Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action in Monday’s District One Tournament. Pennsbury/CR South photos courtesy of Jon Sklut. Pennridge/Great Valley photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Class 4A
No. 11 Pennsbury 2, No. 6 Council Rock South 1
Every year, it seems like the Falcons have to start their district playoff run against a team they know all too well.
This fall, it happened to be a Golden Hawks team that had beaten them twice in SOL regular season play. A good team is one that takes lessons from its setbacks and learns from them, and the Falcons were able to do that and, in turn, reversed the 
trend to keep their season going.
“When we’re not playing each other, we’re fans of South and they represent the league against other divisions and opponents,” Falcons co-head coach Kaitlyn Battiste said. “They’ve had our number in recent matchups and we’ve been challenged to better our game each time we faced them.”
Dating back to last fall, when the Hawks topped the Falcons in a district playback game, it had been three straight wins for CR South in the series.
South coach Nick Heim knew how tall the task was to beat a quality opponent three times and felt the result was due to chances and cashing in on them.
“Hats off to Pennsbury for taking advantage of their opportunities. It’s tough to beat a good team three times but it also speaks to our league, representing a quarter of the playoff field, being so strong,” Heim said.
Not surprisingly, the first half ended without a score. Battiste credited the Hawks’ defense for its discipline and stingy nature that doesn’t allow for many chances from the run of play. Pregame and at halftime, the Falcons stressed earning restarts to try and create chaos and slivers to create chances.
Rock South scored first, going up 1-0 in the 63rd minute but it took less than 90 seconds for Pennsbury to return the favor.
Kayla Karamis served in a corner that Taylor Mays was able to hit home, tying up the score.
“Despite the crazy weirdness and unpredictability of this season, we heard from our seniors tonight about how their effort and attitude are the only things they can control right now,” Battiste said. “There’s so much happening around them and they don’t always get a say, but on the pitch, they controlled their destiny and are thrilled to play another game.”
Getting that next game required another restart, some grit and a late score.
With about four minutes to play, Sarah Lohrey sent a service into the box. Sam Strausbaugh headed the ball to keep the play alive, it was redirected by Kendall Palatine and finally converted by Taylor Mays.
“Our collective team mindset and taking responsibility on both sides of the ball were really important,” Battiste said. “We didn’t play poorly against South in the first two meetings, but we saw them capitalize on our mistakes. We helped one another defensively and took advantage of our chances in front of goal.”
Battiste cited the play of goalkeeper Emma Corso, who made her first playoff start and her defense, which got stronger as the game wore on.
“We also had a heavy rotation through the midfield and each player gave us important minutes,” Battiste said. “Kendall Palatine found another gear in the second half and sparked our offense and we know we have something special in a forward like Taylor.”
CR South finished 8-3-1 on the year and captured a share of the SOL Patriot title. The Hawks said farewell to a highly decorated group of seniors.
“We’re incredibly proud of our entire program but to focus on this senior class, they’re special,” Heim said. “What a group to be our first four-year group since we took over the program. With two state playoff appearances and two league titles, their play speaks for itself.
“More importantly, they are kids who will be incredible adults. They have pride in their school, academics and each other. They’ve helped make this program into a family, they’re everything I’d want a child of mine to be. They have such a supportive group of parents that trusted and believed in us and I can’t thank them enough.”
The Falcons (7-3, 5-3 SOL) will travel to No. 3 Pennridge in an all-SOL quarterfinal between two of the last three District I champions. Council Rock South closed out its successful season with an 8-3-1 record (5-3-1 SOL).
PENNSBURY 0 2 – 2
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 1 – 1
Goals: P – Taylor Mays 2
No. 2 Abington 3, No. 15 West Chester Rustin 2
While praising his team’s heart, Ghosts coach Rick Tompkins also noted his team’s cavalier attitude toward his.
Down 2-0 six minutes into play and showing a stunning inability to put shots on goal, not much went right for Abington. While the Ghosts picked things up with a roaring start to the second half, even then they still didn’t make it an easy finish.
“They don’t like my heart,” Tompkins said. “They want it to be pounding on my chest the whole time.”
The Golden Knights scored on their second shot of the game, a deep rip that caught the wind and sailed over the keeper’s head and notched a second goal less than two minutes later on a two-on-one behind the defense.
Despite their best efforts to answer, Abington couldn’t make much of the numerous chances it created after that. For all the work she did to drive past defenders and draw fouls, Maura Day couldn’t find the frame, Casey Touey’s touch was off and Lesha Karaba also wasn’t dialed in.
Yet, the halftime message wasn’t one of gloom.
“I told them at halftime, you’re down 2-0 but anybody watching would say you’re dominating the play, so just keep playing that way and it’ll come,” Tompkins said. “Touey found a way to get us started.”
The senior striker, a Drexel recruit, chalked it up to some introspective thinking at halftime and came out fired up to keep her team’s season alive. Stealing a page from Rustin’s book, the Ghosts rocketed out of the halftime start and had the game level in less than 10 minutes.
A foul on the right side gave Day another crack and this time, the sophomore kept her hit low which allowed Touey to find it in the box and power home her first tally of the day. The Ghosts knew if they were more aggressive, the ball would find them.
“We talked about it at halftime, but we weren’t nearly as aggressive as we should have been,” Touey said. “When we lost the ball, we weren’t eager to get it back so we talked about putting pressure on as soon as you lose it because it will cause a mistake and we’ll break the defense down that way.”
Touey, Piper McGinley and Carley Slavin went after the ball and won it, with Slavin threading a through ball that put Touey in along behind the Rustin defense. From there, it was all Touey as she cut in and chipped the ball over the keeper to level the score.
Midway through the second half, the Ghosts finished their rally with the go-ahead goal. Abby Bautista was able to get the ball in the middle and fed it up to McGinley. The freshman forward then hit a through ball to Myana Bebee-Gomberg and the senior calmly put the ball away with a far post shot.
“It’s a mentality, you just have to want it more,” Abington’s Ally Holden said. “We came out to start and you could see we definitely didn’t want it more, but in the second half, we changed that.”
Holden had the first of two massive defensive plays in the second half to preserve the lead, clearing a ball off the line about two minutes after the Ghosts went ahead. Abington’s backs – Holden, Caroline Hughes, Camille Mugnier, Ashley Reilly and Lanae Wilson-Mattson – turned in a determined second half, but their keeper truly saved the day.
Rustin, which had a shot hit the crossbar in the second half, was awarded a penalty kick with 18 minutes to go. Alexis Ditri, playing in her first game back off injury, read the kick well and palmed it out for a corner.
“Even with her arm in a sling, she’s trying to get me to let her play and practice so I told her it wasn’t going to do any good to us or her to rush right back in and to just relax and she’d be there when we needed her,” Tompkins said. “She definitely picked us up.”
Abington had a few chances after the saved PK, but while none went in, the Ghosts still had their lead.
“They find a way,” Tompkins said. “There is no quit in them, ever.”
Abington (9-1-1, 8-1-1), which won its first playoff game since 2018, will host No. 7 Avon Grove on Thursday.
ABINGTON 0 3 – 3
WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 2 0 – 2
Goals: A – Casey Touey 2, Myana Bebee-Gomberg
No. 8 Hatboro-Horsham 2, No. 9 Neshaminy 0
The one thing the Hatters hadn’t done in coach Kelsey Daley’s tenure was win a playoff game.
They can now firmly cross that off the list. An early goal and late insurance from Caroline Shegogue helped Hatboro-Horsham shore up its first postseason victory not only in Daley’s tenure, but in quite some time.
“The Lady Hatters came out tonight with strong intensity and were not taking a loss for an answer,” Daley said. “The girls were so fired up for this playoff game. We have made it to the playoffs the last three years but couldn’t get the result that we wanted, which was a win, until tonight.”
Shegogue, a sophomore winger, has been a key piece to the offense throughout the season, but scored the biggest goals of her career on Monday night. It only took about three minutes for her to get the first.
“Mia Malofiy took on some defenders and ripped a shot that was saved and Caroline Shegogue was there to finish it,” Daley said. “The rest of the game I felt we dominated.”
Neshaminy finished its season at 5-4-1. The Redskins, who relied heavily on a large group of sophomores and battled through injuries, did win a share of the SOL Patriot title.
“We had some times where Neshaminy had momentum but we never lost our shape,” Daley said. “Early in the game one of our key players went out with an injury so we had to adjust quickly. We moved some players around and tonight this team played for each other.”
As a result of the injury early in the game, the Hatters turned to junior Bridget McFadden to give them a lift.
“Bridget McFadden really stepped up for us tonight and had one of her best games ever,” Daley said. “She pretty much won every head ball and 50/50 ball, she stuck tackles and made great through balls to our forwards. I couldn’t have asked for anything else from her tonight.”
Shegogue gave the Hatters a 2-0 lead with about eight minutes to go, again capitalizing on a crash to the net. Emily Thomas had a shot saved, but the rebound came out to the winger and Shegogue made sure to punch it home and send the Hatters on to the final eight.
“The Lady Hatters played with heart and never backed down tonight,” Daley said. “We are going to enjoy this win and prepare for our next opponent.”
The Hatters (9-2, 8-2 SOL) will face No. 1 seed Downingtown East in Thursday’s second round.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1 1 – 2
NESHAMINY 0 0 – 0
No. 3 Pennridge 6, No. 14 Great Valley 1
While the Rams were facing a rematch of last year’s second round contest in the district playoffs, coach Audrey Anderson didn’t want her team to see it that way.
A quick start had the Rams on the right path, but an answer by Great Valley nearly turned the tide. Pennridge was able to answer back on its own and put the game away in the second half.
“We took this game as if it was like playing a team from our conference,” Anderson said. “Going into a game where it’s a must-win game but you have a win over that other team, we had to make sure our team knew what was on the line.”
Pennridge got off to a good start when an early blast deflected off a Patriots defender for an own goal nine minutes in. Liv Grenda doubled the lead with 15 minutes left before halftime, but Great Valley struck for a quick goal off the restart and the Rams were suddenly on shaky ground.
The Rams’ midfield was strong all game and senior Lindsey DeHaven hit a blast from the top of the box in the final two minutes to give Pennridge some stability with a 3-1 lead at the break.
“It may have been 20 seconds after we scored that they scored and it was a good wake-up call for us,” Anderson said. “Being in that situation where we were still winning but to get that goal in right before the half was really important.”
After feeling like they left goals on the field in their regular season finale, the Rams didn’t want to chance anything Monday. Holding the lead through most of the half, Pennridge finally broke the Patriots down for three tallies in the final seven minutes.
Joey Tomlinson, DeHaven and freshman Lindsey Balmer all recorded goals in the closing span to seal up the victory.
“We were able to build through the midfield to give our forwards the opportunity to make runs or get them out wide and look for gaps,” Anderson said. “When you have two players like Lindsey and Liv, it opens up the forwards a little bit more. It opens up Sophie Craig, Leah Malone, Lindsey Balmer, Tori Angelo, Joey Tomlinson, all the forwards on the field.”
After their one breakdown, the Rams defense of keeper Sierra Shaeffer and backs Casey Malone, Anna Croyle, Cady McKean and Kera Dam stood firm.
“We didn’t take things for granted,” Anderson said. “The fact they scored so quickly, it forced us to say we needed to do better.”
Pennridge (11-1, 9-1 SOL), the defending District I 4A champion, will host No. 11 Pennsbury, the 2017 District I champion, on Thursday in a marquee second round matchup.
“It’s P-E-N-N vs P-E-N-N and it’s going to come down to which last couple of letters takes advantage of their opportunities,” Anderson said. “What we struggled with today, we’ll try to do better. I’m sure it will be a great game, at this point you have to win out to get to that last game, so that’s what we’ll focus on.”
PENNRIDGE 3 3 – 6
GREAT VALLEY 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Lindsey DeHaven 2, Liv Grenda, Joe Tomlinson, Lindsey Balmer
No. 1 Downingtown East 1, No. 16 Council Rock North 0
A challenging season came to a heartbreaking end for the Indians, but not due to a lack of effort.
“It’s never fun to lose, but I thought tonight we gave pretty much everything we had,” North coach Gavin Flannigan said. “We couldn’t ask for more from our team.”
The Indians’ season, which included a two-week pause due to COVID-19 and a grueling SOL slate once they resumed, also saw the team bounce between in and out of the district playoffs early last week. Once their spot was assured, the Indians focused on their defensive end with information on opponents at a premium across the district.
“East had two good looks on goal in the first 80 minutes and both times Mairin Coghlan made good saves, aside from that I thought we did a good job of limiting them to longer range shots,” Flannigan said. “Marlena Ries, Hannah Thomson, Anna Cairone and Brooke Fischer were excellent on defense tonight. In front of them Izzy Linus, Sammy Judge, Sophia Gile and Riley Hamilton did a fantastic job of pressing their mids and getting behind the ball when we lost it.”
Flannigan noted the focus on defense may have taken something from his team’s offensive punch but added the top-seeded Cougars had a robust defense that also had something to do with it.
“They were hard to break down and it was tough for us to find shots throughout the game,” Flannigan said.
While North was able to extend the game into extra time, the host side was able to put together a moment of special execution to end the Indians’ hopes of continuing on.
“The goal that won the game was really good, their attacker sidestepped a couple of our defenders and then shot back across goal into the far top corner,” Flannigan said. “It was certainly a goal worthy of winning the game, sometimes you just have to accept that.”
Acknowledging the challenges his team had to deal with throughout the fall, Flannigan lauded his players for sticking together through it all. North continued to work hard regardless of what was happening with their schedule or postseason hopes.
Flannigan and assistant Jorge Rodriguez said goodbye to their first four-year class of seniors on Monday, a group of 11 players that held the team together throughout the season and led them to back-to-back playoff appearances.
“I told them after the game how proud we were of them and that their impact on our program will be seen in the future,” Flannigan said. “They have extremely bright futures ahead of them and we are thankful to have been a part of that along the way.”
The Indians finished the season 5-6-0.
Downingtown East will host No. 8 Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
DOWNINGTOWN EAST 0 0 1 – 1
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 0 0 – 0
No. 5 Spring-Ford 1, No. 12 Central Bucks West 0
A goal by the Rams’ top player midway through the second half was enough to win a defensive battle.
Spring-Ford center back Olivia Curry, a Wisconsin recruit, knocked in an end line cross from Emily Higgins with 18:28 left in regulation. It was Curry’s first goal of the season.
Despite a sometimes end-to-end pace and several dangerous set pieces, the Bucks weren’t able to convert any of their chances into goals against the Rams’ stout defense. West’s senior class departs having helped the team reach the postseason in three straight seasons.
The Rams will play at No. 4 Owen J Roberts on Thursday.
CB West ended its season with a 6-4-1 record.
SPRING-FORD 0 1 – 1
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 0 – 0
Goals: SF – Olivia Curry
No. 7 Avon Grove 1, No. 10 William Tennent 0
The Panthers saw their successful season come to a close on the road Monday night.
William Tennent finished 9-3 overall, but posted an 8-0 record in SOL Freedom play and won a conference title in the first year of the new division. The Panthers were led by an experienced senior class but also featured some promising young players.
Avon Grove will travel to No. 2 Abington on Thursday.
Class 3A
No. 3 Gwynedd Mercy Academy 3, No. 6 Upper Moreland 1
The Golden Bears saw their season come to an end, but gave the higher seeded Monarchs all they could handle in doing so.
Gwynedd Mercy striker Sam Berish recorded a hat trick, grabbing two goals in the first half to send UM into the break down 2-0. The Bears knew the game wasn’t over and came out determined to put Gwynedd Mercy under some pressure.
“As a coaching staff, we were so proud of the effort that our girls put forward in today’s match. At the half, we weren’t down and out, we knew what we had to do and the girls really stepped up their play,” UM coach Lisa Benvenuto said. “The majority of the second half was controlled by us. We won the 50/50 balls, we high-pressured Gwynedd’s backs, and we were able to get a few dangerous chances.”
About 13 minutes into the second half, the Bears earned a free kick and converted it to put themselves right back in the mix.
“Willow Taylor was able to find Kathryn Morrow, who placed the perfect header to beat Gwynedd’s goalie,” Benvenuto said. “That goal also helped propel our momentum. To score 13 minutes into the second half and cut the game to one goal was tremendous.”
Berish, who has more than 40 career goals, restored her team’s two-goal lead in the 70th minute.
Upper Moreland had plenty of underclassmen step up throughout the season and they have plenty to look forward to in coming years. At the same time, it was the senior class that helped guide UM to its first postseason appearance since 2018.
The Bears finished 4-4-1 on the season.
“We walked off with our heads held high, knowing that we will get back again next season. I want to thank our seniors for four years of hard work and dedication to our program,” Benvenuto said. “Kaiya Herb, Kathryn Morrow, and Mattea Taylor were our captains this season, and they really did an impeccable job of leading and motivating their teammates.”
Gwynedd Mercy will face No. 2 Villa Maria Academy in the semifinal round.
GWYNEDD MERCY ACADEMY 2 1 – 3
UPPER MORELAND 0 1 – 1
Goals: GMA – Sam Berish 3, UM – Kathryn Morrow
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