Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Thursday.
SOL Patriot/SOL Colonial crossover
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2 (OT)
Sienna Valenti scored during a scramble in front of the cage during corner play with 5:20 remaining in overtime, propelling the Patriots to the thrilling victory.
“It was super back and forth, and I think a lot of times in overtime, we tend to rely on the breakaway,” East coach Emma Rosenthal said. “That was not the case today. It was a very evenly matched overtime. The girls out there were sprinting 100 yards back and forth, back and forth. When we got an offensive corner, we were able to be scrappy in the circle. It was a rebound, and Sienna Valenti touched it in.”
The Patriots’ coach underscored the importance of Thursday’s win.
“We knew that not only beating Council Rock South today but whoever we were going to play, it was going to be a turning point of the season,” Rosenthal said. “We’ve had a really tough go-around in our division, and we just knew entering crossovers, we needed to see a win because we’ve been doing some really nice things in games, and the scoreboard just hasn’t reflected it, so we really needed to walk off the field today with a win.”
East’s Sammy Kishel scored with 6:16 remaining in the first quarter, and the Golden Hawks answered with a goal by Amanda Green to knot the score. The Golden Hawks took a 2-1 lead into halftime, thanks to a second-quarter goal by Caroline Martin with a Maria Freeman assist.
“It was pretty evenly matched,” Rosenthal said. “Our problem a lot of the season – and we saw it again today – we love to play hard in the first and the fourth quarters, and the second and third quarters we find it hard to keep up.
“Today I think we saw that same thing happen, and our defense was really able to hold steady in the second and third quarters, and we finished it off in overtime.”
Kishel’s second goal just over a minute into the third quarter evened the score, 2-2, and the stage was set for overtime.
“That goal was so important because it’s really tough to battle back,” Rosenthal said. “We’ve seen games in the past against North Penn and CB South where we’ve been up, and we haven’t been able to hold on.
“Today when we were up and they answered and when they were up and we answered, I was just very proud of them for continuing to fight to get that goal back. It was a tough battle in the first round of crossovers.”
East goalie Audra Szymborski recorded 13 saves in a busy afternoon in the cage.
“We had stellar performances on defense from Anna Daly, Avery McCann and goalkeeper Audra Szymborski,” Rosenthal said. “Today was a complete and total team effort. We were able to connect passes and make the necessary adjustments to battle back from a 2-1 deficit.
“We were without some key players, but everyone stepped up. Sammy Kishel was extremely scrappy in the circle. There was great work in overtime from our midfield, and I’m really proud of them for continuing to fight.”
Despite her team coming up just short, Rock South coach Kelly Mason liked some things she saw.
“This was an evenly matched good game. Both teams were aggressive and matched the other’s goals from the start,” Mason said. “For our team, Breanna Gable and Sarah Freeman played great defense throughout the game. Maria Freeman came out strong for us off the bench and sparked our second goal. We had plenty of chances to score in overtime – we just have to finish our plays better moving forward.”
Central Bucks East (2-3 SOL) will host Bensalem on Monday, and Council Rock South (4-3, 4-2) will travel to Central Bucks West for a 7 p.m. contest.
Central Bucks East 1-0-1-0-1 3
Council Rock South 1-1-0-0-0 2
NESHAMINY 1, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0 (OT)
Ava Arbakov turned a pass from teammate Kasey Rieger into a goal just over a minute into overtime, propelling the visiting Redskins to the dramatic win.
“Tonight was a hard fought game— South came out aggressive,” Neshaminy coach Jamie Pinto said. “This was a good win for us and will help us to prepare for our upcoming crossover games. We didn’t generate as much offense as we are used to, but we played hard until the end.”
The Titans held a 6-1 advantage in shots.
“CB South held Neshaminy to no shots on goal and no corners until we were down a player in OT,” South coach Pat Toners said. “Neshaminy got their only shot on goal at 13:40 of the OT period when a CB South player was given a green card, and we had to play short.
“Credit to Neshaminy for taking advantage of their opportunity to score. Neshaminy is well-coached with a lot of skill players, but I was so proud of the way our team played them. We played a smothering defense and limited their ability to generate any offense in the circle. I am seeing huge improvements in our play, and we look forward to improving with each game and practice. Congrats to both teams on an exciting and well-played game.”
The Titans were awarded 11 penalty corners while the Redskins had none.
“Our defensive corner unit, led by Avery McGinty, Olivia Roscoe, Morgan Shaltens, Maddy Shtino, and goalie Brittany Mattoi, played strong,” Pinto said. “Avery McGinty did a nice job throughout the game playing solid defense and Maddy Shtino stepped up well in the middle.
“Kasey Rieger continually hustled up top and was able to connect with Ava Arbakov early in overtime. We have a lot of big games coming up and we are going to take one game at a time and continue to improve and work together as a team.”
Neshaminy (7-0, 6-0 SOL) will host Downingtown West in a non-league game on Friday, and Central Bucks South (1-4-1) will host Council Rock North on Monday.
Neshaminy 0-0-0-0-1 1
Central Bucks South 0-0-0-0-0 0
NORTH PENN 7, PENNSBURY 1
Grace McGeehan scored back-to-back goals in the opening quarter, spotting the Knights a 2-0 lead and effectively setting the tone for the shutout win.
“It was a solid team win where we dominated possession and played well on both sides of the ball against a fast and quick Pennsbury,” NP coach Shannon McCracken said. “Grace McGeehan had a great day on the offense side because of her dynamic stick skills and explosive speed. Melissa Sessler led the defense at center back stopping any threats by Pennsbury’s offense.”
Both of McGeehan’s first-quarter goals were unassisted – her first came with 11:24 remaining in the quarter and the second with just under five minutes. In the second quarter, it was Caleigh Sperling’s turn to score a pair of goals. Her first was unassisted, and McGeehan assisted on the second. With 1:56 remaining in the quarter, Laura Albert scored with an assist from Erika Pickford to send the Knights into halftime with a 5-0 lead.
Jillian DelGiorno (Albert assist) scored early in the third quarter, and Albert connected on her second goal of the game late in the quarter for a 7-0 North Penn lead. The Falcons averted a shutout when Ayla Alon scored with assists from Meg McClure and Siya Patel with 4:58 remaining in regulation.
The Falcons held a 5-4 edge in penalty corners. Kiley Moister recorded six saves in goal for the Knights, and Melissa Sessler was credited with a defensive save.
(Submitted by Pennsbury field hockey)
“Failure is the foundation of success, and the means by which it is achieved.” (Lao Tzu)
According to the book titled The Power of Failure, in order to succeed more, you need to fail more, and if you are not failing enough, then you need challenges that will allow you to double your failure rate along the way so that you can, in fact succeed in the long run. Pennsbury field hockey coach Traci Curtis ironically is loving what some doses of “failure” are doing for her team this season.
“What is crazy is that I was extremely upset about our 1-0 loss to Council Rock North just two days ago yet so happy with our 7-1 loss against North Penn today,” Curtis said.
How does that make sense? It makes sense because through our loss today I saw so many things come together for our team. The rollercoaster of emotions is exhausting, but it’s all part of the process and historically how our season stories seem to flow each year.
“We knew what we were facing in our North Penn opponent, and I believe our poor showing and humbling loss to CR North was the best preparation we could have had going into this game,” explained Curtis. “Our girls were forced to turn inward and do a gut check and you don’t learn how to do that when things come easily – you learn how to do that when things are tough. Today the girls played with heart, fire, and unity, and we are really proud.”
North Penn was up 2-0 in the first quarter and then 5-0 by halftime, but our girls were handling the game well and playing at such a high level the entire time. It was our best hockey yet, despite being down by so many goals, and that was exciting to watch. North Penn is a strong, fast, sharp, smart, scrappy team backed by a great goalie. Their ability to find each other’s sticks with pinpoint passing is outstanding and so difficult to defend. They forced our players to adjust quickly and read and react at a faster pace than ever. The Knights scored two more goals in the third quarter making it 7-0, but Pennsbury kept fighting with everything they had. Goalie Jordan Vradenburgh tallied 19 saves, and senior defender Reagan Ward earned a defensive save during one of the many battles in the circle.
Most of North Penn’s goals were a result of good rebounding off pads and scrappy play in the circle. We held them to seven corners, which says a lot about our defenders ability inside the 16 – for the amount of time NP was in our circle, it speaks volumes about how well our backs took care of the ball, moved their feet, and stayed under control. We are really proud of our backfield – Reagan Ward, Riley Henderson, Olivia Graebner, Gabby Darling, and Jordan Vradenburgh really put on a great show. The Falcons had only two offensive corner opportunities and nine shots on goal, but did end up on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter with four minutes left in the game. Meg McClure did all the work to get the ball into the offensive circle, and after a little scuffle, Siya Patel passed it to sophomore, Ayla Alon, who used her reverse stick to tip it into the corner past the North Penn goalie. It was a great heads up play and saved us from being shut out.
The girls were determined to score before the game’s end, and they achieved it. Through what may have appeared to be a terrible failure to some, came so much success from our perspective. We won small moments, which gave us big confidence. Today was a significant turning point as individuals and as a team. We did our best and what this game provided was priceless – it allowed our players to truly feel their potential and recognize their capabilities in themselves and each other. Kudos to North Penn for their consistent, high level of play. We appreciate what they taught us out there and are grateful for how much we could take away from those 60 minutes together.
North Penn (4-2, 4-1 SOL) will host Souderton on Friday at 3:30 p.m., and Pennsbury (3-4, 1-4) will host Pennridge on Monday, travel to Souderton on Wednesday and then return home to face Central Bucks East on Friday.
Pennsbury 0-0-0-1 1
North Penn 2-3-2-0 7
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 8, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
The Bucks bounced back from their loss to Souderton two days earlier with a convincing road win, opening up a 5-0 halftime lead and never looking back. Freshman Aida Ierubino led a balanced West attack with three goals and one assist.
“Coming off a well-played and hard-fought loss earlier in the week, we knew that our student-athletes were ready to get back onto the pitch and compete as soon as the whistle sounded,” West coach Dave DeAngelis said. “Throughout the match tonight, our team was ‘on.’ We were moving the ball very well, consistently connecting across all lines. We utilized our team skill and speed by continuing to attack and counterattack.
“A handful of student-athletes were able to participate in their first varsity match and gain valuable experience.”
In addition to Ierubino, the Bucks received single goals from Avery Anderson, Calista Boos, Mimi Duffy, Alexis Seaner and Kendall Siegel. Adding one assist each were Lily Cosner, Eve Damsker and Nina Mayro.
The Bucks – who led 2-0 after one quarter – held an advantage in shots (19-0) and corners (15-0).
Central Bucks West (6-1, 4-1 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Monday (7 p.m.), and Council Rock North (4-4, 3-3) will be on the road at Central Bucks South on Monday.
Central Bucks West 2-3-2-1 8
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0 0
SOUDERTON 8, BENSALEM 0
Ava Jones is having herself quite a season.
The sophomore standout – who recently was named to the Junior U.S. Women’s National Indoor Team – erupted for four goals, bringing her season total to 13 through six games. She also had one assist in Thursday’s crossover game.
Jones scored the Indians’ lone goal in the opening quarter, a goal that turned out to be the game-winner. In the second quarter, Jones connected on an unassisted goal, and junior Liv Nogami found the cage with a Jones assist, sending the Indians into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
In the third quarter, sophomore Tatum Andrews turned a Lauren Frye pass into a goal, and then it was Nogami scoring her second goal, this one with assists from Julia Vizza and Ang Borisow. Jones completed her hat trick in the third quarter, using an assist from Vizza.
Jones picked up her fourth goal in the final quarter – this one unassisted. Senior Caitlyn Asmann closed out the scoring with a goal assisted by Ava Shaw for the 8-0 final.
The Indians’ dominance is underscored by their advantage in shots (18-0) and corners (17-0).
Souderton (6-0, 5-1 SOL) will be on the road at North Penn on Friday (3:30 p.m.), and Bensalem (1-4) will travel to Central Bucks East on Monday.
Souderton 1-2-3-2 8
Bensalem 0-0-0-0 0
PENNRIDGE 15, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
The Rams picked up their first league win with a no-doubt-about-it shutout victory over the visiting Tigers.
Nine different players contributed scoring in the win, led by the five-goal, one-assist effort of Payton Muth. Hannah Capo added three goals and two assists while Lindsey Campione contributed two goals and three assists. Keira Horensky had one goal and two assists, and Robin Reid added a goal and an assist. Adding one goal each were Lexi Capo, Leah Verespy and Maura Kulp. Ryleigh Lilly had an assist.
For Reid, Capo and Kulp, it was their first varsity goals while Lilly notched her first varsity point.
“It was a fun team win,” Pennridge coach Becky Spahr said. “Truman withstood a ton of offensive pressure from our team.
“Their goalkeeper was tremendous and had 23 saves. Our entire team was impressed with Truman’s competitive spirit and joy throughout the entire match.”
Pennridge (2-5-1, 1-4-1 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Monday, and Harry S Truman (0-7, 0-6) will host Souderton on Monday.
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
ABINGTON 3, UPPER MORELAND 0
The Ghosts rebounded nicely from a disappointing 4-0 loss to Quakertown on Tuesday with a shutout win over the Golden Bears. Camryn Stewart contributed to all three Abington goals – scoring twice and assisting on the other.
“After a disappointing loss to Quakertown, it was nice to bounce back with a team effort win against Upper Moreland,” Abington coach Katie Small said. “We switched the lineup to allow for runs up the field, and it seemed to help as we kept possession of the ball in the UM defensive end for most of the game.”
Maeve Link put the Ghosts on the scoreboard in the opening period, using assists from Camryn Stewart and Erica Devlin. Stewart added an unassisted goal in the second to send the Bears into halftime with a 2-0 lead. Stewart’s third quarter goal was also unassisted.
“Seniors Camryn Stewart and Erica Devlin along with juniors Maura Calladanoto and Katie Doughtery did a fantastic job in the midfield controlling the tempo of the game and preventing UM from getting big hits down the field,” Small said. “Freshmen Maeve Link has really started to find her spot on the attack link making runs up the field with nice crosses.
“Carley Hughes and Brooke Dougherty offered a spark off the bench to help ignite the attack in the circle and put on pressure when needed. We really did a lot of things right today but have some to work on going into the back half of our schedule. No time to have any other letdowns. The goal the rest of the season to is score early and often.”
The Ghosts held a 21-1 advantage in shots and a 13-2 advantage in corners.
Abington goalie Nina VanEkelenburg was forced to make just one save in the shutout. UM goalie Addi Hurley was credited with 17 saves.
“We struggled to connect passes today on Abington’s quick field,” UM coach Marissa Elizardo said. “Abington was quick to the ball and did a great job moving the ball around the field. We struggled to find our rhythm for most of the game.”
Abington (4-4, 3-3 SOL) will travel to Cheltenham on Monday, and Upper Moreland (4-4, 2-4) will be on the road at Wissahickon on Monday.
Upper Moreland 0-0-0-0 0
Abington 1-1-1-0 3
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 2, UPPER DUBLIN 1
The visiting Flying Cardinals hung tough in Thursday’s crossover game, but the Spartans held on for the win. Norah Conlin had a hand in both Spartan goals.
“It was a solid team effort for the Spartans today,” Springfield coach Anita Stum said. “Upper Dublin kept it close to the end of the game.”
Angela Eder scored with an assist from Conlin, and Conlin scored a goal that turned out to be the game-winner, using an Emma Yoder assist.
The Spartans held an advantage in shots (8-3) and penalty corners (12-3).
Springfield goalie Kennedy Braddock was credited with three saves in the win.
Springfield Township (5-2, 5-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South for a non-league game on Saturday. Upper Dublin (3-4-1, 2-3-1) will host William Tennent on Monday.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 8, CHELTENHAM 0
Ava Matthias and Emily Dobrowolski both scored a pair of goals and four players added single goal in the Colonials’ decisive win. Maddie Carr, Tyler McLafferty, Julie Price and Jules Tulio each added single goals.
Carr opened the scoring with a goal less than a minute into the game, and the Colonials were off and running, scoring five first-quarter goals.
“Today we were able to really work on some things that we have been struggling with the past few games, and also were able to get non-starters a good amount of playing time today,” PW coach Jessica Randazzo said. “It was nice to collect another win and see how different patterns of people worked together.
“We are excited to get back to practice tomorrow, face some (crossover) games next week and be more prepared for our division games. We had some pretty good performances today from Ava Matthias, some great passing combinations between Maddie Carr and Emily Dobrowolski.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-4, 4-2 SOL) will travel to New Hope-Solebury on Monday, and Cheltenham (0-6) will host Abington on Monday.
Cheltenham 0-0-0-0 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-1-2-0 8
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 5, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
The Lions upped their record to 7-0 with a shutout win over the Hatters.
Sophia Cozza turned a pass from Maddie Thistlewaite into a first-quarter goal, and the visiting Lions had a lead they would not lose. In the second quarter, Rylee Logston scored an unassisted goal to send the Lions into halftime with a 2-0 lead. In the third quarter, Olivia Conte scored an unassisted goal, and the Lions closed out the scoring with a pair of fourth-quarter goals. First, it was Ava Cozza finding Sophia Cozza for the score. Thistlewaite closed out the scoring with an assist from Conte.
“The Hatters had a strong first half, spreading the ball around and getting two quick corners, but we couldn’t capitalize,” HH coach Marie Schmucker said.
The Hatters’ veteran coach credited the strong defensive efforts of senior Emily Nelson, junior Anna Winslow and freshman Lillian Mahon.
New Hope-Solebury (7-0, 6-0 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Monday, and Hatboro-Horsham (0-7, 0-6) will travel to Lower Moreland on Monday.
New Hope-Solebury 1-1-1-2 5
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-0 0
WISSAHICKON 10, WILLIAM TENNENT 0
Kendall Crowley connected for a hat trick in the first quarter while teammate Ella Hummel contributed a goal and two assists in the frame, propelling the Trojans to an early 4-0 lead on their way to the decisive win.
Crowley (Kirkpatrick assist) scored with eight minutes remaining in the first quarter, and two minutes later, Hummel connected with a Riley Ball assist. Crowley scored a pair of goals in the final 2:43 of the quarter – both with Hummel assists – to give the Trojans a four-goal lead.
Ball opened the second quarter with a goal assisted by Kayla Pak, and less than a minute later, Sophia Havrilla scored with a Kayla Mullin assist. Back-to-back goals by Caroline Kirkpatrick – the first with a Havrilla assist and the second assisted by Audrey Walsh – sent the Trojans into halftime with an 8-0 lead.
In the third quarter, Ball scored her second goal of the game, using a Mullin assist, and Faith Jampo’s goal with a Kirkpatrick assist closed out the scoring. Kirkpatrick had a hand in four goals, scoring twice and assisting on two more.
Meredith Walsh (1 save) and Ava Fell combined for just one save in the shutout in goal. Tennent’s Cailyn George was credited with 18 saves.
Wissahickon (7-0, 6-0 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Monday, and William Tennent (1-6, 1-5 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Monday.
Wissahickon 4-4-2-0 10
William Tennent 0-0-0-0 0
QUAKERTOWN 1, LOWER MORELAND 0
Kaitlin Calvello scored a second quarter goal, and that goal stood the rest of the way as the Panthers upped their win streak to three games after going winless in their first four.
“We kept the pressure on them during the whole game with over 20 shots on Lower Moreland’s goalkeeper and over 10 corners executed,” Quakertown coach MacKenzie Kramer said. “We were hitting hard shots and kept the ball in their circle, just didn’t complete them fully into the cage. The pressure was there and that’s what we need to do, just need to complete the shot with a final touch.”
Calvello found the cage with 7:48 remaining in the second quarter on a lift to the post.
Quakertown (3-3-1, 3-2-1 SOL) will host Springfield Township on Monday (7 p.m.), Lower Moreland (4-3, 3-3) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Monday.
Quakertown 0-1-0-0 1
Lower Moreland 0-0-0-0 0
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