Three SOL field hockey teams will be in action in Tuesday’s District 1 2A Tournament Tuesday. Check out their preview capsules.
District 1 2A
#10 LOWER MORELAND at #7 UNIONVILLE (Tuesday, Oct. 21, 5:30pm)
–12-5-1 overall
–7-3 SOL Freedom Division second place
–Win over Class 1A #6 Villa Joseph Marie 4-3
–Split with Class 2A #15 Upper Moreland (3-0, 1-2).
Lower Moreland coach Deborah Lawlor: “Lower Moreland heads to the first round of playoffs after a successful season marked by growth, teamwork, and a shared commitment to progress under the guidance of a new coach. This season was about continuing to build on our foundation, developing our skills, elevating our strategy, and strengthening our team identity all while keeping the traditions who make us who we are!
“I am proud of how far we’ve come in becoming skilled, strategic players who create our own opportunities on the field. Our scoring was well-distributed among multiple players, showcasing the depth and balance of our offense, while our steadfast goalie, Jordyn MacPhee, anchored the defense and helped lead the team to an impressive 12 wins this season.
“As we look ahead to postseason play, our focus remains not only on the games ahead but on the continued growth and bright future of the Lower Moreland Field Hockey program.
Unionville
12-5-1 overall
Quality wins over Class 3A #7 Downingtown West (1-0) and #21 Downingtown East (2-1) as well as Class 2A #6 Oxford (4-2)
5-1-1 over last seven regular season games.
Up next: Winner will face winner of #2 Bishop Shanahan/#15 Upper Moreland.
#12 WISSAHICKON at #5 GWYNEDD MERCY (Tuesday, Oct. 21, 4 pm)
Wissahickon
–8-10 overall
–6-4 SOL Liberty Division
–Anchoring a young Trojan squad are forward Carly Lehman, midfielder/defender Sam Farno and defender Regan Szczepkowicz
––Young squad lost key five key all-league players from last year’s squad
Wissahickon senior Regan Szczepkowicz: “This season was the most challenging of my four years, especially since our team is the youngest it’s been in a while. We seem to always have a target on our backs due to our history of being a successful team, so, this season, many of our opponents brought a lot of intensity and urgency to our games. However, even though about half of our players have never played on varsity before, we earned some great team victories and achieved our goal of making it to playoffs. Every player has been working incredibly hard since preseason to better their play, and it shows. We continue to improve and play more like a team each game, which will continue into the postseason. We’re going to do what we always do – play hard and play together – and, hopefully, you’ll see us in the state tournament!”
Wissahickon junior Sam Farno: “I am really looking forward to seeing what this postseason has in store for us. After a season through a lot of ups and downs, working on coming out each week better than the week prior has been of high importance within our team. Although not all of the games may have been wins, I am very proud of this group of girls for ending our season strong. Leading into playoffs, we need to continue moving with momentum and starting off strong from the first blow of the whistle. From the beginning of the season to now, there is a drastic transformation in our style of play and the intensity that we bring to the field. Fighting to the end of each game is something I think we do very well. Right now, our focus is one game at a time, and I can’t wait to see how we finish out our season.”
Wissahickon junior Carly Lehman: “Our team played as hard as we could thoughout this season. In playoffs, our opponent is Gwynedd Mercy. We scrimmaged them earlier this year, and they are a tough team. Even though they are a strong team, our team improved so much throughout the season. Coach Hannah and assistant Coach Bella have made a huge impact on our team. They try their best to help us learn, grow, and have a strong positive mindset. Gwynedd Mercy is a great challenge that our team can take on. I’m proud of how far our team has come. Every hour of practice has made us better as a team. Our senior captains Julia and Regan always make sure to push us to our limits. They help us succeed from doing drills to playing on the field. I’m so grateful to have an amazing team culture and great coaches. We are all focused on winning this next game, and we are so excited to see what we can accomplish.”
Up next: Winner will face winner of #4 Kennett/#13 Phoenixville.
Gwynedd Mercy
–11-7 overall
–Defending District 1 2A champion
–Quality wins over Class 3A #17 Ridley (2-1) and 2A #2 Bishop Shanahan (2-1),
–Led by senior captains Lily Cairnes and Ava Zeleznock and junior captains Kendall DeLuca, a first team all-state selection as a sophomore, and Courtney Gallagher.
Next up: The winner will take on the winner of #4 Kennett/#13 Phoenixville game.
#15 UPPER MORELAND at #2 BISHOP SHANAHAN (Tuesday, Oct. 21, 6 pm)
–9-8-1 overall
–5-4-1 SOL Freedom Division
–Goalie Tierney Hogan has 264 saves this year with 33 goals against (89 percent save percentage) and 331 career saves
–Balanced attack includes contributions from Olivia Torres (8 goals 12 assists), Melissa Torpey (7 goals, 7 assists), MJ Reilly (8 goals, 4 assists), Ella Gould (7 goals, 4 assists)
–Defense is led by Bridget Hess, Abby Kelly, Addi Gans and Reese Purcell
–Split season series with #10 Lower Moreland (0-3, 2-1)W
Upper Moreland senior Addi Gans: “This has been an exciting season for our team! I am so honored to be able to call myself a captain of a team with such love for the game and each other. Over my four years, we have improved every single year, but this year it feels like the hard work paid off! This year is the first season since 2017 that Upper Moreland has made it to the playoffs, and our team couldn’t be happier! We seniors are especially grateful that we have more time on the field and with each other! Going into this season, the seniors really made it a point to make this team a family, and that has really translated onto the field. The chemistry on and off is what makes our team so special, and we can’t wait to keep going.”
Upper Moreland senior Abby Kelly: “Obviously, I’m super excited to extend my last season even if it’s for the littlest amount of time. This very special team deserves the recognition it’s getting now that we are in playoffs. I’d always like to relate this team to being underdogs as we were never the favored team. I’m super excited to play on a very big stage.
“Something especially special about our team is our defense. Obviously, I’m very biased to it as I play right back, but the grit we have is top notch. Our coach Remmey will remind our team when we have a rough game ahead how they aren’t even worried because of our amazing defense. I believe that the trust our team has in us comes with why our defense is so good. The connection with my teammates Bridget Hess, Addi Gans, Reese Purcell, and our goalie Tierney Hogan – I’d say is the best in SOL. I always say, ‘We are always on the same wavelength,’ and what I mean is when we play with each other, it’s all one moving part. We just know who’s where, who to mark, and it just makes sense. We all have so much trust in each other, and it makes us work so well. In addition, we know to win harder games we have to work just as hard if not harder than anyone else on the field, knowing we have to get the ball out of our circle as quickly and accurately as possible to send it up for our offensive players so they can get ready to score. Our defense has always been solid because of our tough schedule, and practicing with our outstanding offense makes us even better.”
Upper Moreland coach Pam Remmey: When I decided to go back to coaching field hockey three years ago, I knew this team had several committed, athletic underclassmen that we could build the program around. And they love field hockey as much as I do! The players worked hard in the offseason and had a goal of having a winning record and making it to the playoffs. We have achieved those two goals and are grateful that we get to extend our season.
“Our goalie, Tierney Hogan, has been locked in all season, coming up with big games vs stronger opponents. She has 264 saves this year, with an 89 percent save percentage and 331 career saves. Our defensive unit of Addi Gans, Abby Kelly, Reese Purcell and Bridget Hess work well together to shut down opponents. Our midfielders – Taylor Pagano, Ella Gould and Oliva Torres – are very athletic and have improved tremendously on stickwork and tackles. We have a very balanced scoring attack, which will be tough for teams to defend.”
Bishop Shanahan
–13-4 overall
–Led by a pair of Division 1 commits in juniors Bailey Conroy (Ball State) & goalie Ali Civera (Villanova)
–Senior Sophia Deliberty is a Catholic University commit
–Wins over Class 3A #21 Downingtown East (2-0), #22 WC Henderson (2-0), Class 2A #4 Kennett 2-1), #7 Unionville (1-0) and 1A #1 Delco Christian (2-0.
Up next: The winner will face the winner of #7 Unionvile/#10 Lower Moreland.
District 1 1A
#2 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY (Bye)
–16-2 overall
–10-0 SOL Freedom Division champions
–Players to watch include Oliva Conte (Mid), Danielle Wilson (Mid), Gabi Solis (Mid), Abby Varghese (Forward), Rebecca Valliyil (Defense)
–Wins over Class 3A #14 Neshaminy (2-1), Class 2A #10 Lower Moreland (5-0, 5-0), #12 –Wissahickon (2-1), #15 Upper Moreland (4-0, 6-0).
New Hope-Solebury senior Abigail Varghese: “Heading into our postseason, I’m really excited to be able to play as a team together, with all of the skills and knowledge we’ve gained throughout this season. We have shown consistent growth in our games so far, so going into the post-season I’m confident that we will be able to perform well.”
New Hope-Solebury sophomore Danielle Wilson: “I think that it’s going to be really competitive, so we’re going to have to play to the best of our ability in every game. All the teams are very similar, and I think that everyone was really upset with last year’s loss, so we need to use that to drive us.”
New Hope-Solebury’s Gabi Solis: “I’m really excited to see how we perform in the postseason. This team has a ton of potential to go far and I’m excited to see how it pans out.”
Next up: New Hope-Solebury will play the winner of the #3 Dock Mennonite/#6 Villa Joseph Marie contest on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
About the Author
