To view photos of the Souderton/Quakertown and Abington/CR South games, visit the Photo Gallery.
Council Rock 1, Pennsbury 0 (OT)
Coach Heather Whalin – her team less than 24 hours removed from a 1-0 OT loss to Tennent - had a simple message to her players before they took the field for Tuesday’s overtime.
“We just didn’t finish last night,” the Indians’ coach said of her team’s loss to Tennent. “Today we had opportunities during regulation, and we didn’t finish.
“Going into overtime, we were like, ‘Do you want to play for 15 minutes, or do you want to play for one minute?’”
The Indians – or more specifically Kara Le – chose the latter.
The junior defensive back, who was playing midfield in overtime, couldn’t have picked a better time to score her first varsity goal, connecting during corner play 90 seconds into OT with the game winner.
“She just dove into the cage and put it in,” Whalin said. “It was awesome.
“She has been playing so well. She played jayvee last year, and she’s been working so hard this year. I’m super proud of her, and you couldn’t ask a better kid to score a goal. I’m really happy for her.”
Le found herself on the field in OT because Alex Kuzma injured her finger with five minutes remaining in regulation and left for the hospital to get stitches.
Whalin lauded the effort of her defense in the win.
“Just the whole defense kept the shutout, and Amanda Krause, our goalie, had a really good game,” the Indians’ coach said. “They just got it done.
“Pennsbury is always tough on their field - there’s something about their field. This win was huge, absolutely huge.”
While the Falcons saw their league record fall to 6-4-1, the Indians upped their mark to 9-2.
Council Rock South 2, Abington 0
Kiera McGovern contributed a goal and an assist while Alex Agasar also scored a goal and Kelsey Grant added an assist to lead the Golden Hawks to the important win.
“We lost to them in overtime the last time (1-0), and I’m very pleased with this win,” coach Lisa Belz said. “Abington is definitely competitive in our league, but I just feel like today the girls finally clicked.
“We came out hard and played hard the entire game. We were up 2-0 against CB West earlier in the year, and they came back and beat us 3-2 in overtime. I’m really happy they played an entire game.”
The Golden Hawks know all there is to know about close games and overtime. Of their eight losses, seven are by one goal. Five times this year, they played overtime, and they have won just one of those games.
“With the one-goal losses, I feel we are capable of playing a lot better,” Belz said. “I keep telling them, ‘You can’t just accept losing. It’s not acceptable. We have five more games, and you could potentially win all five games.”
Belz had to contend with several factors coming into the season this fall. She not only lost five starters from last year’s squad to graduation, she also lost three starters to a soccer program that is a perennial state power and is currently ranked second in the latest state poll.
“I thought everybody would be losing players, and we would all start from scratch this year, but it doesn’t seem like that,” Belz said.
As a result of her losses, the Golden Hawks’ coach had to call up 10 freshmen this season in order to fill out her jayvee roster. Four freshmen are on the varsity roster, and all four have started at some point during the season.
“I’m really proud of how they have stepped up,” Belz said. “I do think they’re capable of winning a bunch of these games we’re losing by one goal, but it’s not showing up on paper, and that’s frustrating to them and the coaching staff.
“We still hold high expectations, and I think they’re disappointed.”
Senior Taylor Frey is a rare three-year starter for the Hawks.
“She’s our most experienced player,” Belz said. “Last year she played back, but this year she’s playing sweeper, and she’s doing a great job.
“Alyson Sapirstein was a varsity player who didn’t see much playing time last year, but she is really stepping up.”
Last year’s sweeper Alex Agasar has moved to forward to create scoring opportunities.
“She sees the field very well and is always giving 100 percent effort,” Belz said.
Kiera McGovern has four goals and three assists for the Hawks, and sophomore Alexis Carroll – the lone soccer player who opted to stick with lacrosse – has also come up big at center midfield.
“She has shown tremendous improvement since last year,” Belz said. “Last year she played jayvee, but she worked hard in the offseason and is a starter and huge contributor this year.”
After Tuesday’s win, the Golden Hawks upped their league record to 4-5-1 and their overall mark to 4-8-1.
Neshaminy 1, Bensalem 0
Brittany Calvert scored an unassisted goal to lead the Redskins to the hard-earned win.
Pennridge 1, Hatboro-Horsham 1
The Hatters received a goal from Lizzy Carr (Hannah Vogel assist) at the 20:13 mark of the first half, but the Rams knotted the score when Samantha Beideman scored with 6:36 remaining in regulation, using an assist from Sarah Yerk.
Hatter goalie Maddie Wagenfeld turned away 19 shots in a standout effort.
Souderton 6, Quakertown 0
Sparked by a pair of goals from Rachel Valentine, the Indians rolled to the big win. Alex Atiyeh contributed a goal and three assists while Alayna Brown and Taylor Yoder both had a goal and an assist. Courtney Bradshaw also scored a goal, and Kirstin Russell had an assist to close out the scoring.The Indians held a commanding 24-1 advantage in shots on goal and a 13-0 edge in corners.
“We played very well today,” said coach Mary Ann Harris, whose squad improved to 8-3 in league play. “We went to the ball well, and the defense played well in terms of attacking.
“We also did well with our passing and using each other better.”
Upper Dublin 2, Norristown 0
Emily Hitchings (Megan Rock assist) scored three minutes into the first half, and Kelly Cross added an unassisted goal with 5:25 remaining in regulation to propel the Flying Cardinals to the win.
The Flying Cardinals held a 13-12 edge in shots on goal and a 7-6 advantage in corners. Upper Dublin goalie Dana Russell had six saves, and Norristown’s Eliana Gilette had seven saves.
Norristown coach Stacie Staufenberg acknowledged the strong game of center midfielder Charmaze Banks.
“We played like a team,” the Eagles’ coach said. “It was a good game to watch and to coach! Heather Boyer always brings a good team and a good game.”
Wissahickon 8, Upper Moreland 0
Seven players contributed goals in the Trojans’ decisive win. Sam Marino scored a pair of goals to lead the way while Maddie Smith (one assist), Jackie Hibbs, Caroline Kovacs (one assist), Lauren Becker (two assists), Taylor Myers and Emily Gallagher (three assists) each added a goal. Jacquelin Coupe added an assist.
Upper Moreland goalie Saige Wenik turned away 25 shots while Wissahickon’s Vanessa Fry was not forced to make a save in the shutout.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3, Cheltenham 0
Bryn Frankhouser contributed a goal and an assist while Galen Newsum and Courtney Konowal each added a goal. Mollie Getzfread and Ariana Horn both contributed assists.
The final score might have been a whole lot worse had it not been for the dazzling 24-save effort of Panther goalie Emily Hawkins.
Central Bucks East 1, Central Bucks West 0
The Patriots received a goal from Brittany Meyer (Marissa Glatt assist) in Tuesday’s win.
William Tennent 2, Harry S. Truman 1
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