Check out the recaps for SOL boys/girls soccer teams in action Tuesday.
Boys
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0
In a early season battle between the neighboring rivals, it was the Bucks who had the upper hand, opening up a 1-0 first-half lead and then adding a pair of second-half goals.
“They work hard,” coach Stefan Szygiel said of the Patriots. “He (coach Josh Isaacsohn) is moving a couple of people around, and he’s figuring a few things out like anybody. It’s early in the season.
“We were doing the same thing. We had a plan going into it, and I thought we executed well.”
Reed Sturza (Carson Snyder assist) scored a first-half goal that turned out to be the game-winner. Colin Burn (Jimi Leder assist) and Leder (Dylan Smith assist) each added a goal after the intermission. The Bucks’ final goal came after a beautiful outlet pass from Smith to Leder, who fired a rock into the upper 90.
“I thought we had a lot of set piece opportunities – we had a good amount of corners and throw-ins, and I think we’re dangerous on those, and eventually, one of them will come,” Szygiel said. “We were able to get one in the first half, and in the second half, we were able to keep the pressure on.”
The Bucks’ coach credited the strong play of several players.
“My entire midfield worked really hard,” Szygiel said. “We had a really nice contribution from Ian Munoz.
“He’s a junior forward/midfielder, and he came off the bench today, and he actually really brought a spark to the game. In high school sports, guys feed off of that. He did a great job for us.”
West goalkeeper Dylan Smith recorded three saves and earned his second clean sheet of the young season.
Central Bucks West (2-1 (1-0 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Friday for a 7 p.m. contest, and Central Bucks East (0-1-1) will host Central Bucks South on Friday.
Central Bucks East 0-0 0
Central Bucks West 1-2 3
Non-league
BENSALEM 2, UPPER DUBLIN 1
The Owls overcame the heat and a tough Flying Cardinal squad to earn the hard fought non-league win. With time winding down, the Owls were clinging to a 1-0 lead only to watch the Flying Cardinals knot the score with five minutes remaining.
“We told them – you deserve this game. You’ve pushed yourself so hard in this heat,” assistant coach Jim Rodgers said.
The Owls responded and came back to score the game-winner with less than three minutes remaining in regulation when center back Val Flores set up his second goal of the game. It was Paul Leible connecting for the game-winner and the dramatic win.
“Val got the ball around the 50 and dribbled up 10-15 yards and ripped a shot that hit off the post,” Rodgers said. “Paul Leible followed up the shot – it was a one-on-one with the keeper, and he just muscled it
“We needed that result. We really did. They just fought and battled and good things happened.”
Earlier, the Owls broke a scoreless halftime tie with a goal by Brian Gibson in the 47th minute, using an assist from Flores who lofted a kick from 40 yards out.
“It went over our center striker, and it bounced high enough where he could flick the ball with his head past the goalkeeper,” Rodgers.
The win came on the heels of Friday’s 3-0 non-league loss to Downingtown East.
“This was a great win,” Rodgers said. “We were very excited with it. Considering Friday we came out a little flat against Downingtown East, we really pushed the boys the last couple of days to motivate each other and push each other and just communicate on the field and work as one.
“That’s exactly how the game went. It was a total team effort. Every time somebody did something right, somebody else followed that next player up – everyone was playing hard today.”
Bensalem (1-1) will host Neshaminy in Wednesday’s SOL opener, and Upper Dublin (1-1) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham Wednesday.
Upper Dublin 0-1 1
Bensalem 0-2 2
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0
Ryan Cole scored on a free kick in the 14th minute, and that was the only goal the Hatters would need to earn the win.
“Ryan hit a direct free kick from about 20 yards out at the top of the box – he curled it around the wall and into the goal,” coach Kyle McGrath said.
Goalkeeper Zack Kim recorded four saves in the shutout.
“My defenders played great in hot conditions to hold on for the shutout,” McGrath said. “My guys battled and credit Council Rock South battled in tough conditions. We took water breaks in each half, but it was definitely not ideal playing conditions.
“It wasn’t always pretty, and Council Rock South was dangerous at times. We were a bit fortunate that they didn’t score on one of their restarts, but a win’s a win.”
Hatboro-Horsham (1-1) will host Upper Dublin in Wednesday’s SOL opener, and Council Rock South (0-3) will host Harry S Truman on Wednesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 1-0 1
Council Rock South 0-0 0
UPPER MORELAND 4, SPRINGFIELD-DELCO 1
The Bears opened up a 4-0 lead before Springfield-Delco got on the scoreboard, exploding for four goals in the opening 25 minutes of the game. The Spartans scored a second-half goal, but by that time, the outcome had been decided.
"We came out really strong and aggressive, pressing really hard," coach Matt Duffey said. "We had a lot of good chances in the first half.
"Especially in the heat, I really wanted our boys to jump on Springfield as fast we could, and we came right out and took it to them in the first half."
Mateo Infante put the Golden Bears on the scoreboard seven minutes into the game, using a Max Hernandez assist. Adding goals in short order were Hernandez (Mateo assist), Dylan Swedberg and Chris O'Donnell (Hernandez assist). Hernandez led the Bears with a goal and two assists.
Duffey credited the play of several players whose names didn't show up in the boxscore.
"Our central defender, Tyler Holman, had a really good game," the Bears' coach said. "Although he didn't score a goal or have an assist, Justin Mull was really good defensively and passing-wise in the center midfield. He played very solid. Our left back, Josh Henderson, also played a really good game today."
Upper Moreland (1-0-1) will travel to Cheltenham for Wednesday’s SOL opener.
Springfield-Delco 0-1 1
Upper Moreland 4-0 4
LOWER MERION 4, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 1
ACADEMY PARK at HARRY S TRUMAN (Postponed)
Girls
Non-league
HATBORO-HORSHAM 4, WILLIAM TENNENT 1
The Hatters opened up a 3-1 halftime lead and never looked back on the way to a convincing win in Tuesday’s non-league opener.
Maggie O’Neill’s header on a corner put the Hatters on the board, and that lead grew to 2-0 when Emily Thomas scored her first of two goals. The Panthers got on the scoreboard, cutting the Hatters’ lead in half, but with under a minute to play in the first half, Thomas connected on her second goal.
Cam Hughes scored the only goal of the second half for the Hatters.
“Everyone had a great performance,” first-year coach Kelsey Daley said. “The defense was led by Izzy de la Torre and Sophia Liott. Freshman Martine Royds had a standout performance in goal.”
Hatboro-Horsham (1-0) will travel to Upper Dublin for its SOL opener on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., and William Tennent (0-1) will host New Hope-Solebury in a non-league game Wednesday.
William Tennent 1-0 1
Hatboro-Horsham 3-1 4
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2, DOWNINGTOWN EAST 0
Allie Jones scored a pair of goals, and Karly Wunder and Sammy Jones each contributed an assist to lead the visiting Golden Hawks to a season-opening win.
“Downingtown was a strong physical side that was well organized and well coached,” coach Nick Heim said. “We really enjoy playing them every year to get us ready for what we will see in league play.”
The Golden Hawks led 1-0 at halftime and then added a second goal by Jones after the intermission for the 2-0 final.
“It was tough because we lost our second scrimmage due to heat restrictions,” Heim said. “We were slated to scrimmage CB South which is always a great test.
“Not going against live competition for a few weeks made it a bit difficult to be ready for the pace of play, but our girls adjusted well.”
Heim lauded the play of his defense in the shutout win.
“Our backs, led by seniors Carly Hickey and Emily Kavash, handled the very aggressive Downingtown East attack,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said.
Council Rock South (1-0) will be on the road at Harry S Truman for Wednesday’s SOL opener.
Council Rock South 1-1 2
Downingtown East 0-0 0
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 2, HAVERFORD 1
The Indians picked up their first win of the young season, opening up a 2-0 lead before the host Fords got on the scoreboard.
“On a very hot day, our girls did a great job of keeping possession and utilizing the space on the field,” coach Gavin Flannigan said. “We went deep into our roster today and got good minutes from everyone.”
Sammy Judge put the Indians on the scoreboard in the first half. The Indians took that 1-0 lead into halftime.
“She scored from over 30 yards out – it was a great hit,” Flannigan said.
Kaleigh O’Donnell found the back of the net midway through the second half, using an assist from Paige Addis. The Fords made things interesting with a goal that cut the Indians’ lead in half, but the visitors held on for the win.
“We had to withstand late pressure,” Flannigan said. “Lilly Ries and Brooke Strobel did a good job of eliminating the threats at center back.
“Anna Cairone and Maddy Nusca did a nice job in midfield today, defending well and keeping possession at the right time to allow us to build the play. We had a tough loss on Friday in double overtime (a 3-2 loss to Abington, but the girls bounced back well today.”
Council Rock North (1-1) will open its SOL season on Wednesday at Pennsbury.
Council Rock North 1-1 2
Haverford 0-1 1
PENNRIDGE 6, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 1
In an offensive performance that was the very definition of a team effort, the Lady Rams received goals from six different players.
Goals by Abby Groff and Nicolette Harrison sent the Rams into halftime with a 2-0 lead. The Rams stretched their lead to 4-0 before LC broke up their shutout bid with a goal.
Contributing second-half goals were Maddie Anderson, Lauren McIntyre (Groff assist), Meghan Kriney (Ashley Groeber assist) and Molly Groff.
Pennridge (2-0) will host Quakertown in its SOL opener on Friday.
Pennridge 2-4 6
Lansdale Catholic 0-1 1
NORTH PENN 1, WILSON 1
The Knights continued their rigorous schedule to open the season with their third game in five days, battling Wilson to a tie. Senior Lauren Ruth, a transfer from Archbishop Wood, scored her first goal of the season, using an assist from Zoei Baines.
North Penn (1-1-1) will travel to Souderton for Wednesday’s SOL opener at 6:30 p.m.
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