Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Tuesday.
SOL American Conference
WISSAHICKON 2, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 1
With her team struggling to score goals, Lucy Gil decided it was time to make some drastic changes.
“We were really working on generating a little more offense,” the Trojans’ coach said. “We aren’t letting in a lot of goals, but we just aren’t scoring enough goals.
“I’ve been moving people around. One of my best players – Grace Ball – I moved her from the midfield all the way up to forward. We’ve just been trying everything.”
The results weren’t exactly what Gil was hoping for as the Trojans fell behind 1-0 when Gracie Woron (Charlotte deKerillis assist) scored 12 minutes into the game. Gill called a hasty timeout.
“I said, ‘Forget everything we’ve been doing. Just go back to playing the way you guys know how to play,’” the Wissahickon coach said. “We put everybody back into their regular positions. I don’t know if they were happy to be back doing what they know how to do, but they just started to gel.
“(Before the timeout), we weren’t even crossing the 50 – I’m telling you, they were on top of us the whole time We gave up a bunch of corners in the beginning, they were pinning us back. I was like, ‘Wait a second, this isn’t my team.’ We didn’t play them like this when we played them at Springfield – it was a much more even kind of game. I looked at my assistant and said, ‘We have to do something, it’s not working.’ We went back to basics, we went back to how we’ve been playing, and it just seemed to come together. We started crossing the 50, we started pinning them in.”
The Spartans’ 1-0 lead held until midway through the second half when – during corner play – Ball turned a Hannah Havrilla pass into a goal.
“It took us a while into the second half to score,” Gil said. “I know I was getting nervous even though we were playing much better and we were down in their half a lot and things looked like they were turning around. Then it just clicked.”
With 8:25 remaining in regulation, the dynamic duo flipped roles for the game-winner with Havrilla scoring and Ball providing the assist, again during corner play.
“Grace Ball is my ball handler, and she’s just amazing,” Gil said. “Hannah Havrilla is my center back, and game after game after game she’s just proving herself to be really great at distributing the ball, really smart about seeing things and has great vision. She’s really priceless to us.”
Trojan goalie Meghan Reilly recorded four saves in the win.
“My goalie played great – she kept us in the game,” Gil said.
Spartan goalie Rebecca Borglund had nine saves.
Wissahickon (7-4, 6-4 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Thursday, and Springfield Township (7-4-1, 5-4-1) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
UPPER MORELAND 2, HATBORO-HORSHAM 1 (OT)
The Golden Bears had themselves quite a Senior Night, giving fans their money’s worth with a classic overtime battle that came to a dramatic end when – appropriately – a senior, Phoebe Longstreth, connected for the game-winner with an assist from Claudia Zanine, also a senior.
It was Zanine breaking a scoreless tie with 3:46 remaining in the first half, using a Bryanna Gordon assist. Two minutes latter, the Hatters connected with the equalizer when Abby Roesing scored with an assist from Audrey Leibfried.
Neither team found the cage in the second half, setting the stage for OT and Longstreth’s game-winner.
UM goalie Isabella Guarenghi recorded six saves while the Hatters’ keeper had 11 saves. Meredith Marsteller was credited with a defensive save.
Upper Moreland (6-8, 4-6 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Thursday, and Hatboro-Horsham (1-10, 1-9) will travel to Springfield Township on Thursday.
Hatboro-Horsham 1-0-0 1
Upper Moreland 1-0-1 2
ABINGTON 2, UPPER DUBLIN 0
The ‘old Abington is back,’ and according to coach Katie Small, it couldn’t have happened at a better time.
“We’ve been struggling since our Plymouth Whitemarsh loss to find our rhythm again,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but today the old Abington was back is what we said when the game was over.
“Meghan Muth played fantastic in the goal, and their defense did a really nice job once we would get in the circle, but our passing game was back on par, our defense was marking well again, and we just looked like – ‘Okay, we know what we’re doing again, and we can finish out the end of the season on an upswing.’ I think that we’re really getting our stride again, and I think it’s the perfect time of the season to get it.”
Anna Joseph put the Ghosts on the board 10 minutes into the opening half, using an assist from Becca Gable. The Ghosts spent the next 48 minutes protecting that lead, and with 1:33 remaining in regulation, Devan DiMaria tacked on an insurance goal with an assist from Paige Doyle.
Small acknowledged the efforts of several players.
“Olivia Geissler and Aileen Hughes had really nice games today,” Small said. “Aileen has come out of nowhere, and we’re happy to see her playing so well in the center of the field, Olivia – every game she’s improving, and it’s been fun to watch her.”
Ellie Hughes recorded her seventh shutout of the season.
“Overall, it was a great game to watch,” Small said.
Muth was credited with six saves while Hughes had five.
Abington (8-4, 8-2 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday, and Upper Dublin (5-5-1, 4-4-1) will be on the road at Upper Moreland.
Upper Dublin 0-0 0
Abington 1-1 2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 10, CHELTENHAM 0
Senior Sam Spera led a balanced offensive attack for the Colonials, collecting a hat trick and also contributing an assist. Ava Borkowski had a hand in five goals, scoring twice and assisting on three others. Kaleigh Missimer added a pair of goals.
“PW had a strong offensive outing against Cheltenham despite the strong play of Cheltenham’s goalkeeper, Nimi Badejoko,” coach Charise Halteman said. “PW had six different goal scorers today and a great combination of hard shots from the top, corner plays and scrums in front of the net.”
Adding single goals for the Colonials were Kennedy Reardon, Hailey Copestick and Alexis Minor. Kayla Link had a pair of assists.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-1, 10-0 SOL) will host Abington on Thursday, and Cheltenham (0-9) will travel to Wissahickon on Thursday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4-6 10
Cheltenham 0-0 0
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, NORTH PENN 0
The Patriots remained perfect in conference play, opening up a 2-0 halftime lead on their way to the shutout win.
Ally Gallant scored the only goal the Patriots would need when she converted a penalty stroke just over four minutes into the contest. Seven minutes later, Mackenzie Lever turned a Phia Mannino pass into a goal and a 2-0 East lead.
The Patriots added a goal early in the second half when Kyleigh Talomie found the cage for the 3-0 final.
North Penn goalie Mallory Stowell was credited with 11 saves. Madison Waldspurger and Megan Albert each collected a defensive save. East goalie Emily Bullard recorded two saves in the shutout win.
Central Bucks East (13-1, 9-0 SOL) will host Souderton Thursday in a key conference showdown, and North Penn (3-8, 2-6) will be on the road at Quakertown.
North Penn 0-0 0
Central Bucks East 2-1 3
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 2, WILLIAM TENNENT 1
Sarah Scott (Sarah Everett assist) slammed home a goal during corner play with 11:48 remaining in regulation, breaking a 1-1 tie and propelling the Indians to a hard fought win over a fired-up Panther squad.
“You know what – Tennent came out ready to play today, and we came out really flat,” Rock North coach Heather Whalin said. “They played well tonight. They were up and we were not.”
The Indians got on the scoreboard first when Brenna Schoenfeld scored on a rebound off the goalie midway through the first half. The Panthers had an immediate answer, scoring on a corner – their only corner – less than three minutes later at the 13:06 mark when Carly Pritchett found the cage, using an assist from Sam McDonald.
That 1-1 tie stood until Scott’s game-winner.
“Sarah Scott just shows up 24/7,” Whalin said. “Last year, she was kind of out of shape during the season. You knew she had the skills, she just wasn’t there.
“This year she’s a vocal leader, she’s only a junior. She steps up every game She scored the winning goal and I just felt it. I was like, ‘She’s going to get it,’ and I called her corner. It was a blast. It was a gorgeous, gorgeous shot. Their goalie is fantastic, but it was just to the perfect corner of the cage. It was beautiful. I knew she had the wherewithal to finish that today and not freak out about it and calm down and just get it done.”
Whalin also acknowledged the strong play of Nikki Jackson.
“She just played lights out,” the Indians’ coach said. “She and Sarah Scott have been unbelievable this year.”
The Indians held a 16-1 advantage in corners.
“Their defense played really, really well,” Whalin said. “They were fast, they really capitalized on some of our sloppy play, and they were super aggressive.
“They wanted it more. They were pumped up for that game, and they played a really nice game.”
Whalin lauded the 14-save effort of Tennent’s Sophie Trozzi in goal.
“Their goalie is phenomenal,” she said.
Council Rock North (10-2-1, 8-1-1 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Thursday, and William Tennent (2-8, 2-7) will host Pennsbury on Thursday.
Council Rock North 1-1 2
William Tennent 1-0 1
NESHAMINY 9, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Peyton Ritchey notched her second hat trick in as many game, connecting for three goals and assisting on another to lead the Redskins.
Brooke Cordisco (Caroline Angerer assist) scored a goal that proved to be the game-winner three minutes into the contest. Then Ritchey went to work, connecting on back-to-back goals in a three-minute span – the second with a Sophie Schardt assist. The Redskins took that 3-0 lead into halftime.
Ritchey opened the second half with her third straight goal, this with a Maddie Neiman assist, and then Angerer found the cage with Cordisco returning the favor and assisting on the goal. Back-to-back goals by Kayla Connelly – the first with a Ritchey assist – put the Redskins on top 7-0 before Jamie Pennington and Asia Barnard (Emily Colyar assist) closed out the scoring with single goals.
Neshaminy (9-3, 8-0 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Thursday, and Harry S Truman (1-11, 0-9) will travel to Conwell Egan for a non-league game on Thursday.
Neshaminy 3-6 9
Harry S Truman 0-0 0
Non-league
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 5, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1
The Vikings looked the part of the district’s top-seeded team, opening up a 3-1 halftime lead on their way to their 14th win of the season without a loss.
Katelyn Cocco scored the lone goal for the Golden Hawks. It came 8:36 into the contest and gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The rest of the game belonged to the Vikings, who received a pair of goals and an assist from Drexel-bound Gabriella Martina. Katie Wuerstle added a goal and an assist while Danielle Hamm and Ariana Martina each added single goals. Bryn Marcavage had an assist.
The Vikings held a 20-6 advantage in shots. Rock South goalie Aspen Handel was credited with 15 saves.
Council Rock South (4-5, 4-1 SOL) will host Bensalem on Thursday.
Perkiomen Valley 3-2 5
Council Rock South 1-0 2
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