Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Tuesday. CR North/Pennsbury photos provided by John Gleeson. Pennridge/CB South photos provided by Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of both games. All SOS photo galleries for FIELD HOCKEY can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Patriot
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1, PENNSBURY 0
With just over four minutes remaining in regulation and overtime appearing all but imminent, Sierra Kim found the cage, turning a pass from Brynn Bogle during corner play into the game-winner.
“It was very close to overtime,” Rock North coach Jules Singer said. “It was a very even game, but we had our opportunities in the circle. Both teams had opportunities to score, but we got the grit
and finished it.
“I think this game gave the girls the confidence I was hoping it would give them. Especially against a team like Pennsbury who’s very strong, I think this sets the tone for the rest of the season which gives them the confidence boost they needed.”
The first-year coach – who served as an assistant for three years before taking over the helm – called Tuesday’s victory a team win.
“Everybody played as such a unit,” Singer said. “We went up 10 strong and dropped back 11 strong. This win was a whole team effort.”
The Indians’ coach credited her captains for their leadership on a young squad that includes just three seniors.
“Our leadership is definitely coming from our captains – Paige Matthews, Aubrey Williams and Leah Abbe,” Singer said. “They have really stepped up, and they’ve given positive feedback to players, and they’ve assumed the role of a captain. We’re very much a younger team.
“This was a really good win. It was a very close game, and it could have tipped either way. Pennsbury is very, very strong, and coming from last year, we needed that boost of confidence against a team like Pennsbury, and I think this really helped them.”
(Article submitted by Pennsbury field hockey)
The story of today’s Patriot Division battle between Pennsbury and Council Rock North had a different ending for the Falcons as compared to their first meeting this time last year. It was another 1-0 game, but this time North came out on top, and they earned it.
“It is always a good fight between our teams,” said PHS head coach Traci Curtis. “We enjoy competing against them and love the challenge they present as it always results in a few good lessons for us. Today we came in having no idea what to expect, and we left humbled and forced to look inside ourselves. As coaches, we tried to prepare the girls from top to bottom, inside and out, including finding turf time to practice for the change of surface, but we just fell short today in too many ways. This loss will sting for a while. We really needed to tally a win in that league column.”
Jules Singer, who stepped up to lead the CRN team, is doing a really nice job and it showed. Her girls were determined, hungry, and full of fire throughout the entire game. They did a lot of nice things out there on both sides of the ball. We were deadlocked at 0-0 the entire time, but they were successful in finishing in the circle, and we were not. They outshot us 10-2 and created better scoring opportunities. The huge difference maker for them was Sierra Kim in the back. She was the driving force in stopping our entire offense from generating anything in the circle. She seriously stopped us in our tracks almost every time. Kim denied us many times trying to penetrate from all sides allowing us to have only had two shots on goal. That stat is just immensely disappointing, but also eye opening. The Falcons earned eight penalty corners to North’s five, but just could not convert on any of those set pieces.
“Kaylin Flannery had a beautiful straight shot on a corner for us and their goalie had a great stop,” explained Curtis. “That was one of our only strong attempts at a goal. We had some good crosses that went wide, and we just missed, but we have to find a way to make those ‘almost’ plays turn into ‘we did it’ plays.
“Our mistakes hurt us in every part of the field, from corner flubs, to missing simple passes, to forgetting rules in a rush – there is no room for those things in a SOL matchup like this.”
The absolute best part of our game was our goalie, Jordan Vradenburgh. She saved nine of Rock’s ten shots and kept us at 0-0 until there were four minutes left in the final quarter. Jordan stood strong and protected that cage with determination for 56 minutes – she did her job, and she did it well, leading from the back. Other standout defensive players included Riley Henderson, Olivia Graebner, and Angelina Kenney who together took control of the backfield and held off North as well as possible.
“The lone goal came from a tipped rebound off pads by Sierra Kim (with the help of teammate, Brynn Bogle). With four minutes left in the game, the orange and black felt they still had a shot to move the ball up field and create something. At two minutes, we called a time out to collect ourselves and take a look at what needed to be done.
“When we returned to the field, we were successful in getting the ball into the circle and then earning a corner as the clock struck zero, so we had a golden opportunity to tie it up,” said Curtis. “Unfortunately, things did not pan out for us in that moment ,and the game ended in their favor. All we can do is learn from it and apply it to our preparation for the next step in the SOL path. Kudos to North on their performance and never giving up. Our rematch has to wait until our final game of the regular season in October. We have a lot of work to do between now and then.”
Pennsbury (3-3, 1-3) will travel to North Penn on Thursday, and Council Rock North (4-3, 3-2 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Thursday.
Pennsbury 0-0-0-0 0
Council Rock North 0-0-0-1 1
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 9, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Caroline Martin had a hot hand out of the gate, contributing to four first-quarter goals as the Golden Hawks opened up an early lead and never looked back.
Kylee Hager’s goal put the Golden Hawks on the scoreboard, and then Annagrace McKinney found the cage. Martin assisted on both goals. Hager returned the favor, setting up a Martin goal, and Sarah Raichle assisted on Martin’s second goal of the quarter that put the Hawks on top 4-0 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, Morgan Havers connected on an unassisted goal, and Elise Lindros scored with a Hager assist to send the Golden Hawks into halftime with a 6-0 lead. Hager – who finished with two goals and two assists – scored an unassisted goal in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Megan Rafter scored an unassisted goal, and Grace Fanchini (Rafter assist) closed out the scoring with a goal for the 9-0 final.
“Our team came out strong in the first quarter and did a better job of distributing the ball,” Rock South coach Kelly Mason said. “Caroline Martin and Kylee Hager were aggressive in the circle adding to our score. Megan Rafter did a great job controlling the game in the center of the field.
“Our goal is to continue to be aggressive on the offensive end of the field going into the next few games.”
Council Rock South (4-2, 4-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Thursday, and Harry S Truman (0-6, 0-5) will travel to Pennridge on Thursday.
Harry S Truman 0-0-0-0 0
Council Rock South 4-2-1-2 9
NESHAMINY 6, BENSALEM 0
The Redskins wrapped up a perfect first go-round in division play with a shutout win over the visiting Owls. They seized early control of the contest, scoring four first-quarter goals and adding two more in the third quarter.
Kasey Rieger turned an Avery McGinty pass into a goal just over two minutes into the contest. Then it was Rieger setting up teammate Cait Colyar for a goal with eight minutes remaining in the frame. Rieger connected on her second goal – this one with a pass from Ava Arbakov. McGinty’s unassisted goal put the Redskins on top 4-0.
Just over minute into the third quarter, Arbakov scored with a Colyar assist, and an unassisted goal by Rebecca Fawkes closed out the scoring.
Neshaminy (6-0, 5-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South on Thursday, and Bensalem (1-3) will host Souderton on Thursday.
Bensalem 0-0-0-0 0
Neshaminy 4-0-2-0 6
SOL Colonial
SOUDERTON 4, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3
This is the one they were waiting for.
Central Bucks West had rolled to five wins, outscoring their opponents 24-5, and Souderton had won four games, notching shutouts in three games and outscoring their opponents 13-2. Something had to give.
“Coming into the game, we knew they were undefeated so far and we were undefeated so far,” Souderton senior Lauren Frye said. “I’m not saying we didn’t see hard competition, but we weren’t as challenged as we want to be, and coming into this, we knew we were going to be challenged.”
And challenged the Indians were, twice rallying from a one-goal deficit to earn the win in a battle of Colonial Division foes that did not disappoint.
With 27 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, West junior Mimi Duffy – on the left post – deflected a shot by freshman Aida Ierubino into the cage for a 1-0 West lead..
“Them getting that goal first – it didn’t bring us down,” Frye said. “We were like, ‘We need to come back. We want to defend our championship, we need to win.’ We had the mentality of – we need to win.
“Our game against South (a 3-0 win on Friday) – we didn’t have a lot of energy, we didn’t have a lot of intensity. The game was just blah. We put it behind us, so coming into this game, we were like – ‘We need to step it up, we need to have more energy,’ so I think that also really helped, so coming in, we were energy, energy, energy.”
Frye gave the Indians instant energy when – on her team’s third penalty corner of the second quarter – she made a clean stop of Ava Shaw’s insert pass and slammed home a shot from the top of the circle to even the score 1-1 midway through the frame.
“This past summer, me and Lauren (Frye) and Ava Jones have all been really focusing on corners because last year we didn’t do good on corners,” senior Ang Borisow said.
“We’re scoring a lot of goals on corners,” Frye said. “We were working on that during practice. We’re doing better in the circle, and I think we really benefitted from that. We took practice, and we brought it into the game, which is good.”
The Bucks regained the lead when Ierubino scored during corner play with 3:40 remaining in the first half, and once again the Indians had an answer when Tatum Andrews scored on the rebound of a goalie save. The two teams went into halftime deadlocked 2-2.
“Last year I felt like we would always come out – not slow, but we would have to play a half to really dig deep,” Borisow said. “This year we come out with fire and energy. We push that at practice and that translates into the game.
Sophomore Ava Jones (Borisow assist) broke the 2-2 deadlock five minutes into the fourth quarter when – after a strong individual effort – she scored on a shot into the opposite corner of the cage. The Indians led 4-2 after freshman Hannah Cornes (Andrews assist) scored during a scramble in the circle.
The Bucks made things interesting when – less than a minute later – Ierubino and Mimi Duffy teamed up for a highlight reel goal. It began with Ierubino on a breakaway when Duffy – a speedster with numerous state medals in track – appeared out of nowhere and turned a pass from Ierubino into a goal that pulled the Bucks to within one, making the game’s final minutes a lot more interesting, but the Indians held on for the win.
“It was a good game,” Souderton coach Sue Casciato said. “I said to the girls that it was an especially nice game to win because when you work this hard and as well as they played, it’s disappointing when you don’t win.
“It kind of reminded me of our game against North Penn last year. It was a 4-3 game, and when the game ended, you happened to be ahead.”
The Indians held an advantage in shots (15-8) and corners (11-6), but the Bucks were with the Indians until the final whistle.
“After the game, West coach) Dave (DeAngelis) said, ‘I love the way your team plays hockey,’ and I said, ‘You’re playing the same way,’” Casciato said. “Nice passes down the sideline, a real quick game.
“We have never been down this year, and my assistant coach and I were talking earlier in the week – I’m not sure how we’d respond if we do get down because we have struggled to score. I told the girls, ‘Yea, you only scored one goal on corners’ because we’ve struggled to score outside of corners. It’s nice to be pushed, it’s nice to play at a pace like this.”
The Indians lost a lot of firepower from last year’s SOL Colonial championship squad, most notably second team All-American Lauren Kenah, who is seeing significant minutes at the University of Virginia. They’re proving they are still dangerous.
“Me and Lauren (Frye) have played since freshman year on this team, so every year I feel it was our goal to get better, and for our senior year to come out with something to look back on,” Borisow said.
The Bucks – easily the division’s most improved team – bore no resemblance to the team that last year finished fifth out of six teams in the division with a 6-10 record (8-10 overall).|
“Today was a fantastic full 60-minute match,” West coach Dave DeAngelis said. “Both programs play a similar type of attacking field hockey which is fun to watch. We did have our opportunities but were unable to finish. Credit to Souderton as they were able to take advantage and turned them quickly into shots and corners. Every match is a great learning opportunity: to understand where we are and what we do well; in addition to where we need to improve our game and the required level of consistency.
“(This game) was important to us because we’ve been trying to build our program the previous couple of years, and we believe in what we can do. Basically, it just showed to me that we can play with the top team in our conference, so we’ll look forward to seeing them again later in the season.”
Souderton (5-0, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Thursday, and Central Bucks West (5-1, 3-1) will be on the road at Council Rock North on Thursday.
Central Bucks West 1-1-0-1 3
Souderton 0-2-0-2 4
NORTH PENN 3, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2
It had been a long time between wins over the Patriots, but Tuesday’s win by the Knights snapped a seven-game losing streak dating back to Sept. 27, 2017, when they edged the Patriots 4-3. The win was sparked by some young players who have stepped in to fill big shoes.
“This win was important in a couple of ways,” NP coach Shannon McCracken said. “We came off a tough (5-1) loss to Methacton on Saturday, and we were without (goalie) Kiera Holt today, and just getting back in conference play – it was a game we really wanted. I don’t think we’ve won at CB East in a few years, so it was a really nice road victory for us.”
Freshman Kiley Moister put on the goalie pads and filled in admirably for Holt, who is sidelined with an injury. The rookie turned away 10 shots in a strong outing.
“The thing I was most pleased with was how well our underclassmen played today,” McCracken said. “We’re a young team, and for them to step up today was key.
“We had two sophomores score a goal, one freshman scored a goal, and our freshman goalkeeper (Moister) stepped in the starting position and had 10 saves. One was an amazing save where the ball popped over her head, and she got a hand up to get it. It was a save you see from more seasoned, more experienced keepers, but she just had a great day today.”
East struck first with a goal from Alli Troth (Paige Keller assist) just over a minute into the game. Four minutes later, Pickford answered with a goal for the Knights to even the score, but Caroline Suko connected on a goal that put the Patriots back on top.
Kylie Barwis (Ashleigh Barwis assist) scored the equalizer midway through the second quarter, and the two teams headed into halftime deadlocked 2-2.
With 8:41 remaining in regulation, Laura Albert scored an unassisted goal to give the Knights a 3-2 lead that held up until the final horn.
“CB East scored early on two penalty corners, and the defense settled in and played tougher in the circle, led by center back Melissa Sessler coming up with some key stops,” McCracken said. “Midfielders Caleigh Sperling, Laura Albert and Rhyan Poole did a great job of transitioning the ball to the attack, creating more opportunities later in the game for the Knights.”
East goalie Audra Szymborski was credited with four saves.
“We took an early lead scoring off two corners in the first quarter but ultimately couldn’t hang on,” East coach Emma Rosenthal said. “It was a challenging game against an always efficient North Penn team.
“We look to use this game as a learning experience and move forward into the crossover games.”
North Penn (3-2, 3-1 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Thursday, and Central Bucks East (1-3) will travel to Council Rock South on Thursday.
North Penn 1-1-0-1 3
Central Bucks East 2-0-0-0 2
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1, PENNRIDGE 1 (OT)
Sixty minutes of regulation and a 15-minute overtime period could not determine a winner, and the two teams were forced to settle for the tie.
The Titans took a 1-0 lead, scoring during corner play with 9:53 remaining in the first half when Lily Haag turned a pass by Avery Tyler into a goal. The Rams knotted the score with 2:29 remaining in regulation to send it into overtime.
“Pennridge is a very fast and talented team,” South coach Pat Toner said. “The game was back and forth and very intense.
“In OT, both teams continued to fight but neither team could find the back of the net due to strong defense on both sides. I am really proud of the way our team continued to play hard and I am seeing tremendous growth and improvement in each practice and game.
“Sam Thomas, Ella Haag, Lily Haag and Maddie Orr stepped up and made some excellent plays on defense. Freshmen Kaeli VanDersluis and Tessa Walls, along with seniors Rebecca Zakrzewski and Megan Reilly connected well on the forward line, and Avery Tyler, Bella Schute, and Marielle Mauri did a nice job of stepping up in several crucial situations. Goalie Emma Kraft is credited with nine saves.”
Pennridge’s Maia Machdo had four saves in goal.
“Tough play from both teams,” Pennridge coach Becky Spahr said. “We were able to control a lot of possessions in our offensive half, but South’s defensive structure did a great job limited our goal scoring chances.
“We received strong defensive play from Maura Kulp, Lindsey Campione and Alyssa Gobretch.”
The Rams held an advantage in shots (10-6) and corners (11-4).
Pennridge (1-5-1, 0-4-1 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Thursday, and Central Bucks South (1-3-1) will host Neshaminy on Thursday (7pm).
Central Bucks South 0-1-0-0-0 1
Pennridge 0-0-0-1-0 1
SOL Liberty
UPPER DUBLIN 4, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
The Flying Cardinals erupted for four goals on the way to their most decisive win of the young season.
“Sometimes this group struggles with scoring and getting the ball in the back of the cage, so to get four goals is a really a confidence boost for everyone,” UD coach Emily Town said.
The Flying Cardinals got on the scoreboard with 2:35 remaining in the opening quarter when Tess Malizia found the cage, using an assist from Ashley MacNeal. With 46 seconds remaining in the first quarter, they upped that lead to 2-0 when MacNeal set up a goal by Olivia Burdo.
“It was a really pretty goal above the goalie’s head,” said Town, whose team took that 2-0 lead into halftime. “I’m always asking them to put it in the air, and finally, they listened.”
With just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Ellison Kullman set up a goal by Rayla Krachman for a 3-0 lead. The Cardinals’ final goal came four minutes into the fourth quarter when they converted a corner. Malizia found the cage with her second goal, this one with a Burdo assist.
Town credited the play of her defense – comprised of Hannah Gong, Olivia Vitella, Ella Lyon and Sofia Ferraro – for posting its second shutout in as many games.
“My defense again played really well – they did a good job of keeping them out of the circle,” Town said. “For our second game in a row, we had no defensive corners, which is really great.
“I stressed after the last game – just keep them out of the circle. Then you don’t have to worry about it, so our defense did a really good job with that.
“Ellison Kullman has just started getting varsity time, and she’s really been hustling when she’s in there, and she helped create a lot of our scoring opportunities.”
The Hatters received another strong performance from freshman goalie Mia Fisher.
“But we couldn’t generate many offensive opportunities or push the ball down the field,” HH coach Marie Schmucker said.
The Hatters’ coach also credited junior outside mid/forward Lauren Steinberg and junior forward Kali Fulmer for playing well.
Upper Dublin (3-3-1, 2-2-1 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township on Thursday, and Hatboro-Horsham (0-6, 0-5) will host New Hope-Solebury on Thursday.
Upper Dublin 2-0-1-1 4
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-0 0
QUAKERTOWN 4, ABINGTON 0
The Panthers made it two wins in a row – both by shutouts – when they defeated the visiting Ghosts on Tuesday.
“Everyone came out to play today, and they played hard, working as one – which is what I have been pushing for,” Quakertown coach MacKenzie Kramer said. “If I could applaud them all, I would. It looked nice out there tonight.”
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead with 3:30 remaining in the opening quarter. Freshman Casey Rosenberger scored on a corner with an assist from senior Alex Bevan-Xenelis. That 1-0 score stood until 9:51 remained in the third quarter when sophomore Ella Schubert found the cage.
“The ball was assisted by senior Natalie Boyd, who crossed it in the circle, and Ella Schubert capitalized with a finish into the left corner of the goal cage,” Kramer said.
With four minutes remaining in the third quarter, sophomore Katelyn Landis scored on a perfectly executed corner. The Panthers closed out the scoring when junior Kiera Gallagher scored with 5:43 remaining.
“Kiera took a hard shot and finished it into the goal,” Kramer said. “Throughout the whole game, the team worked as one unit. Our passes were on point, we were stopping the ball, and we pressured the ball at all times.”
Quakertown (2-3-1, 2-2-1 SOL) will travel to Lower Moreland on Thursday, and Abington (3-4, 2-3) will host Upper Moreland on Thursday.
Abington 0-0-0-0 0
Quakertown 1-0-2-1 4
WISSAHICKON 2, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0
The Trojans upped their record to a perfect 6-0 with Tuesday’s shutout road win.
Kayla Mullin broke a scoreless tie with 5:42 remaining in the first half, using a Caroline Kirkpatrick assist. The Trojans found themselves holding that 1-0 lead until just 2:42 remained in regulation when Riley Bell scored with Kirkpatrick contributing her second assist of the game.
Wissahickon (6-0, 5-0 SOL) will travel to William Tennent for a crossover game on Thursday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-4, 3-2) will host Cheltenham on Thursday.
Wissahickon 0-1-0-1 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0-0-0 0
SOL Freedom
LOWER MORELAND 2, WILLIAM TENNENT 1
The Lions bounced back from a pair of one-goal losses last week to earn a road win on Tuesday, rallying from an early 1-0 to defeat the Panthers.
“We came out very flat and lethargic to start the game but rebounded in the second quarter, scoring both our goals,” LM coach Janet Lutter said.
Liz Neeld scored both goals for the Lions – her first on a penalty stroke and her second off a corner.
Lower Moreland (4-2, 3-2 SOL) will host Quakertown on Thursday, and William Tennent (1-5, 1-4) will host Wissahickon on Thursday.
Lower Moreland 0-2-0-0 2
William Tennent 1-0-0-0 1
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 8, CHELTENHAM 0
Norah Conlin and Emma Yoder each scored two goals to lead the Spartans while teammates Gabi Maletta, Angela Eder, Malayna Flowers and Hailey Lesniak each added a single goal.
The Spartans held a lopsided (38-1) advantage in shots and an equally lopsided (17-0) advantage in penalty corners. The final score would have been worse had it not been for the impressive combined 30-save effort of Cheltenham’s goalies. Ryan Fillmore and Lillian Conwell had 18 and 12 saves respectively. Abbie Leighton and Sammi Boyd each recorded a defensive save for the Lady Panthers.
Springfield Township (4-2, 4-1 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Thursday, and Cheltenham (0-5) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday.
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 9, UPPER MORELAND 0
The visiting Lions remained perfect on the season, opening up; a 1-0 lead after one quarter and extending it to 5-0 by halftime on their way to the decisive win.
Ava Cozza scored an unassisted goal that proved to be the game-winner in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Lions erupted for four goals. Rylee Logston connected with an assist from Avery Mendola, and that was followed by a goal from Sophia Cozza. Mendola turned a pass from Ava Cozza into a goal, and Ava Cozza’s unassisted goal sent the Lions into halftime with a five-goal advantage.
Mendola scored the Lions’ lone goal in the third quarter, and the Lions closed out the game with three goals in the final quarter. Logston scored with an assist from Sophia Leonardi, and then Sophia Cozza connected on an unassisted goal. Maddie Thistlewaite (Sophia Cozza assist) added a goal to close out the scoring.
Upper Moreland goalie Addi Hurley was credited with 31 saves in a busy afternoon. The Lions held a 10-0 advantage in corners.
New Hope-Solebury (6-0, 5-0 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday, and Upper Moreland (4-3, 2-3) will be on the road at Abington on Thursday.
New Hope-Solebury 1-4-1-3 9
Upper Moreland 0-0-0-0 0
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