SOL District Field Hockey Preview (Opening Round)

Ten SOL field hockey teams will be in action Monday in the District One Tournament. Check back for recaps of all the games.

Fourteen of 22 SOL teams will be competing in the postseason.

Ten SOL field hockey teams will be in action when the District One Tournament gets underway Monday. In the 24-team District One 3A field, 12 teams are from the SOL with four – Central Bucks West, Central Bucks East, Plymouth Whitemarsh and Council Rock South – having first-round byes.

Upper Moreland will represent the SOL in the Class 2A bracket while Springfield Township is competing in the District One Class A bracket.

Colonials roll to fourth straight title – Frankie O’Brien admits she had some serious concerns when coach Marianne Paparone stepped down at the close of the 2015 season. It was hard to blame the then junior standout.
After all, the veteran coach had returned for a three-year stint after watching the program struggle and led the Colonials to three straight SOL American Conference championships.
“I was heartbroken when Pap left, absolutely,” O’Brien said. “I was so skeptical of what was going to happen to our team because we had no goalies, we graduated four very strong seniors. We had two new teams moving into our league.
“Looking at things now, I don’t know why I was ever skeptical or thinking anything bad was going to happen.”
Charise (Young) Halteman – after two years as the PW junior varsity coach and one year as a volunteer assistant under Paparone – stepped into the position. It turned out to be a perfect fit for a squad that rolled to its fourth consecutive conference title without a loss in league play.
“Coach Young was amazing,” O’Brien said. “I can’t really put into words – we thought it was going to be some kind of trouble because Pap had such a way of controlling the whole practices and doing such a good job with that.
“But then coach Young took over, and it was like this fresh style of hockey. I think everyone enjoyed that a lot. Practices are very dynamic, we do a lot of different things, we have a different style of defense this year, and it’s working for us. It’s really great.”
Halteman not only brought a dazzling resume from a stellar four-year career at Temple University where she was a two-time A-10 first team selection, she also boasted collegiate coaching experience, returning to Temple for a stint as an assistant coach.
Halteman’s first order of business when she was named coach was sitting down with the seniors.
“I told them I wanted to hear from them and what they still wanted out of the program because I knew I would change some things,” she said. “We had a really nice conversation about that, about traditions that were important to the program and the things they saw that could be changed and what their goals were.
“Right from the get-go the transition has been really smooth because of the senior class. They embraced the change and they wanted a positive senior year that continued the success they had the past three years. They’ve been great at keeping things organized, they’re responsible – I can rely on them for whatever.”
This year’s seniors include O’Brien, Kerin Bechtel, Kolby Bechtel, Amanda Colton, Sami Mangine and Emma Truong.
“There’s just such a great team camaraderie,” O’Brien said. “We all just stepped up to the plate, whether it be the freshmen that just came in or the seniors that have been there for four years.
“We took responsibility for what we needed to, which would be getting things ready for warm-ups, making sure we have everything for the away games, being punctual and on time for practices, and I think that made a difference to make the smooth transition from coach to coach.”
O’Brien, a four-year varsity veteran, anchors the defense at center back. The Hofstra –bound senior is also a corner striker with a team-high 27 goals.
“We often hear comments from other teams – ‘Oh, Frankie, she’s scary, she’s intimidating,’” Halteman said. “It’s one of those things – once you get to know Frankie, she’s got a dry sense of humor, and she’s awesome to work with.
“She is so competitive. I don’t think you find kids that are that competitive. She just cares so much about the team, and she will do whatever it takes to help us win. What has really been neat about her is I have definitely seen her mature over the last four years.
“She’s definitely grown in her knowledge of the game and mixing that with her competitive nature has made her so successful on the field. I think it was important for her to end her senior year with another league championship, and she definitely provided the leadership we needed for that.”
While O’Brien is the headliner, the other seniors have contributed as well. Halteman credited Sami Mangine and Kolby Bechtel for playing solid defense.
“They have really flown under the radar all season,” the first-year coach said. “They just played consistent all season long.
“I thought the two of them have been stepping up a lot because towards the end of the season, there’s a little more pressure on the defense. They’ve been doing well doing their jobs, and that’s so crucial when people fill the roles they need to.”
Mangine was involved in a car accident and was unable to play in the team’s Senior Night game.
“Emma Truong stepped in and ended up playing the whole game as our sweeper,” Halteman said. “Again, a senior stepped in and said, ‘I want our team to win and do the best job I can.’ That was great.”
For the seniors, it’s been an especially memorable season.
“It’s awesome,” O’Brien said. “As a freshman going in not even knowing we were going to have one league champs and leaving with four – I don’t think any field hockey team at PW has done that. That’s history.”
The Colonials have an opening round bye and will face the winner of the Avon Grove/Central Bucks South contest on Wednesday.

Titan turnaround – Pat Toner inherited a Central Bucks South program that won just three games last year. The veteran coach not only gave the program stability but took immediate steps to revive the once proud program.
“With the seniors adjusting to four different coaches in four years, we started this year building up from the bottom and coming to where we are today,” senior co-captain Lauren Dougherty said.
Where the Titans are today is in the District One 3A Tournament, the 23^rd seed in the 24-team tournament.
“We kept waiting that night before, and we kept saying, ‘Are we going to make it in? Are we going to make it in?’” Dougherty said. “We said, ‘Positive thoughts, we’re going to do it.’ We were super excited when we found out.
“Me and Erin (Chioffe), our other captain – we were able to go to districts our sophomore year, and we had so much fun going. We’re super excited to share that with the sophomores because this year we’ve had so much fun. We have a really tight, connected group. It’s going to be fun to see how they all react and how we’re going to do.”
The senior co-captain credited Toner and assistant Meg Hutchinson for the team’s turnaround.
“Obviously, Hutch and PT have brought us so far from the basics to everything we’ve done,” Dougherty said. “The thing about our team is we don’t have one standout player. Everyone is on an even playing field. We all score goals.
“When there’s a 50-50 ball in between another team and us, we’re the first one to it. We just try to do everything we can to bother the other team and score. We have nothing to lose – leave it all on the field.”
The Titans will be on the road at 10^th-seeded Avon Grove in Monday’s opening round.

#5 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST (Bye)

· 14-3-1 overall
· 9-2-1 Continental Conference second place
· Explosive offense led by Bryn Boylan (25 goals, nine assists), Cadera Smith (18 goals, nine assists), Taylor Mason (13 goals, five assists) & Ryan Murray (eight goals, 10 assists).
· Split regular season series with #6 Central Bucks East (3-4 & 4-3) and #9 North Penn (6-3 & 2-3). Tied #18 Souderton (3-3) in initial meeting and won rematch (5-2).
· Regular season wins over Class 2A #2 Mount St. Joseph (5-3), #20 Council Rock North (4-1) and #22 Pennsbury (4-0)

#6 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST (Bye)

· 13-4-1 overall
· 11-1 SOL Continental Conference champions
· First program championship since 2002
· Multi-faceted attack is led by Riley Donnelly (23 goals, nine assists), Cailey Lever (17 goals, 10 assists), Emma Donnelly (nine goals, eight assists), Reilly Finegan (nine goals, five assists), Abby Butler (five goals, eight assists) & Lindsey Adriaansen (eight goals, one assist).
· Regular season win over #3 Downingtown West (3-2) and tied #4 Methacton (2-2) in regular season finale.
· Swept season series with #9 North Penn (6-4 & 6-2), #18 Souderton (5-1 & 6-1) and #23 Central Bucks South (2-0 & 4-3). Split season series with #5 Central Bucks West (4-3 & 3-4)

#7 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH (Bye)

· 16-1-1 overall
· 14-0 SOL American Conference champion
· Fourth consecutive conference title
· Offense led by Frankie O’Brien (27 goals, nine assists), Sam Spera (12 goals, 14 assists), Kennedy Reardon (11 goals, two assists), Jess Dixon (eight goals, four assists), Julia Fiddler (10 goals) & Kerin Bechtel (eight goals).
· Swept regular season series with #17 Upper Dublin (8-1 & 4-0) and #24 Wissahickon (3-1 & 2-1).
· Regular season win over #16 Lower Merion (5-0) and tied #22 Pennsbury (2-2)
· Only loss to #12 Haverford (3-1)

#8 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH (Bye)

· 15-3 overall
· 12-0 SOL National Conference champion
· Senior Caroline McGovern (37 goals, nine assists), the SOL’s most dangerous offensive weapon, recently surpassed the 100-goal milestone
· Other offensive contributors include Tori Wright (10 goals, 11 assists), Mikayla VanAken (eight goals, 10 assists), Paige Schmid (nine goals, three assists) and Katelyn Cocco (eight goals, two assists).
· Swept regular season series with #13 Neshaminy (2-1 & 2-1), #20 Council Rock North (4-3 & 5-1) and #22 Pennsbury (3-2 & 4-2).
· Regular season wins over #6 Central Bucks East (4-3) in season opener an #24 Wissahickon (7-2)

#24 WISSAHICKON at #9 NORTH PENN (3:45 p.m.)
North Penn

· 12-6 overall
· 9-3 SOL Continental Conference third place
· Finished season 12-2 after 0-4 start that included losses to #3 Downingtown West, #4 Methacton, #5 Central Bucks West and #6 Central Bucks East
· Averaged over four goals a game in final 14 games
· Offense is led by the one-two punch of juniors Bri O’Donnell (26 goals, 11 assist) and Mikayla Barrow (24 goals, five assists). Emily Crawford (eight goals, eight assists) and Amber Blackshear (five goals, seven assists) also contribute.
· Split regular season series with #5 Central Bucks West (3-6 & 3-2)
· Regular season wins over #11 Owen J Roberts (3-2), #18 Souderton (5-1 & 2-1) and #23 Central Bucks South (4-1 & 3-0).
Coach Shannon McCracken says: “The North Penn field hockey team is excited for districts and looks forward to opening up with a Wissahickon squad with a tradition of successful postseason play. North Penn is looking to continue their second half of the regular season success. We have been playing really well as a team, passing the ball well and creating many offensive opportunities. The defense has been coming up with big stops and working the ball out of danger as well. The midfield has been playing strong in the transition and playing good two-way hockey. The forward line is being creative and dynamic in the circle.”

Wissahickon

· 11-7 overall
· 9-5 SOL American Conference third place
· Swept season series with Class 2A #18 Upper Moreland (4-3 & 2-1) and split season series with Class 1A #7 Springfield (1-2 & 5-1)
· Led by senior midfielder Jessica Waite (18 goals, nine assists) and also Julianna Sutow (five goals, six assists), Anna Blackney (seven goals, one assist) and Grace Ball (two goals, 12 assists)

#13 NESHAMINY at #20 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH
Neshaminy

· 13-5 overall
· 10-2 SOL National Conference second place
· Led offensively by senior Mia Sexton (21 goals, 13 assists) as well as Elayna Curtin (15 goals, five assists), Emily Alexis (four goals, 11 assists), Peyton Ritchey (seven goals, six assists) and Kayla Connelly (six goals, five assists).
· Third meeting between the two teams. Twice defeated Council Rock North (1-0 & 2-0) in the regular season.
· Regular season wins over #6 Central Bucks East (3-2), #22 Pennsbury (3-1 & 2-0) and Class 2A #11 Great Valley (1-0).
· Won seven of eight to close out regular season.

Council Rock North

· 9-9 overall
· 8-4 SOL National Conference third place
· Led offensively by Anna Lehman (11 goals, five assists), Claire Jarema (eight goals, four assists) and Bridget Thompson (seven goals, six assists).
· Regular season wins over #22 Pennsbury (2-1 & 1-0) and #24 Wissahickon (3-2)
· Tough non-league schedule included perennial state contender Emmaus, District 12 power Cardinal O’Hara, District One 2A #2 Mount St. Joseph and #3 WC Henderson.

#17 UPPER DUBLIN at #16 LOWER MERION
Upper Dublin

· 11-6-1 overall
· 11-3 SOL American Conference second place
· Swept season series with #24 Wissahickon (1-0 & 2-1) and Class 1A Springfield (2-1 & 2-1) while splitting series with Class 2A #18 Upper Moreland (1-2 & 5-2)
· Led offensively by Jess Grodsky (18 goals, eight assists).

Lower Merion

· 10-7-1 overall
· 7-4 Central League, three-way tie for third behind Conestoga & Haverford
· Regular season wins over Class AA #8 Harriton (1-0) and #15 Penncrest (2-1).
· Regular season loss to #7 Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-0)

#18 SOUDERTON at #15 DOWNINGTOWN EAST
Souderton

· 9-8-1 overall
· 5-6-1 SOL Continental Conference fourth place
· First trip to districts since 2012
· Tied #5 Central Bucks West (3-3) in first meeting but fell in rematch (2-5)
· Regular season win over #14 Spring-Ford (6-1) and split regular season series with #22 Central Bucks South (2-0 & 0-1).
Downingtown East

· 9-8-1 overall
· 7-5-1 Ches-Mont National Division fifth place
· Led by senior Kathryn Scheerer, a Boston University commit who was listed in MAX Field Hockey Spring 2016 Player Rankings
· Regular season wins over #14 Spring-Ford (3-1) and #19 Oxford (4-1).

#22 PENNSBURY at #11 OWEN J ROBERTS
Pennsbury

· 9-8-1 overall
· 6-6 SOL National Conference fourth place
· Tied #7 Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-2) and defeated #17 Upper Dublin (4-0).
· All of Falcons’ losses are to teams in District One Tournament
· Young Falcons are led by captains Amelia Sharp, Nell Weber, Kate Chesney and Olivia Maura

Owen J Roberts

· 14-5-1 overall
· 10-2-1 PAC-10 Liberty Division tri-champs with Methacton & Spring-Ford
· Led by Leanna Faust (17 goals, 5 assists), Sarah Garritano (12 goals, 8 assists), Bridget Guinan (eight goals, seven assists) & Jenna Kirby (six goals, four assists)
· PAC-10 Tournament champions for second straight year and third time in four years with 2-1 win over top-seeded Upper Perk
· Swept PAC-10 series with #21 Perk Valley (1-0 & 1-0), defeated and tied #4 Methacton (1-0 & 2-2), twice defeated and lost once to #14 Spring-Ford (3-2, 1-0 & 1-2)
· Regular season wins over #13 Neshaminy (3-1) in season opener and #16 Lower Merion (4-0).
· Lost to #9 North Penn 3-2 in late-season contest.

#23 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH at #10 AVON GROVE
Central Bucks South

· 8-8-1 overall
· 5-7 SOL Continental Conference fifth place
· Rebounded to finish season with .500 record under first-year coach Pat Toner after winning just three games last year.
· Tied perennial Inter-Ac power Episcopal Academy (2-2) and split season series with #18 Souderton (1-0 & 0-2).
· Led by senior co-captains Erin Chioffe (three goals, eight assists) & Lauren Dougherty (six goals, three assists)
· Megan Weeks (nine goals) and Casey Reilly (eight goals, four assists) lead attack while sophomore goalie Francine Richick anchors defense.
Coach Pat Toner says: “From three wins in 2015 to the playoffs in 2016 is a great accomplishment for our team. We attribute our improvement this season to our hard-working, dedicated athletes and their supportive parents. In addition, our league is so powerful that every game feels like a playoff game. We are very young so it was initiation by fire for many of our new players and they have responded well. We look forward to competing Monday and wish the rest of our SOL Continental Conference opponents the best of luck!”

Avon Grove

· 13-5 overall
· 8-5 Chest-Mont National Division fourth place
· Opened season with five straight wins
· Regular season wins over #12 Haverford (2-1), #15 Downingtown East (4-2) #16 Lower Merion (7-3) and Class AA #7 Strath Haven (1-0).

Class AA
#18 UPPER MORELAND at #15 PENNCREST (6 p.m.)
Upper Moreland

· 7-10 overall
· 7-7 SOL American Conference tied for fourth
· Split regular season series with 3A #17 Upper Dublin (2-1 & 2-5) and 1A #7 Springfield (2-0 & 1-2)
· Led offensively by Jess Flanagan & Olivia Zanine and defense anchored by goalie Allison Felicetti

Penncrest

· 9-8 overall
· Regular season win over #8 Radnor (2-1)

Class A
#7 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP AT #2 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY (4 p.m.)
Springfield Township

· 7-11 overall
· 7-7 SOL American Conference tied for fourth
· Split regular season series with 3A #24 Wissahickon (2-1 & 1-5) and 2A #18 Upper Moreland (0-2 & 2-1).
· Lost to New Hope-Solebury 1-0 on Oct. 1
· Defense anchored by goalie Izzy Boles while Madison Baer & Ellie Hamilton lead the attack.

New Hope-Solebury

· 14-3
· 11-3 BAL Independence Division second place
· All-league goalie senior Kennedy Luke has 12 shutouts on the season.
· Swept regular season series with #3 Lower Moreland (1-0 & 1-0) and #6 Delco (2-0 & 2-) and split with #5 Jenkintown (3-0 & 1-2).
· Regular season wins over #7 Springfield Township (1-0) and Class AA #18 Upper Moreland (2-1)