Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Thursday. Neshaminy/CR North photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
SOL National Conference
NESHAMINY 5, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
The Redskins moved one step closer to clinching a conference crown, using a consummate team effort to earn the shutout win.
“We told the girls after the game that every girl that stepped on the field contributed to the win,” coach Jamie Pinto said. “Everybody played hard. The things we’ve been working on in practice – cutting to the ball, stick-to-stick passing, tipping the ball, it all came together today, and everybody really contributed. They all had a huge part.
“North always comes out strong, our girls are playing well.”
Peyton Ritchey put the Redskins on the board nine minutes into the contest, and the Redskins added a pair in the final 10:21 of the half. Dylan Beegal turned a Kayla Connelly pass into a goal, and Caroline Angerer (Ritchey assist) also found the cage to send the Redskins into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
Ritchey and Angerer each scored their second goal in the opening seven minutes of the second half. Angerer’s was set up with an assist from Brooke Cordisco.
“Peyton scored two goals and Caroline scored two goals, but getting the ball to them – everybody really had a part,” Pinto said. “Defensively, we’re playing strong, our mids are working hard, and our forwards are working well together. Everybody is doing their job on the field.”
Thursday’s game marked just the second time the Redskins have played on their home field in what has been a wet fall.
“We were even trying to remember – when was the last time we even practiced on our field,” Pinto said. “The girls adjust to it well, but it’s been tough.”
Neshaminy (10-3, 9-0 SOL) will host Archbishop Carroll on Monday in a non-league game, and Council Rock North (9-3-1, 7-2-1) will host Cardinal O’Hara in a non-league game on Monday.
Council Rock North 0-0 0
Neshaminy 3-2 5
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 7, BENSALEM 0
The Golden Hawks – thanks to a Katelyn Cocco goal (Ava Haurin assist) – took a 1-0 lead into halftime and then exploded for six second-half goals.
Kerry Kaufman got the ball rolling with a goal three minutes into the second half, and the Golden Hawks were off and running. It marked the beginning of a six-goal Golden Hawk explosion in an 18-minute span and included a pair of Lauren Mitchell goals – the first with a Kaufman assist, another goal from Kaufman as well as single goals by Haurin (Bridget Doherty assist) and Rachel Rolle.
The Golden Hawks held a 25-2 advantage in shots. Aspen Handel and Molly Clark each made one save in the shutout win.
Council Rock South (5-5-1, 5-1-1 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Friday, and Bensalem (1-9, 1-8) will travel to Springfield Township on Saturday for a non-league game.
Bensalem 0-0 0
Council Rock South 1-6 7
PENNSBURY 3, WILLIAM TENNENT 1
Maya Geller scored a pair of goals and Celia Dolan added a single goal to lead the way for the Falcons, who opened up a 2-0 halftime lead.
Pennsbury (5-6, 5-3 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Friday, and William Tennent (2-8-1, 2-7) will be on the road at Villa Joseph Marie on Monday for a non-league game.
Pennsbury 2-1 3
William Tennent 0-1 1
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1, SOUDERTON 0
The Patriots – with only two games remaining – clinched at least a share of the conference crown, edging the only team with a chance of derailing their title aspirations.
Make no mistake about it, the Patriots earned this one, holding off a dangerous Indian squad that kept the pressure on until the final whistle.
“It was crazy,” junior Liz Philipp said. “Especially in the last 15 minutes, that was when we really get our gears going.”
Philipp, for one, relished the challenge the Indians provided.
“I like these games so much more,” she said. “I like when they’re better offensively because we have a chance to all work as a team instead of just offense. Those games aren’t fun. It’s fun when they’re good offensively. I like having those close games. I think it’s more fun when we have the ball and it goes through the back, it goes through the mid, it goes through the forward, and we’re all working for it.”
“It’s really good preparation for (the postseason),” East goalie Emily Bullard said. “I like having those close games because I feel really in it.
“The games when we’re up a lot – I’m standing in the back and I don’t have much to do, and when the ball does come back, I do end up making small mistakes sometimes. Having that action really keeps your adrenalin pumping.”
The adrenalin was pumping on both sides in this one. Nicole Lipa scored the game’s only goal with 5:50 remaining in the first half, using a reverse stick to deflect a rebound off the goalie into the cage.
The Patriots came out on the attack to open the second half, drawing three corners in the opening 10 minutes. The rest of the half belonged to the Indians, who drew six corners. On three straight, it was Philipp making stone cold stops on shots in front of goal.
“Her performance did not surprise me at all,” coach Meghan Spratt said. “She is one of my strongest defenders. I love how she breaks through and comes up with it with her speed.
“That’s a huge game changer when she’s on her game. It lifts our whole team honestly.”
With seven minutes remaining, it was Bullard making a stop on a Souderton corner shot, and then with just under five minutes remaining, Bullard came up with another save, and it was Philipp clearing it out of harm’s way.
“The one thing I love about Liz is how she’s so willing to run up and is so dangerous when she runs up and no one can stop her so she can pass it and use the outsides more than anyone on our team,” Bullard said of Philipp. “She’s a rock on defensive corners, crazy when she stops it. There were several where it could have been a tip in, and she got in front of the ball. Her and Grace Bethke – they put their bodies right in front of the ball even though they don’t have equipment on like me.”
Philipp expressed similar sentiments about Bullard.
“Oh my god, I have so much confidence in her,” Philipp said. “If I can’t get a ball, I know Bullard is going to get it every single time. I don’t even have to think twice.
“If a girl does a pull and I’m not there, I know Bullard is literally at the cage every time and is going to stop it.”
In the first half, East’s Kileigh Tilomie came up with a defensive save.
“Our defense came up big today, they definitely did,” Spratt said. “Both teams came out to play, and it went down to the last second in the game.
“We were just happy to get away with a win today. I thought it was a really good game – nerveracking, but it was fun.”
The Patriots – who held a 10-9 edge in shots – have handed the Indians their only two losses of the season. Both were by identical 1-0 scores. The Indians held a 9-5 advantage in corners.
“I just said to them – ‘We have to win out and then we’ll be able to see them in districts,’” Souderton coach Sue Casciato said. “They’re still the number one team, and we’re just as good as them. They got a couple of lucky bounces, the next time we’ll get the a couple of lucky bounces.
“They’re bringing out the best in us. We had them scrambling at the end, for sure. Their goalie played a great game, and we had balls that deflected everywhere but the goal cage. It was a great game. It was just hard to lose. I think we played better this game than the last game.”
Central Bucks East (14-1, 10-0 SOL) will host Quakertown on Tuesday, and Souderton (10-2, 7-2) will be on the road at Pennridge on Tuesday.
Souderton 0-0 0
Central Bucks East 1-0 1
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 3, PENNRIDGE 1
Casey Reilly connected for a hat trick to lead the Titans to the hard fought win.
“Our league is very strong, and records truly don’t matter,” South coach Pat Toner said. “Pennridge is very fast and has great stick work and is well-coached.
“There was not one minute in tonight’s game where either team could relax. Several cards were issued, and both teams had to play short at times. Both teams had excellent corners, good defense and strong goalkeeping. Casey Reilly had three beautiful goals and was very difficult to stop.”
The Rams got on the scoreboard midway through the first half when the Amsden sisters connected for a goal with Emily Amsden turning a Caitlyn Amsden pass into a goal. Four minutes later, Reilly (Annie Brady assist) connected on the equalizer. The two teams went into halftime deadlocked 1-1.
The Titans – or more specifically Reilly – scored a pair of unanswered goals in the second half – her first with an assist from Arianna Conte just over five minutes into the half and the second with a Brady assist.
Central Bucks South (8-5-1, 5-3-1 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Wednesday, and Pennridge (5-7, 4-6) will host Dock Mennonite Academy in a non-league game Friday.
Central Bucks South 1-2 3
Pennridge 1-0 1
NORTH PENN 9, QUAKERTOWN 1
Cheyenne Cravener connected for a hat trick and assisted on another to lead a balanced Knight attack.
It was Cravener scoring back-to-back goals in the opening three minutes of the game – the second with an Emily Crawford assist. By halftime, Jillian Lampitoc (Deborah Kim assist), Madison Stotler (Erin O’Donnell assist), Eleni Kountroubis and Crawford had each added single goals for a 6-0 North Penn lead.
In the second half, Kountroubis (Cravener assist), Cravener and Kristin Varilla (Riley Pickford assist) each added goals before Makenzie Adamson converted a penalty stroke for the Panthers.
North Penn (4-8, 3-6 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Tuesday, and Quakertown (3-10, 0-9) will be on the road at Central Bucks East on Tuesday.
North Penn 6-3 9
Quakertown 0-1 1
SOL American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4, ABINGTON 0
Winning never gets old, and on Thursday, the Colonials clinched a share of their sixth consecutive conference crown. With three games remaining, they have a three-game lead over the second place Ghosts.
“I do feel this year’s team is probably one of the strongest we’ve had in terms of our ability to score and create scoring opportunities, so that’s definitely been exciting,” coach Charise Halteman said. “We have four players who have all scored over 10 – we’ve had a lot of people contributing, so that makes it really fun too.
“It was kind of funny because they didn’t react today, and I think it’s because they want to win every game in the league and they know they can do that. They’re happy about it, but I think most of them are – ‘We won all of the games in the league last year, and we need to do that again this year. ‘ I don’t think they’re going to truly celebrate until we finish and they’ve won all of their league games.”
Sophomore Kaleigh Missimer scored the first two goals of the game, and the Colonials took that 2-0 lead into halftime.
“Kaleigh played great on attack,” Halteman said. “They all are playing well, and what’s great is it seems like they’re playing well together, and that’s what’s really nice.
“They set each other up for goals. Sam (Spera) and Kennedy (Reardon) are probably more the workhorses in the middle of the field, but you hear the other team calling out their numbers to mark, and they still have to worry about Ava (Borkowski) or Kaleigh up front. If they’re focusing on Ava, it opens up somebody else, so our team’s been doing a good job of looking for the open player, looking for a variety of ways to attack. I think it’s difficult for the other team to mark. We’ve been getting pretty consistent play from all of our players really.”
Reardon – who also had an assist – and Borkowski each added a goal in the second half. Kayla Link had three assists.
Goalie Sarah Trask recorded two saves in the win.
“Sarah Trask did not see too much action for most of the game, but she made two great saves at the very end to earn the shutout,” Halteman said.
Ellie Hughes kept the Ghosts in it with 18 saves, and she had help. Olivia Geissler had three defensive saves, Paige Doyle had two and Mikayla Kizel had one in a contest that saw the Colonials collect 34 shots while drawing 25 corners.
“Abington's defense and goalkeeper played strong games to limit PW's chances through most of the game,” Halteman said. “This was one of those games where we had quite a few balls hit the post, we had some nice tips that they got a touch on. Their defense – they really sink into the circle and put a lot of pressure on the forwards.
“It definitely was kind of crowded in the circle. We scored twice at the beginning of each half, and then they packed things in and made it difficult to score for us.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (13-1, 11-0 SOL) will host North Penn in a non-league game Friday, and Abington (8-5, 8-3) will host Pennsbury on Monday in a non-league contest.
Abington 0-0 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2-2 4
UPPER DUBLIN 1, UPPER MORELAND 0
The Cardinals controlled Thursday’s game statistically with 16 shots to just three for the Golden Bears, but they scored just one goal. The goal came early when Jenn McCarry scored with an assist from Peyton Kullmann 45 seconds into the game. Neither team scored the rest of the way.
UM goalie Isabella Guarenghi was credited with 12 saves, and Cassidy Hirsch came up with a defensive stop for the Golden Bears.
UD goalie Meghan Muth was credited with three saves in the shutout win. The Cardinals held a 10-2 advantage in corners.
Upper Dublin (6-4, 5-4 SOL) will travel to Cheltenham on Friday, and Upper Moreland (6-9, 4-7) will be on the road at Springfield Township on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 1-0 1
Upper Moreland 0-0 0
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 2, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
The Spartans opened up a 2-0 halftime lead over the visiting Hatters, thanks to goals from Ella Marino and Maddie Yoder. That 2-0 lead stood until the final horn.
Springfield Township (8-4-1, 6-4-1 SOL) will host Bensalem in a non-league game on Saturday, and Hatboro-Horsham (1-11, 1-10) will travel to New Hope-Solebury on Monday for a non-league game.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0 0
Springfield Township 2-0 2
WISSAHICKON 8, CHELTENHAM 0
Seven players contributed goals for the Trojans, who raced out of the gate to a 6-0 halftime lead. Hannah Havrilla led the Trojans with two goals and an assist while Lauren Donofrio had one goal and two assists.
Kendal Williams (Donofrio assist) put the Trojans on the board at the 28:28 mark. Back-to-back goals by Havrilla – the first with a Donofrio assist and the second with a Williams helper – gave the Trojans a 3-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game. By halftime, Donofrio (Williams assist), Becca Dolfman (Juliet Tripoli assist) and Brynne Miller (Dolfman assist) had each added a goal.
In the second half, Molly Fuhrmeister (Megan Keller assist) and Steph Scoma (Havrilla assist) added single goals.
Wissahickon goalie Meghan Reilly recorded five saves in the shutout. Cheltenham’s Nimi Badejoko had 17 saves.
Wissahickon (8-4, 7-4 SOL) – ninth in the District One 2A power rankings – will travel to Gwynedd Mercy for a non-league game Friday, and Cheltenham (0-10) will be on the road at Lansdale Catholic on Monday for a non-league game.
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Wissahickon6-2 8
Non-league
HARRY S TRUMAN 4, CONWELL EGAN 0
The visiting Tigers opened up a 2-0 halftime lead and never looked back on their way to the shutout win.
"I was very proud of the team for working as one unit today,” coach Dipi Bhaya said. “Our best hockey is still ahead of us and we are looking forward to finishing strong."
Hailey Marshall opened the scoring with a goal that turned out to be the game-winner, using an assist from Paige Gonzalez. Olivia Kerns connected on a corner shot to send the Tigers into halftime with a two-goal lead.
Gonzalez – assisted by Jaleezia Gibson – scored a second half goal to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead, and Paige Gonzalez closed out the scoring with a goal that was assisted by Grace Pool.
Goalie Christina Gregory recorded five saves in the shutout win.
Harry S Truman (2-11, 0-9) will host Bensalem on Tuesday.
Harry S Truman 2-2 4
Conwell Egan 0-0 0
SPRING-FORD 5, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1
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