Check out the results for SOL field hockey teams in action Thursday. Photo of the CB West/CB East game provided courtesy of Marge Bullock Photography. To view game action photos, visit the web site www.margebullock.com.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 4, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3
“Relief. Pure Relief.”
That’s how Bryn Boylan described the emotions she was feeling when Taylor Mason’s shot – after some nifty stickwork – hit the back of the cage with 2:24 remaining in regulation. It’s a safe bet, those sentiments were shared by everyone on West’s sidelines.
“I think this entire day (this game) was in the back of our heads,” Mason said. “Sitting in class I was like, ‘East-West game tonight. We gotta win.’ I just think everyone wanted it. We’ve been thinking about this since the last game.”
Wednesday’s game bore a striking resemblance to the earlier meeting between the two squads – a 4-3 East overtime win that saw the Patriots rally from a 3-0 second-half deficit. The Patriots once again rallied from a 3-0 second-half hole to knot the score, but this time the Bucks prevailed.
“Once we realized what the score was and how it was déjà vu from last time, we all put in everything we got,” said Mason. “We did it because it was the seniors last East-West game. What hit us was the passion that we wanted to win this game.”
There was plenty of passion on both sides in a contest that featured end-to-end action between the conference’s top two squads. The Bucks had the better of play in the first half, opening up a 2-0 lead. Mason scored on a ball off the goalie’s pads during corner play less than three minutes into the game, and on the Bucks’ second corner of the game, Boylan – who helped to effectively negate the Patriots’ four first-half corners – turned a crossing pass from Mason into a goal.
The Bucks appeared to be in command when Ryan Murray – benefitting from a Cadera Smith through pass – capped an impressive breakaway with a goal that put the Bucks on top 3-0.
The goal apparently served as little more than a cue for the Patriots’ offense to come to life, and just over a minute later, senior Lindsey Adriaansen turned a Cailey Lever pass into a goal. Abbey Butler capped a dazzling individual effort when she somehow survived a tackle by the goalie at the top of the circle and fired a shot into the opposite corner of the cage to make it a 3-2 game with 19:27 remaining.
The Bucks fought off four East corners, but shortly after the fifth, it was Adriaansen turning a rebound into a goal, knotting the score 3-3 at the 5:42 mark and prompting the Bucks to use their final timeout. The stage was set for Mason’s game winner.
“We said at timeout, ‘No more overtime, not again. We want to finish this game,” Boylan said. “Since freshman year, we hadn’t lost to them.
“The last game when we lost, it was heartbreaking because we put our all into it. We didn’t want that to happen again, especially because we came out so strong. They came back with so much intensity, and we knew we had to pick it up and finish strong. I think our defense stepped it up at the end, clearing the ball out strong and not letting up any more corners.”
The loss was the first of the season in conference play for the Patriots, who still maintain a game-and-a-half lead over the Bucks in the loss column.
“I thought we played a great second half,” East coach Michelle Finegan said. “The first half I didn’t think we played great, but I’ve watched West play several times, and that was the best game I’ve seen West play this year as well.
“If we’re bringing out the best in the West team as well, kudos to both of us, and hopefully, we’ll both go into districts and states and hopefully we don’t bump into each other again.”
With the win, the Bucks moved into second place in the standings.
“We as coaches had confidence in them, and it was getting over that hurdle and just keeping that confidence up,” West coach Courtney Lepping said. “We’ve had such good momentum the past couples of weeks, and we needed this just to keep the momentum up. Each member of the team stepped up in huge moments and played well together. It was a great team win.”
“I think we’re just going to keep up our intensity and playing with each other and for each other,” Murray added. “I think we had really good composure the entire game, and we have to carry it into next week and finish our season out strong.”
Finegan lauded the strong performances of players on both sides.
“Lindsey Adriaansen had an outstanding game with two of the three goals,” the Patriots’ coach said. “Great play by Riley Donnelly, Mackenzie Boyle and Cailey Lever.
“CB West had great play by Taylor Mason, Bryn Boylan, Cadera Smith and Ryan Murray.”
Central Bucks West (10-3-1, 6-2-1 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Monday (7 p.m.), and Central Bucks East (11-2, 9-1) will be on the road at William Tennent..
Central Bucks East 0-3 3
Central Bucks West 2-2 4
SOUDERTON 5, PENNRIDGE 4 (OT)
The Rams opened up a 3-1 lead in Thursday’s rivalry game, but the Indians came roaring back to earn the overtime win.
“The game was played in two completely different halves, and Souderton dominated the second half,” Pennridge coach Becky Spahr said. “We take away the good things from this game and learn from our mistakes. It is a tough loss to take, but we will come back fighting next week.”
Scoring goals for the Rams were Kellie Drugotch (Kira Ozer assist), Caitlyn Amsden – one unassisted and with assists from Hannah Cook and Drugotch on the other. Kierstin Faw scored with an assist from Abby Bruzas.
“Kira Ozer played great for us at center mid and helped to feed the ball into the circle to give us scoring opportunities,” Spahr said. “We also had senior leadership from our defense – Kendall O’Shea, Abby Bruzas and Kierstin Faw.”
Sophomore Randi Hess scored the game winner for the Indians. Courtney Kenah connected on a pair of goals while Nina Disco (Liz O’Hara assist) and Isabella Palde both added single goals.
Souderton held a 17-11 advantage in shots. Pennrige goalie Mackenzie Bross recorded 10 saves, and Hannah Cook and Kendall O’Shea both contributed defensive saves.
Souderton (7-6-1, 4-4-1 SOL) will host North Penn on Monday, and Pennridge (3-10, 1-8) will host Central Bucks West on Monday (7 p.m.).
QUAKERTOWN 9, CHELTENHAM 0
Coach Diane Molinaro is looking for improvement in what has been a rebuilding year for Quakertown, and the second-year coach saw it in Thursday’s win.
“We played well as a team and focused on accurate, quick passing,” Molinaro said. “In the past, we struggled with finishing in the circle and connecting between lines of attack.
“Tonight, the girls proved they can finish in the circle and support each other on attack as well as recovering on defense.”
Underscoring the team’s improved play was the fact that Quakertown led 4-0 at halftime after winning by a 4-1 score in the initial meeting.
“Even though the final score was 4-1, we had trouble and we let up a goal,” Molinaro said. “From my perspective, the fact that we came out and pushed through a variety of obstacles that they mentally had to get past was huge.”
Senior Julia Ely led the Panthers with a hat trick while Brianna Nadal and Anna Thompson both added a pair. Makenzie Adamson and Jenn Jiminez each connected on a single goal. For Nadal, Adamson and Jiminez, it represented their first varsity goals. Contributing assists were Adamson, Malanie Olivieri and Olivia Jackson.
“The solid midfield play of Olivia Jackson created many scoring opportunities for us and prevented any counterattacks,” Molinaro said. “What most impressed me was we scored with 17 seconds left.
“A lot of my focus has been on finishing, being strong to the end, never giving up. It’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I’m really happy with my team and the way they played, but on the other hand, I really respect Cheltenham. They haven’t won a game all season, and I have to say – they played hard for the entire game.
“They improved. The girls are doing some really good things, they’re growing as a team. I know what it’s like to come back after several losses. What do you say to your girls at the end of the game? In every little moment in each game, there’s improvement. You see them thinking, you see them trying new things, you see them persevering and pushing through it. That’s what I saw with Cheltenham, and I also saw it with my team. Fortunately for us, this time we were on the winning side.”
Quakertown (3-11, 2-9 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Monday, and Cheltenham (0-12, 0-10) will be on the road at Wissahickon.
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Quakertown 4-5 9
PENNSBURY 6, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Six different players scored goals for the Falcons, who led 3-0 at halftime and doubled that score in the second half.
Nell Webber put the Falcons on the board with a goal six minutes into the contest, and the Falcons closed out the half with a pair of goals in the final seven minutes – the first by Amelia Sharp and the second by Maya Geller on a penalty stroke.
Sammie Hackman’s goal 11 minutes into the second half gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead, and eight minutes later, Kate Chesney turned an Olivia Mauro pass into a goal. Mauro’s goal in the 23rd minute closed out the scoring.
Truman goalie Rebecca Laranko recorded nine saves.
Pennsbury (6-5-1, 4-3 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Saturday for an 11:30 a.m. contest, and Harry S Truman (2-9, 1-7) will be on the road at Bensalem on Friday.
Pennsbury 3-3 6
Harry S Truman 0-0 0
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