Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Friday.
SOL Patriot Division
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 4, BENSALEM 1
The Indians notched a 4-1 win and held a commanding advantage statistically, but the Owls didn’t make things easy. Bensalem not only took an early 1-0 lead, the Owls went into halftime deadlocked 1-1 and trailed by just a 2-1 score heading into the final quarter when the Indians put a pair of goals on the board.
While the Owls didn’t get the win, they did earn the respect of their opponent.
“Great game from Bensalem,” Rock North coach Jules Singer said. “They had a lot of hunger and grit, and Gary (Kubik) and Nicky (Hitchens) are doing a great job with them.”
With 29 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, Haley Groves scored with an assist from Guiliana Pasquarella to give Bensalem a 1-0 lead. Rock North’s Brynn Bogle scored an unassisted goal with 6:16 remaining in the half, sending the teams into halftime with the score knotted at 1-1.
Maddy Mela scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period, using a Bogle assist, and Charlotte Ondria and Reese Thrutchley each added a goal in the fourth quarter for the 4-1 final.
“Brynn Bogle, Maddy Mela and Reese Thrutchley did a great job finishing the ball in the circle,” Singer said.
The Owls’ competitive outing Thursday followed a strong showing against Council Rock South the preceding day (in a 2-0 loss).
“After a very successful night at CR South, we continued our competitive play against CR North today at home,” Kubik said. “Take away those two late period goals – and I know we can’t, but we played a tight, competitive 55 minutes of hockey. We now have to take that 55 minutes and turn it into a complete game.
“I’ve been so impressed with my squad the past two games; I couldn’t be prouder. I don’t want to name the entire team, but it has been a total team effort from start to finish lately. As we rise, we rise up together.”
The two teams will meet again on Monday when Council Rock North (8-6, 6-6 SOL) will host Bensalem (2-11, 1-11).
Council Rock North 0-1-1-2 4
Bensalem 1-0-0-0 1
Non-league
NORTH PENN 4, WISSAHICKON 2
The Knights picked up their second win in less than 24 hours, following Thursday night’s 5-0 win over Pennridge with a win over the visiting Trojans.
“We had a little bit of a slow start today because we came off a night game last night, and last night was one of those nights where everything kind of clicked,” NP coach Shannon McCracken said. “Today we had a little bit of a sluggish start, and I’m just really proud of how we pushed through and persevered and stuck to what we do well, and that really came out in the second half for us.”
Paige Shearer (Laura Albert assist) put the Knights on the scoreboard with time expired in the first half, capitalizing on a penalty corner.
Five minutes into the second quarter, Erika Pickford scored with a Kylie Barwis assist to send the Knights into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Just over a minute into the second half, the Trojans made it a 2-1 game when Riley Ball scored with a Faith Jampo assist. Less than a minute-and-a-half later, the Knights answered when Grace McGeehan scored with a Caleigh Sperling assist to go on top 3-1.
“Our first goal and our third goal were really pivotal,” McCracken said. “The first goal we scored on a penalty corner with no time left in the first quarter.
“We scored one in the second quarter, and they scored on us within a minute-and-a-half of the third quarter, so it was a 2-1 game, and we answered back in a minute-and-a-half to make it 3-1, and that was big because it really took some momentum from them because they came out of halftime with a lot of energy. They’re a good team, and we answered back right away to make it 3-1, and I think that set the tone for us.”
Pickford’s unassisted goal with five minutes remaining in the third quarter gave the Knights a 4-1 lead. Wissahickon’s Kayla Mullin (Avery Mullin assist) scored the only goal of the fourth quarter with 1:23 remaining for the 4-2 final.
“Center back Melissa Sessler had a great game, shutting down a lot of attack attempts by Wissahickon and making great passes out of the backfield to our mids and forwards,” McCracken said. “Kylie Barwis had a great game for our attack because she consistently re-defended and put relentless pressure on the Wissahickon backs. It was a great win against a top team in District 1 to cap off our week 3-0.”
North Penn (11-2-1, 9-2-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West for a 7 p.m. game on Monday, and Wissahickon (10-3-1, 10-1-1) will host Upper Dublin on Monday at 7 p.m.
Wissahickon 0-0-1-1 2
North Penn 1-1-2-0 4
PENNSBURY 6, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
(Article submitted by Pennsbury field hockey)
The Pennsbury Falcons were moving slowly as they boarded the team bus less than 24 hours after a hard fought battle with Neshaminy the night before. This would mark the third game of the week for the Falcons, and they were feeling it. The ride to Hatboro-Horsham was quiet but marked by an underlying vibration of Friday excitement and the hope of breaking an eight-game losing streak.
And that they did.
The Falcons got off to a super slow start, but Ryan Burdette lit a spark with a beautiful deflection goal on an assist from Rylie Borgman. The Falcons were just warming up. Abby Iacona made it a 2-0 game with a heads-up play, collecting her own rebound off the goalie’s pads and putting it into the back of the cage.
Angelina Kenney connected on an assist from Mia Popovich in the third quarter putting the orange and black up 3-0. Popovich scored one of her own to kick off the fourth quarter on a beautifully placed pass from Avalee Shumski. The Falcons, still thirsty for more after the long draught, scored two more to finish off the game and tally a total of six for the day. Shumski added another assist as she crossed the ball into the circle to the waiting Regan Rodriguez who finished with an incredible tip from the stroke line. Rylie Borgman notched her goal with 13 seconds left on a pass into the circle from Riley Henderson.
Ava Jordan, Chelsea Todd, Cailyn Reilly, Riley Askey, Olivia Coen, Sam Nesteruk, Ayla Alon, Gabby Darling, Kaylin Flannery, Abby Anderer, Alaina Bird, and goalie, Kayla Shaffer worked so hard out there today to make a difference as well.
“Our girls have been showing great resilience, patience, persistence, and passion through the last eight games,” said coach Traci Curtis. “We needed a game like this to just keep us going and set the tone for our final four match ups. Now is the time for us to dig deep and decide how we want to finish 2023. We have been writing a wonderful story together since August 14, and today was a great start to prepare for the ending chapter.”
Pennsbury (4-10, 2-10 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman Monday for a 6 p.m. contest. Hatboro-Horsham will travel to Abington on Monday.
MERION MERCY 1, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
Merion Mercy scored a late goal to eke out the win in Friday’s non-league contest.
“We struggled a bit on the grass today against a strong Merion Mercy team,” South coach Kelli Chioffe said. “We failed to get the ball behind the goalie. Merion Mercy had some great defense that prevented us from getting on the scoreboard.
“They scored on us with 9:39 mins left in the fourth quarter. It was a close game. We are going to put this one behind us as we have some challenging games in the upcoming week.”
The Titans held an edge in shots (8-7) and penalty corners (9-8).
South goalie Emma Kraft was credited with five saves, and Sam Thomas had a defensive save.
Central Bucks South (8-5, 8-4 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Monday.
Central Bucks South 0-0-0-0 0
Merion Mercy 0-0-0-1 1
UNIONVILLE 7, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3
Less than 24 hours after an emotional game against archrival Central Bucks West, the Patriots made the long road trip to Unionville for a non-league contest that saw the Indians have the better of play.
“Coming off our game last night, we were definitely a little tired but I’m proud of us for finding the back of the cage,” East coach Emma Rosenthal said. “We played really well in spurts, but it’s upward and onward from here. Going into our tough week next week, we’re using these past two games to learn and grow from.”
Morgan Volans used a Paige Keller assist to put the Patriots on the scoreboard early in the first quarter. Ava Firely (Sydney Lafferty assist) added a goal for East in the third quarter, and Riley Schmidt connected on an unassisted goal with 6:10 remaining in regulation.
Central Bucks East (10-4, 9-3 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South on Monday.
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