Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Friday.
Patriot Division
Bensalem 2, Harry S Truman 0
It’s been a promising, yet frustrating, start to the fall season for Bensalem.
The Owls had put in three solid efforts to open the season with nothing to show for it in the win column.
On Friday, the Owls finally broke through. A solid defensive effort and a few timely goals lifted Bensalem to its first win of the season in a 2-0 blanking of Harry S Truman on Friday.
“We had a tough one against Archbishop Ryan where we lost in overtime, and I thought we battled Pennsbury really well,” Owls’ coach Kevin Bock said. “Just to get that feeling, ‘Hey, we won a game.’ Maybe that will carry over.”
The Bensalem defense again stood strong, holding the Tigers scoreless and leading the transition game.
“Again our defense did well,” Bock said. “We’re playing three in the back with Aaron (Greer), Tommy Hurst and Andrew Leibig. They continue to play really well. That’s the strength of our team right now. They did a really good job.”
Jonathan Bedoya put Bensalem on the board on a corner kick midway through the first half. Bedoya drilled home a cross from Andrew Price for the 1-0 lead.
Early in the second half, Oscar Hernandez played a through ball to Matt Wheaton, who tallied the insurance goal.
“Oscar played really well,” Bock said. “We moved him around to get him in some space. He did a good job for us, especially in the second half.”
With the hard-fought victory, Bensalem earned its first victory of the 2023 season and improves to 1-3 overall as well as in the Patriot Division. Truman falls to 0-6, 0-7 and will host Council Rock South Monday at 3:30 pm.
“I thought Truman played really good,” Bock said. “They definitely looked like a different team from the one last year. They were very composed, they were very structured, and we had to work to score. We’ve had trouble scoring anyway, and they continued to make us work to score. (Coach Mike McCool) is doing really good things over there. They’re much more composed. They did a good job. And we did a good job staying composed through that.
“We’ve got some tough ones next week. We have Neshaminy (at home on Monday at 3:30 pm) and Souderton. It doesn’t get any easier, but it’s nice to get one under our belts.”
Bensalem 1-1 2
Harry S Truman 0-0 0
Council Rock North 2, Neshaminy 0
A pair of second-half goals lifted unbeaten Council Rock North to a 2-0 victory over Neshaminy in Friday’s Patriot Division matchup.
The Indians pulled ahead after a choppy first half punctuated by a pair of stoppages for inclement weather. Junior forward Will Kamp scored what would stand as the game-winner on a pass from Windsor Varady midway through the second half. With 5 minutes remaining in the game, North picked up an insurance goal from James Reynolds (Jack Randolph assist).
Alex Robertson earned the shutout in goal for the Indians, with defenders Mike Pihno, Chris Pihno, Darek Miller, and Dom Czachor providing support as North registered its third shutout of the season. North coach Joe Stackhouse also praised the efforts of senior Ari Pollack, who provided 80 minutes of great plays on both ends of the field.
“(North is) a very, very direct team, and they know how to play that style really well,” said Neshaminy coach Tom Foley. “It’s constant pressure on the ball. You’re constantly chasing after the ball.
“It was pretty even most of the way. We might have gotten a little tired. We just have to learn we have to play with the same kind of passion Rock plays with. Nothing’s for free with them. We have to figure that out too. We did some nice things in the course of a game, but we have to play with that edge too to be successful.”
Dan Raivitch was solid in net for Neshaminy, turning aside numerous point-blank attempts.
“Jack Sexton played really well,” Foley said. “He always plays super-hard. Ryan Hock-Smith played well until he got hurt, and Matt Diamond played really well in the back. Jake Delaney came on and gave us a spark up front in the second half.”
North improves to 4-0-1 on the season (5-0-1 overall) and will look to continue its winning ways when it visits Pennsbury for a 3 pm Monday tilt. Neshaminy falls to 1-2-1, 1-2-1, and will visit Bensalem at 3:30 pm Monday.
Council Rock North 0-2 2
Neshaminy 0-0 0
Liberty Division
Abington 4, Wissahickon 1
Oscar Hoffmann scored twice and Brady Hartman had a goal and an assist as Abington pulled away in the second half for a 4-1 victory over Wissahickon in Friday’s Liberty Division matchup.
“They came out and they pressed us for the first 20 minutes and gave us all we could handle,” said Abington coach Randy Garber. “We finally hit a ball over the top, and Brady Hartman (Peter Cleary assist) got 1-on-1, got by the defender and hit a shot and caromed off the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. It was hit well.”
Wissahickon knotted the score at 1-1, then netted his first late in the opening half to give the visiting Ghosts a 2-1 lead at the break.
Hoffmann scored his second of the game (Braeden Delgado assist), then Braden Brownholtz made it 4-1 (Hartman assist) soon after.
“When we came out of halftime, we scored two more goals pretty quickly, and that just made it separate a little bit more,” Garber said. “Oscar scored the third goal on a ball played over the top, the goalkeeper came out, and he actually headed it over the goalkeeper and then ran around the goalkeeper and touched it in.
“It was a good game up until we scored two quick goals in the beginning of the second half.
“Braeden Delgado did a nice job on the flank. We moved Oscar (Hoffmann) from the defense to a midfield going forward, and he had two of the four goals. Brownholtz scored a good goal on a header, and Brady had a goal and an assist today. We moved Peter Cleary from the midfield to the defense, and he did a heck of a job.”
The Ghosts remain undefeated at 4-0 in the Liberty Division (5-1 overall) and will host Quakertown at 3:45 pm Monday. Wissahickon moves to 1-3, 2-3, and will host Plymouth Whitemarsh at 3:30 pm Monday.
Abington 2-2 4
Wissahickon 1-0 1
Freedom Division
Cheltenham 5, Upper Moreland 0
Keegan Peet sparked the Cheltenham offense after a slow start, scoring a pair of first-half goals as the undefeated Panthers powered their way to a 5-0 victory over Upper Moreland in Friday’s Freedom Division game.
“We struggled the first 20 minutes of the game,” said Cheltenham coach Bill Tonkin. “At the water break, we got on the boys and challenged them to get back to the level we were playing at the first few games. They responded after that with 2 goals to end the half.”
Peet’s first goal was crossed into the box by Zack Rosser. Peet brought it down and fired the ball into the corner from about 6 yards out. Peet recorded his second goal on a free kick shortly before halftime.
“Even though we played better after the water break, we still weren’t at the top of our game,” Tonkin said. “We wanted to put the game away early in the half and we did that.”
About 10 minutes into the second half, Zack Zosser played a ball to Chamar Blanchard on the touch line at midfield, and Blanchard did the rest himself, taking the ball to goal and scoring on a terrific solo effort. Blanchard then assisted on Arlo Kemmerer-Scovner’s goal that made the score 4-0.
Beck Toledo completed the scoring when he took a pass from Dean Latosh, beat two defenders and beat the keeper with a shot from the top of the box.
Wolf Brown recorded the shutout in goal for Cheltenham, supported by a stellar defense.
“Our defense played very well,” Tonkin said. “Ean Justice, Jordan Rodriguez, Cole Funk, Joel Martin, and Zack Zosser played strong in front of Wolf.
“Today wasn’t our best effort but we got the job done and I was able to rest a bunch of players in the second half to prepare them for a very tough week we are about to have. Four games in 5 days will really test our fitness and depth.”
With the victory, Cheltenham improves to 4-0 in the Freedom Division and overall. The Panthers will visit neighboring Springfield Twp for a 3:30 pm Monday matchup. Upper Moreland falls to 1-3, 2-3, and will visit New Hope-Solebury at 3:30 pm Monday.
Upper Moreland 0-0 2
Cheltenham 2-3 5
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