Souderton, CR South, Truman and CB West were winners in SOL field hockey action on Monday. Check the recaps.
Non-league
SOUDERTON 2, ABINGTON 0
The Indians needed a win. Badly.
Sitting at number 25 in the latest District One 3A power rankings, the Indians would have missed out on the playoffs by just one spot if the playoffs were to begin this week. Twenty-four teams will be in the Class 3A field. The Indians would like to be in that number.
“We basically said, ‘If we don’t win this game today, we’re probably out of it,” coach Nicole Dudek said.
The Indians found themselves locked in a scoreless tie at halftime.
“We had great opportunities – we out-cornered and outshot them, but their number 10 (Natalie McNamara) is a very decent player,” Dudek said of the Ghosts’ dangerous forward.
Freshman Jordan Michalak celebrated her birthday Monday by stopping all five shots she faced in the shutout win. In the first half, she kept the Ghosts off the board with a clutch save in a 1v1.
“Jordan just held her place and took off her angle and had a great clear out to the side,” Dudek said.
In the second half, the Indians scored a pair of goals – both on penalty strokes. Anna Gwiazdzinski connected on the first, and Julianna Borisow found the cage on the second.
“We’re getting breaks, which is what we’ve needed because we’ve been outshooting, we’ve been out-cornering teams, but we just haven’t gotten breaks,” Dudek said. “They’re not pretty, but at least we’re getting (goals).”
The Indians’ coach credited Borisow, a deep defender, for effectively taking McNamara out of the game.
Monday’s win loomed large for the Indians, who will play four games in six days. Souderton (7-7, 3-6 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Tuesday night (7 p.m.), marking the beginning of a challenging stretch that includes a home date with Central Bucks West on Thursday and a road game at Methacton on Saturday at 10 a.m. Abington (6-9, 4-6) will host Harry S Truman on Tuesday.
Souderton 0-2 2
Abington 0-0 0
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2, WISSAHICKON 1
Council Rock South is also making a late-season run for a postseason berth. The Golden Hawks moved up from 25th in the District One 3A power rankings last week to 24th this week, and they solidified their spot in the district field with a come-from-behind win over the Trojans.
Sammi Pak’s goal four minutes and 43 seconds into the game gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead. That score stood until sophomore Katelyn Cocco scored the equalizer on a breakaway early in the second half. With 18:01 remaining in regulation, Cocco connected during corner play, and that 2-1 score stood until the final horn.
The Golden Hawks held an 11-6 advantage in shots, but the Trojans had a 6-5 edge in corners.
Rock South goalie Aspen Handel recorded three saves and also received an assist from her teammates as Tori Wright and Bianca Bonanni each delivered a defensive save.
Wissahickon goalie Meghan Reilly was credited with eight saves.
Council Rock South (8-6, 6-3 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Tuesday, and Wissahickon (8-6, 7-4) will be on the road at Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 0-2 2
Wissahickon 1-0 1
HARRY S TRUMAN 3, UPPER MERION 2
The Tigers found themselves staring at a 2-0 halftime deficit in Monday’s non-league game against the visiting Vikings but staged a gutsy second-half comeback to earn the win.
"When I first started, they always had a difficulty when people would score on them – 'Oh, we're going to get beat,'" Truman coach Dipi Bhaya said. "We're in the second half of the season, and we're trying to apply the things that we learned. I was very proud.
"When we played Bensalem the game before that, we were down 1-0 and we came back to tie it 1-1 and then won in overtime. When we were down 2-0, the whole coaching said, 'We got this,' and they started to believe in themselves."
Jaleezia Gibson (Grace Pool assist) put the Vikings on the scoreboard with a goal at the 19:39 mark of the second half. With 6:08 remaining, Grace Sutton scored the tying goal on a corner with an assist from Kailea Heston. Gibson’s goal on a breakaway with just 1:48 showing on the scoreboard clock – this one with a Heston assist – gave the Tigers a lead they would not lose.
"They didn't score the last two goals until the last six minutes of the game, so that was exciting," Bhaya said. "They were a good team, but we felt like we shouldn't have been in that 2-0 hole in the first place. We're a team that's trying to learn how to lead from the front. The coaching staff is trying to teach them how to come out strong instead of waiting until the other team has a lead.
"It was so exciting because it wasn't just one or two goals – they had to score three, and that's exciting because it's something they've never done."
Truman goalie Kyra Martin recorded six saves in the win, the third in four games for the Tigers after opening the season 0-9.
Harry S Truman (3-10, 1-8 SOL) will travel to Abington on Tuesday.
Upper Merion 2-0 2
Harry S Truman 0-3 3
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 10, VILLA JOSEPH MARIE 0
The Bucks honored their 11 seniors with a no-doubt-about-it Senior Night rout of their visitors. Taylor Mason had a hand in five goals, scoring three and assisting on two others. Her first two goals came within the first 10 minutes of the game, effectively setting the tone for the night.
Senior Bridget Naylor scored her first goal of the year in the first half and added a goal in the second half. Senior Eva Altadonna scored in each half and also added an assist while senior Liv Fitzgerald closed out the scoring with the final goal of the game at the 2:44 mark of the second half. She also contributed an assist. Caitlin Mulligan was the lone junior who got involved in the scoring as she scored the final two goals of the first half.
Central Bucks West (11-4, 7-3 SOL) will host Pennridge on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
About the Author
