Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Wednesday. Pennridge/Pennsbury photos courtesy of Tracy Valko, and CB South/CR North photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. To view a gallery of both games, visit the following link: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f435525856
Patriot/Colonial crossover games
NESHAMINY 4, NORTH PENN 3
Kasey Rieger had a feeling it was going to be a good day.
“Before the game, she was like, ‘I’m feeling it today, I’m feeling it,’” Neshaminy coach Jamie Pinto said. “Yeah, she was feeling it.”
Was she ever!
Rieger torched the Knights for four goals to lead the visiting Redskins to the impressive crossover win.
“She was excited to be there, she loved their turf – it’s fast,” Pinto said of Rieger. “This was something she could shine on today, and she did. A lot of her goals – it was really her carrying the ball. Her second goal she came down the field from beyond the 50. She’s really quick, she has good stick skills, and today her hard work really paid off. She was able to capitalize.
“There have been lots of games where she worked really hard and wasn’t able to finish the way she wanted to, but today, it all clicked for her. It all came together. She was working really hard on and off the ball. She was coming back, helping on defense, making a play, using her speed and carrying it down the field.”
Thanks in no small part to Rieger’s dazzling offensive showing, the visiting Redskins three times rallied from one-goal deficits,
“That’s what made me proud because we kept falling behind, and we would score a goal quickly after that,” Pinto said. “We didn’t give up. North Penn came out hard and scored that first goal two minutes into the game, and we could have easily rolled over after that.
“We just went right back down the field and scored a goal. There was never any letdown, and I think as the game went on, our girls gained confidence. That’s what we talked about at the end of the game, and hopefully, this game did it for us – we need to come with confidence for every game.
“We found our confidence. We’ve been working together as the game goes on, but the first quarters of the past couple of games – we let the other teams set the tone, and then we realize, ‘We can hang, we can play,’ and we figured it out as the game goes on.”
The Redskins’ comeback pattern was developed early on in Wednesday’s game. Just over two minutes into the game, Kylie Barwis turned a Caleigh Sperling pass into a goal to spot the Knights a 1-0 lead.
“I think that caught our girls a little off guard, but it also motivated them to pick it up,” Pinto said.
It took less than a minute for Rieger to get that goal back. Late in the opening quarter, Paige Shearer scored with an assist from Grace McGeehan, and just over six minutes into the second quarter, Rieger answered with the equalizer, sending the two teams into halftime with the score knotted 2-2.
McGeehan (Barwis assist) scored three minutes into the third quarter. It was the Knights’ final goal. Midway through the quarter Rieger knotted the score, and with nine seconds remaining in the third quarter, she scored the go-ahead goal with an Ava Arbakov assist. That goal stood as the game-winner since neither team scored the rest of the way.
“Midway through the third quarter to the end of the fourth quarter – I thought that’s when we started to come together even more as a team,” Pinto said. “The defense was pumped – they were fired up because (North Penn) kept getting corners. Our mids started stepping in front a little bit more.
“It’s just confidence. How we end a game – that’s how we have to start. In the fourth quarter, we played smart, we played strong. I thought that was our quarter.”
The unsung heroes in Wednesday’s win were members of the Redskins’ defensive corner unit – Morgan Shaltens, Alayna Roscoe, Maddy Shtino and Ava Arbakov. That group – along with goalie Megan Gonzalez – effectively negated North Penn’s 19-4 penalty corner advantage. Gonzalez turned away 11 shots.
“They played great today,” Pinto said. “Ava Arbakov is our flyer – she’s a worker, and she’s hustling out there every play to try and get that ball at the top of the circle. She’s a gamer, and she plays hard all the time.
“They all really stepped up. Defensively, those girls are leading the team from the back. They’re communicating well – they’re communicating with the mids, telling them where they need to go to come back and help. That defensive group as a unit have really been playing well. When they play well and step up like they have been, it just motivates the rest of the team to work harder and push up more.”
In addition to holding a decided advantage in penalty corners, the Knights also had a 14-6 edge in shots.
“We were not able to capitalize on many scoring opportunities and time of possession today even though we out-cornered and outshot Neshaminy,” North Penn coach Shannon McCracken said. “Credit to Neshaminy’s defensive corner team as they were able to shut down 19 corner attempts.
“Defensive player Maddie Hanrahan had a strong game for the Knights along with forward Grace McGeehan.”
Neshaminy (6-2, 5-1 SOL) will host Pennridge on Friday, and North Penn (5-2-1, 4-2-1) will host Council Rock North on Friday.
Neshaminy 1-1-2-0 4
North Penn 2-0-1-0 3
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 4, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
The Titans saved their best for last.
With 3:30 remaining in the third quarter, Kate Porter scored on the rebound of a goalie save, breaking a scoreless tie and igniting the Titans’ attack. South added three
more goals in an impressive three-minute span in the fourth quarter.
“We needed this win to boost our spirits after a tough loss against Neshaminy on Monday night,” said South coach Kelli Chioffe, whose team was coming off a 1-0 loss to the Redskins.
In the pivotal stretch in the final quarter, Tessa Walls scored with just under nine minutes remaining in the game, using an assist from Kaeli VanDerSluis. A minute later, Erin Kelly turned a VanDerSluis pass into a goal and a 3-0 lead. VanDerSluis – who had a hand in all three fourth-quarter goals – put an exclamation point on the win when she scored at the 5:38 mark of the quarter. Avery Tyler – just back in the Titans’ lineup – contributed the assist.
The Titans held an advantage in shots (17-1) and penalty corners (11-4).
Central Bucks South (3-3, 3-3 SOL) will host Council Rock South Friday, and Council Rock North (5-2, 3-2) will travel to North Penn on Friday.
Central Bucks South 0-0-1-3 4
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0 0
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 6, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3
The Bucks raced out of the gate to 5-0 halftime lead only to watch the Golden Hawks answer with three straight goals in the third quarter to make it a 5-3 game. West senior Lily Cosner turned a pass from sophomore Aide Ierubino into a goal late in the third quarter, closing out the scoring for both sides.
“We had a comfortable lead at halftime,” said West assistant coach Lori Ierubino, who is filling in for David DeAngelis this week. “I took some risks – getting players experience, changing our lineup around and setting up our defense to be challenged.
“It obviously failed at some level – we gave up three goals in a short amount of time, but there is opportunity in failure. If you don’t take risks and get uncomfortable, then the best you can hope for is being ordinary. This team is not going for average, we are going for extraordinary. Credit to CR South’s goalie (Peyton Wright) for a great game and her gritty teammates who never gave up.”
The Bucks got on the board just over two minutes into the game when Calista Boos converted a penalty stroke. Midway through the quarter, Mimi Duffy scored in a scrum after a corner to put the Bucks on top 2-0 heading into the second quarter.
Forty seconds into the second quarter, Aide Ierubino turned a Nina Mayro centering pass into a goal. Later in the quarter, the Bucks scored a pair of goals – the first by Duffy, who pounced on the rebound of an Ierubino shot off the post. Cosner’s reverse stick goal sent the Bucks into halftime with the 5-0 lead.
In Rock South’s third-quarter surge, Kelly Longmore scored back-to-back unassisted goals, and Annagrace McKinney turned a Sarah Freeman pass into the third goal that made it a 5-3 game.
“I was really proud of my team today,” Rock South coach Kelly Mason said. “I think it says a lot about our team to go down by five and bounce back to score three goals right in a row coming out of the half.
“We held them to one goal in the second half as opposed to our first half. Our goalie Peyton Wright had great saves on corners, and the defense from senior captains Clare Morgan and Lily Jachimski really made a difference. Junior captains Maria and Sarah Freeman directed traffic in the middle to help score the goals. Kelly Longmore had back-to-back goals, and Annagrace Mckinney scored the last one for our team. It was a loss in the (scorebook), but we found a flow today on offense, and that is what we really needed.”
West held a 24-1 advantage in penalty corners.
Central Bucks West (7-0, 6-0 SOL) will be on the road at Bensalem on Friday, and Council Rock South (3-4, 3-3) will travel to Central Bucks South on Friday.
Central Bucks West 2-3-1-0 6
Council Rock South 0-0-3-0 3
PENNRIDGE 3, PENNSBURY 0
Hannah Capo broke up a scoreless tie when she converted a penalty stroke early in the third quarter, giving the Rams a lead they would not lose. They added a pair of goals in the fourth quarter to ice the crossover win.
Scoring for the Rams in the fourth quarter were Keira Horensky (unassisted) and Suzan Eraydin (assist Elsa Parsons).
“We have been working to figure out our offensive possession and execution in the circle, so it was great to see changes being made,” Pennridge coach Becky Spahr said. “Pennsbury worked really hard to win the ball between the 25s and was effective at keeping us off the scoreboard early on. Their goalkeeper, Kayla Shaffer, had a great night with nine saves.
“Our work rate was much higher today compared to the past few games, which created more scoring chances in the second half. Congrats to Suzan on her first career goal.”
The Rams (unofficially) held a 13-1 advantage in shots.
Pennridge (3-5, 2-4 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Friday, and Pennsbury (3-5, 2-5) will host Souderton on Friday.
(Article submitted the Pennsbury field hockey)
It was a beautiful night for field hockey as the Falcons traveled the long road to Pennridge to face the Rams. After a stellar performance, the JV squad walked away with a 1-0 victory and set the tone for the varsity team which played the second game of the evening.
“The JV game set the tone, and our girls were excited and more than ready when they took the field under the lights to face a talented Pennridge team,” said coach Traci Curtis. “It was a very close contest from end to end in both the first and second quarters as the score stayed locked at 0-0.
“It was amazing to watch our players apply everything we had worked on at practice the night before. We were so impressed and proud of how they were showing up and competing. We had opportunities in the offensive circle but struggled connecting and getting good shots off. We knew we had to work even harder in the moment.”
Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Rams went up 1-0 a few minutes into the third quarter after a stroke was called against the Falcons.
“Our defenders leave their hearts on the field, and in this situation, one of our backs was doing her job beautifully, literally backing up the goalie, when what we thought was a clean defensive save turned into a stroke for a foot call on the line,” Curtis said. “Those moments are tough to take and bounce back from, but our girls did an
amazing job of taking it in stride and just working harder each minute following.”
Pennsbury held Pennridge scoreless the rest of the quarter and continued to wow the coaches with incredible passing combinations and united effort across the entire field.
“We were connecting on give-and-goes better than we ever have and really succeeding in so many ways, including earning a penalty corner as the clock expired at end of the quarter,” Curtis said. “You get to play the corner out, and we did not convert. It was a missed opportunity, for sure. We just can’t seem to put together a complete game for 60 minutes that allows us to come out on top. In this league, there is not much room for error or missing key chances to possess the ball.
“Going into the third quarter down 1-0 was a victory for us and something that we need to continue to build upon.”
Pennridge turned up the heat in the fourth quarter, adding another goal a couple of minutes in to give the Rams a 2-0 lead. There was plenty of time and the Falcons were not giving up, but sometimes the best laid plans don’t work out. Pennridge iced their victory cake with a third goal with four minutes left in the game, and that’s the score that remains in the books, 3-0.
“We are walking away with our heads held high, counting our progress since August as a success” said Curtis. “Our RAISE THE BAR theme is our guiding light and all we can do it keep raising and reaching.”
Shout out to the Rylie Borgman, Gabby Darling, Ryan Burdette, and goalie, Kayla Shaffer, for standout performances.
The Falcons will host Souderton on Friday afternoon at Falcon Field Stadium.
Pennsbury 0-0-0-0 0
Pennridge 0-0-1-2 3
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 6, BENSALEM 0
The Patriots took a 1-0 lead into halftime and then erupted for five second-half goals to earn the crossover win.
“I’m really proud of everyone for playing together today and playing hard the entire game,” said East coach Emma Rosenthal, who has been sidelined this week (illness). “Big shout out to Coach Elena Romesburg for a third great win this week at the helm.”
Ava Firely scored an unassisted goal four minutes into the second period, and the Patriots took that one-goal advantage into halftime.
Back-to-back goals by Riley Schmidt in a two-minute span – the first with a Sophia Gerken assist and the second assisted by Paige Keller – put the Patriots on top 3-0 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Paige Keller, Gerken and Katie Spillane each scored for the 6-0 final.
“There were so many people that stepped up today, filled in, and did a great job,” said Rosenthal,. “Cam Puhalla started in goal for her first varsity start and had five saves in the shutout.
“Maddie Mandia, Anna Daly, Katie Szczypiorski, and Emma Weisel did a great job holding it down defensively. In the midfield, Emma Penecale had a really standout day on both sides of the ball.”
On the other side of the field, Bensalem coach Gary Kubik also was pleased with his team’s effort.
“I’m really proud of this team today,” the Owls’ coach said. “We were down eight total players on both teams today due to illness, and we battled a fantastic team in Central Bucks East.
“I had to call up five JV players to compete and compete they did. We held them to only one goal in the first period, and I thought our girls played an incredible game.”
Central Bucks East (6-2, 5-2 SOL) will close out a grueling week with its third straight road trip Friday, this time to Harry S Truman. Bensalem (2-5, 1-5) will host Central Bucks West on Friday.
Central Bucks East 0-1-2-3 6
Bensalem 0-0-0-0 0
SOUDERTON 14, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Liberty/Freedom crossover games
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 1, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0 (OT)
Scoring goals has not come easily for the Colonials this season, but Emily Dobrowolski made it look easy when the sophomore midfielder scored on a breakaway late in overtime of Wednesday’s crossover game, propelling the Colonials to the exhilarating win.
“Emily Dobrowolski has been playing really well at the center mid position, and she literally carried the ball from the 50 into the circle, got a shot off under pressure,” PW coach Charise Halteman said. “There were defenders coming on her back, and she stayed calm and composed. The goalkeeper was moving, and she was able to find a shot around her.
“It was neat to see her find success – kind of take control and take ownership of it when we needed it.”
Twenty-four hours removed from another overtime game – that one a 2-1 loss to Quakertown, the Colonials handed the visiting Lions their first loss of the season.
“This was huge because we lost in overtime yesterday,” Halteman said. “To play a second overtime two days in a row and to get the win was really important for us.
“I don’t think (our record) reflects the quality of our team. I think we’ve been giving teams really good games and putting them under pressure. We’re just struggling to score, so it’s been putting us into difficult situations because it’s not taking much for other teams – it’s one goal that ends up being the difference. It was good for team morale. It’s been frustrating for them. We’re working on things, we’re improving, but we just weren’t seeing the results, so it was really important to get a win today.”
The Colonials are learning a new system with the return of Halteman to the helm, and it did not help their cause to lose valuable practice and game time due to the heat wave.
“We really lost a quality week of practice and play, so I feel it was good for us to have two overtime games to get into game shape and really have to fight for more than 60 minutes,” Halteman said. “We’ve had a lot of valuable learning lessons, but it really feels good to have something in the win column.”
Wednesday’s win was the fourth one-goal game of the season for the Colonials.
“We have been struggling to score,” Halteman said. “Our record is not very good, and it’s been kind of frustrating. We felt like our team was better than the results were showing.
“We gave Quakertown a really good game yesterday (a 2-1 loss in overtime), and even our Wissahickon game (a 3-0 loss), the score didn’t really reflect it, but that was a pretty good game for the majority of it. We’ve just been struggling to score. Obviously, today wasn’t a high-scoring one either, but we found a way to come out on top, so that was important.”
The Colonials’ coach credited the strong play of her defense.
“My goalkeeper, Carly Spinner, has been doing a nice job, and she had another good game today,” Halteman said. “My center back is senior Sam Skivo, my left back is Kasey Johnstone, and Kate Dobrowolski, my right back. She played awesome yesterday and continued that trend today.
“Hadley Blake is playing my defensive center mid, and she’s doing a really nice job, filling the holes and the gaps and coming up with things, and she just is really composed coming out of the backfield. She does a really nice job too.”
The PW coach also had good things to say about her opponent.
“New Hope doesn’t have a lot of kids, but they do a nice job of small passing, supporting each other,” Halteman said. “Their one defender, number 13 (Madie Thistlewaite) – she really has a good stick back there, a big hit. She was stopping a lot of our forwards.
“Towards the end, we actually started trying to change our shape a little bit to mess with their defense, and I think we were getting some good looks and continued that in 7v7.”
A major portion of Wednesday’s game was played between the 25s with limited scoring opportunities for both teams.
“It really was an even game – it was a battle, it was fun to watch,” Lions’ coach Gwen Smith said. “I told my team – ‘This is a game we can learn a lot from. I want us to learn from our mistakes, and remember this feeling.’
“We got a little bit caught in transition, so they were able to get a breakaway. The girl on the breakaway (Dobrowloski) – she did her job. She read when the goalie was going down and released the ball. She did it perfectly, so kudos to her.
“We had plenty of opportunities that we were not able to capitalize on. This was a game – you would be sad for whoever lost. Their team battled, they played really well. I’m for sure a competitor and want to win those games, but for either one, it was going to be a hard loss.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-5-0, 2-3 SOL) will travel to Lower Moreland on Friday, and New Hope-Solebury (7-1, 6-1) will be on the road at Abington on Friday.
New Hope-Solebury 0-0-0-0-0 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0-0-0-1 1
QUAKERTOWN 3, SPRINGFIELD TWP 1
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead only to watch the Spartans rally to knot the score in the second quarter, but a goal by Leah Schwalm in the closing seconds of the first half gave the Panthers a lead they would not lose on their way to their seventh win of the season.
“The team did a great job of moving the ball and finding open space,” Quakertown coach MacKenzie Moser said.
Six minutes into the opening quarter, Ella Schubert put the Panthers on the board with a strong finish. That 1-0 score stood until Gabi Maletta found the cage with the equalizer with 6:40 remaining in the half.
It looked as though the two teams would go into halftime tied 1-1, but Schwalm made sure that didn’t happen.
“Leah persevered, following the ball until it saw the back of the cage,” Moser said.
Five minutes into the second half, Kiera Gallagher connected for an insurance goal.
“It was off a smoothly executed corner with Kiera on the left post of the cage,” Moser said.
That 3-1 score stood until the final horn.
Quakertown (7-1, 6-0 SOL) will host William Tennent on Friday, and Springfield Twp (6-2-1, 4-2-1) will host Hatboro-Horsham Friday at 5 p.m.
Quakertown 1-1-1-0 3
Springfield Twp 0-1-0-0 1
LOWER MORELAND 2, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
The Lions needed a bounce-back win after a tough loss to Quakertown on Monday, and they got just that.
Reagan Hopkins broke a scoreless tie in the third quarter.
“Reagan scored her 10th goal of the season off a beauty of a pass from Jess Pachman,” LM coach Janet Lutter said.
Pachman added an insurance goal in the fourth quarter to seal the win for the Lions.
“Goalie Meg Halpern had another great showing in the shutout with five saves,” Lutter said. “Our midfield of Ashley Avington, Jess Pachman, Mia Peng, Haley Keller, and Mia Torgan kept the ball moving and made us successful today.”
Lower Moreland (5-3, 4-3 SOL) will host Plymouth-Whitemarsh on Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (0-6, 0-5) will travel to Springfield Twp Friday for a 5 p.m. contest.
Lower Moreland 0-0-1-1 2
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-0 0
UPPER DUBLIN 6, WILLIAM TENNENT 1
The visiting Cardinals opened up a 4-0 lead in the opening quarter on their way to the crossover win.
Less than three minutes into the game, Rayla Kratchman turned a pass from Olivia Burdo into a goal during corner play to spot the Cardinals the early lead. Another corner goal just over two minutes later – this one by Burdo with an Olivia Vitella assist – put the Cards on top 2-0 less than five minutes into the game. Burdo connected on an unassisted goa, and then it was Kratchman with a Burdo assist.
Six minutes into the second quarter, Lilly Gallagher scored on a breakaway with an assist from Mason Kullmann, sending the Cardinals into halftime with a 5-0 advantage.
With time winding down in the third quarter, Gallagher scored her second goal with an assist for Sophia Vitella, giving the Cardinals a 6-0 lead.
The Panthers broke up the Cardinals’ shutout bid with a goal three minutes into the fourth quarter.
A highlight of the game came in the third quarter when coach Emily Town started four sets of sisters. Playing defense in UD’s version of ‘Sister act’ were Olivia and Sophia Vitella. Anchoring the midfield were the Kullmann sisters – Allison, Mason and Brady. Siblings Aviva and Ellie Kuznits anchored the forward line. Josie Ungaro played in the midfield behind younger sister Amelia Ungaro, who was on the forward line.
“It was fun to be able to do that and see the senior sisters helping the freshman sisters because that’s what most of the pairs were,” Town said. “It was nice to see that sister support.”
Upper Dublin (5-2-1, 4-2-1 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Saturday at 11 a.m. for its annual Corners 4 Cancer game with proceeds donated to the National Foundation for Cancer Research. Williams Tennent (1-9, 1-7) will travel to Quakertown on Friday.
Upper Dublin 4-1-1-0 6
William Tennent 0-0-0-1 1
WISSAHICKON 10, UPPER MORELAND 0
The Trojans got on the scoreboard four minutes into Wednesday’s game, and after a five-goal second quarter, they took an 8-0 lead into halftime on their way to the crossover win.
Kayla Mullen’s four-goal effort led the Trojans’ potent attack, and it was Mullin (Kayla Pak assist) scoring the game’s first goal, which also turned out to be the game-winner. Four minutes later, she added a second goal, also with a Pak assist. Faith Jampo turned an Audrey Walsh pass into a goal and put the Trojans on top 3-0 after one quarter.
Kayla Mullin scored a pair of goals in the Trojans’ explosive second quarter, using assists from Jampo and Avery Mullin. Pak (Avery Mullin assist), Walsh (Jampo assist) and Avery Mullin (Jampo assist) each added a goal.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, and the fourth quarter featured a pair of goals by Cait Connaghan with assists from Sam Farno and Noelle Koop.
Wissahickon goalie Ava Fell was credited with two saves in the shutout win.
UM goalie Addi Hurley had a busy day, turning away 26 shots.
“The first half was rough with UM having to adjust to Wissahickon’s quick passing style,” UM coach Pam Remmey said. “Addi Hurley made 18 saves in goal in just the first half. Then the second half was a different story with the Bears not allowing a goal until seven minutes left in the game.
“Cambrie Richmond and Izzy Duncan played solid on defense. Ella Gould constantly pressured Wissahickon’s attack. Kyleigh Convey and Ava Bailey used their stickwork, speed and agility to control the forward line and create scoring opportunities but the Bears couldn’t find the net.”
Wissahickon (6-1, 6-0 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Friday, and Upper Moreland (3-4, 2-4) will host Bristol in a non-league game on Thursday.
Wissahickon 3-5-0-2 10
Upper Moreland 0-0-0-0 0
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