GIRLS SOCCER
SOL Patriot Division
Council Rock North 1, Council Rock South 1 (OT)
Thursday offered up another example of the hard-fought, grind-it-out effort that both teams produce when archrivals Council Rock North and Council Rock South square off, no matter what the sport.
With both teams on the second of back-to-back games, this contest saw plenty of gritty, gutty performances leading to a 1-1 deadlock after regulation. Overtime couldn’t produce a winner as both teams settled for a 1-1 tie in this Patriot Division clash.
“I’m not sure either team deserved to win or lose, so a tie seems like the fairest outcome,” said North coach Gavin Flannigan. “Both programs are very familiar with each other and that probably tends to cancel out any tactical advantage or surprise and it comes down to who can execute or capitalize on a mistake. I think South probably had the better of the first half, we struggled at times to connect the way we wanted and they pinned us in our end a little.
“Once it got to OT, I think both teams were exhausted and it was a matter of just trying to connect one final pass or pounce on something and neither team could really do it. Both teams hit the crossbar but aside from that there were only 1-2 chances at most.”
South got on the board first on a Cam Blatz goal (Kathryn O’Kane assist). But the Indians responded when Sara Tyler netted the tying goal on a free kick.
“(South) came out and scored on a counter-attack and then that seemed to force us to raise our level,” Flannigan said. “We scored off a free kick when the ball was redirected to Sara Tyler and she was able to head back across goal to tie the game up. After that I thought we had the momentum, we looked dangerous, but never managed to create a real scoring chance. Credit to South for the way they defended us in those periods.”
South also had their share of chances to break the tie, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
“North is always organized and disciplined, and have some very talented players,” said Hawks’ coach Nick Heim. “I felt our girls executed our game plan really well, and we called on quite a few to go 80-plus minutes today. North knotted the score at 1-1 and we continued to press, generating some really good chances, but their goalie came up big.”
With both teams battling fatigue, the defense for both squads came up huge in limiting offensive chances and making sure no mistakes led to easy chances for the other side.
“I thought our back line of Maggie Kane, Fiona Reckner, Juliette Salvi, and Jenna Waterman were fantastic in limiting North’s potent offense,” Heim said. “Across the board the effort was there today and people like Lily Bross, Teagan Shay, and Gianna Kirlin may not be on the scoresheet but were huge for us. Ella Mayberry had another great showing in goal.”
North also saw a solid effort from the defense as the team seems to be hitting its stride.
“A lot of credit to our back line—Mairin Coghlan, Amber Yuan, Audrey Thomson, Kinsley Smith, and especially Tavi Copestick for the way they have defended and completed in the last 2 games,” Flannigan said. “That defensive unit is coming together well after some early season injuries and they showed today how good they can be. Our midfield was very industrious and we were really impressed with Isabel Diaz today on the outside
“We are a third of the way into the season and while there are things we know we can do better, I think we have seen a lot this week from our group in terms of effort and competitive play that we can use going forward.”
While neither team was able to walk away with a mark in the win column, they provided another memorable entry into the rivalry between the neighboring schools.
“This really is a fantastic neighborhood rivalry and what high school sports should be all about,” Heim said. “You see kids go at each other for 100 minutes and when the whistle blows, give each other a hug, laugh, and take pictures with families. Being involved on both sides of the district with teaching and coaching, it’s a really special day.”
North moves to 3-1-1 in the Patriot Division, 4-1-1 overall, and hosts Neshaminy at 3:30 pm Monday. South stands at 2-2-1, 3-2-1, and will visit Central Bucks West at 7 pm Monday.
Council Rock South 0-1-0 1
Council Rock North 0-1-0 1
Non-league
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5, Calvary Christian 0
Sometimes, it just takes patience.
Despite controlling play and having numerous scoring chances, Plymouth Whitemarsh simply couldn’t get on the scoreboard in Thursday’s nonleague matchup against Calvary Christian Academy. At halftime, the game was scoreless. After 60 minutes of play, the score was still 0-0.
Then, the Colonials finally broke through.
“Too often, we were crossing the ball straight to the goalie or just weren’t very clinical in front of the net,” said PW coach T.J. DeLucia. “To the team’s credit, no one panicked and we stuck with the game plan. We tried to improve a few things on the field at halftime in terms of how we want to be set up with that much possession.”
Maddie McGuckien scored the first of her two goals with 20 minutes remaining in regulation and the Colonials opened the floodgates on offense, adding four more goals before the final whistle to pull out a 5-0 victory.
McGuicken’s goal came off a well-executed give-and-go with Brianna Reynolds, who carried the ball up from the defensive half of the field.
“In a game we had to win, a ton of credit goes to Bri Reynolds for making the big-time play needed to open up the game,” DeLucia said. “We have a lot of young players up front trying to score, so leave it to the senior to let everyone take a breath by making that play. In addition to Bri, Meg Wendler and Katie Lukens also made several great plays out of defensive positions to aid our offense.”
Keira Whelan made it 2-0 shortly after (Liv Reilly assist) the opening goal, then Marleigh Burton scored two minutes later off a trail pass from Devyn Cohen. Suddenly the Colonials’ patience was paying off to the tune of 3-0.
“Marleigh had an outstanding game getting forward today so the coaches were thrilled to see her get on the scoresheet,” DeLucia said.
Olivia Budin made it 4-0 (Abby Boegner assist) before McGuckien netted her second of the game and sixth of the season to cap off the scoring. The final goal came on a header off a perfectly placed corner from freshman Maddi Lazaroff.
Senior goalkeepers Caitlyn Dinh and Chloe Markus combined to record the shutout for PW. Marcus was called on to make a big save in the waning moments of the game to preserve the shutout.
The Colonials move to 5-1-1 overall (3-1-1 Liberty Division), and will return to league play when they visit Upper Dublin at 3:30 pm Monday.
Calvary Christian 0-0 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-5 5
Springfield Twp 2, Penncrest 1
BOYS SOCCER
SOL Freedom Division
Springfield Twp 3, Upper Moreland 1
Riley Martin, Ben Hubley, and Kayden Sowell each scored second-half goals as Springfield Twp – after the two teams battled to a scoreless tie – pulled away for a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Upper Moreland in Thursday’s Freedom Division game.
Nick Hanushchak and Will McLaughlin each recorded an assist for the undefeated Spartans.
Gabe Hendrickson scored Upper Moreland’s lone goal, and Anthony Carson was stellar in goal for the Bears.
“Anthony Carson again stole the show in goal for us, making unbelievable saves,” said Upper Moreland coach Justin Allegra, who was pleased with his team’s performance against the top Freedom Division squad. “It was a hard-fought game and Connor Cleary and Bobby Barrett played well for us. It was one of our most complete games.”
With the win, Springfield moves to 5-0 in Freedom Division play (7-0 overall). They will look to remain undefeated when they visit Lower Moreland at 3:30 pm Monday. The Bears drop to 1-5, 2-5, and will host Wissahickon at 3:30 pm Tuesday.
Springfield Twp 0-3 3
Upper Moreland 0-1 1
Cheltenham 1, Archbishop John Carroll 0
John Bowden converted the rebound of a Cameron Rhoades shot with about 10 minutes left in regulation as Cheltenham picked up a 1-0 win over nonleague opponent Archbishop Carroll on Thursday.
Jeremiah Montcriffe earned the shutout in goal for Cheltenham.
“You could definitely see our legs were tired with it being the third game in four days for us,” said Panthers coach Bill Tonkin. “But we battled through it and came out with the win.”
The Panthers improve to 5-2 overall (4-2 Freedom Division). They visit Church Farm School at 4 pm today (Friday) for a nonleague matchup, then return to league play when they visit Abington at 7 pm Tuesday.
Cheltenham 0-1 1
Archbishop Carroll 0-0 0
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