Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Monday.
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossovers
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 6, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1
Undaunted by the inclement weather, the Patriots celebrated the team’s seven seniors – Amelia Wheelan, Alli Troth, Sammy Kishel, Abby Tomer, Christy Rockelmann, Ally Cenci and Caroline Suko – with a strong showing in a convincing win.
Appropriately, it was the seniors who stole the spotlight.
“It was a torrential downpour while we were taking the Senior Day pictures,” East coach Emma Rosenthal said. “All seven seniors played the entire game. All the goals were scored by seniors – a hat trick by Alli Troth, who had an incredible game, and one from Sammy Kishel, one from Amelia Wheelan and one from Caroline Suko. All of the seniors were so involved.”
Troth broke a scoreless tie with 9:38 remaining in the second quarter, turning a Paige Keller pass into a goal that sent the Patriots into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Back-to-back goals by Troth – the first 12 seconds into the third quarter with a Suko assist and the second 75 seconds later with an assist from Cenci – put the Patriots on top 3-0. A goal by Rock North’s Maddie Mela (Brynn Bogle assist) made it a two-goal game, but Kishel found the cage with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter to put the Patriots on top 4-1.
In the fourth quarter, Amelia Wheelan scored in the opening minute with an assist from Suko, and Suko scored just over a minute later with a Troth assist for the 6-1 final.
“It was a really good night,” Rosenthal said. “We haven’t been connecting passes like this in a while, so to not only have a win tonight but to have a win we’re extremely proud of is a really nice point to have right now in the season.”
The Patriots’ coach praised the efforts of several players in the win.
“Caroline Suko had an incredible game tonight – her stickwork is impeccable, and it really showed tonight,” Rosenthal said. “Even in the rain, you could just see her pink shoes shining through. It was really cool to watch.
“Abby Tomar and Christy Rockelmann played really well on the defensive end, keeping the ball out, and sophomore Anna Daley assisted them back there. Just having a really nice day sweeping the ball out and making sure it didn’t enter our circle much.”
The rain made for a fast field, and the Patriots capitalized.
“It was a very fun game,” Rosenthal said. “Both teams were very competitive. Council Rock North did a great job, and Jules (Singer) is a great coach. It was fun to coach against her. We played together growing up.”
Both coaches are former standout goalies who went on to have outstanding collegiate careers.
East goalie Audra Szymborski was credited with four saves in the shutout.
Central Bucks East (5-6 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Thursday (7 p.m.), and Council Rock North (4-9, 3-8) will be on the road at Harry S Truman
Council Rock North 0-0-1-0 1
Central Bucks East 0-1-3-2 6
SOUDERTON 3, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1
Ava Jones has had the magic touch in the circle for the Indians this season, and that trend continued in Monday’s win over the Golden Hawks as the sophomore standout scored all three of her team’s goals to complete a perfect go-round in crossover games for the Indians.
The Indians showed no ill effects after suffering their first loss of the season – a 4-3 setback in overtime to Methacton – bouncing back strong.
“I really felt like we played pretty well,” Souderton coach Sue Casiato said. “We didn’t finish well, but we were all around the goal cage. I felt like they came in with a lot of energy after Saturday’s setback.”
Jones put the Indians on the scoreboard just over three minutes into the second quarter, scoring on a breakaway. The Indians took that 1-0 lead into halftime.
With 10:20 remaining in the third quarter, Jones scored on a corner, deflecting a shot by Lauren Frye into the cage. Ninety-one seconds into the final quarter, Jones completed her hat trick, putting the finishing touches on a dazzling offensive effort and capping a strong passing sequence that included assists from Ava Shaw and Olivia Nogami.
“We had a couple of people who took great shots today, and they were just wide left or right, or we had good crosses where we didn’t quite get to on the post,” Casiato said. “Our passing was really good.
“The nice thing about Ava (Jones) is she’s willing to share the ball. There are probably other times she could go one-on-one against the goalie, but she looks for open teammates, and in the end, that’s going to pay off.”
The Golden Hawks broke up the Indians’ shutout bid with a goal during corner play with 9:59 remaining in regulation for the 3-1 final.
Casiato credited the efforts of one of the team’s unsung heroes.
“On defense, Ashley Magnus played really well – she’s our left back, and she’s so consistent and unassuming,” Casiato said. “I don’t think she gets enough credit.”
Rock South coach Kelly Mason also lauded the performances of several players.
“Megan Rafter did a good job transitioning defense to offense for our team,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “Gianna St. Thomas had some strong carries for us down the left side of the field. Peyton Wright had decent saves in the net and Grace Franchini had defensive saves to keep us in the game. Our defense played well and consistently plays well, but we have to generate more offense if we want to win big games.”
Overcoming the unpleasant weather, the Indians held an advantage in shots (11-1) and penalty corners (11-3).
“It made Saturday’s conditions pretty nice,” the Indians’ coach said. “It was a lot colder tonight, and it was raining pretty hard at the end of the game. It was just miserable.”
Souderton (12-1, 11-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South on Friday, and Council Rock South (6-6, 6-5) will travel to Bensalem on Thursday.
Council Rock South 0-0-0-1 1
Souderton 0-1-1-1 3
NORTH PENN 14, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Nine players contributed goals – 11 players had a role in the scoring – as the Knights rolled to the decisive win.
Laura Albert broke a scoreless tie with 1:44 remaining in the first period, and that opened the floodgates. Less than a minute later, Kylie Barwis scored, and with 17 seconds remaining in the quarter, Catherine McGeehan found the cage, capping a 3-0 explosion in the final 1:44 of the frame.
In the second quarter, Erika Pickford scored her first of two goals, and then it was Jillian DelGiorno scoring. Pickford’s second goal, this one with a Caleigh Sperling assist, put the Knights on top 6-0, and a goal by Faith Noll (Kate Waldman assist) with less than a minute remaining in the frame sent the Knights into the half with a 7-0 lead.
In the third quarter, the Knights erupted for six goals – the first by McGeehan and the second by Ashleigh Barwis. Albert’s second goal of the game was followed by a goal from Sperling, and then it was DelGiorno connecting on her second goal. Sperling’s second goal of the quarter gave the Knights a 13-0 advantage. Paige Shearer (Kelly Woolaver assist) scored the lone goal of the fourth quarter for the 14-0 final.
The Knights held a 28-2 advantage in shots and a 6-0 edge in penalty corners.
North Penn goalie Sarah Heath was forced to make just one save in the shutout win.
North Penn (7-6, 7-4 SOL) will celebrate Senior Night when it hosts Pennridge at 7 p.m. Harry S Truman (0-12, 0-11) will host Council Rock North on Monday.
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossovers
QUAKERTOWN 2, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 1
The Panthers upped their winning streak to eight games, edging the visiting Lions in a tightly contested game.
“What a good game even with weather conditions that were not ideal,” Quakertown coach MacKenzie (Kramer) Moser said. “It was a hard-fought game as New Hope Solebury is a very good team, and we knew that going into this game.”
The Lions got on the scoreboard first when they converted a penalty stroke.
That 1-0 lead stood until – with 10:31 remaining in the third quarter – Leah Schwalm hit a crossing pass that was tapped into the cage by Ella Schubert.
“Both players were where they needed to be and were in those proper positions at the right time,” Moser said. “Our second goal came from a hard shot from Kiera Gallagher. She stepped right inside the circle, saw the opportunity and drove it right in.”
That 2-1 score turned out to be the Panthers’ final margin of victory.
“Our goalie, senior Julie Pizzi, had a lot of good saves and crucial clears out of our circle,” Moser said. “Our defense hung tight, keeping out both corners and clearing balls out.
“At one point, our left defender Ember Retter went hard dribbling from the left corner all the way up to the 50 and a little bit past that. She had a phenomenal game.
“The midfield line worked very hard today, receiving balls from defense, dribbling through the field of opponents and feeding balls into the circle.”
Quakertown (8-3-1, 8-2-1 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Thursday, and New Hope-Solebury (11-2, 9-2) will host Cheltenham on Thursday.
WISSAHICKON 5, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 1
The Trojans blew open a close game with three second-quarter goals – two in less than a minute early in the quarter – on their way to a win that upped their record to a perfect 11-0 in league play (13-0 overall).
Kendall Crowley scored an unassisted goal just over a minute into the contest, and that 1-0 lead held until Caroline Kirkpatrick turned an Ella Hummel pass into a goal two minutes into the second quarter. With 11:10 remaining in the half, Hummel scored with a Kirkpatrick assist, and midway through the period Kayla Mullin scored with an assist from Riley Ball, sending the Trojans into halftime with a 4-0 lead.
With 2:45 remaining in the third quarter, the Spartans broke up the Trojans’ shutout bid when Angela Eder scored with assists from Emma Yoder and Gabi Maletta. Crowley scored her second goal – this one with a Hummel assist – late in the fourth quarter for the 5-1 final.
Goalies Kennedy Braddock (7 saves) and Grace Bell (4 saves) combined for 11 saves in goal for the Spartans.
“(It was a) great defensive game by Iona Stum and Emily Jackson,” Springfield coach Anita Stum said. “Emma Yoder applied a lot of pressure on the midfield.
“Gabi Maletta’s relentless pressure on Wissahickon’s defense resulted in a goal opportunity that we capitalized on.”
Wissahickon will host Hatboro-Horsham on Monday, and Springfield Township (6-6-1, 6-4-1) will host William Tennent on Thursday.
Springfield Twp 0-0-1-0 1
Wissahickon 1-3-0-1 5
UPPER DUBLIN 2, LOWER MORELAND 1
(Upper Dublin information will be added when received)
The Flying Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second quarter. Both teams scored a goal in the third quarter, and the Cardinals held on for the win.
Jess Pachman scored the Lions’ lone goal off a corner in the third quarter.
“The conditions were tough with the rain and cold temps, but we were able to get the ball moving,” LM coach Janet Lutter said. “Unfortunately, we just could not capitalize on scoring opportunities.”
Upper Dublin (7-5-1, 6-4-1 SOL) will host Quakertown on Thursday at 4:45 p.m., and Lower Moreland (5-7, 4-7) will celebrate its seniors on Thursday when the Lions host Upper Moreland.
Lower Moreland 0-0-1-0 1
Upper Dublin 0-1-1-0 2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 5, UPPER MORELAND 0
The Colonials – led by the two-goal effort of Julie Price – notched the shutout win over the Golden Bears in crossover action Monday.
Adding single goals for the Colonials were Ella McCarthy, Emily Dobrowolski, and Maddie Carr.
Despite the outcome, UM coach Marissa Elizardo liked some of the things she saw from her squad.
“We played a great first half but let up in the second half which led to some quick goals,” said Elizardo, who acknowledged the strong showings of several players. “Alexa Marczak had a great game on attack. Eowyn Stainback also played well today.
“Our backs, Kelly Bates, Cambrie Richmond, Liz Santry, and Haleigh Woodman did an excellent job stepping up, forcing low angle shots and starting our attack.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-5-1, 6-3-1 SOL) will travel to Abington on Thursday, and Upper Moreland (4-9, 2-9) will be on the road at Lower Moreland.
Saturday, Oct. 1
Non-league
METHACTON 4, SOUDERTON 3 (OT)
The Indians suffered their first loss of the 2022 season, but as losses go, this one – between a pair of the top-ranked teams in the district – had some bright spots. Not the least of which is the fact that the Indians rallied from a 3-0 halftime deficit to knot the score.
“I’m really proud how the girls fought back,” Souderton coach Sue Casciato said. “I thought we played a pretty solid game except for the second quarter. We had some chances early and couldn’t convert but credit their goalie who made some tough saves.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Warriors got on the board when Giada Catoi converted a penalty stroke. Twenty-eight seconds later, Lea DeWan scored, and just like that, the Warriors led 2-0. With 14 seconds remaining in the half, the Warriors capitalized on a corner. Elise DeWan scored, and the Warriors led 3-0 at halftime.
It was still a 3-0 game until late in the third quarter when – with 3:21 remaining – Ang Borisow turned an Ava Jones pass on a corner into a goal. The Indians still trailed 3-1 heading into the final quarter but refused to go away.
With 6:50 remaining, Ava Shaw scored on the right post, using a Tatum Andrews assist, and with time winding down, the Indians capitalized on another corner to knot the score. This time it was Ava Jones scoring with an assist from Ava Shaw with only 1:20 remaining in regulation.
The Indians played the first 4:30 of overtime down a player due to a yellow card issued at the end of the game. They survived that stretch, but with 5:36 remaining, the Warriors scored the game-winner on a goal by Lily DeWan on their third corner of OT.
Stats underscore how closely contested Saturday’s game was. The Indians held a 12-10 edge in corners – 11 in regulation. The Warriors held a 10-9 advantage in shots with three of those shots coming in overtime.
“We weren’t as strong on offensive corners as we have been thus far, and Methacton played us tough in their defensive end,” Casciato said. “It was a well-played game by both teams and statistically very even. Hopefully we can use this tough loss as motivation to prepare physically and mentally for the second half of league play.”
Prior to Saturday’s game, Methacton and Souderton were ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the District One 3A power rankings. After the game, the Warriors moved to the number two spot while the Indians fell to fifth.
Souderton 0-0-1-2-0 3
Methacton 0-3-0-0-1 4
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