Jarrad Saffren recaps all of Wednesday’s SOL boys’ soccer games. Photos of the North Penn/CB East game provided by Keith Clemens Photography, and photos of the UM/PW game provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. CLICK HERE to go directly the SOCCER GALLERY.
By Jarrad Saffren
League play opened in all three Suburban One League conferences on Wednesday. Eighteen SOL boys soccer teams played league games. Two—Hatboro-Horsham and Springfield Township—postponed their league game because of a rainstorm.
The storm hit the entire Philadelphia area on Wednesday. But soccer players, contrary to popular belief in America, are tough. They would play through a natural disaster.
They didn’t quite do that on Wednesday. But it did rain for pretty much the entire day, and very hard at times. Yet only one game got postponed. And nobody even complained.
A lot of players even seemed to like the conditions. Most of Wednesday’s winning teams had big offensive games led by one or two players.
Find out which tough soccer players love the rain below.
SOL American
Plymouth Whitemarsh 6, Upper Moreland 1
Gavin Hendrick and Alex Lefkowitz are two of PW’s three captains. Coach Jeff Heaton expects them to lead the Colonials this season. Kenny Diamond is an athletic senior who Heaton also expects to contribute.
All three had big games on Wednesday.
Hendrick started the scoring in both halves, netting goals in the fifth and 45th minutes. Lefkowitz also scored twice, in the ninth and 13th minutes, putting PW up 3-0 at halftime.
Diamond assisted on Brandon Cohen’s goal in the 65th minute and then scored himself, on a header inside the box. Steve Longo assisted. Longo also assisted on Lefkowitz’s first goal.
“Gavin and Alex showed leadership today. They kept possession and kept pressure on Upper Moreland’s defense,” Heaton said. “Kenny is an up and comer as a senior. He’s very athletic and is a wing defender that we ask to run up.”
“I think we’ll get a contribution from a lot of different people this year,” Heaton added. “But Alex, Gavin and Kenny will be right up there.”
Jacobe Sandcroft also notched an assist for PW, on Hendrick’s first goal. Christian O’Donnell scored Upper Moreland’s only goal, in the 77th minute.
PW keeper Patrick Corpus made five saves and did not allow a goal in 65 minutes of action.
“It was a very solid performance. Patrick’s communication was great. He kept our defense tight in the back,” Heaton said. “He didn’t have to make a lot of tough saves but he did well.”
PW (1-0, 1-0 SOL) hosts Wissahickon on Friday at 3:30. Upper Moreland (0-3, 0-1 SOL) plays Hatboro-Horsham on the same day and time.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3-3 6
Upper Moreland 0-1 1
Upper Dublin 4, Cheltenham 1
Max Adams did not start for Upper Dublin on Wednesday. He was out of the country until Tuesday, and coach Andy Meehan was worried that Adams would be jet lagged. But about 15 minutes in, with the score tied at zero and Upper Dublin failing to finish its chances, Meehan put Adams in the game.
He scored within a minute. Then he scored again, and then again. Adams finished the chances Upper Dublin had been creating. He “changed the game as soon as he came in,” Meehan said.
Adams clearly wasn’t jet lagged.
“No, no he wasn’t,” Meehan said, laughing. “He said he had a Red Bull and a Slim Jim. So I don’t know if that had anything to do with it.”
“He’s a very active player and an extremely hard worker,” Meehan added. “He doesn’t stop running.”
Fellow forwards Jerry Bardol and Quinn Middleton helped Adams keep the pressure on the Cheltenham defense.
“Jerry and Max have a great partnership up there,” Meehan said. “They used to play club together.”
UD midfielders Kevin Devlin and John Visher “were able to get the ball up to our forwards,” Meehan said. Tom Hiltwine and Ryan Higgins “provided some solid defense in the back,” Meehan added.
Flying Cardinals keeper Alex Goldenberg “was solid, making some excellent saves.”
Upper Dublin (1-1, 1-0 SOL) battles Quakertown on Friday at 3:30. Cheltenham (0-2, 0-1 SOL) hosts Springfield Township on the same day and time.
Wissahickon 2, Quakertown 0
The final score was a lot closer than the game. Wissahickon outshot Quakertown 21-3. The Trojans only scored on two of those shots. But that was enough.
Blake Geisler scored in the 21st and 32nd minutes. Wissahickon goalkeeper Jun Yuh only had to make one save to earn the shutout.
Quakertown keepers James Nagle and Zach Mahler combined for seven saves.
Wissahickon (2-0, 1-0 SOL) plays PW on Friday at 3:30. Quakertown (0-2, 0-1 SOL) takes on Upper Dublin on the same day and time.
Wissahickon 2-0 2
Quakertown 0-0 0
SOL Continental
North Penn 1, Central Bucks East 0
For 69 plus minutes, North Penn could not finish against Central Bucks East’s stifling backline. Will Eisold and company blocked shot after shot, free kick after free kick. CB East keeper Jordan Geller made a diving save and two point blank saves. 
“It was really tough,” said North Penn’s Carter Houlihan. “They are stout back there and move well together.”
But finally, in that 69th minute, Houlihan, who had been creating many of the chances, settled a pass down the sideline behind Eisold. The senior tried to nudge the sophomore off the ball, but knocked him down instead.
North Penn was awarded a free kick. Brett Katz booted it into the box. Houlihan settled it and kicked it off a defender. Aidan Jerome settled the rebound and blasted the ball into the open net.
“The net was wide open,” Jerome said. “I think the goalie fell. Carter made a great run. He knew the defender was going to come in strong and that if he could just draw the contact, he could get the ref to call a foul.”
The Knights mobbed each other near midfield. Then they held off the pressing Patriots for the next 10:32. CB East, despite its pressure, did not create any great scoring chances.
North Penn keeper Joey Lindsay earned the shutout, making three saves. North Penn outshot CB East 16-6.
“I knew we were going to get that goal,” Houlihan said. “We had momentum. We hit the post twice.”
North Penn (1-0, 1-0 SOL) plays Central Bucks West on Friday at 3:30. CB East (0-2, 0-1 SOL) hosts Souderton on the same day and time.
North Penn 0-1 1
Central Bucks East 0-0 0
Central Bucks West 4, William Tennent 1
CB West coach Stefan Szygiel always raves about his midfielders.
“The collective soccer IQ of guys I have in the middle of the field is excellent,” Szygiel said. “If they do their jobs on both sides, we’ll be successful.”
They did their jobs on Wednesday, and the Bucks were successful.
Midfielder Tarin Morris scored twice in the first half. The first goal was on a penalty kick. The second one was on a direct kick.
“He curled it around the wall (of defenders) nice and low and buried it in the right corner,” Szygiel said.
“He’s just instrumental to everything we do,” Szygiel added. “Tarin’s ability to read the game and be a two-way player, as a central midfielder defending and attacking, he’s heavily involved in everything.”
Another Bucks midfielder, Carson Snyder, had two assists.
“He’s a guy that in the midfield sits deeper than Tarin, and is tasked with more defensive responsibility but is also great at attacking,” Szygiel said. “Him and Tarin complement each other well.”
Still another midfielder, Luke Fehrman, scored another one of CB West’s goals. Steve Knabe also scored for West.
Bucks keeper Dylan Smith stopped three shots. William Tennent keeper Brendan Gibbons also made three saves.
“Today was just a day where we jumped on them early,” Szygiel said. “I don’t think we’re necessarily three goals better than Tennent.”
Central Bucks West (2-0, 1-0 SOL) will host North Penn on Friday at 3:30, and William Tennent (1-1, 0-1) will host Archbishop Wood on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Central Bucks West 4-0 4
William Tennent 1-0 1
Souderton 1, Central Bucks South 0
Souderton keeper Mitchell Race earned a shutout by stopping three shots. His defenders smothered most attackers that dared enter the Indians’ zone.
Indians’ coach Matt Benner rotated six defenders—starters Tommy Sonn, Ben Campman, Sam Beckett and Luke Atiyeh, and reserves Drew Breuning and Abbel Carranza—in and out on Wednesday. They all played really well.
“Tommy, Ben and Abbel have been varsity players for three years now. We rely on their experience. It’s their senior year and it’s nice to see them step up to the forefront,” Benner said. “Drew was a solid guy off the bench last year. Sam is a freshman, so he’s been a nice addition to the backline to come in and play right away.”
Sonn even scored Souderton’s goal, in the 72nd minute. The defenders did it all for the Indians on Wednesday.
“They played as a group and with a lot of confidence,” Benner said. “Balls were skipping around, given the conditions. They really settled and kept a really good team at bay.”
Race also did his job.
“When he had to come out and punch a ball away and grab a corner, he was really good,” Benner said.
Souderton (1-0, 1-0 SOL) plays CB East on Friday at 3:30. Central Bucks South (0-2-1, 0-1 SOL) hosts Pennridge on Friday at 3:30.
Souderton 0-1 1
Central Bucks South 0-0 0
SOL National
Council Rock North 4, Harry S. Truman 0
Balance was the keyword for Council Rock North on Wednesday.
Four players—Ryan Pave, Conor O’Donnell, Ben Dreschner and Zain Saidi—scored. Two goalies—Ed Mancinelli and Jacob Zlotshewer—combined for the shutout. Two other CR North players—Akash Shah and Ben Dickinson—assisted on goals.
“It was a total team effort. Nobody was head and shoulders above the rest, which is a good thing,” said Indians’ coach Joe Stackhouse. “If we have balanced scoring, we’ll be hard to defend.”
The game was actually closer than the final score indicated. North only led 1-0 until the 67th minute.
“Then we put two in in three minutes and then emptied bench,” Stackhouse said. “Everybody got to play in the last 12-13 minutes.”
North is just 1-2. But Stackhouse is impressed with his team so far.
“We held the ball for probably 60 of 80 minutes in both weekend games,” Stackhouse said. “In the Harriton game, we fell behind 2-0 in the first five minutes. We played the second half on their end. And (Archbishop) Wood beat us in double overtime.”
CR North (1-2, 1-0 SOL) hosts Council Rock South on Friday at 3:30. Truman (1-1, 0-1 SOL) battles Conwell-Egan on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Council Rock North 1-3 4
Harry S. Truman 0-0 0
Abington 6, Council Rock South 1
Sean Touey and Reese Gibbs led Abington to a convincing road win. Touey scored three goals and Gibbs scored two. Gibbs also had an assist.
Nevin Baer also scored for Abington. Andrew West, Leo Pitkow and Aiden Gales assisted on goals for the Galloping Ghosts.
Nick Santos scored CR South’s goal, which made it 1-1. But then Abington – which took a 4-1 lead into halftime – scored five unanswered goals.
Abington (3-0, 1-0 SOL) hosts Pennsbury on Friday at 3:30. CR South (1-3, 0-2 SOL) plays CR North on the same day and time.
Abington 4-2 6
Council Rock South 1-0 1
Pennsbury 3, Bensalem 2
Pennsbury sophomore Nyles Cayemitte scored two goals, one in the 23rd minute and another in the 67th, to lead the Falcons to a close win over pesky Bensalem.
Matiss Mendes put Pennsbury up 1-0 in the seventh minute. Randy Dickersbach assisted on the goal. Pennsbury led 2-0 after Cayemitte’s second goal.
Bensalem’s Alfardy Ali made it 2-1 in the 50th minute. Dylan Molina assisted. Robbie Montero cut Pennsbury’s lead to 3-2 in the 67th minute, off a pass from Garrett Zeller.
But Bensalem could not net the equalizer. Pennsbury keeper Nate Slotnick made five saves. Javier Sosa and Obi Onouha had assists for Pennsbury.
The Falcons (2-0, 1-0 SOL) play Abington on Friday at 3:30. Bensalem (1-1, 0-1 SOL) hosts Neshaminy on the same day and time.
Pennsbury 2-1 3
Bensalem 0-2 2
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