple balls wide or over the bar, coming up with some stops when we needed him most and keeping us in the game in the early part of the first half.”
The Indians’ back line of Thomas Smith, Ethan Lacher, Tyson Bui and Tyler Bovell was once again outstanding.
“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our back line – our back line was fantastic,” Benner said. “I thought a really special player today was Dylan Barbieri. We asked him to play midfield, and we haven’t asked him to do that at all this year, but he went in, he took the challenge, and he made things hard for North Penn to play through in the midfield.”
Souderton (2-0-1) will travel to Pennridge on Thursday for a 7 p.m. contest.
“The league is so good – we have to immediately turn our attention to Pennridge on Thursday night,” Benner said. “We know how good they are at getting numbers forward and attacking. Pete (Valimont) always has his kids ready to play and well trained. We’ve got another handful on Thursday night.”
North Penn (2-1) will be on the road at Central Bucks South Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. game.
North Penn 0-0 0
Souderton 2-0 2
SOL Liberty Division
ABINGTON 3, HATBORO-HORSHAM 2 (2 OT)
Thirty seconds separated the Ghosts and Hatters from settling for a 2-2 tie when Abington’s senior captains Bryce Lexow and Gavin O’Neill teamed up for the game-winner.
“We scored a great goal,” Abington coach Randy Garber said. “The goal was a corner kick that was served by Gavin O’Neill, and Bryce Lexow – bigger, stronger, faster – just buried it. There was no doubt. That was just a very good goal.
“Lexow was a horse. If he headed the ball once, he headed the ball 40 times in the midfield. He won every ball in the air in the midfield. No one even challenged him. He was literally a machine.”
The Ghosts needed every one of Lexow’s big plays as well as his dramatic game-winner to eke out a win in Tuesday’s inclement weather.
“We got pummeled,” Garber said of the heavy rainfall. “We were there 40 minutes before kickoff, and it was just spitting then. Once the game started at four o’clock, it never stopped raining, and it came down sideways at times.
“The conditions were bad, and goals were scored because of the conditions. I said to the players, ‘There’s not a whole bunch of soccer being played. It’s going to be a matter of who makes the least amount of mistakes that’s going to win the game. The goals that were scored were sloppy goals because of the conditions. It could have very easily gone either way. They could have won the game several times, and we could have finished the game earlier than we did.”
In the opening half, Abington’s Liam Hartman and Hatboro-Horsham’s Nick Katherine exchanged goals to knot the score 1-1 at halftime. With eight-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation, Hartman found the net with his second goal to put the Ghosts on top 2-1, but with 1:58 left, the Hatters’ Caleb Hudson scored the equalizer, setting the stage for OT.
“Liam Hartman had two more goals today – he’s got four goals in three games as a sophomore,” Garber said. “He’s lighting it up. He scored his first goal today from at least 40 yards out that just got underneath the crossbar and caught the goalkeeper off his line a little bit. As soon as it was hit, everyone said, ‘That has a chance of going in,’ and it went in. He’s a good kid – he works hard.”
In the first overtime, freshman Oscar Hoffman saved the day for the Ghosts.
“He took a ball off the line with his head that would have went in because the goalkeeper was beat at the six-yard line,” Garber said. “This kid came out of nowhere and headed the ball off the line, and that would have been the winning goal for them. We would have been on the short end of the stick.”
The Ghosts’ coach acknowledged the efforts of several other players in the win.
“Alex Woll defensively did a superb job,” Garber said. “Steve Fajardo is a horse in the back. He does good things.
“Jimmy Marino is an outside back, and he played a nice game. He’s a kid that throws the ball in long, and he did some good things today to help us. This was a good game to win. Last year they beat us for the league title in overtime 2-1. We pinched one from them tonight. That’s the beauty of the game. You just don’t know.”
Abington (3-0) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday (4 p.m.), and Hatboro-Horsham (1-2) will travel to Quakertown for a 3:30 p.m. contest.
Abington 1-1-0-1 3
Hatboro-Horsham 1-1-0-0 2
WISSAHICKON 1, QUAKERTOWN 0
This one didn’t come easily.
A lightening delay with 1:13 remaining in regulation extended the night considerably for both teams. The Trojans led 1-0 when the game was stopped, and they still led by that margin when the final horn sounded.
“The first half it was 0-0 – we were pretty well organized,” Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm said. “We had a few chances in the first half. We really didn’t give them any opportunities throughout the game.
“We’re still trying to figure things out. As I talked to the players at the beginning of the game, we normally had several preseason opportunities to kind of figure some things out, and we’re still trying to work it out as I’m sure most coaches are.”
Midway through the second half, junior Aidan McKelvey broke the scoreless tie, scoring a goal that turned out to be the game-winner with an assist from Alex Solomon.
“It was a nice goal,” Malcolm said. “We got the ball out of the middle, it got played wide to Alex. He got down to the end line, which we’d been talking for a while about, and he served a great ball. Aidan came in first time and finished it well.
“It was his first varsity goal, and it was nice to be a game-winner. He’s been working hard for it.”
The Trojans’ coach acknowledged he’d like to see his team generate more scoring opportunities.
“We’ve played three games, we’ve conceded two goals,” Malcolm said. “We’ve only scored two goals, and we’re 2-1. We’re still trying to work through and hopefully find the right combination.
“At times we look good going forward, but again, we just have to take our chances when we get them. We’re just not creating as many as we’d like at the moment, so it’s something to work on, but defensively, we’ve been pretty solid apart from the first 15 minutes of the game against Abington.”
Malcolm went on to laud the effort of Christian Vorcheimer, one of the team’s captains.
“Christian was the one who laid the ball to Alex (Solomon), who crossed it to the finish,” the Trojans’ coach said. “He’s a senior, and seniors recognize they’ve got to step up a little more in terms of getting on the ball and just basically making important challenges.
“He was really busy, and alongside him was Ziggy McFarlane. He’s been playing a more forward position for us. I think it was one of his better games today in terms of getting on the ball and trying to make things happen.”
Hunter Graefe earned the shutout in goal for the Trojans.
Wissahickon (2-1) will host Upper Dublin on Thursday, and Quakertown (0-4, 0-3 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
Wissahickon 0-1 1
Quakertown 0-0 0
SOL Freedom Division
UPPER MORELAND 2, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 0
The Golden Bears improved to 2-0 with a shutout win over the visiting Spartans.
The Spartans hit the post with an early corner kick but then struggled to generate offense. The Bears’ offense kicked into gear with a goal from Jack Cattie in the 29th minute with an assist from Michael Kane, sending UM into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Despite playing in heavy rain, the Golden Bears continued to generate shots, tallying 16 for the game. In the 73rd minute, Josh Henderson retrieved the rebound from his own long throw and crossed it perfectly to a wide open Michael Kane, who volleyed it into the net to seal the victory.
The UM defense along with goalie Aaron Snyder preserved the shutout, allowing only five shots.
Upper Moreland (2-0) will be on the road at William Tennent Thursday while Springfield Township (0-2-1) will travel to Lower Moreland on Thursday.
Springfield Township 0-0 0
Upper Moreland 1-1 2
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Wiss Quakertown
There was a foul that the ref pointed to penalty spot and then pulled it back outside the box it was a very close well fought intense game.