SOL Field Hockey Wrap (9-24-13)

Check out the results for SOL field hockey teams in action Tuesday.

National Conference

NESHAMINY 2, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1
The Redskins made things real interesting in the National Conference, knocking the Indians from the ranks of the undefeated in the conference and putting themselves back in the hunt for a conference crown.
“It was super exciting,” Neshaminy coach Caitlin Koczynski said. “It was definitely a group effort all the way around.
“Obviously, this will boost the girls’ confidence. They are good, and they need to know that. It’s exciting, and hopefully, we’ll take this into the rest of the season.”
Rock North struck first when Jennica Jonovich connected during corner play, but Josafinne McIlvaine turned an Abby Alexis pass into the equalizer, sending the two teams into halftime deadlocked. Marlena Koellner connected for the game winner three and half minutes into the second half, using a Maria Palmieri assist. Neither team scored the rest of the way.
“What I love about my team – and it shows true character – is that they can fight back and come back from a deficit to win the game,” Koczynski said. “North has a fabulous defense. If you can score one goal, it’s amazing, but if you score two, it’s even better.
“I’m proud of my ladies. They played hard today and it showed.”
The Redskins, after opening their season 0-3, have won five of their last six games and improved to 5-4 overall (5-1 SOL). They will travel to Pennsbury on Thursday. The Indians (7-2, 5-1) will face Council Rock South in a key National Conference battle Thursday.
Council Rock North     1-0   1
Neshaminy      1-1   2

PENNSBURY 3, ABINGTON 0
The Falcons and Ghosts battled to a 0-0 halftime tie before the Falcons exploded for three second half goals to earn the big win. Emily Zazzu, Sarah Zazzu and Erin Trapp each scored single goals for the Falcons.
Pennsbury (4-4-1 overall, 3-2-1 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Thursday. Abington (3-7, 1-5) will travel to Bensalem.
Pennsbury       0-3   3
Abington         0-0   0

COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 4, WILLIAM TENNENT 1
The Golden Hawks are alone atop the National Conference standings, the only undefeated team in conference play after Tuesday’s win. Rock South’s Kristen Meihofer connected for the hat trick to lead the Golden Hawks. Meihofer (Kristen Donahue assist) scored nine minutes into the game, and a goal by Maddie Keppel sent the Golden Hawks into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Jenn D’Angelo (Kalisi Taufalele assist) cut that lead in half 13 minutes into the second half, but the Golden Hawks got that goal back when Meihofer (Caroline McGovern assist) scored a minute later for the 3-1 final.
The Golden Hawks held a 19-6 advantage in shots on goal.
Rock South (7-2 overall, 6-0) will take on archrival Council Rock North on Thursday. William Tennent (2-4-1, 2-3-1) will host Harry S Truman.
Wiliam Tennent     0-1   1
Council Rock South   2-2   4

Continental Conference

CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3, NORTH PENN 0
Senior Erick Fiorelli connected for the hat trick – all three in the second half – to lead the Bucks to the big win over the Maidens.
“We have worked all practice on our finishing,” West coach Courtney Hughes said. “The fact that he went out, and we made adjustments and did what we have been working on – it shows his maturity and his growth. He’s come a long way.”
Fiorelli broke a scoreless tie 14 minutes into the second half when he deflected a Kim Hitchcock pass into the cage. Three minutes later, Fiorelli capped what Hughes described as a beautiful passing sequence, turning a Bryn Boylan pass into a goal. With 5:27 remaining in regulation, Fiorelli capped a big day when he tapped a rocket by Hitchcock into the cage.
“Erick was right around the left post for all three goals,” Hughes said. “The two that went in the right corner of the goal – he redirected, which was awesome.
“The last one was an amazing shot by Kim, and he was just there to make sure.”
Both teams had six corners, but the Bucks held a 13-6 advantage in shots.
“It was very back and forth,” Hughes said. “They had some excellent opportunities to score, and we were thankful they didn’t capitalize.
“It was as though everyone was waiting to see who would score the first goal. We were a little sloppy the first half, and we cleaned things up in the second half. We had stick-to-stick passing, and that’s when we finally capitalized.”
Both goalies had big games with West’s Bre DeAngelis turning away all six shots she faced in the shutout while North Penn’s Chessa Kownurko was credited with 10 saves.
“They had some crazy pressure on us in the first half,” Hughes said. “Bre played phenomenal. She some huge saves, especially in the first half when we’re trying not to let them score.
“She had a slide tackle at the beginning of the second half on a 1v1. She played really, really well.”
The Maidens, who have dropped four straight in league play, saw their record fall to 4-5 overall (2-4 SOL). They will travel to Hatboro-Horsham for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday. The Bucks (8-1 overall, 5-1 SOL) return to action on Wednesday when they will host Hatboro-Horsham.
Central Bucks West    0-3   3
North Penn     0-0   0

HATBORO-HORSHAM 3, QUAKERTOWN 1
Casey Swezey put the Hatters on the scoreboard six minutes into the opening half, using a Carlee Baldus assist. The Panthers cut that lead in half on goal by Emma McLaughlin with 12:01 remaining in the half.
The Hatters broke the 1-1 tie when – midway through the second half – Gabby Acker turned a Swezey pass into a goal. Colby Eldridge (Swezey assist) connected for an insurance goal with just under four minutes remaining.
“It was a total team effort,” said Hatter coach Laura Swezey, noting that a large percentage of play was in the midfield for both teams.
Swezey, who had a hand in all three goals, Jenna Cutilli, Kelsey Hopkins and Baldus controlled the midfield for the Hatters, who improved to 4-2 in league play (6-2 overall). The Panthers fell to 2-4 in the league (5-5 overall). The Hatters will travel to War Memorial Field on Wednesday for a key Continental Conference matchup with Central Bucks West. Quakertown will host Souderton on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Quakertown    1-0   1
Hatboro-Horsham      1-2   3

CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2, SOUDERTON 0
For the second time in as many games, the Titans got on the scoreboard early, this time at the 27:13 mark when Rachel Gorman turned a Megan Hamilton pass into a goal. Midway through the opening half Maggie Ryder added an insurance goal for a 2-0 score that held until the final whistle.
Despite the outcome, Souderton coach Lauren Whiteside was pleased with her team’s performance.
“We have been needing to put together two solid halves of play, and that is what we did tonight,” the Indians’ coach said. “Although we didn’t come up with a win, we are moving in the right direction.
“I’m proud of my girls’ effort and intensity throughout. It was 2-0 at halftime, and we felt we had momentum in our direction. We came out of halftime ready to play. If those two (first half) goals hadn’t trickled in, it would have been a whole different ball game.
“Our defense played a great game and played excellent step-up defense. Meghan McDermott and Nikki Palmer played well, and each had a defensive save. Abbey Gabriel had good ball control tonight and tried to make things happen for us on offense, but unfortunately, we were not able to turn those efforts into shots.”
The Titans held a 6-1 advantage in shots and a 9-2 edge in corners.
“It just was not a pretty game,” CB South co-coach Marie Schmucker said. “Last night’s game (a 3-0 win over North Penn) was beautiful passing. Tonight I felt like I was watching a tennis match – back and forth, back and forth – until we called a timeout and said, ‘Play your game.’
“We had spurts, and some kids did nice things. We’ll be ready to play Thursday.”
The Titans (8-0 overall, 6-0 SOL) will play CB East at War Memorial Field Thursday while the Indians (1-7, 0-6) will travel to Quakertown for a 7 p.m. contest.

PENNRIDGE 1, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0
Melissa Herd scored off a corner in the second half, breaking a scoreless tie and propelling the Rams to the win. The Rams had 10 corners, six in the first half. Keeper Natasha Nagle was credited with three saves in the shutout.
Pennridge (6-2 overall, 4-2 SOL) will host North Penn on Thursday, and Central Bucks East (2-7, 1-5) will host Central Bucks South at War Memorial Field on Thursday.
Pennridge        0-1   1
Central Bucks East     0-0   0

American Conference

PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 3, UPPER DUBLIN 0
The Colonials maintained their stronghold on first place in the American Conference standings with Tuesday’s shutout win. The Colonials took a 1-0 lead into halftime, thanks to a goal by Allison Spinelli (Courtney Konowal assist) midway through the opening half. That goal stood until Aurora Mills (Konowal assist) connected on an insurance goal with just under four minutes remaining. Mills closed out the scoring with 1.1 seconds remaining for the 3-0 final.
Upper Dublin keeper Sara Weinberg was credited with 11 saves while PW’s Tori Byrne made four saves in the shutout. PW had a decided advantage in shots (14-4) and corners (17-6).
PW coach Marianne Paparone credited senior sweeper Sierra Spencer for leading her team’s defensive effort.
“I said to the kids – it’s been a roller coaster season,” the Colonials’ coach said. “On Saturday, we probably played our best game of the season in a 2-1 loss in overtime to Haverford.
“Today was one of those days where everybody kind of had an off day. I thought Sierra (Spencer), our goalie (Tori Byrne) and Aurora (Mills) were really the only ones that had a good game today, and that’s part of the reason. You’re going to have games that you don’t play well, and you have to find a way to win. Today we had to find a way to win.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-1 overall, 6-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Merion on Thursday while Upper Dublin (4-4, 4-2) will host Springfield.
Plymouth Whitemarsh           1-2   3
Upper Dublin              0-0   0

WISSAHICKON 5, NORRISTOWN 0
Stacie Rocco connected for the hat trick to lead the Trojans to the big win. Jessica Waite, Ashley Laskowitz and Angela Virtu each contributed an assist. Melanie Fry added a pair of goals – one with an assist from Virtu and the other unassisted.
Wissahickon keeper Shayna Chernak had four saves while her counterpart, Lauren Whitley, had 14 saves.
The Trojans (5-3 overall, 5-1 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Thursday while the Eagles (3-5, 3-3) will host Cheltenham.

SPRINGFIELD 3, UPPER MORELAND 1
Allison Yoder turned a Marie Brockman pass into a goal at the 21:10 mark of the opening half, and that 1-0 lead held until the intermission. Goals by Katherine McVeagh (Brockman assist) and Julie Cardamone (McVeagh assist) within a three-minute span put the Spartans on top 3-0 before Upper Moreland’s Leslie Adeoye scored with three minutes remaining, using an Alexa Wister assist.
Springfield keeper Kim Machalette was credited with six saves while Upper Moreland’s Bridget Meade had seven saves.
The Spartans (4-4 overall, 3-3 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Thursday while the Golden Bears (0-8, 0-6) will host Wissahickon.
Upper Moreland         0-1   1
Springfield      1-2   3

UPPER MERION 1, CHELTENHAM 1
The Vikings and Lady Panthers exchanged goals with Dasia Araujo scoring for the Vikings with an assist from Kaitlyn Lutz while Cheltenham's lone goal was scored by Amy Huynh. Both teams are 1-4 in league play. The Lady Panthers will travel to Norristown on Thursday while the Vikings will host Upper Dublin.

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