CB West knocked CB South from the ranks of the unbeaten in SOL field hockey action on Thursday. Check all of the day’s results. Photo provided by Marge Bullock. Her photos can be viewed at her gallery. Click here for link.
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0 (OT)
Bryn Boylan didn’t have a whole lot to say after Thursday’s emotionally-charged win. The West freshman didn’t have to. Her smile told the story.
It was Boylan getting a touch on a shot by teammate Elena Romesburg during corner play, and that touch was all it took to score a goal that vaulted the Bucks back in the hunt for a Continental Conference crown.
“This is so great for the kids,” West coach Courtney Hughes said. “They needed it.”
The play, according to Romesburg, didn’t exactly go as planned on a corner that saw the Titans a player down after getting whistled for leaving too soon on the previous corner.
“They had a false start, so that gave us even more of an advantage,” Romseburg said. “Bryn inserted it to Kim (Hitchcock) up top, and coach told Kim to make sure you look at your space, and I was wide open on the left of Kim.
“I called for it, I saw the girl coming, and I just hit it. I couldn’t even tell you how Bryn touched it. It wasn’t planned. Let’s put it that way.”
The win avenged a 2-0 loss to the Titans on Sept. 20, a game that Romesburg missed for a college visit, and while Romesburg was a key piece in West’s big win, so was the fact that the Titans had just two defenders and a goalie back on the corner that resulted in the game winner.
“They were either going to sit both (players) back or they were going to send one high and one low, and then you just have to move the ball around, which is what they did,” Hughes said. “(Capitalizing) is so big, especially against a great team like South.
“You’re not going to get a ton of opportunities, so we have to make every opportunity count, especially when you have numbers up. Those are big moments in momentum shifts.”
After a scoreless first half that saw the Bucks hold a 6-1 edge in shots, the Titans began to take control and drew nine second half corners.
“I saw their write-up last night and saw they had 23 corners in their overtime (2-1) win against Hatboro,” said Romesburg, the Bucks’ fearless defensive flier. “We watched some film on their corners, and we know what they do.
“We got a little lucky because they weren’t receiving the ball as cleanly as they would have wanted to, so that made it a little easier on me flying and getting the ball out, which was key.”
Hughes tipped her hat to her corner defense for keeping a dangerous South squad off the scoreboard.
“The defense was coming out hard, and (Romesburg) had a wallop on the one shot, and that was a huge, huge stop,” said the Bucks’ coach of a hard shot that Romesburg stonewalled at the top of the circle. “With our defense coming out, I think that was part of the reason - you know how quickly you have to get the ball and get rid of it.
“You have to give some of the credit to our defense. We’ve really improved our corner defense a lot.”
The loss was the first of the season for the Titans, who finished off a tough stretch of three night games in three days.
“You have opportunities, shots on goal, and you have to capitalize,” said South co-coach Marie Schmucker, whose team drew 13 corners. “You have to get the ball on goal, you have to finish it, and it takes a whole team.
“This is a lesson to be learned. It’s better to happen now than later.”
The Bucks (14-1, 10-1 SOL) and Titans (15-1, 11-1) will share the conference title if both teams win their remaining games in league play.
Central Bucks West 0-0-1 1
Central Bucks South 0-0-0 0
QUAKERTOWN 3, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0
After battling to a scoreless halftime tie, the Panthers exploded for three second-half goals. Sara Reigh got the ball rolling at the 21:47 mark, using a Josh Schwartz assist, and 36 seconds later, the Reigh-Schwartz connection was back at it again, connecting for a goal that put the Panthers on top 2-0.
"In the second half, East, called a timeout on their offensive corner, and immediately after the timeout, Josh Schwartz stole the ball off the insertion and took it down the field," Quakertown coach Mel Lepko said. "He passed to Sara Reigh, who pulled right to dodge the goalie and put it in the back of the cage. We went down and did the exact same thing 30 seconds later."
For good measure, Gabby Dontonville added an insurance goal midway through the half, using a Megan Thompson cross.
"We had a slow start but finished strong," Lepko said.
Lepko credited Jordan Potynski for making a defensive save in the first half that kept the game tied.
Quakertown goalie Maddie Calder turned away the only three shots she faced in the shutout while East’ Sam Grzegorczyk had nine save. Sydney Badger, Gabby Hieber and Tina Valko each contributed defensive saves for the Patriots.
The Panthers improved to 4-8 in the league (7-9 overall) while the Patriots fell to 2-10 in league play (4-12 overall).
Quakertown 0-3 3
Central Bucks East 0-0 0
National Conference
WILLIAM TENNENT 5, BENSALEM 0
Seven different players contributed to the scoring for the Panthers in Thursday’s win. Megan McCloskey and Sarah Reed led the way with a pair of goals each while Rachael Mueller had a goal and an assist.
It was Mueller putting the Panthers on the scoreboard seven minutes into the game, using a Hannah Chamberlain assist. With eight minutes remaining in the opening half, McCloskey turned a Sarah Horrox pass into a goal, sending the Panthers into the intermission with a 2-0 lead.
McCloskey (Sam Huttick assist) scored nine minutes into the second half, and then Reed connected on back-to-back goals, the first with an assist from Mueller and the second with an Isabella Cardone assist.
Tennent held a 27-2 advantage in shots. Bensalem goalie Stevi Butler was credited with 22 saves.
The Panthers upped their record to 4-6-1 in league play (5-8-1 overall) while the Owls fell to 0-10-1 in the league (0-13-1 overall).
Bensalem 0-0 0
William Tennent 2-3 5
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 4, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Devon Mela scored a pair of goals while teammates Gigi Tutoni and Anna Lehman each added single goals for the Indians. Rock North is 9-2 in league play (11-3 overall) while the Tigers fell to 1-10 in the league (3-10 overall).
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