To view photos of the PW/Cheltenham and Neshaminy/Bensalem games, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
It was another interesting day of SOL action on Wednesday.
Just two days after Truman notched its first ever win over Council Rock North with a 2-1 upset, Abington pulled off the National Conference ‘Upset of the Day’ with its 1-0 win over Council Rock South.
The only thing certain in the National Conference is that nothing is certain.
Wednesday’s marquee game pitting not only two of the SOL’s finest but the district’s finest – Central Bucks South at North Penn – lived up to its billing and then some. The two SOL heavyweights battled to a 0-0 tie in an evenly-matched contest.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Abington 1, Council Rock South 0 (OT)
Amanda Deering didn’t need a lot of words to describe her emotions after Wednesday’s big win.
“I am so elated,” the Ghosts’ coach said.
The win was a historic one for a Ghost program that has struggled.
“In our program’s history, we have always been going for the top of the bottom of the league with Bensalem and Truman,” Deering said. “I think this year the National Conference is open to whoever is going to score on that day.
“Today my girls said, ‘No way are you are scoring in our goal,’ and we got a shutout for our defense and were able to capitalize in overtime. It was definitely a huge win for our program. It definitely says we’re doing the right thing. We just need to know we can do it and believe in ourselves.”
Elle Clark scored the game’s only goal off a scramble in the circle with 12:25 remaining in OT. Goalie Faitih Geating had 11 saves while recording her third shutout of the season, and the Ghosts’ defense survived nine Rock South corners.
“I asked them to step up, and they did exactly what I asked of them,” Deering said.
The Ghosts’ coach credited Christina Geating for making a big stop in the second half on corner play.
“The Council Rock South girl made a perfect pass to the sweet spot, and if my co-captain, Christina Geating, did not step towards that ball and clear it out wide, we definitely would have lost the game,” Deering said. “She came out of nowhere to clear it. It was definitely going to be a sure goal for them, but Christina said, ‘No way, that ball is mine.’”
Deering, whose team had just three corners, went on to laud her defense, including first-year player Emily Towey, the goalie for the lacrosse team who opted to give field hockey a try.
“She has been an awesome addition to our defense,” Deering said. “Because she’s a goalkeeper, she talks well, she understands basic defense. She doesn’t have the best stick skills on the team, but she definitely is a hard player to get around.
“Her marking skills today and stopping the ball on the other team’s right side was great.”
Clark has been moved to center back this season.
“She’s a tough defender to get around,” Deering said. “Once she collects the ball and maintains possession, she is able to transition into offense. She carries the ball well up the field and works well with the team.”
Vika Guengelsberger also was solid on the right side.
“She did a nice job,” Deering said. “My defense is all first-time starters except for Elle Clark, and she did a great job.”
Council Rock North 3, Pennsbury 0
The Indians came back strong after Monday’s loss to Truman, using a pair of goals by Alex Kuzma and a single goal by Jacque Fagan to earn the important win.
“The girls definitely turned it around today,” Indians’ coach Heather Whalin said. “Everything is a learning experience.
“Last year our learning experience was the Tennent overtime loss. We lost that game and then we never lost another game for 13 games in a row because it taught them.
“I was nervous about today because Pennsbury is well coached, and they always have tough kids. We were lucky our girls were mad. They scored under two minutes into the first half and under a minute into the second half. They knew they had to get it done today. I’m glad it kicked us into gear, but we’ll have to see.”
Whalin credited the strong showing of several players in new roles.
“We put Becky Ely at center mid,” she said. “She was playing center back, but we need more offense.
“Jacque Fagan was playing defense, and we put her at center forward. She’s played forward her whole life, and she’s just a versatile hockey player. She’s the type of kid – she just wants to play, and she definitely provided a spark for us which we needed.”
Rock North (3-1) will face Rock South in a key National Conference game on Friday.
Neshaminy 4, Bensalem 0
The Redskins improved to 3-1 and continue to own a share of the top spot in the National Conference standings as a result of Wednesday’s impressive win. Brittany Calvert scored a pair of goals, using assists from Annie Kopera and Char Reese. Caitlin Carrezola (Lindsay Blum assist) and Brittany Sheenan (Carrezola assist) both scored single goals. The Redskins held an 18-5 advantage in corners.
William Tennent 2, Harry S. Truman 0 (Tuesday)
CONTINENTAL CONFERENCENorth Penn 0, Central Bucks South 0 (OT)
TOWAMENCIN - South goalie Lydia Keener had just survived 75 minutes of end-to-end action in Wednesday’s showdown against North Penn.
“Oh man, I’m having heart palpitations the entire game,” the Titans’ goalie said. “I would prefer a 7-0 win any day where I don’t even touch the ball. These games certainly keep me on my toes, and they do show how much our team can step up and stay solid all over the field.”
Keener turned away all seven shots she faced, and her counterpart – North Penn’s Shannon Keen – had eight saves in a contest that belonged to the respective defenses.
Prior to Wednesday’s showdown, the Maidens had scored 21 goals in five games while South had scored 31 in seven games. In other words, both teams were averaging over four goals a game.
Defensively, the Maidens had allowed only two goals in five games while the Titans gave up three in seven, but neither had been tested quite like they were on Wednesday in a contest that pitted talent against talent.
“Their forwards – Kayla (Kenney), Casey (Haegele) and Colleen (Kempf) – are all incredible forwards, and our defense did a pretty fantastic job against them,” Maiden coach Carrie Jankowski said. “After the last game, we talked about our defense not getting tested. They got a test today, and let’s give them a B-plus.
“Actually, they get an A-plus because the offense has to score. If you shut a team out, the defense did its job. I don’t want to say our offense didn’t do its job, but they kept two girls deep, and every time we would generate attack, they had two defenders there to stop it.”
Players from both sides were not particularly happy to settle for a scoreless tie.
“It’s frustrating,” said senior Franny Ryan, who gave the Titans a big lift off the bench. “Some of the calls we wanted to get weren’t called, and it was frustrating when you have the ball down at their end and have to sprint all the way back.”
“We definitely wanted to win,” Maiden defender Anna MacDonald said. “I think tying them (0-0) shows them we’re not the same team as last year. We definitely have a chance to beat them the next time.”
The one thing everyone on both sides could agree on was the fact that playing 75 minutes of high intensity hockey was exhausting.
“Oh boy, I had to call out,” said Ryan, admitting she needed a breather in OT. “You would make it all the way down the field and then do something stupid and – bam, it would go down the other way.”
“The ball literally went from one end of the field to the other,” North Penn midfielder Emilie Ikeda agreed. “This is the most tired I have been all season because I felt like the mids were sprinting back and forth and back and forth.
“Overtime is one of the most tiring things because there are less people on the team, and that one girl (Madison Harding) has extremely hard hits, so she’s able to just whack it down to the other end of the field right when we’d get down to the end. I was exhausted.”
The Titans drew four first-half corners, but thanks at least in part to Maiden flier Nikki Hill managed to generate very little offense off those corners.
Their best chance to get on the scoreboard came late in the half when Amy Coughlin turned a picture-perfect lead pass from Hall into a hard shot on goal without breaking stride, but Keener was there to deliver a dazzling kick save to keep the shutout intact.
The Maidens drew a pair of first-half corners and came close to converting their first, but Harding stopped a shot on the goal line.
In a second half of non-stop action, the Maidens drew an early corner, but Elizabeth Fedele’s shot just missed the cage.
The Titans drew four straight corners late in the half but came up empty. Their best chance – a rocket by Harding – was stopped on the goal line by Macie Hauck. Keen also had several big stops.
“That was really frustrating because those are your chances, and you have to capitalize on it,” Ryan said.
The Maidens drew a pair of corners early in overtime. In play after the first, a Titan defender made a stop on the goal line, and the Maidens were awarded another corner. They wanted more, believing that the shot was stopped by the defender’s body, which would have resulted in a penalty stroke.
As it was, they came up empty on both corners as Keener collected a pair of saves. With two minutes remaining, the Titans looked as though they’d won it when – on a corner - Kayla Kenney fired a shot that deflected high into the cage but was waved off and ruled a dangerous hit.
“I thought the initial shot was low and went off the defender’s stick and up high, which is a goal in the rule book,” Ford said.
The goal was disallowed, and the tie stood.
“A tie is definitely better than a loss, but we expected to win this game, so it’s disappointing not to,” Ford said. “North Penn’s defense played really well.
“We had opportunities, but we didn’t do a good job of executing the opportunities the way we have done in previous games.”
Jankowski was matter-of-fact about the tie.
“A tie is never as good as a win, but it’s all about how you play,” the Maidens’ coach said. “If we hadn’t played well, it would be disappointing, but I was happy with the way we played. I was proud of our girls.
“The next time we play them we have to come out more intense, and that becomes more of a must-win.”
The two teams will next meet on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m., at War Memorial Stadium for what could well be a winner-take-all showdown.
“The mentality is we’ll get them the next time,” Ryan said. “The next game is our Senior Night, and that will be a good matchup. This definitely gives us momentum to go out for them next time.”
The Maidens were equally confident as they left Wednesday’s game.
“When people say they’re going to win the league and district and stuff – we tied them, and we’re going to beat them the next time,” Ikeda said. “We want to show them we should be number one.”
Souderton 1, Quakertown 0
Souderton received a reverse lift shot by Alex Atiyeh in the first half, and that was all the Indians needed to earn the win over Quakertown.
Hatboro-Horsham 2, Pennridge 1
The Hatters used goals by Carly Gallagher and Lizzie Carr to eke out a 2-1 win over the Rams.
Central Bucks East 3, Central Bucks West 0 (Tuesday night)
East got on the scoreboard early in Tuesday’s night game at War Memorial Field against archrival West. Marissa Glatt (Emily Vasey assist) scored from the top of the circle at the 28:32 mark to give the Patriots an early 1-0 lead. Brittany Meyer tipped in a shot from the top of the circle, again with a Vasey assist, to send the Patriots into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Glatt scored her second goal of the game at the 26:40 mark of the second half for the 3-0 final.
East held a 12-6 advantage in shots and took nine of those in the first half. East goalie Emily Guthier turned away five saves in the shutout. West’s Jessica Mesinger-MacDonald had six saves.
The Patriots closed out the game with all 10 seniors on the field for their final East/West game under the lights.
“The girls had a lot of pride in their intensity of play,” East coach Marie Meehan said.
The shutout was the third in a row for the Patriots, who will face CB South on Friday.
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Upper Dublin 3, Norristown 0
Emily Hitchings scored a pair of goals – the first with an assist from Kelly Cross and the second with a Stephanie Speese assist - to send the Flying Cardinals into halftime with a 2-0 lead. Sarah Carroll (Sam Boyd assist) scored the game’s final goal with 20:31 remaining in regulation.
Norristown goalie Eliana Gilette turned away 23 shots in a strong outing. Teammate Gabby Berry had a pair of stick saves for the Eagles.
For the Flying Cardinals, goalie Dana Russell was credited with three saves. Hitchings and Cross each had stick saves.
The Flying Cardinals, who improved to 4-0 in the league (6-2 overall), held a 26-3 advantage in shots and a 10-6 edge in corners.
Wissahickon 7, Upper Moreland 1
Wissahickon received a pair of goals and three assists from Lauren Becker while teammates Jackie Hibbs, Emily Gallagher, Guaglianone, Maddie Smith and Melanie Fry each added single goals. Hibbs also had a pair of assists and Guaglianone had a one assist for the Trojans, who improved to 3-0 in league play.
Vanessa Fry was not forced to make a save in the shutout. Upper Moreland’s Saige Wenik turned away 10 shots.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11, Cheltenham 0
Meg McCullough and Galen Newsum each connected for the hat trick. McCullough also had an assist. Bryn Frankhouse, Ariana Horn, Gabriella Fazio, Courtney Konowal and Sarah Naylor each added single goals. Mollie Getzfread and Baleigh Newsum both contributed an assist.
PW goalie Becky Stiteler was not forced to make a save in the shutout as the Colonials held a 37-0 advantage in shots.
- Log in to post comments
0
