Council Rock North 1, Neshaminy 0 (OT)
Becky Ely took the ball down field to open play in overtime and drew a quick corner. During corner play, Ely took a shot that was turned away, but Carly Everett was there for the follow, scoring just 40 seconds into overtime to give the Indians the big win in their league finale.
“It was a close-fought game,” coach Heather Whalin said. “We had opportunities, but we didn’t put it in.
“Their field was still soaked from the rain, so it was very sloppy. I knew they would give us a tough game because Neshaminy is fighting for their playoff position, and I knew they would definitely come out and give us a good game.“I was a little worried that since we clinched already that we might sit back on our heels. They came down our throats the first 10 minutes of the half but then we neutralized them a little.”
Whalin lauded the effort of goalie Amanda Krause, who earned her 11th shutout of the season.
“Amanda has been a rock,” the Indians’ coach said. “She is unbelievable. Towards the end of the game, she made a huge save – there was a deflection off of one of their players up to the corner, and she just jumped up and saved it.”
The win put the finishing touches on a superb league season for the Indians, who earlier had clinched sole possession of the National Conference crown.
“We shared (the title) last year with Pennsbury, and this year we had a goal of winning it outright,” Whalin said. “I know the girls were focused on that.
“We started to see it falling into place, but we knew we had a lot of work left to do, and they did it.”
The Indians, who closed out league play with a 12-2 mark, will take on Central Bucks East in a non-league contest on Thursday.
Central Bucks East 2, Souderton 0
Falling under the category of big wins was the Patriots’ shutout of the Indians. As a result of the win, the Patriots and Indians finish in a tie for third place in the Continental Conference standings, and just as significant is the fact that North Penn – thanks to its win over Hatboro - vaulted over Souderton to lay claim to sole possession of second place.
“Our girls had a taste of districts last year,” coach Marie Meehan said. “They want to get into districts and progress.
“Each game was huge because the rankings in our conference were important to them. They didn’t want anything to slip away. They have been building their ability to play together as a team with every game, and they are getting closer and closer to being a really strong unit.”
The Patriots scored a pair of goals within a deadly one-minute span in the first half. Jamie Schlotterer (Shannon Devlin assist) scored at the 20:21 mark, and at the 19:34 mark, Marissa Glatt turned a pass from Emily Vasey into a goal.
“Our goal for the game was to come out strong early because when we played them the first time, we couldn’t score,” Meehan said. “They really blocked up our shooting ability, and we worked on that.
“The focus was to get goals early. The girls tried to really buckle down and get that done. That built their confidence, and they just played to compete and stayed strong. Souderton pressured very, very well.”
Emily Guthier had eight saves in a solid outing in goal for the Patriots, and twins Carolyn and Melissa Remmey also were strong for the Patriots.“Melissa really stopped them from breaking through the middle, and she would send the ball up to her sister, who would one touch it and break away,” Meehan said. “Those two played wonderfully.
“Emily Vasey and Melissa Glatt, as underclassmen, played with very good poise and really worked the game plan really well. We received really smart play from them.”
The big win came on a night when the Patriots honored their 10 seniors.
“We had a nice team dinner,” Meehan said. “The girls made t-shirts, they had posters, balloons and flowers for the girls. It was a beautiful celebration. They really do love their seniors, and it was a really good night for those 10 girls.
“They’re a great bunch of girls that enjoy being together, enjoy playing together and are certainly learning how to win together. It’s a great thing.”
East and Souderton closed out SOL play with identical 8-4 records.
Central Bucks South 1, Central Bucks West
Colleen Kempf scored the game’s lone goal as the Continental Conference champions picked up their 16th win of the regular season.
“The girls are very happy that it was the last game on our home field,” said coach Christina Ford, whose team will play its home games in districts at War Memorial Field. “It causes a lot of frustration when the ball is bouncing everywhere. We’re a turf-style team, and we can’t play that kind of hockey on our field.
“We had trouble capitalizing in the circle.”
Ford went on to tip her hat to West.
“I thought West played really well today,” she said. “They played really well against us both times that they played us.
“We dominated more of the game, although the score doesn’t show that. West had a few chances in our circle, but we were able to turn them away.”
The win capped a remarkable season for the Titans, who did not lose a game and finished the year with a 12-0-2 mark in SOL play (16-0-2 overall). The Titans did all this while living under the burden of lofty expectations placed on them by just about everyone after last year’s district title season and a run to the state semifinals.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the job my girls have done this season,” Ford said. “From the beginning, we emphasized how hard it was going to be to reach the goals that we set – we wanted to be undefeated, we wanted to win the conference title again.
“We try to let them know ahead of time – every team wants to knock off the team that’s playing well, and they have to play a step above every game. This is a mostly senior team, and there are no excuses any more – you have been there, you know what it takes, and you have to get the job done. I couldn’t be more pleased or happy with them doing that. “It’s a hard task to go undefeated and stay on top of their game each and every game, and they did. My team plays with so much heart and passion for the sport, and they’re determined. They achieved this goal. It wasn’t given to them. They went out and earned it. They should be really happy with themselves as the coaching staff is with them.”
Abington 3, Harry S. Truman 1
Elle Clark broke a scoreless halftime tie with a goal (Katherine Geating assist), and it was 2-0 after junior Dana Heller scored on the rebound of a goalie save. Clark connected for her 10th goal of the season when she scored an unassisted goal to put the Ghosts on top 3-0 before Truman’s Malori Kollar scored an unassisted goal for the 3-1 final.
“It’s always nice to get a win on Senior Night,” coach Amanda Deering said. “But it’s even better when you have players who have been playing for you for a couple of years – these are the skills they’ve learned, and they showed it tonight.
“Having Elle Clark come out and get her ninth and 10th goals of the season tonight was great for her and also for the team that stood behind her and watched her work so hard in practice.”
Deering acknowledged the strong showing of Geating as well.
“I was hoping she would get a goal,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “But her midfield play really helped support our offense and helped us get the win tonight.”
The Ghosts are 5-8 with a game against Bensalem on Thursday night to close out their regular season.
“This whole season has been awesome for us,” Deering said. “Whether we’re winning or losing, my team has gone out and played a game that’s been competitive, and at the end of the day, I’ve always been proud to be their coach.
“My team has really shown that they will come back and fight for what they can get.”
Upper Merion 5, Upper Moreland 0
The Vikings celebrated Senior Day with a convincing win. It was sophomore Amanda McAteer leading the charge with two goals and an assist. Senior Dallas Stevens also added a pair of goals while Madi DiBella contributed a single goal. Seniors Alli Clark and Sophia Liu each added assists in the way.
h added assists in the way.Viking keeper Aly Frymoyer turned away four shots and posted her third shutout of the season.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2, Norristown 0
Meg McCullough contributed a goal and an assist while Gab Fazio added a goal and Mollie Getzfread had an assist for the Colonials.
Norristown junior Ellie Gillette turned in a stellar 20-save effort in goal, and Gabbie Berry, according to coach Stacie Staufenberg, “continued her heroics with a save and iron-clad defense.”
Wissahickon 6, Cheltenham 1
The Trojans (11-0) are one win away from a perfect SOL season after their big win. Maddie Smith and Jackie Hibbs both scored a pair of goals. Hibbs also had a pair of assists. Angela Virtu had a goal and an assist while Gretchen Guaglianone had a goal and two assists. Zoe Kale chipped in with an assist.
Hannah Gilliam scored the Panthers’ lone goal.
North Penn 6, Hatboro-Horsham 0
Senior Elizabeth Fedele celebrated Senior Night by scoring four goals and contributing an assist in a win that - along with Souderton’s loss - allowed the Maidens to take over sole possession of second place in the Continental Conference standings.
Juliamae Marger and Laura Delongis both contributed a goal while Amy Coughlin had three assists. Anna MacDonald also had an assist in a game that saw the Maidens hold a lopsided 37-0 advantage in shots on goal. Hatter goalie Maddy Wagenfeld turned away 20 shots.
Quakertown 1, Pennridge 0
Connie Henderson turned a pass from teammate Courtney Heverle into a goal five minutes into overtime to give the Panthers the win. Sarah Northey posted a shutout in goal for Quakertown.
Council Rock North 2, Bensalem 1
Pennsbury 0, Williams Tennent 0 (OT)
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