BOYS' LACROSSE
Abington 11, Germantown Academy 4
As a team dealing with numerous injuries and several newcomers, Abington could be excused for its inconsistencies in Tuesday’s early season non-league matchup against Germantown Academy.
But one thing remained constant for the Ghosts on this day … the play of goalkeeper Travis O’Connor.
“Travis solidifies our defense,” said Abington first-year coach Ryan Greer. “He provides good senor leadership, he’s always talking, looking to get guys in the right position, and always looking to move the ball upfield, to get it out of our defensive zone. He turned the momentum anytime we needed it. He was a stalwart back there.”
O’Connor made 22 saves, including nine in the fourth quarter. The senior keeper – aided by some stellar defensive work from Chris Duffy, Austin Pifani, Scott Spiegel and Gage Gormley – kept the Patriots off the board in both the first and third quarters, helping the Ghosts jump out to a 4-0 lead after one period and a 9-2 advantage at halftime.
The chance to beat Germantown Academy, something the Ghosts had done only once since 1985, played a huge factor in O’Connor’s efforts.
“For as long as I could remember, we always lost to GA,” O’Connor said. “For the seniors, we wanted to get them so bad, it really pushed us.
“After the first quarter, they had a couple barrages of shots, and I knew this was going to be a good game. I was seeing the ball well, it was like a beach ball out there.”
Shane Dunn got the Ghosts on the board with 5:21 left in the first quarter (Ryan Ambler assist). Dunn then scored his second with 1:49 left, sparking a run of three Abington goals in 79 seconds. Matt Lomady made it 3-0 with 1:01 left in the period, then Brian Gallagher scored the first of his two goals on the day with 30 ticks left on the clock.
Abington went on another run midway through the second quarter, with Gallagher, Ambler and Lomady each scoring in a two minute, 27 second span to help push the lead to 8-1.
“We got a couple goals in spurts in the first half. I think we did a good job of possessing the ball in the first half and getting momentum,” Greer said. “And Travis really kept us alive in goal. We had a couple letdowns, but any time we needed a save Travis was there to turn the momentum back in our favor.
“The first half was a great effort, the second half we kind of rested on our laurels a little bit and sat back. But we’ll learn from that.”
Ambler netted his second of the game – to go along with two assists and three ground-ball pickups – and Dunn completed the hat trick in the final quarter. Matt Gormley and Max Malloy also picked up a goal each for Abington.
Following a season-opening loss to Downingtown West, the victory is the first of what the Ghosts hope are many wins in a season that stretches deep into the playoffs. The team remains a work in progress at this point of the season, but hopes remain high that this team can come together to continue the tradition of success that Abington has enjoyed in recent years.
“Some of the younger guys got in today, we’ve got a good mesh of young and old,” Greer said. “We’ll take (the win) and hopefully we’ll build upon that. This is one step in the puzzle.
“We’re moving the ball well, moving our feet, not watching the play, not letting one or two guys do all the work, working as a team. We can be a really good team but we have to move the ball around and let everybody get their fair share of the ball.”
Central Bucks East 14, North Penn 5
Seven third-quarter goals turned a 5-2 halftime edge into a 12-4 lead after three quarters as Central Bucks East went on to defeat North Penn 14-5 in Tuesday’s Continental Conference matchup.
“We’re still meshing,” said North Penn coach Rick Smith. “We’re still trying to put all the pieces together. Our guys gave a phenomenal effort today. They battled for 48 minutes, Central Bucks East just got the upper hand in the second half and started pulling away.”
Parker Self led the Central Bucks East scoring with four goals and an assist. Chris Vetter scored a pair and added three assists, and eight other players contributed a goal each in the spread-out East attack. Chris Schneeklof won 16 of 18 faceoffs in addition to his goal for the Patriots.
Kyle Heinig led North Penn with three goals. Chris Young had two goals and an assist, and Shamar Bowman and Adam Wreath each added an assist.
Central Bucks South 7, Pennridge 2
Junior goalkeeper Ryan Kelly played a stellar game between the pipes for Central Bucks South, propelling the Titans to a 7-2 victory over Pennridge in Tuesday’s Continental Conference matchup.
“Ryan stood on his head today,” said Titans coach Mike Sharman. “He was amazing. He made so many one-on-one saves. Our whole defense was stellar today.”
Tyler Brittin led the South offense with two goals, while A.J. Caputo, Tommy DiBrino, Jake Snavely and Dan Faulkner each added one.
“We’re a young team and we’re still learning,” Sharman said. “We’re excited because we lost two Pennridge both times last season. We’re 1-1 and we’re already halfway to last year’s win total. We want to come out every game and be competitive. The goal this year is to get to 10 wins, and I absolutely believe we can achieve that.”
Upper Merion 10, Norristown 5
Mikey Zadroga scored off the opening draw and Upper Merion never trailed in defeating American Conference foe Norristown 10-5 on Tuesday.
Zadroga finished the afternoon with two goals, Trevor Kupecky had two goals and three assists and Chris Jordan, Sean Ginsberg and Joe Mintzer each added two for the Vikings. Jake Keszczyk had three assists and Mickey Bellace chipped in with one helper. Troy Minnich made 14 saves in goal for the Vikings.
“It was an early season game,” said Upper Merion coach Brady McCormick. “We played well, but we still have some kinks to work out. We had too many dropped passes, too many bad shots or shots that were good decisions but poor execution. We have some work to do, but this was a good early season game.”
Sean Calhoun had two goals and an assist for Norristown. Jesse Prante had a goal and an assist and Eric Sylvester and Drew Baltrus each added one goal. Mike Malloy made 18 stops for the Eagles.
“Norristown’s goalie did a great job,” McCormick said. “Last year you could see his potential, and he did a great job today. He made a lot of good saves.
“Norristown did a really good job today. They never quit. Jeff (Calhoun) has been working hard with that program, and it shows.”
Upper Moreland 17, Harry S. Truman 3
Led by a seven-point game from Billy Costello (three goals, four assists), six points from Talon Blickley (three goals, three assists) and five points from Ellis Fattizzi (four goals, one assist), Upper Moreland powered its way to a 17-3 victory over Harry S. Truman in Tuesday’s non-league game.
Dalton Pickersgil added two goals for the Golden Bears, Joe Colbridge had a goal and an assist, and Austin Sgro, Chris Flemming, Ogden Boschilo and Rob Goold each scored once. Tom Kelly and Anthony Corbet each added an assist. Matt McGlinsey made five saves for Upper Moreland.
“It’s nice to get a full offseason with the team,” said second-year coach Mike Liberona. “We’re a transition team, and we’re working with that and getting everyone on the same page. We got to work on some things today, which was nice. I’ve been telling these guys to jump on teams early. I’ve been emphasizing starting early and putting pressure on the other team.
“We have PW next, and they’ll be a huge test. We’ve never beaten PW, Upper Dublin, Wissahickon, Upper Merion. We have to start building our program, start competing against these schools. Last year was about convincing ourselves that we could play with these teams. Now it’s about putting pressure on these other teams and proving we belong.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11, Wissahickon 6
Plymouth Whitemarsh outscored Wissahickon 8-0 in the middle two quarters en route to an 11-6 victory over the Trojans in Tuesday’s American Conference matchup. Wissahickon responded with the only four goals of the final quarter.
Brooks Melvin led the Trojans with two goals. Luke Gomez had a goal and two assists and Tyler Crothers, Matt Blank and Patrick Magdalinski each added a goal.
Upper Dublin 11, Emmaus 5 (March 26)
Michael Rama scored four goals and contributed a pair of assists while Drew Potts contributed a goal and three assists to lead the Flying Cardinals to the big win. Leighton Young connected for the hat trick, and Liam Duke, Ben Winebrake and Pete Vernacchio each added single goals to close out the scoring. Duke and Winebrake both added an assist.
Upper Dublin’s Jack Deragon was credited with eight saves in goal, and Robby Moran turned away one shot.
The Flying Cardinals opened up a 4-1 lead at the end of one quarter and still led 5-3 at the intermission. It was an 8-5 game heading into the final quarter when the Flying Cardinals scored three unanswered goals.
Souderton 9, Central Bucks West 8 (March 26)
Tyler MacDougall scored four goals, and teammate Ridge Schultz had three goals and one assist as the Indians eked out a win over the Bucks in their SOL opener on Monday. Drew Nice added a pair of goals, and Tyler Huggins had two assists while Trevor Zwaan had one goal and one assist. Tyler Zwann turned away eight shots in goal.
Council Rock South 16, Father Judge 2 (March 26)
The Golden Hawks were led by the standout effort of Nick Gugliemi with six goals and five assists. Michell Vaysman contributed four goals while Corey Giampietro had two goals and four assists. Also contributing were Colin Patterson (two goals, one assist), Kyle Walter (two goals), Steve Junod (one assist) and Tommy Vanderslice (one assist).
Neshaminy 8, New Hope-Solebury 2 (March 26)
Matt Magdelinskas had a big game for the Redskins with four goals and two assists. Alex McKenzie added two goals and one assist, and Connor Bishop contributed one goal and two assists. Brad Tebeest scored one goal, and Austin Marshall – who recorded nine saves in goal – was credited with an assist.
GIRLS' LACROSSE
Central Bucks South 13, Cheltenham 8
Cheltenham battled valiantly, but fell 13-8 to Central Bucks South in Tuesday’s game. The Panthers trailed 10-8 with three minutes left and had a South was down two players to yellow cards, but the speedy Titans scored three quick goals to pull away.
“South is a very fast team,” said Cheltenham coach Dave Burton. “We played very well fundamentally for 35 minutes. And we just had come breakdowns near the end. We had a lot of turnovers, and South scored their last two or three goals on free positions on bad fouls. South responded well, they did not panic, and we didn’t take advantage of the situation.”
Allison Hawkins scored two goals and added an assist for Cheltenham. Sammie McManus and Gabby Szczepanek each had two goals and an assist, and Emily Hawkins and Emily Leibovitz each added one. Burton praised the defensive efforts of Leibovitz and Lauren Freeman, as well as the 14-save effort from goalie Jack Dudo.
“I can’t stress enough how hard our girls played, how tough and resilient they were,” Burton said. “They really played hard and stuck to the game plan.”
Maddy Dibrino led the Titans with five goals, Megan Hamilton had three, Alisa Morelli scored twice and sophomores Ann Danyluk and Mackenzie Harding and freshman Emily Cliggett each added one goal.
Council Rock North 11, Bayard Rustin 10
Council Rock North rallied from a 5-3 halftime deficit to pull out a one-goal victory over West Chester’s Bayard Rustin in Tuesday’s non-league matchup.
Council Rock scored on all but two of its shots. Hannah Plappert scored four goals for the Indians, Kara Magley registered a hat trick and Molly Doyle had two goals and two assists. Natalie Maher added a goal and an assist, and Tori Lyon chipped in with a goal. Taylor Beck made 10 saves for North in the victory.
Upper Merion 18, Pope John Paul II 12
Upper Merion opened the season on the road and brought home an 18-12 victory over nonleague opponent Pope John Paul II.
Mel Ryan powered the Vikings’ attack with seven goals. Haley Fitzgerald and Liz Botto scored three goals each, Dominique Gambone and Amanda McAteer each scored twice and Julia Reinert chipped in with one.
Reinert, Brooke Dubin and Gambone each provided three assists. Colleen Bowes, Mia DiBella, Fitzgerald, McAteer, Karen Hranek and Botto also registered assists.
Jenkintown 16, Upper Moreland 4
Jenkintown led 8-2 at halftime and rolled to a 16-4 victory over Upper Moreland in Tuesday’s non-league matchup.
Tori Contoudis led all scorers with six goals for the Drakes. Haley Smith had four goals and two assists.
Sami Wojciechowski led the Golden Bears with a pair of goals, while Maddie Mauro and Sarah Reice each added one. Kaitlin Taylor made 11 saves in goal for the Golden Bears.
Central Bucks East 9, Pennsbury 5
Springfield (Montco) 12, Abington 10 (March 26)
Junior Meredith Cox scored five goals, and teammate Allison Rooney added four goals. Hannah Sjholm was credited with five draw controls, and goalie Kate Margolis was credited with four saves.
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