Check out the recaps for SOL boys/girls soccer teams in action Saturday.
Boys
SOL Crossover games
NESHAMINY 0, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 (2 OT)
One hundred minutes could not determine a winner in Saturday’s crossover contest as neither team could find the net. Both coaches saw some things they liked as well as some things they didn’t.
“Honestly, we stole a point from West today,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said. “The first half we were clearly not ready to play, and West was all over us. Our goalkeeper – Logan Gildea – saved our bacon big time today. He stopped a penalty kick, and he made three absolutely brilliant saves. By rights, it should have been 3-0 or 4-0 at halftime and it was 0-0, so he flat out stole a point for us.
“The second half we played much, much better. We started slowly but surely dictating play, and we just couldn’t bang one in. We’re getting to good spots, but we’re not willing to pull the trigger. I can’t figure it out. That’s all we did at practice yesterday – we worked on shooting. I’m not quite sure where the disconnect is. We played much better in the second half and deserved a point the way we played in the second half but certainly didn’t deserve anything in the first half. We got completely manhandled. I haven’t seen us get manhandled like that in two years. We were watching everything, and West was winning everything. We didn’t respond to that kind of pressure well. I’m glad we recovered from it, but we’ve got be better for a full game. That was not an acceptable game for us.”
The game was played at Neshaminy as part of the school’s homecoming festivities.
“In the first half, I thought we had them a little on the ropes, but we just didn’t convert, which again is a little bit of the same story,” West coach Stefan Szygiel said. “But we just told the boys, ‘We can’t talk about – you’re not scoring, you’re in a drought.’ We’re all very aware of it, and eventually, it will pop. I just don’t know when.
“We thought it would be today in that first half. The second half we started to lose a little steam. Our depth was definitely tested. They were definitely better than us in the second half, and in both overtimes, they were the better team, but we hung in. A clean sheet against an opponent like Neshaminy is always a good thing, so hopefully, we can take some positives out of it. We just have to keep growing up together. We keep telling them, ‘Guys, you’ve got to grow up together. If you’re not bought into that, we don’t have a place for you. You have to be in.’”
Foley credited his squad for turning things around in the second half.
“We certainly challenged them at halftime – ‘You guys have to match their pressure or it’s going to be a long afternoon,’ and they did,” Foley said. “We slowly but surely started playing our way. We started getting chances that we were, for whatever reason, afraid to pull the trigger.
“We had an 8-6 shot advantage, but I think all eight of them were in the second half. We didn’t do anything right in the first half. I’m happy that we got out of there with a point.”
The Redskins’ coach credited the play of several players.
“It was encouraging that we dug ourselves out of a poorly played first half, and our goalkeeper, Logan Gildea, did an outstanding job,” Foley said. “He didn’t have as much to do in the second half, but he did a great job managing the box. They like to play balls over the top, they have a long throw in. He just minimized all the danger and did a great job.
“Jimmy Campbell played really well as a defensive midfielder, and Evan O’Neil was outstanding. Evan is very quiet, and he just goes about and does his business. He wins just about every ball, and if he doesn’t, he’s nipping at someone’s heels to get it. He just goes out and does his business and does a great job and mostly goes overlooked because he’s such a quiet kid. He did a great job today too. Of all the kids that played in the first half, he probably had the best first half. He just did his thing, he did it well and kept the middle of our back hammered down. He had a great match as well, but obviously, the player of the match was our goalkeeper. He’s the reason we were able to get to get a tie today.”
Szygiel also praised the efforts of several of his players.
“Our goalkeeper, Griffin Blokker, got his second clean sheet of the season,” the Bucks’ coach said. “It’s important for a young goalkeeper to get a zero on the board.
“Ryan Horst, Kyle Flaherty, Zach Martine, Joey Dowd and Conor O’Brien rotated through the back, and I thought Kyle Flaherty, a sophomore, had a really nice game. Kyle and Ryan Horst both played the full 100 minutes. Neshaminy has some very, very talented attacking players, and we had our hands full. I thought Chase Naso and Justin Moore really worked super hard in the middle of the field, and Ben Sterling just ran himself into the ground for us today, and that’s really important stuff. We just have to keep trying and keep building.”
Foley tipped his hat to the Bucks.
“West plays exceptionally hard,” the Redskins’ coach said. “They’re frustrating to play against because they never hold the ball very long in the back. It gets sent out, and you have to recover and get in battles with their frontrunners who work hard, so kudos to them. They deserved nothing less than a point today.”
With the tie, the Redskins find themselves in a three-way tie with Council Rock North and Pennsbury for the top spot in the SOL Patriot Division.
“With the point, we’re tied for first place, so that’s a plus,” Foley said. “We have to start winning some games against teams with above .500 records because that will move us up those power ratings. We’re tied for first, but if the (district) playoffs started today, we’d be on the outside looking in. That’s the nature of the beast. We have to start winning some games, and we’ll be all right.”
Neshaminy (4-2-1, 3-2-1 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Tuesday, and Central Bucks West (1-5-1, 1-4-1) will host Council Rock South on Tuesday.
Central Bucks West 0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Neshaminy 0-0-0-0-0-0 0
QUAKERTOWN 2, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 1
The Panthers – sparked by a goal and an assist from Kaiden McSeed – scored a pair of second-half goals and got into the win column for the first time this season.
“It was nice for the boys to find some success today after putting a strong emphasis on playing as a team this week,” Quakertown coach Bill James said.
The two teams battled to a 0-0 halftime time, and it was the Panthers getting on the scoreboard when Dylan Chauhan found the back of the net, benefitting from a Kaiden McSeed assist. The Lions rallied to knot the score, but Panthers would not be denied. With 6:12 remaining in regulation, McSeed scored the game-winner with an assist from Kurt Glaeser.
James credited the efforts of several of the game’s unsung heroes.
“Freshman Otani Ekpe was outstanding for us and is really growing as a player at the varsity level over the past few games,” James said. “We had a strong defensive effort from our back line anchored by Micah Reinford, Cody Steiedert, Carter Tull and Aiden Gallagher.”
Quakertown (1-6, 1-5 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township on Tuesday, and New Hope-Solebury (0-7, 0-5) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
New Hope-Solebury 0-1 1
Quakertown 0-2 2
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2, WEST WINDSOR PLAINSBORO 1
Gavin Hagan scored a goal with 15 minutes remaining in regulation, breaking a 1-1 tie and propelling the Golden Hawks to the non-league win.
Rock South took a 1-0 lead midway through the first half when Everett Kurtz scored with an assist from Josh Nikolevski. Ten minutes later, West Windsor Plainsboro evened the score off a free kick. Hagan’s game-winner late in the second half came on a shot from 20 yards out.
“It was a fair result with a 22-7 shot advantage to South,” coach Alan Nicholl said, going to credit several of his players. “Mike Burns played very disciplined at center mid, Isaac Burenga played very composed in the back, and Gavin (Hagan) and Everett (Kurtz) took their goals very well.
“We had two freshman – Ronan Harding and Garrett Cohen – play over 60 minutes, which is great.”
Council Rock South (5-3, 1-3 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Tuesday.
West Windsor Plainsboro 1-0 1
Council Rock South 1-1 2
Girls
Non-league
UPPER MORELAND 4, UPPER MERION 1
The Golden Bears should be forgiven if they were playing on tired legs, but if they were, they certainly didn’t let it show. Saturday’s game represented the fourth game this week for the Bears, who erupted for four second-half goals to earn the decisive non-league win.
“This was a tough week, playing four games, and having the last two back to back – it’s not an easy ask of any team,” UM coach Lisa Benvenuto said. “It was great way to end the week, a strong team win.
“We had our opportunities in the first half but weren’t able to finish. The second half was a different story. We showed up today, controlled possession, we were able to put the ball in the back of the net. I am really proud of our girls and how they were able to bounce back after yesterday (a 3-0 loss to Hatboro-Horsham) to seal a win today.
In the 53rd minute, Kyra Favors scored with an assist from Emma Frasca. It was her first of two goals in the contest. Six minutes later, Willow Taylor connected on an unassisted goal. It took less than a minute after Taylor’s goal for Favors to connect again, this time with an assist from Taylor. Mikel Lancit’s goal in the 75th minute with a Mallory Roedig assist put the Golden Bears on top 4-0 before the Vikings’ Kate Wellington scored a late goal to break up UM’s shutout bid.
“Kyra stepped up big today,” Benvenuto said. “She started the scoring, fixed her runs from the first half and was able to net us two really solid goals. The first assisted by Emma Frasca and the second assisted by Willow Taylor. These three along with Abby Engart, Mallory Roedig and Katie Slear really controlled our possession, momentum and build up.
“We had really strong play from all of our midfielders today. Following Kyra’s goal, Willow Taylor put in a direct kick that was perfectly placed. Favors followed up 40 seconds later off a diagonal ball from Taylor. Mallory Roedig has been putting some really dangerous corners out for us, and today Mikel Lancit was able to get her first varsity goal.
“Annalise Messina, Molly Meakim, And Kylie Gaul played strong on the back line.”
Upper Moreland (5-1-1, 4-1-1 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 0-4 4
Upper Merion 0-1 1
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