Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Wednesday. New Hope-Solebury/Lower Moreland photos provided courtesy of Karla Donohoe. Pennridge/CB East photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of both games. (Hatboro-Horsham seniors provided courtesy of HH field hockey). All SOS photo galleries for FIELD HOCKEY can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Patriot
PENNSBURY 4, BENSALEM 0
(Submitted by Pennsbury field hockey)
It was a great night under the lights as the Pennsbury Falcons traveled to face the Bensalem Owls for their senior game celebration. The original first game between the two, much earlier in the season, was canceled due to field conditions so it was a long wait for both teams.
“The Bensalem coaches respectfully honored our seniors as well,” said head coach Traci Curtis. “It is always so nice for the girls to be recognized and share in the special night. It's a great way to kick off the game for each team. What's funny is that we will be having our senior game when we play Bensalem again next week and we will reciprocate the gesture.”
Night games have a different vibe, of course, but what is really great is that the later game allows for people to attend who may not be able to make the afternoon time. We had an alum make the trip from her college to see the game and a group of Pennsbury middle school players showed up to watch as well.
“It is those little things that help to grow the game and continue to build our program,” said Curtis.
Our girls were definitely ready when they stepped on the field, and they proved it four minutes into the quarter as Angelina Kenney connected on an assist from Mia Popovich to put the Falcons on the scoreboard first. Meg McClure added a goal with five minutes left to put them ahead by two and then the quarter ended with the orange and black up 3-0 on another McClure-Popovich combo.
The second quarter was when the last goal of the game was scored, and it was once again a McClure tip-off of a Popovich cross. With a four-goal lead, we made edits to our lineup in the second half and gave every player the opportunity to go out there and contribute.
“We saw some great things happening throughout the second quarter despite the scoring drought,” Curtis said. “Confidence was built, players were passing beautifully, people were taking risks and trying new things - it was really fun to watch.”
Curtis was most excited about the passing.
“We were connecting in amazing ways tonight with both lineups - the off-ball decisions were great and the accuracy of passing made a huge difference,” the Falcons’ coach said. “This was a great way to prove what we are capable of, and it was helpful in preparing us for our four remaining games.”
Bensalem's goalie had some good saves and kept us scoreless in the second half. We had many opportunities, including some good corner shots, but they were able to fend us off. Kudos to them for being strong and tough in the circle. It was a quiet night for our goalie, Jordan Vradenburgh, but she did make a few key saves on Bensalem breakaways.
“Tonight, was a complete team effort and in the end, that's what makes a game like this special,” Curtis said. “Shoutout to some shining moments for particular players - Jessie Martin, Siya Patel, Rachel Stein, Lily Abraham, Theresa Vazapphilly, Isabelle Vazapphilly, Ava Jordan, and Ayla Alon.”
Pennsbury (5-8, 3-8 SOL) will host CB South next for a make-up crossover game on Thursday and then travel to CR South on Friday to finish out the four-game week. Bensalem (2-11, 1-11) will travel to Harry S Truman on Friday.
Pennsbury 3-1-0-0 4
Bensalem 0-0-0-0 0
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1
Kylee Hager and Caroline Martin each scored a goal and assisted on another for the Golden Hawks, who used a pair of third quarter goals to take control of the game. Hager’s unassisted goal in the second quarter put Rock South on the scoreboard.
“We had a slow start from the beginning, but Kylee having a straight shot at the goalie turned our offense around,” Rock South coach Kelly Mason said.
In the third quarter, Caroline Martin scored with a Hager assist, and Megan Rafter added an insurance goal, using an assist from Martin.
“Meghan Darragh played well on the right side of the field for us, and Kylee Hager gave us some nice carries into the circle,” Mason said. “We need to continue to push the ball forward and play offense for the rest of the season.”
Council Rock South (9-6-1, 8-5-1 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Friday, and Council Rock North (6-10, 5-9) will travel to Neshaminy on Thursday.
NESHAMINY 9, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
The Redskins made it official, clinching their fifth straight division title with Wednesday’s win.
Kasey Rieger converted a penalty stroke with 6:40 remaining in the first quarter for a goal that turned out to be the game-winner. Two minutes later, Jackie Oseredzuk scored with an assist from Rebecca Fawkes, and the Redskins led 2-0 after one quarter. An unassisted goal by Mia Sermarini a minute into the second quarter gave Neshaminy a 3-0 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, the Redskins added three more goals. Ava Arbakov scored with an assist from Sermarini less than a minute into the frame. Olivia Roscoe turned an Arbakov pass into a goal with 10:54 remaining in the frame, and an unassisted goal by Molly Courtney midway through the quarter put the Redskins on top 6-0.
Neshaminy closed out the game with three fourth-quarter goals. Morgan Shaltens (Avery McGinty assist) connected for a goal 30 seconds into the quarter. Shaltens teamed with McGinty for another goal with 9:37 remaining, and then it was Oseredzuk scoring her second goal, this one with an assist from Gigi Ciallella.
Neshaminy (12-2-1, 11-1-1 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Thursday, and Harry S Truman (0-15 0-14) will host Bensalem on Thursday.
Harry S Truman 0-0-0-0 0
Neshaminy 2-1-3-3 9
SOL Colonial
PENNRIDGE 4, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3 (OT)
Leah Verespy capped a textbook breakaway to score the game-winner with 8:10 remaining in overtime of Wednesday’s hard-fought Colonial Division battle.
“Lindsey Campione had a great ball down the middle of the field to Payton (Muth), who eliminated defenders and sent a perfect pass to Leah – she actually eliminated their goalie and scored,”
Pennridge coach Becky Spahr said of the sequence that led to the game-winner.
The Rams’ coach went on to credit Verespy for a standout performance.
“Leah played awesome tonight,” Spahr said. “She had the game-winner, and when I hugged her at the end, I said – she was the person that deserved to put the ball in the cage for us.
“She’s our center forward, and she works the entire time. She did a great job defensively for us and also initiating attack and just had a great game.”
Verespy’s goal was a fantastic finish for the Rams, who appeared to have the game in hand only to see East’s Aly McIsaac (Paige Keller assist) score the equalizer with seven seconds remaining in regulation.
That could have deflated the Rams and temporarily did.
“It kind of sucked the wind out of us, but we’ve been talking a lot about our response to adversity, so it was really cool tonight to see us say, ‘No, we are not going to let this fall out of our hands. We’re going to figure out how to make it work,’” Spahr said. “I was impressed with them because that’s a hard thing to overcome, but they did it.
“They came out to fight for each other. At the beginning of the game, they were talking about playing together and playing for each other, 
and I thought that was very obvious in what they did today on the field. Credit to East – they played a great game. It was a fun game to be a part of – I’m glad it ended the way it did.”
The game was a dogfight from the outset between a pair of teams battling for a spot in the 24-team District One 3A Tournament. The visiting Patriots got on the scoreboard first when Alli Troth found the cage with 7:02 remaining in the first quarter. The Rams responded with a pair of goals to close out the frame. Muth evened the score with a goal that was assisted by Campione, and Hannah Capo’s goal – also with a Campione assist – gave the Rams a 2-1 lead. But not for long. Amelia Wheelan (Keller assist) scored with a minute remaining to knot the score 2-2.
After that, the goals stopped coming with such regularity. In the second quarter, Muth scored with a Verespy assist to put the Rams on top 3-2 at halftime, a score that stood until McIsaac’s late game heroics that set the stage for overtime.
“It was a tough back and forth game the entire time,” East coach Emma Rosenthal said. “I’m very proud of us for never giving up even when we were down. It’s obviously difficult to lose in overtime and it’s especially difficult being our ninth one-goal loss of the season.
“We had a great offensive push tonight especially sparked by Caroline Suko in the midfield.”
Pennridge goalie Maia Machado was credited with six saves in the win.
“Maia – to let a goal in with that much time left (in regulation), she had some important saves in overtime – maybe just two or three, but she had back-to-back saves that obviously were needed,” Spahr said. “To be able to recover from that is impressive – that’s some mental toughness to get yourself back in there and play.”
East goalie Audra Szymborski recorded nine saves.
The Rams are 24th in the latest District One 3A power rankings while the Patriots are 27th.
“Our league – we just keep beating each other up,” Spahr said. “East is a team that should be in playoffs. They’re a very good team. CB South is a team that should be in playoffs, we’re a team that should be in the playoffs, and we’re all on the bubble right now because we beat each other up. Yes, it prepares us for playoffs, but we have to get there first.
“Right now we know every game matters for us. Every team is in the hunt for the playoffs. We knew that East was a big deal – they came out fighting and so did we. I’m super happy we ended up on top.”
Pennridge (7-8-1, 6-7-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Friday (5 p.m.), and Central Bucks East (5-9) will host Souderton at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Central Bucks East 2-0-0-1-0 3
Pennridge 2-1-0-0-1 4
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
In a contest that didn’t feature a whole lot of offense for either side, it was the Bucks scoring a second-quarter goal for a 1-0 lead that stood until late in the fourth quarter.
“We knew coming in that this would be a fast-paced and highly competitive match against our sister school,” West coach David DeAngelis said. “It did not disappoint - CB South played exceptional defense throughout and was out-stepping us to the ball for all of the first quarter. Beginning in the second quarter, our student-athletes adjusted and were able to begin connecting and transitioning the ball with better efficiency.”
The Bucks got on the scoreboard with 2:52 remaining in the first half on a corner play. Eve Damsker, who took the insert pass, fired a shot on goal that was deflected into the cage by Kendall Siegle.
With just 3:10 remaining in the contest, the Bucks all but duplicated their first goal on a penalty corner.
“Lily Cosner ripped the ball toward the cage, this time - Nina Mayro had a beautiful deflection into the cage,” DeAngelis said. “We are proud of how connected, focused and resilient each of our lines played this evening. They continue to work and play hard for each other.”
South coach Pat Toner was pleased with her team’s showing as well.
“CB West is fast and talented and has a multitude of offensive weapons,” the Titans’ coach said. “Defending that type of attack is difficult, but I thought we did an excellent job of limiting their chances and taking away time and space as much as we could.
“We held CB West to 7 shots on goal and they scored on two well-executed corners. For CB South, Emma Kraft did a great job in goal and Lily Haag, Ella Haag, Sam Thomas, Maddie Orr, Marielle Mauri, Avery Tyler and Bella Schute played excellent defense. Congrats to both teams on a well-played game.”
Toner went on to add a personal note.
“It was very nice to see Lori Ierubino's father, Bill Mastropietro, at the game as he was an integral part of our coaching staff at Council Rock when we won numerous league championships, three district championships and the state championship in the mid 1990s,” Toner said.
Lori (Mastropietro) Ierubino, who starred for Council Rock’s state championship squad, is an assistant coach at West.
The Bucks held an advantage in shots (7-0) and corners (10-1).
Central Bucks West (14-1, 12-1 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Friday, and Central Bucks South (6-7-1, 5-7-1) is scheduled to travel to Pennsbury for a crossover game on Thursday.
Central Bucks South 0-0-0-0 0
Central Bucks West 0-1-0-1 2
SOUDERTON 5, NORTH PENN 1
The Indians erupted for three goals in the opening quarter and never looked back on their way to the win over their neighboring rival.
“Our passing was really good tonight,” Souderton coach Sue Casciato said. “It’s been a while since we played up to what I feel like our potential is, so it was nice when one of the officials I’m not very familiar with came over and said, ‘It was such a pleasure to officiate your game tonight – your team moves the ball beautifully. I very rarely see that.’
“At the end of the game, that’s the only thing I told the girls. I said, ‘You just got the ultimate compliment. The official made a point of saying what a nice team you are.’”
Just over two minutes into the game, the Indians capitalized on a penalty corner with senior Ang Borisow turning a pass from Lauren Frye into a goal. Four minutes later, Borisow scored again, this time using an Ava Jones assist. An unassisted goal by Jones with 1:32 remaining in the frame gave the Indians a 3-0 lead after one quarter.
In the second period, Jones found the cage with her second goal, this one with a Tatum Andrews assist that sent the Indians into halftime with a 4-0 advantage.
The Knights got on the scoreboard when Laura Albert scored on a penalty stroke with 2:42 remaining in the third quarter. Jones completed her hat trick with a goal midway through the fourth quarter, using an Olivia Nogami assist.
Casciato acknowledged the strong outings of several of the Indians’ unsung heroes.
“Our goalie, Meredith DeMarzio, got tested a little bit tonight, and she had some nice saves,” Casciato said. “It was really a nice team win.
“Ava Shaw, our right forward – I don’t think she’s five feet tall, but she plays so hard the entire game. She runs up and down the sideline, she gets all the way back on defense in the circle. She does a really nice job. We run our offense pretty much through that right side, and she and Lauren Frye do a good job bringing the ball down the side. She’s always very steady, and she was very good tonight.”
The Knights held a 9-6 advantage in penalty corners while the Indians had an advantage in shots. North Penn goalie Kiera Holt was credited with 12 saves while DeMarzio had five for the Indians.
“Souderton jumped out to an early lead, and despite playing a strong second half, it was too little too late,” North Penn coach Shannon McCracken said. “Melissa Sessler had a great game defensively for the Knights, and Kiera Holt played tough in goal against a fast and talented Souderton attack. (Our) lone goal was scored on a beautiful penalty stroke by Laura Albert.”
Souderton (15-1, 14-0 SOL) – third in the latest District One 3A power rankings - will travel to Central Bucks East on Friday, and North Penn (8-8, 8-6) will be on the road at Central Bucks South on Friday. The Knights are 21st in the latest district power rankings.
North Penn 0-0-1-0 1
Souderton 3-1-0-1 5
SOL Liberty
ABINGTON 4, UPPER DUBLIN 0
Don’t be fooled by the final score.
At least that was Katie Small’s opinion after her team notched its sixth shutout in the last eight games. In that span, the Ghosts’ stingy defense has allowed just three goals.
“This game was really a 50/50 game more than the score shows,” Small said. “Time of possession was pretty even. Upper Dublin played a great game.
“We were just really able to capitalize on our opportunities today. Our play under the offensive 25 has really picked up over the last few games. We have told the girls when they get into that area, they have three options – goal, shot or corner. Make it worth your time being in there. They have really taken this to heart, and it shows with multiple goal scorers.”
Camryn Stewart put the Ghosts on the board with an unassisted goal in the second quarter, and that lead grew to 2-0 after Olivia Dougherty connected on an unassisted goal.
In the third quarter, Erica Devlin scored with a Maeve Link assist, and then Link assisted on a Skyler Beal goal for the 4-0 final.
“Camryn Stewart had another stellar game today for us, controlling the center of the field and distributing the ball well,” Small said. “Olivia Dougherty, Maddie Slavin and our goalie, Nina Van Ekelenburg, held UD's potent offense to no goals today, which was no easy feat.
“This was really a great win today against a really good UD team. It was not pretty but we will take the W.”
UD held a 7-6 edge in corners. Van Ekelenburg was credited with six saves in the shutout.
Abington (10-5, 9-4 SOL) – 14th in the latest District One 3A power rankings – will travel to Wissahickon on Friday. Upper Dublin (8-7-1, 7-6-1) – eighth in the District One 2A rankings – will be on the road at Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday.
Upper Dublin 0-0-0-0 0
Abington 0-2-2-0 4
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 2, HATBORO-HORSHAM 1
The Hatters celebrated Senior Night, and while they didn’t win, they gave an effort that left their coach smiling.
“The scored didn’t reflect how well they played - they played outstanding,” HH coach Marie Schmucker said of her squad. “They played intense, they played with tempo, they played together, they were all jelling. The kids played awesome. It was the best game I’ve seen all year, and you know what’s even nicer – all the middle school kids were there cheering. There was so much support there today.”
It was an especially emotional night for the team’s four seniors – Angelina Park, Charlotte Elwell, Emily Nelson and Maddie Gregory. While Park was a four-year player, Elwell, Nelson and Gregory joined the team as seniors.
“I said to all the parents – ‘Thank you for giving me the opportunity to coach your daughters. I wish they had one more year,’” Schmucker said. “The coach from PW (Jessica Randazzo) asked if she could talk to my girls, so she brought them over and she said, ‘You guys played unbelievably. From the first time we played you until now, you are a different team, and you’re such a different team from last year. You played amazing.’
“So that was a compliment from PW’s coach, that was really sweet. That says a lot. They played intense, they were tenacious, they really played with a purpose tonight, and they executed well. At the end of the day, somebody always has to lose. “Unfortunately, we lost, but it didn’t reflect how great they played.”
The Colonials broke a scoreless tie when Maddie Carr scored with 4:59 remaining in the half during corner play. That 1-0 lead stood until the fourth quarter when Emily Dobrowolski found the cage.
The Hatters trimmed PW’s lead in half when freshman Avery Mullen turned a pass from senior Emily Nelson into a goal with 3:03 remaining in regulation, pulling the Hatters to within one. That’s as close as they would get.
“We had opportunities to score, and we didn’t capitalize,” Schmucker said. “We made one or two mistakes and they capitalized on them.
“It’s a shame - we had scored, and they didn’t call it a goal. You don’t blame officials, but as I told the kids, ‘I told you before – if it crosses the line, you bend over and pick up the ball.’”
HH freshman goalie Mia Fisher was credited with 11 saves.
“She played unbelievable,” Schmucker said. “She had so many saves – it was unbelievable. She was awesome.
“Molly McKeown played really well, Kali Fullmer played great, Catherine Bombas and Lauren Steinberg played well. Anna Winslow played out her mind on defense, and she was sick. A couple of my kids were sick the last couple of days. Tonight was a total team effort.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-6-1, 8-4-1 SOL) – 16th in the latest District One 3A power rankings – will host Upper Dublin on Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (2-12, 2-11) will travel to Quakertown on Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-1-0-1 2
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-1 1
WISSAHICKON 4, QUAKERTOWN 1
The Trojans took a 1-0 lead into the second half when they scored four goals to earn their 16th win of the season without a loss.
With 5:13 remaining in the first quarter, Ella Hummel scored the only goal of the first half with an assist from Sophia Havrilla. In the third quarter Riley Bell made it a 2-0 game with a goal assisted by Caroline Kirkpatrick with 6:38 remaining in the third quarter.
Quakertown cut that lead in half when Alex Bevan-Xenelis converted a penalty stroke with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Riley Ball scored with a Hummel assist to put Wissahickon on top 3-1. A goal by Kendall Crowley (Ball assist) closed out the scoring.
Meredith Walsh (2 saves) and Ava Fell (3 saves) combined for the win in goal. Quakertown goalie Julie Pizzi recorded 14 saves.
Wissahickon (16-0, 14-0 SOL) – fourth in the latest District One 3A power rankings -will host Abington on Friday, and Quakertown (9-6-1, 8-5-1) – ranked 15th - will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
Wissahickon 1-0-1-2 4
Quakertown 0-0-1-0 1
SOL Freedom
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 5, LOWER MORELAND 2
The Lions celebrated the team’s three seniors – Sophia Cozza, Avery Mendola and Riley Spera-McLaughlin – by erupting for five first-half goals after falling behind early.
If New Hope needed a wake-up call after the pregame festivities, they got it when Liz Neeld scored six minutes into the game to spot the visiting Lions an early 1-0 lead.
“We started a little slow,” New Hope-Solebury coach Gwen Smith said. “We definitely got caught on our heels defensively, and Liz Neeld capitalized on that and made us pay. I think that woke us up.
“Once we scored, for the rest of the half, they were on fire. They did a really nice job passing the ball. Everyone contributed. The ball was worked around fast. It was really nice.”
The host Lions answered with a pair of goals in the final six minutes of the frame to take a lead they would not lose. Morgan Riggione turned an Ava Cozza pass into a goal that knotted the score, and Mia Patino connected on the go-ahead goal with an
Olivia Conte assist.
Two minutes into the second quarter, Rylee Logston used a pass from Sophia Cozza to score a goal that put New Hope on top 3-1. Less than a minute later, Mendola scored on a rebound, and Patino scored her second goal of the game that gave NH-S a 5-1 lead, this time using a Maddie Thistlewaite assist.
Neeld (Jess Hackman assist) scored six minutes into the final quarter for the 5-2 final.
“She’s a very good player,” Smith said of Neeld. “She’s a smart field hockey player, she’s strong, and she reads defenses.”
The host Lions, according to Smith, lost some of their energy in the fourth quarter.
“It’s always an emotional night, and by the end, it took its toll,” the Lions’ coach said. “We just couldn’t sustain the energy the whole game. We ran out of steam.”
New Hope-Solebury (14-2, 12-2 SOL) will host William Tennent on Friday, and Lower Moreland (7-8, 6-8) will host Springfield Township on Friday. New Hope-Solebury is ranked first in the District One 1A power rankings, and Lower Moreland is 15th in Class 2A.
Lower Moreland 1-0-0-1 2
New Hope-Solebury 2-3-0-0 5
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 4, UPPER MORELAND 0
The visiting Spartans took a 1-0 lead into halftime and – sparked by a pair of Norah Conlin goals – scored three in the second half to earn the shutout win.
“Upper Moreland held off Springfield for the first quarter,” Spartans’ coach Anita Stum said. “Jen Rex got (us) on the board early in the second quarter.”
Rex used an assist from Emma Yoder to put the Spartans on top 1-0 just over two minutes into the second quarter. Conlin made it a 2-0 game with an unassisted goal with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Conlin scored again, this time with an assist from Charlotte Drapkin. Gracie Buchholz found the cage with 9:11 remaining for the 4-0 final. Gabi Maletta contributed an assist.
UM coach Marissa Elizardo credited the performances of several of her players.
“Liz Santry and Izzy Duncan both played well today,” the Golden Bears’ coach said. “Liz came up with a handful of defensive saves on the back line. Izzy Duncan stepped up in the midfield.”
UM goalie Addi Hurley was credited with 19 saves while Santry had five.
The Spartans held an advantage in shots and penalty corners (12-1).
Springfield Township (8-7-1, 8-5-1 SOL) – seventh in the District One 1A power rankings - will travel to Lower Moreland on Friday, and Upper Moreland (4-11-1, 2-11-1) will be on the road at Cheltenham Friday.
Springfield Twp 0-1-1-2 4
Upper Moreland 0-0-0-0 0
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