Six of 10 SOL teams in action in Monday’s opening round of the District One Tournament were winners. CR South/Lower Merion photos provided courtesy of Diana Leferovich, Neshaminy/Avon Grove photos courtesy of John Gleeson, and North Penn/Souderton photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for galleries of action photos…CLICK HERE to go directly to the FIELD HOCKEY GALLERY.
#10 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 4, #23 ABINGTON 0
Liv Fitzgerald had herself quite a game.
The Bucks’ senior captain scored a pair of goals in the first half and then assisted on two more in the second half for the first six-point game of her career.
“Liv Fitzgerald had the game of her career,” coach Courtney Lepping said. “She’s our low mid, and she had two goals and two assists. She just went out there – she was a woman on a mission today, and it showed.
“We have those kids that step up in these big moments, players who have been there before. Our experience showed. We went out and got the job done. It was a good start to the postseason.”
After Fitzgerald staked the Bucks to a 2-0 halftime lead, she spent the second half setting up her teammates. Eva Altadonna and Dani Dundas each scored a goal.
Lepping was pleased to see her team come away with the shutout.
“(Natalie) McNamara is a great player,” the Bucks’ coach said. “Definitely, in the second half, she had opportunities to create things for them because they changed how they were playing her.
“It was a team defensive effort to shut her out, and they really executed that well. Between Liv (Fitzgerald) and Casey Reichwein in the middle, they just really did a great job working together.
“I was also pleased – they took Taylor (Mason) out of the game, and the rest of the team stepped up, which was huge. I think we’ve grown a lot and are such a complete team. We were composed and played our game.”
The Bucks drew 13 corners in the first half and 11 more in the second half. Three of their four goals came during corner play.
“Abington defended well, facing a deluge of corners,” Lepping said.
Laura Kubit earned the shutout in goal with five saves.
Central Bucks West (15-4, 9-3 SOL) will be on the road at seventh-seeded Owen J. Roberts on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest. Abington closed out a successful season with a 9-10 record (6-6 SOL).
Abington 0-0 0
Central Bucks West 2-2 4
#11 NORTH PENN 5, SOUDERTON 2
Corners were money for the Knights in Monday’s district opener, and if they needed a boost, they got one when they were awarded a corner with no time showing on the clock at the end of the first half.
They made it count.
Kristin Varilla – on the right post – deflected a drive by Mikayla Barrow into the cage for a goal that sent the Knights into halftime with a 3-1 lead. While the play all but cut the heart out of the visiting Indians, it sent the Knights into halftime with momentum they would not lose.
“We’ve been focusing on our corners at practice,” coach Shannon McCracken said. “We do a really nice job of forcing fouls in the circle, so it’s like – okay, if we get those opportunities, we need to execute.
“Getting that goal at the end of the first half on a penalty corner was key. I think that was a game changer going into halftime because we could take a moment and focus on the things we needed to continue to do. It just gave us that sigh of relief almost and that confidence to go into the second half.”
The Knights came out with guns blazing, scoring a pair of goals before the game was seven minutes old. Mikayla Barrow’s rocket from the top of the circle on a corner with an assist from Bri O’Donnell spotted the Knights a 1-0 lead just over a minute into the game. At the 23:18 mark of the half, Emily Crawford scored with an assist from Barrow, and the Knights led 2-0.
Six minutes later, the Indians executed on a corner of their own when Jess Gabriel passed the ball to Juliana Borisow on her right, and Borisow scored on a shot across goal. It looked like it was going to be another battle to the finish for the two teams who had twice seen their games decided by just one goal during the regular season.
“I think it can be hard to keep your head up when you think you have it, and they took advantage of that,” senior captain Erica Kelly said. “They played really aggressive, and we really had to step it up.”
“Our three backs and our defensive center mid always do such a great job of stepping to the ball and being very composed,” senior captain Julia Scanlon said.
The look and feel of the game changed noticeably after Varilla’s goal to end the half.
“The momentum going into the second half was definitely down because of that,” Souderton coach Nicole Bauer said.
Both teams had their share of corners in the second half. The Indians drew four, managing shots on three. Knight goalie Anissa Gardizy was there for the stops, including a diving stop on the left post on the first corner.
The Knights converted on their fourth corner of the half when Madison Stotler tipped an Erica Kelly shot into the cage for a 4-1 lead with 13:43 remaining.
“Madison has really nice touches in front of the goalie,” McCracken said. “She was a softball player, so she has that really good hand-eye coordination.”
The Indians got that goal back when Jess Gabriel (Caitlin Lennon assist) scored on a reverse stick shot from close range. Less than a minute later, Crawford (Kelly) scored on a corner to put the finishing touches on the big win.
Passing was another key to the Knights’ success.
“We get into a rhythm when we start passing well,” Kelly said. “We all start having fun, and it reminds us of the game we love to play.
“Going into this game, knowing it’s the last time we’re playing at home – this could have been the last time we were playing together, so it’s more motivation to do everything we can.”
“We were really connecting, we were seeing each other tonight,” Scanlon said. “Our senior class is very close along with the rest of the team, and we’re very senior heavy, so I think we all had that fire to keep pushing.”
North Penn (13-5-1, 9-2-1 SOL) will be on the road at sixth-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh in a rematch of a late season game the Knights won 3-2.
Souderton closed out its season with an 8-11 record overall (4-8 SOL). The Indians were hoping for more.
“We have come a long way, but we said that last year,” Bauer said. “We made it to districts last year, so we should expect to come to districts and win games.
“There’s a strong bunch of girls coming back next year.”
Souderton 1-1 2
North Penn 3-2 5
#13 NESHAMINY 4, #20 AVON GROVE 0
Scoring goals has not come easily for the Redskins, who couldn’t have picked a better time to find their offensive stride. Sparked by the one-goal, two-assist effort of Jamie Pennington, Neshaminy opened up a 3-0 lead and rolled to the no-doubt-about-it win.
“They played hard, and one of the things we’ve struggled with all season is scoring, and we come out and our first round districts and score four goals,” coach Jamie Pinto said. “That’s something to keep working on from there.”
Abby Geisler scored off a corner just over two minutes into Monday’s district opener, using Jamie Pennington and Kayla Connelly assists. The Red Devils held them off until Connelly found the cage with 3:43 remaining in the half. Just over a minute later, Peyton Ritchey scored, using a Pennington assist.
“We came out strong and got the first goal quick, but they didn’t give up,” Pinto said. “We actually called a timeout just to kind of regroup our girls.
“It’s districts and you know your opponent is not going to give up, and they didn’t. They kept putting pressure on us. We did a good job of working together as a team, coming together after we scored our first goal. I think that calmed the girls down a little bit, just to get it out of the way, but there was a big gap. We had the pressure on, but we weren’t getting any more shots.”
Pennington’s goal 16 seconds into the second half – this one with a Geisler assist – closed out the scoring for both sides.
The Redskins’ dominance is underscored by their 19-2 advantage in shots. They also held a 13-8 edge in corners.
“Our goalie didn’t have to make a save, so that’s a credit to our defense – they’ve really been stepping up,” Pinto said. “They’ve really been trying to push out and get the ball out of there as quick as they can, but they’ve been really in control, playing well and working together back there.”
Anchoring the defense were center defensive mid Kelly Baradzicj, right back Asia Bernard, left back Sophie Schardt and defensive back Tori Young in front of goalie Maddie Tiemann.
Neshaminy (13-6, 10-2 SOL) will travel to fourth-seeded Haverford for a second round game on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Avon Grove 0-0 0
Neshaminy 3-1 4
#15 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2, #18 WISSAHICKON 0
Megan Weeks put the Titans on the board just over five minutes into the game with a goal that turned out to be the game winner
“They played as a team,” coach Pat Toner said. “We don’t have any big names on our team, but we play well as a team.”
For good measure, the Titans added an insurance goal with 10:45 remaining in the game. Casey Reilly scored on a corner with a Kasey Dietzel assist.
“Casey Reilly had to come out a good portion of the game – she was not feeling well,” Toner said. “She was dizzy and nauseous, and she just didn’t look like herself, so I kept her out the majority of the game.
“She wanted to go back in. She was very adamant that she wanted to go back in, but I was concerned that she felt dizzy. Finally, she looked a little better, so I let her go back in. We called one of her corners, and we’ve never called it before. It was gorgeous. She lifted the ball right over the goalie and the defense’s head right into the back of the cage. It was probably my favorite goal of the season.”
The Titans had an advantage in shots (9-0) and corners (12-4).
“We stepped up and played hard the entire game,” Toner said. “We’ve been playing pretty well. I’ve been pleased with how they’ve been playing.
“Our corners worked well. I was surprised at the end that they didn’t have any shots. They had a couple of cross passes, but our goalie didn’t have to make any saves. I was pleased with our defense. This is a good time for them to be stepping up.”
Central Bucks South (11-7-1, 6-5-1 SOL) will be on the road at second-seeded Methacton for a 3:30 p.m. contest on Wednesday. Wissahickon closed out its season with an 11-8 record overall (10-4 SOL).
Wissahickon 0-0 0
Central Bucks South 1-1 2
#16 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 5, #17 LOWER MERION 0
The 16-17 game is supposed to be one of the most competitive of the opening round. The Golden Hawks dispelled that little notion in a hurry, exploding with three first-half goals and adding two more in the second half.
“We came out very strong and played hard the whole game,” coach Lisa Belz said. “It’s probably the first time I’ve seen us do that all season.
“I was very proud of everyone’s effort and having no lull in that game – that’s pretty hard to do.”
Tori Wright put the Hawks on the board 13 minutes into the game, using a Katelyn Cocco assist.
“Tori came out very strong, and she was able to set up a lot of the plays,” Belz said. “She had that focused mindset, and I think the rest of the girls just followed.”
Just over two minutes later, Wright set up teammate Mikayla VanAken for a goal that put the Hawks on top 2-0. In the final minute of the half, Carissa Longmore found the cage, and the Hawks were clearly in command.
“We came out strong and drew some corners early on, and I think we gained some momentum,” Belz said. “Last week we played Pennridge, and we were down almost the whole game, but we were able to come back.
“So I told them – we were able to score three goals in 20 minutes, so any team is capable of that. We had to start fresh in the second half, and we did.”
An early goal by Cocco put the Hawks on top 4-0.
“Katelyn Cocco is only a sophomore, but she has been coming up into that leadership role and scoring some big goals for us,” Belz said. “I’m proud of her too.
Shannon Lind found the cage midway through the half, the Hawks had their final margin of victory.
“I was really happy overall,” Belz said. “We drew some corners and capitalized on our corners. We were able to connect on our passing game.”
The Golden Hawks held a 21-3 advantage in shots. South goalie Aspen Handel was forced to make just one save in the shutout.
Council Rock South (11-8, 7-5 SOL) will travel to Downingtown West on Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. game against the top-seeded Whippets.
“At this point, everybody is competitive,” Belz said. “We’re looking forward to see how we do.”
Lower Merion 0-0 0
Council Rock South 3-2 5
CLASS 2A
#14 WEST CHESTER EAST 5, #19 UPPER MORELAND 1
The Vikings opened up an early 2-0 lead on goals by Kenzie Thompson (Nicole Fredericks assist) and Maggie Gallagher (Sydney Scully assist), but the Golden Bears made it a 2-1 game when Phoebe Longstreth turned a Jess Flanagan assist into a goal 11 minutes into the game.
That would be the Bears’ last hurrah as the Vikings added a pair before halftime – both by Fredericks. Thompson’s second goal was the only scoring for either side in the second half.
UM goalie Cassidy Murphy recorded six saves.
Upper Moreland closed out its season with a 7-11 record overall, 5-9 in SOL play.
Upper Moreland 1-0 1
West Chester East 4-1 5
CLASS 1A
#4 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 2, #5 JENKINTOWN 1
The Spartans opened up a 2-0 halftime lead and then held off the Drakes in the second half.
“We started better than we finished,” coach Linda Nixon said. “But I also think Jenkintown really came after the ball in the second half a lot more in the second half than they did when we first started.
“We really had them pinned in the first half, but we got out of sync in the second half. I don’t know what happened to them at halftime. We should never have taken a halftime.”
Anya Kochanowicz put the Spartans on the board with 18:30 remaining in the first half, and six minutes later, Ellie Hamilton found the cage to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead. With eight minutes remaining, Taylor Spoerl scored to pull the Drakes to within one, but that’s as close as they would get as the Spartans held on for the win.
“I was really excited because we have lost the last couple of years in the first round,” Nixon said. “It wasn’t super well played, but it was controlled.
“It was the second time we have played on the turf, so that in itself was fun for the kids. It was not a super well-played game on our part.
“I thought Jenkintown’s goalkeeper played a great game. We got a stroke that we didn’t score on, and it was a good stroke. She made a difference throughout the game.”
The Spartans held an advantage in shots (10-3) and corners (8-3).
Springfield (14-4, 11-3 SOL) will travel to top-seeded New Hope-Solebury for a district semifinal game on Wednesday.
Jenkintown 0-1 1
Springfield Township 2-0 2
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