Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Friday.
National Conference
Bensalem 2, William Tennent 1
Sometimes, the hardest part of the game is staying levelheaded and not getting discouraged.
Bensalem had a pair of first-half goals called back for offsides, and the Owls found themselves trailing William Tennent 1-0 at halftime of Friday’s National Conference tilt.
Then, sparked by a huge save by Bensalem keeper Chris Rowan on a Tennent penalty kick early in the second half, the Owls surged back and netted a pair of second-half goals to rally to a 2-1 victory.
“In the first 10 minutes or so, we had the better run of play,” said Bensalem coach Lew Mladjen. “We had two goals called back for offsides. It’s one of those things where you remind the guys to keep pushing and good things will happen.
“Then we had a defensive breakdown, and it really was one of their first forays into our end of the field. It was a breakaway, in the goal it went, and next thing you know we’re down 1-0. It was harsh.”
Facing a penalty kick and a potential two-goal deficit 10 minutes into the second half, Rowan came up with his clutch stop for the Owls.
“I would say that was the momentum shift that we needed to find that extra gear,” Mladjen said. “I always say to my keepers that they need to make one big save a game. That one big save a game is usually all a team needs for momentum or to keep a team in the game. Clearly, that was the moment. Had we gone down 2-0, it could have been an entirely different result.
"We still had a lot of possession, and Tennent’s back line was doing a really good job of holding their line and stepping up.”
Midway through the half, Bensalem finally broke through when sophomore Brian Gibson finished a Jordan Lee pass to tie the game at 1-1.
“We finally had one of those opportunities where the ball just got through their back line,” Mladjen said. “The pass just found Brian in a really good spot, he caught the keeper off the line, and it was a great finish—it was a nice, calm, composed way to finish. Next thing you know it was 1-1, and I think the momentum was really on our side at that time.”
The game winner came about eight minutes later off the foot of Jon Labri (Kal Ivanov assist).
“(Gibson and Labri) had standout games in the numbers of opportunities they created,” Mladjen said of his goal scorers. “That’s been the case in these early games—the two of them have really been playing well together and really finding each other. Their pace and skill really gives a lot of teams trouble on the outside.
“That was Brian’s second goal (of the season). It’s nice to see him getting that. He’s only a sophomore, and we’re trying to drill into him to just be direct, go attack the goal and just let his instincts take over. It was nice to see him get that goal.”
The Owls (1-1 league, 2-2 overall) host Pennsbury on Wednesday, while the Panthers have a chance to put the season-opening defeat behind them quickly as they host neighborhood rival Archbishop Wood at 7 p.m. Saturday, then return to league play at Council Rock North on Wednesday.
Bensalem 0-2 2
William Tennent 1-0 1
Neshaminy 3, Council Rock South 1
Neshaminy jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead en route to improving their record to 2-0 with a 3-1 win over Council Rock South in Friday’s National Conference meeting.
Neshaminy got on the scoreboard in the second minute, when Christian Rodgers headed home a Mike Thomas crossing pass. Just 10 minutes later, Thomas finished a Ramir Cofield cross to net his second goal of the season.
Justin Segal cut the deficit to 2-1 when he scored off a free kick in the 36th minute.“We played a solid first half, created a number of chances but could not cash in,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said. “The weather played a factor in the second half, neither team really got in the flow.
Neshaminy added one more in the second half, when Vincent McGlynn used some fancy footwork to outmaneuver a quartet of South defenders, then crossed the ball to Rodgers, who drilled it into the net for the 3-1 lead.
“We withstood the physical play of a very competitive, well-coached Council Rock South team,” Foley said. “It is nice to start the season with two wins out of the gate.”
The Redskins’ coach credited the play of Thomas (two goals, one assist) and Rodgers (three goals) in his team’s 2-0 start.
“They both have gotten off to great starts,” Foley said.
Neshaminy gets a bit of rest, then returns to action with back-to-back games at Council Rock North next Friday and at home against Central Bucks South the next day. The Indians (1-1 league, 1-4 overall) host Bensalem next Friday.
Council Rock South 1-0 1
Neshaminy 2-1 3
Continental Conference
Central Bucks South 3, Central Bucks East 0
New season. New coach. New level of success.
Of course, when you’ve got 10-plus seniors on your squad, that experience certainly helps as well.
Central Bucks South received goals from a pair of seniors as the Titans and first-year head coach Jarrett Cutsler improved to 2-0 on the season with a 3-0 victory over Central Bucks East in Friday’s Continental Conference matchup.
“I think it is just really good relationships with the players and trust,” Jarrett said of the team’s attitude and success so far (the Titans are already one win away from matching last year’s league win total and two shy of last season’s overall win total). “I think the boys and myself have a very good relationship, and on and off the field, there’s a lot of positive attitude this year. I think that translates onto the field. We’ve had a lot of success in the past two games. They keep rising to the occasion.
“We have about 11 seniors on the team, and they’re a tight bunch, and we have good leadership this year.”
South led 1-0 at halftime on a laser from the top of the 18 from senior Chris Griffin. Senior RJ Visco added a goal early in the second half, and junior Jake Heilig put the game away in the 70th minute off a serve into the box.
“I think our communication was strong today, helping out one another and filling gaps as needed on the fly,” Cutsler said. “I know our big thing coming out of halftime was just to make sure we’re communicating. Our goalkeeper was able to really be effective in the back and talk to our defenders. That sort of translated through the entire team."
In addition to spearheading the communication effort on the field, junior keeper Gavin Campbell also made six saves—including two huge stops—to record the shutout.
“Our keeper had a phenomenal game,” Cutsler said. “He had six saves, two of which were just incredibly big saves.
“They came late in the second half when we were up 2-0, but we sort of had that feeling that if East was able to put one in, that it was going to be a long ride to the finish. Those big saves kept us in the game."
South will play host to league opponent Souderton on Wednesday, while the Patriots (0-2 league, 0-2-1 overall) will have a chance to earn their first win of the season when they visit North Penn on Wednesday.
Central Bucks South 1-2 3
Central Bucks East 0-0 0
Pennridge 5, Quakertown 1
For one half, winless Quakertown battled step for step with undefeated Pennridge, even taking a scoreless tie into the locker room at halftime.
The Rams found their stride in the second half, though, powering home five goals and rolling to a 5-1 victory to improve to 1-0 in conference play, 3-0 overall.
“We settled down in the second half, connected passes better, and finished our chances,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont. “Plus, I think fatigue set in for Quakertown and we just wore them down.”
Jack Taplett led the Rams’ attack with two goals, while Matt Stevenson, Kasper Jelski, and Aidan Castle each added one.
In goal, Ryan Mayhew blanked the Panthers in the first half. Matt Sheldon protected the cage in the second half.
“We had a great overall performance,” Valimont said. “Everybody got on the field, we kept our heads and played fast and finished well in the second 40 minutes.”
For the Panthers, Evan Kemp scored his first goal of the season.
The Rams return to action Saturday night when they host Faith Christian Academy in a nonleague game at 7 p.m. Quakertown (0-2, 0-3) hosts Palisades in nonleague action on Tuesday.
Pennridge 0-5 5
Quakertown 0-1 1
American Conference
Cheltenham 3, Upper Dublin 1
(Submitted by Murray Peet, Cheltenham Soccer)
It was a dark and stormy afternoon as the Upper Dublin Cardinals hosted the Cheltenham Panthers, each looking for a win.
The game moved quickly across the turf at Spark Field until Cheltenham junior Findlay Peet opened the scoring with his third goal of the year from a scramble off a corner from senior Max Brown.
Early in the second half, a lackadaisical Cheltenham defense let a free kick turn into the tying goal from Upper Dublin sophomore Sean Seabrook in the 44th minute.
Soon after, in a torrential downpour, Panther senior Julian Mendelsohn “rained down” upon the Cardinals, netting two breakaway goals off assists from Drew Moreland and Peet to put the game out of reach.
Asked about his first two career varsity goals, Mendelson said, “I’m excited to help my team remain undefeated, but we have another tough game next week.”
The Cardinals next face Abington and the Panthers take on Plymouth Whitemarsh.
***
The Cheltenham boys’ soccer team is quickly erasing any bad taste left over from last season’s disappointing 3-9-2 league record. With their 3-1 victory at Upper Dublin on Friday, the Panthers remain undefeated at 1-0-1 in league play and 2-0-1 overall.
And the Panthers are showing their resiliency often in this young season. The strong effort came after a disappointing 2-2 tie against Upper Moreland earlier in the week, and Friday’s win came with the Panthers scoring the game’s final two goals after Upper Dublin knotted the score at 1-1 in the second half.
“The key to the game was that we just wanted it more today,” said Cheltenham coach Bill Tonkin. “We outworked them and bounced back from giving up the tying goal. We had a full 80-minute effort today, unlike Wednesday when we got too comfortable with a two-goal lead and ended up with a tie instead of a win.”
Julian Mendelsohn netted the two second-half goals for the Panthers, who opened the scoring in the first half when a Findlay Peet converted a Max Brown corner.
But Tonkin has plenty of kudos to go around for the Panthers in this big win.
“Julian Mendelsohn had a great game with his speed up top, Findlay Peet created some chances for us as well,” Tonkin said. “Justin Grady had some big saves to keep the lead for us. Our backs—Ben Kaplan, Andrew Lam, Matt Montes, and Sam Liss—also had a great game limiting their offense to just a few chances.
“And we had great senior leadership today from Max Brown and Lionel Smoler-Schatz. They really kept the boys on top of their game. Drew Moreland and Moje Badejoko also had great games today. It was an all-around team effort from start to finish. I was very pleased and proud of the boys with their effort today.”
Sean Seabrook tallied the lone goal for Upper Dublin (0-1-1, 1-2-1).
Cheltenham will look to extend its winning ways in a league matchup against Plymouth Whitemarsh on Wednesday, while Upper Dublin aims to turn its fortunes around when it hosts Abington on Wednesday.
Cheltenham 1-2 3
Upper Dublin 0-1 1
Springfield Township 1, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 (OT)
Kyle Smith (Jacob Friedman assist) scored a second-half goal for host Springfield Township to knot Friday’s game against Plymouth Whitemarsh at 1-1, and the two American Conference foes battled scoreless the rest of the way to end in a 1-1 tie. Julian Brown recorded seven saves in goal for the Spartans.
Kevin Shi scored a first-half goal with an assist from Tom Hoy to give the Colonials a 1-0 lead at halftime. The Colonials’ keeper made six saves.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-1-1 SOL) is back in action on Tuesday, when they host Wissahickon. The Spartans (1-1-1, 0-1-1) will host Wissahickon the following day.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1-0-0 1
Springfield Township 0-1-0 1
Wissahickon 2, Hatboro-Horsham 1
Trey Schwartz scored on a penalty kick in the 75th minute as Wissahickon opened its 2018 season with a hard-fought 2-1 win over American Conference foe Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
The kick didn’t come without a bit of controversy, though. In what turned out to be a very physical contest throughout, Schwartz and a Hatter player were battling for a ball and the call went the Trojans’ way.
“The players were both grappling and grabbing,” Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm said. “From my perspective, it looked like my player had been grabbed around the waist and pulled to the ground. Obviously, I didn’t see (Hatboro-Horsham coach Kyle McGrath’s) angle. He could have been quite correct also. They were both grabbing each other and they both went to the ground.
“It was a very physical game and not one yellow card was issued. Both of us (coaches) admitted that on both our teams there were players who really deserved to be told to calm down. The boys were just trying to play, but at some point, the referees need to say – enough’s enough. We got through it, and both of us had 11 players walking off the field, which was the good thing about it. Our concern was the physicality of a game like that.”
Schwartz’s game-winner came just five minutes after Hatboro-Horsham knotted the score at 1-1 on a Caleb Hudson goal (Andrew Hurrell assist). The Trojans’ first goal of the game, and of the season, came in the 60th minute from Christian Vorchheimer off a setup from David Goldstein.
While there is plenty for the Trojans to work on, the win opens the schedule on a positive note. Wissahickon will take to the road for back-to-back games next week at Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday and at Springfield Township on Wednesday. Following those games, Malcolm and the rest of the senior-laden Trojans will have a better feel for where they stand and what they’ll need to do to compete in the American Conference.
“Early on in the preseason, we had to rein their familiarity in and make them understand that they were going to have to say some tough things to one another and make sure we stayed focused in what we needed to do,” said Malcolm, whose 18-man squad is loaded with 15 seniors. “I think they did a real nice job today with that aspect of it. Their heads didn’t go down after they conceded a goal. They kept plugging away.
"A credit to Hatboro-Horsham—they had a game plan and it was working pretty well. It kind of neutralized what we really wanted to do. In the end, it became a tight game and we’ll have to build on the fact that we came out with a win in a tight game but also start to think about how we’re playing and also try and improve on that moving forward."
The Hatters (0-1-1, 1-2-1) are back in action on Wednesday when they host neighboring rival Upper Moreland.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-1 1
Wissahickon 0-2 2
Abington 6, Upper Moreland 2
Sparked by a Reece Gibbs hat trick, Abington powered in five second-half goals to put away American Conference opponent Upper Moreland, 6-2, on Friday. Gibbs’ first goal turned out to be the eventual game-winner for the undefeated Ghosts, who improved to 2-0 in league play and 4-0 overall.
Jaeden Joyce, Sean Touey, and Jonah Lemmel each added one goal for Abington. Starting goalkeeper Alex Haycock did not allow a goal during his time between the pipes.
Chris O'Donnell and Joe Kane each scored a goal for the Golden Bears.
"We played a very good team from Abington," coach Matt Duffey said. "After a good start in the first half, we couldn't keep the momentum going into the second. There's still a lot of wokr to be done this season, but I am pleased with our start so far."
The Ghosts next visit Upper Dublin on Wednesday. Upper Moreland (0-1-1, 1-2-2) visits nonleague opponent Interboro on Monday.
Abington 1-5 6
Upper Moreland 0-2 2
Nonleague
North Penn 5, Germantown Academy 0
Luke McMahon had a hand—or foot—in all four of North Penn’s first-half goals as the Knights opened the 2018 season by rolling to a 5-0 road win over nonleague opponent Germantown Academy on Friday.
McMahon helped open the scoring by assisting on Carter Houlihan’s goal, then set up Aidan Jerome to make it 2-0. McMahon then converted Ryan Stewart’s corner kick before picking up his third assist of the half on Michael Chafee’s goal as the Knights led 4-0 at the break.
Jamie Stewart capped the scoring in the second half with an unassisted tally.
Goalkeepers Brett Schwengels (3 saves) and JP Grattan (1 save) combined to shut out GA.
North Penn will open its Continental Conference slate when it hosts Central Bucks East on Wednesday.
North Penn 4-1 5
Germantown Academy 0-0 0
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