Check out the results for SOL field hockey teams in action on Wednesday and Thursday. Photo of the CB East/CB West game provided courtesy of Marge Bullock. To view action photos of the CB East/CB West game, please visit the web site: www.margebullock.com.
American Conference
WISSAHICKON 3, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 1
The Trojans opened up a 2-1 halftime lead on their way to the important win in a battle of neighboring rivals.
“It was a good game,” Wissahickon coach Lucy Gil said. “We’re starting to come together, and that’s what we were missing at the beginning of the season.
“We tried a new defensive system, and it really didn’t work, so we regrouped. We came out of it much better. I’m really happy with how they’re progressing. Everyone is working much better together.”
The Trojans got on the board when Melanie Fry scored an unassisted goal, and they led 2-0 after Jessica Waite turned a Fry assist into a goal. The Spartans made it a 2-1 game after a goal by Julie Cardamone late in the half.
A goal by Stacie Rocco (Jessica Waite assist) late in the second half gave the Trojans their final margin of victory.
“It was important to get this win just to get the girls thinking they could win,” Gil said. “It’s really hard to lose two in a row and have them still believe in themselves.”
Gil reminded her players that in her first year at the helm the Trojans opened the season 0-2 but finished 23-3.
“I tell them it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” the Trojans’ coach said. “I have every faith in them that they’ll keep growing together as a team and get stronger and stronger because I feel like I have the personnel. I just have to put them in the right spots so that they jell together.”
Gil lauded the solid performances of several players.
“Angela Virtu always plays well,” the Trojans’ coach said. “You put her in any situation, and you’re going to see her out there.
“My right midfielder, Rachel Zimmerman, also played really well. She was a defender her first two years, and this year we decided to move her up, and she’s been doing an amazing job on the right flank. I’m just really happy with how she’s progressing as well.”
While the Trojans upped their league mark to 2-0 (2-2 overall), the Spartans are 1-1 in league play (2-1 overall).
“We have an inexperienced team,” Springfield coach Linda Nixon said. “The kids played really hard, and it was what it was. We couldn’t get our kids to get in the circle to draw corners.
“It was a good game. Both teams played real hard.”
The Trojans drew 10 corners while the Spartans had none.
Trojan goalie Claire Tarzia was credited with four saves while Springfield’s Kim Machelette had eight.
The Trojans will host Plymouth Whitemarsh in a battle for conference supremacy on Monday. The Spartans will host Upper Merion.
Wissahickon 2-1 3
Springfield 1-0 1
UPPER DUBLIN 4, NORRISTOWN 2
Jennifer Harchut scored a pair of goals while teammates Sarah Blatt and Caroline End added single goals to lead the Flying Cardinals to their first win of the young season.
“We had a rough open to the season with our game against Souderton and then going right to Wissahickon,” Boyer said. “Coming in 0-2, it was important to try and find a way to put the ball in the cage and get that first win of the season.
“I thought we did a really good job today of spreading out the offensive scoring. It wasn’t all the same person, although Jen Harchut definitely had a strong game from defensive to offensive transition as our midfielder. Even though she didn’t have all the goals, she created many of the opportunities, which was really helpful.”
Harchut put the Flying Cards on the scoreboard at the 21:19 mark of the first half, connecting on a corner with a Sarah Blatt assist. Norristown’s Natalie Mitchell, who also had a pair of goals, scored the equalizer with 7:24 remaining in the half, but two minutes later, Harchut scored an unassisted goal to send the Eagles into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
Blatt scored an unassisted goal midway through the second half, but Mitchell answered with a goal. End (Courtney Vincent assist) put the finishing touches on the win with a goal at the 8:51 mark.
Boyer, who had just two returning starters from last year on the field Thursday, lauded the performance of her defense.
“Kasey Chatburn was a forward in her previous years, and we’ve turned her into a defender, and she’s really doing a nice job and learning the position well,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “She’s definitely stepped up, and so has sweeper Emily Long, who does a really good job of directing traffic in the backfield, which is important.”
Upper Dublin’s Sara Weinberg had 11 saves while her counterpart in goal, Sierra Slaughter, had seven saves.
Upper Dublin (1-2, 1-1) will travel to Cheltenham on Monday while the Eagles (1-3, 1-1) will host Upper Moreland.
Norristown 1-1 2
Upper Dublin 2-2 4
UPPER MERION 1, UPPER MORELAND 0
The Vikings used a goal by Dasia Araujo (Kaitlyn Lutz assist) with 11:46 remaining in the second half to eke out their first win of the season.
“It was a huge win,” Angie Yanocha said. “We’ve really been struggling. We had a tough game against Norristown on Tuesday, and we’ve just had some unlucky breaks.
“The kids would admit we didn’t have a great first half today, but we sort of regrouped at halftime, and really, it came down to teamwork. The kids were getting frustrated because of the losses and we were down in our defensive end quite a bit. We talked about how we had to stay positive, work together as a team and get through it as a team, and that’s what they did. They really worked hard, and the last 10-15 minutes we dominated. It was exciting. They just have a little bit more confidence now.”
The Vikings, according to Yanocha, have been hanging tough in their losses.
“The Abington game we lost 4-1, which makes it look like a blowout, but it was tied up until the last 10 minutes of the game when we gave up three goals,” the Vikings’ coach said. “Against Norristown (a 3-1 loss), we were right in it with them but had a breakdown, and they got two goals in a row.
“We’ve had chances. On Monday, we went into overtime with Baldwin. The girls were starting to get down on themselves and frustrated because we’ve been playing a lot of defense. It was nice to finally pull out a win and give them some confidence going into next week.”
Yanocha lauded the performances of several players in Thursday’s win.
“Kaitlyn Lutz had the assist, and she just really turned it on and sparked a lot of our offense –just really got plays happening in the midfield,” the Vikings’ coach said. “Dasia, who did score the goal, was doing a really nice job and had quite a few scoring opportunities. Defensively, in the second half when they were getting some of their long hits down the field, Laura Persofsky was playing center back for us, and she was doing a really nice job of getting the stop and sending it back up on our offensive end.
“Jackie Schauble also played well in the midfield and did a nice job generating offense. They all played well.”
Devyn Antonucci had four saves in goal to preserve the shutout. Upper Moreland’s Devyn Mead had six saves.
Upper Merion (1-4, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Springfield on Monday while Upper Moreland (0-3, 0-2) will travel to Norristown.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 10, CHELTENHAM 0
Aurora Mills connected for the hat trick and also had one assist while Rachel Konowal also had a hand in four goals, scoring one and assisting on three others. Courtney Konowal added one goal and two assists, and Frankie O’Brien had one goal and one assist. Adding single goals were Allison Spinelli, Rita Lynn Trainer, Paige Totten and Shannon McKee.
The Colonials (5-0, 2-0 SOL), will travel to Wissahickon for a key SOL showdown on Monday while the Lady Panthers (0-4, 0-2) will host Upper Dublin.
Continental Conference
HATBORO-HORSHAM 2, SOUDERTON 1 (Wednesday, Sept. 11)
Junior Casey Swezey scored a pair of goals to lead the Hatters to the win. It was Swezey putting the Hatters on the scoreboard at the 23:03 mark of the first half, using a Colby Eldridge assist. The Hatters took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Souderton’s Abbey Gabriel connected on a corner to knot the score just over two minutes in the second half, and that tie stood until Swezey scored at the 16:41 mark, using a Kelsy Hopkins assist.
Hatter coach Laura Swezey credited several of her players.
“Jenna Cutilli had an outstanding game at defensive mid with many stops in the midfield and transitioning the ball,” she said. “(We got) great defense by Keeley Henry, Jane Henry, Brenna Reilly and Emily Braunewell.”
The Hatters had 11 corners to six for Souderton, and according to Swezey need to capitalize on those opportunities.
The Hatters (4-0, 2-0 SOL) held a 17-6 advantage in shots. The Indians saw their record drop to 0-2 in the league (1-3 overall).
“After a tough loss yesterday to North Penn, we needed to prove that we were better than that,” Souderton coach Lauren Whiteside said of her team’s 4-0 loss to the Maidens. “We played better than yesterday but still not good enough.
“We didn’t have the shots that we wanted or the passing connections. Our defense played well and did a better job stepping up and denying the ball.”
The Indians will host Central Bucks West on Monday while the Hatters will host Pennridge.
Souderton 0-1 1
Hatboro-Horsham 1-1 2
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 (Wednesday, Sept. 11)
Kim Hitchcock converted her team’s fourth corner of the game into a goal, turning Emily Halverson’s insert pass into a goal at the 7:37 mark of the first half. That goal stood the rest of the way.
The win was the third in as many days for the Bucks, who improved to 5-0 overall (2-0 SOL).
“Playing three days in a row helps – playing games is what helps us play together as a team more,” Hitchcock said. “That helped us connect on the field. We really are able to adjust on the field more when we play games.”
While the first half was pretty evenly matched, the second half belonged to the Bucks, who held a 9-0 advantage in shots.
“Our forwards did really good,” Hitchcock said. “Erick (Fiorelli) was great on the side, and Elena (Romesburg) played really good. She was the anchor today.”
Only the 11-save effort of East goalie Samantha Grzegorczyk and a gutsy East defense kept the Bucks off the board in the second half.
“You’re always happy when your kids play with effort,” said coach Dipi Bhaya, lauding the efforts of Grzegorczyk and defensive back Alex Law. “The entire defensive unit came together and played hard, so we’re proud of that.
“I think the East-West game is always a challenge. West is always a reputable team and works hard. West always brings out the aggressiveness and the competitive side in East, and that’s always a wonderful game to witness. Hats off to West for always forcing other teams to play with that aggressiveness.”
The Patriots are 0-2 in the league (0-4 overall).
“We have a lot of work to do, but any time a team plays aggressively, a coach likes that,” Bhaya said. “I would like to see it translate into a ‘W,’ and we’ll get there. I really have all the faith and confidence in this year’s team. Our record might not reflect right now who we are or who we’re going to be, and that’s okay because it’s going to turn around.”
Central Bucks West will travel to Souderton on Monday while the Patriots will host North Penn.
Central Bucks East 0-0 0
Central Bucks West 1-0 1
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH at NORTH PENN (Postponed)
National Conference
NESHAMINY 10, BENSALEM 0
The Redskins received scoring contributions from 10 different players in Wednesday's win. Abby Alexis and Marlena Koellner both had a hand in three goals with Alexis contributing two goals and one assist and Koellner adding two assists and one goal. Amanda Binczewski and Josafinne McIlvaine both added a pair of goals while Kenzi Turchi had a goal and an assist. Lauren Duckenbell and Amanda Blum each scored one goal. Maria Palmieri was credited with two assists, and Jamie Renman and Emily Alexis each had one for the Redskins, who improved to 2-0 in the league (2-4 overall). Neshaminy will travel to Abington on Monday while Bensalem will host William Tennent.
PENNSBURY 1, WILLIAM TENNENT 1 (OT)
The Panthers broke a scoreless halftime tie when Rachel Mueller scored, using an assist from Taylor Skiba. The Falcons evened the score on a goal by Fiona McPadden.
The Falcons (2-2-1 overall) are 1-0-1 in league play while the Panthers are 0-1-1.
William Tennent will travel to Bensalem on Monday while Pennsbury will travel to Council Rock South.
William Tennent 0-1-0 1
Pennsbury 0-1-0 1
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 5, ABINGTON 0
Madison Gouza scored a pair of goals while teammates Gigi Tutoni, Amrit Ahluwalia and Jarema each added single goals. Ahluwalia also had an assist for the Indians, who improved to 2-0 in the league (3-1 overall). The Ghosts are 0-2 in the league (2-3 overall).
Abington will host Neshaminy on Monday while Rock North will travel to Truman.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 7, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
NESHAMINY 9, HARRY S. TRUMAN 0 (Tuesday, Sept. 11)
Maria Palmieri jumpstarted the Redskins with back-to-back goals to open the game, the first with an assist from Marlena Koellner and the second with assists from Koellner and Amanda Binczewski. Abby Alexis added a pair of goals in the first half, using assists from Emily Alexis and Maria Palmieri, and Gracy Zuno turned a Binczewski assist into a goal, sending the Redskins into halftime with a 5-0 lead.
In the second half, Amanda Blum connected on back-to-back goals, using assists from Binczewski and Palmieri. Josafinne McIlvaine scored with an assist from Christen Pennington, and Abby Alexis closed out the scoring with a goal that gave her the hat trick, this one with an Erin Bedesem assist.
Harry S. Truman 0-0 0
Neshaminy 5-4 9
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