Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Tuesday. Pennsbury/Upper Moreland photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos. Quakertown/Souderton photos courtesy of Sharon Shipe Photography.
Non-league crossovers
SOUDERTON 3 QUAKERTOWN 1
Tuesday Night Lights
Listening to Souderton senior Ava Jones tell it, there’s nothing quite like it.
“We always say – night games are our best games,” the Indians senior center back said.
That proved to be true on Tuesday night when the Indians, according to coach Sue Casciato, turned in their best performance of the season, resulting in an impressive road win.
Two of their three goals were scored during corner play, and all three goals were assisted by senior Julia Blair.
Jones, sidelined all last season with a torn ACL, scored the first two goals, including a goal during corner play midway through the first quarter to spot the Indians an early 1-0 lead.
“It feels amazing,” Jones said of being back on the field. “It was hard being on the sideline last year just watching everything, but I feel I learned from that – where to go when the ball’s passed one way or how to cheer up my team when they need me.
“Center ‘D’ is a lot of voice. You have to tell people where to go, so being on the sideline helped me in a way. It wasn’t the best thing that could have happened, but it was definitely a different perspective.”
The Panthers evened the score late in the second quarter on a goal by Cassidy Landis from Ella Schubert, and the two teams went into halftime deadlocked.
Seven minutes into the second half Jones scored with assists from Blair and Charlotte McNeill. The Indians were awarded a corner in the closing seconds of the third quarter, and with time expired, McNeill scored with a Blair assist.
The Panthers did not go down quietly, and the Indians needed a big defensive stop on a corner late in the fourth that included a big save by sophomore goalie McKenna Atkinson.
Scoring Summary
First quarter
Ava Jones (S) from Julia Blair 7:40
Second quarter
Cassidy Landis (Q) from Ella Schubert 2:21
Third quarter
Ava Jones (S) from Julia Blair & Charlotte McNeill 8:08
Charlotte McNeill (S) from Julia Blair 0:00
By the numbers:
Shots: S 13, Q 8; Corners: S 9, Q 5.
Coach Sue Casciato on the win: “I think this was the strongest team we played this year player for player. As a team, this is by far the best game we played this year. We finally had off-ball movement, people filling the gaps, more communication. The sense of urgency that hadn’t been there was finally there, so that was nice. We’ve managed to win a couple games, but we take the field thinking we’ll win, and we’re not playing our best.
“Quakertown was aggressive, and it made us step to the ball finally. We’re too content too many times, waiting for a teammate to get the ball. We pressed the ball over the field, and I think we did a really nice job of that. I commented to my assistant coach – we had a couple players last year who would never have been able to run 60 minutes like they did tonight. Kudos to them for people just coming and being in shape.”
What did your team do today that was different from past games?
–Ava Jones: “I think our passing and getting back on ‘D’ was 10 times better. Everybody got back, everyone pushed for the ball. We double teamed. Our in-and-out passes were really good today.”
–Tatum Andrews: “Our energy before the game – we were all super hyped and wanted to come out and win big and not just scrape by because we knew Quakertown was a strong team. We had been talking about it at practice, so that was a huge thing.”
Quakertown, according to your coach, was one of the most aggressive teams you’ve played. How did that impact your play?
–Tatum Andrews: “I think it was a good thing, in a way, because it allows us to play harder and want that win more, and then when we do get the ball on a turnover, it almost makes it like a cherry on top.
“Some of our best players were getting beat up out there – Julia Blair was getting beat up, and Gianna Radcliffe on the press got hit in the face (inadvertently), and when they got hurt, that brought us together.”
–Ava Jones: “I feel like we also were pushing for the ball, but we kept our composure. If they fouled us, we kept our head down and ran back to press.
“I think we all really stepped up tonight. We communicated a lot better, we all had so much energy, and we gave it to other players. The sideline helped us a lot, giving off energy.”
Up next: Souderton (8-3, 3-2 SOL) will celebrate Staff Appreciation Day when the Indians host Central Bucks South Thursday. Quakertown (9-2, 4-1) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh Thursday.
Souderton 1-0-2-0 3
Quakertown 0-1-0-0 1
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 8, WISSAHICKON 3
Coaches preach the importance of a fast start. West put on a clinic in fast starts, scoring on their first two corners and then adding a third goal a minute later.
Fans had barely settled in their seats at Tuesday’s non-league crossover contest, and the visiting Bucks had a 3-0 lead. On the Bucks’ first corner, Claire Demmer scored with an assist from Calista Boos. On the second, Aida Ierubino scored her first of three goals, this one with a Heidi Schoenleber assist. Then it was Ellie Tweddale turning a pass from Lucy Smith into a goal.
West added a pair in the second quarter – one each from Ierubino and Tweddale – to go into halftime with a 5-0 lead.
In the second half, the two teams exchanged goals with Wissahickon’s Carly Lehman and Cami Lutte scoring back-to-back goals in the third quarter to make it a 5-3 game. Ierubino’s unassisted goal gave the Bucks a 6-3 lead heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Riley Bell scored with a Lutte assist, and Schoenleber answered with a goal off the goalie’s pads during corner play for the 8-3 final.
Scoring Summary
First quarter
Claire Demmer (CBW) from Calista Boos on a corner 6:14
Aida Ierubino (CBW) from Heidi Schoenleber on a corner 11:10
Ellie Tweddale (CBW) from Lucy Smith at 12:16
Second quarter
Aida Ierubino (CBW) unassisted 4:32
Ellie Tweddale (CBW) from Zola Morelli 7:59
Third quarter
Carly Lehman (W) from Camilla Lutte 5:48
Claire Demmer (CBW) unassisted 7:11
Camilla Lutte (W) unassisted 12:31
Aida Ierubino (CBW) unassisted 14:58
Fourth quarter
Riley Bell (W) from Camilla Lutte 5:50
Heidi Schoenleber (CBW) putback on pads off corner play 8:31
By the numbers
Shots: CBW 15, W 9; Corners: CBW 11, W 3.
Central Bucks West coach Lori Ierubino on the win: “We had a great start to the game converting on two corners – almost three but the third was unfortunately called back – in the first quarter. I think this took some steam out of Wissahickon, which was able to rally with renewed spirit and fight in the second half and score goals.”
–Props: “Our defense, specifically Eve Damsker, Heidi Schoenleber and Calista Boos, did a great job of diffusing Wissahickon opportunities, led by Cami Lutte.”
Wissahickon coach LeeAnn Marchesi on the game: “Our first half of the game today was a struggle. I am really proud of the adjustments we made for the second half, where we played more of our game and protected against West’s fast break. We were able to step to the ball and put goals in the net. We’ll take a lot of great lessons from today’s contest against CB West and become better from them.”
–Props: “Regan Szczepkowicz held our defensive end together with her consistent presence, strong stick, and a resolve that was unparalleled. Cami is an incredible player and wonderful facilitator for our attack. She brought energy and consistency to the midfield and attacking third. The impacts of both Regan and Cami are undeniable, both in terms of the game we’re developing and the team we’re becoming.”
Up next: Central Bucks West (9-2, 5-0 SOL) will begin its second go round in Colonial play at Pennridge Thursday (7 pm). Wissahickon (8-3-1, 4-1) will travel to Upper Dublin Thursday.
Central Bucks West 3-2-2-1 8
Wissahickon 0-0-2-1 3
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4, NORTH PENN 2
Talk about saving your best for last – the Colonials did just that, erupting for three goals in the final eight minutes and 35 seconds of the fourth quarter to earn the come-from-behind win.
The Knights appeared to have everything going in their favor when they scored back-to-back goals in a 32-second span in the second quarter – the first by Cara Albano and the second by Paige Shearer (Ashleigh Barwis assist).
Just over a minute later, PW’s Gracie Kerns trimmed that lead in half with a goal assisted by Emily Dobrowolski.
That 2-1 score stood until the final 8:35 that featured goals by Katie Guarino (Ella Bruno assist), Ella Catania (Guarino assist) and Bridget Fullerton (Kerns assist) for the important win heading into the second go round in division play..
PW, Quakertown and Wissahickon share the top spot in the division standings with identical 4-1 records.
Scoring Summary
First quarter
Cara Albano (NP) 5:22
Paige Shearer (NP) from Ashleigh Barwis 4:50
Gracie Kerns (PW) from Emily Dobrowolski 3:35
Second quarter – No score
Third quarter – No score
Fourth quarter
Katie Guarino (PW) from Ella Bruno 8:25
Ella Catania (PW) from Katie Guarino 4:45
Bridget Fullerton (PW) from Gracie Kerns 2:07
By the numbers:
Shots: NP 8, PW 17; Corners: NP 4, PW 12.
Saves: Kiley Moister (NP) 11, Carly Spinner (PW) 4.
PW coach Charise Halteman on the win: “We talked at practice yesterday, and we were like – ‘We think North Penn is fairly similar to us. Our opening games this season were 4-3 overtime wins, we had the same record going into today.’ The first quarter was very evenly matched and evenly played. Where they got us into trouble was in their fast break or transition game. They were able to get two high forwards, and we weren’t communicating it really well. Second quarter we’re down 2-0, and it’s like – ‘Oh geez, this isn’t going very well.’ Right before the half, we scored a goal. In the third quarter it was pretty evenly matched. In the fourth quarter, our team came out – I would say they were determined not to lose. We scored three goals in the last eight minutes and 35 seconds of the fourth quarter. It was a true team win that demonstrated a great deal of composure and resiliency.
“We had four different goal scorers. It was just a really good team win. We out-cornered and out-shot North Penn, and we should have had more goals earlier. We just couldn’t finish until the fourth quarter. I felt like they had some good opportunities and some good play. Their center mid – Laura Albert – was very good. They definitely had good players. I just felt we were able to maintain our composure.”
–Props: “Shoutout to Gracie Kerns. She’s a sophomore, and she just has a competitive fire in her. In the fourth quarter, at one point, we had an offensive corner, and she pulled the team together at the top, huddled them and called the corner. She saw something, they went with it and scored on it. It was just sort of a refuse-to-lose mentality even though it wasn’t really in our favor most of the game in terms of the actual scoreboard. They were frustrated. We were in their circle – we were getting opportunities, and we couldn’t finish it. It was nice to see three different goal scorers put it in the back of the cage in the fourth quarter to win.”
–The scoring: “North Penn’s Cara Albano took advantage of a fast break 1v1 with our goalkeeper at the 5:22 mark of the second quarter to put the Knights up 1-0. North Penn would score 32 seconds later after taking advantage of PW’s defensive disorganization. PW’s Gracie Kerns would give PW its first goal of the game at the 3:35 mark of the second quarter to cut the North Penn lead in half. The third quarter was a back-and-forth battle and PW entered the fourth quarter still trailing 2-1. With 8:25 left in the game, Katie Guarino would finish an Ella Bruno cross during a corner play to even the game. Ella Catania would finish a Katie Guarino pass from the right side of the goal in front of the North Penn goalie at the 4:45 mark to give the Colonials the lead. Bridget Fullerton added an insurance goal (Gracie Kerns assist) with 2:05 remaining.”
Up next: Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-3, 4-1 SOL) will host Quakertown Thursday, and North Penn (7-4, 3-2) will travel to Central Bucks East Thursday.
North Penn 0-2-0-0 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1-0-0-3 4
PENNSBURY 5, UPPER MORELAND 1
The Falcons took care of a business in a hurry, opening up a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Ava Jordan had a hand in all three goals, scoring once and assisting on the other two – both by Alaina Bird.
Neither team scored again until Upper Moreland’s Melissa Torpey scored in the third quarter with an assist from Kyleigh Convey to make it a 3-1 game. The Falcons closed it out with a pair of fourth-quarter goals.
Scoring Summary
First quarter
Ava Jordan (P) from Alaina Bird
Cailyn Reilly (P) from Ava Jordan
Alaina Bird (P) from Ava Jordan
Second quarter – No score
Third quarter
Melissa Torpey (UM) from Kyleigh Convey
Fourth quarter
Mallory Harrison (P)
Angelina Kenney (P) from Abby Iacona
Upper Moreland coach Pam Remmey on the game: “It seemed (we) had a difficult start in the first quarter, but actually, Pennsbury took advantage in the circle and scored a couple of fantastic goals. Going into the second quarter, we started playing our game and played more evenly, getting some offensive pushes.
“In the second half, we played well in front of the cage. On defensive corners, out of seven corners, UM got a free hit out of every one.”
–UM score: “In the third quarter, Kyleigh Convey got control in the circle and sent the ball toward play in front of the goalie, and Torpey was able to force the ball over the goal line for a score.”
–Props: “Izzy Duncan was having an amazing game at ‘D’ back, so we put her at the midfield to get more of an offensive punch, which worked better in the second half. Melissa Torpey also had one of her best games of the season, playing hard throughout the game. At forward, MJ Reilly, Kyleigh Convey and Charleis Fayall were effective to put on pressure in the Pennsbury circle. Savannah Anderson and Addi Gans played well on defense. Addi Hurley was resilient in goal with eight saves. Ash Conrad stood strong in goal with six saves.”
Up next: Pennsbury (8-3, 2-3 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Thursday, and Upper Moreland (5-6-1, 3-3-0) will travel to William Tennent Thursday (5:30).
Upper Moreland 0-0-1-0 1
Pennsbury 3-0-0-2 5
(Article submitted by Pennsbury field hockey)
It felt good to be home.
Coming off a three-game week full of traveling, the Pennsbury Falcons were happy to host the visiting Upper Moreland Golden Bears at Falcon Field. PHS dominated from the start but could not connect until 10 minutes into the first quarter. Senior Alaina Bird fed a pass into the circle and Ava Jordan finished to light up the scoreboard 1-0.
That goal ignited a flame, and the orange and black scored 30 seconds later on a well-placed penalty corner shot by Cailyn Reilly (inserted by Ava Jordan) putting PHS up 2-0. They were not finished, scoring three minutes later. Ava Jordan assisted Alaina Bird, who backhanded the shot and put the Falcons up 3-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter is when the scoring drought began. The game remained 3-0 going into the half. Five minutes into the third quarter, the Golden Bears found their way onto the scoreboard making it a two-goal game. That was the only scoring in the third quarter and the final goal for UM.
Head coach Traci Curtis points out, “We need to absolutely eliminate giving the other team opportunities to score because of a breaking down like dominoes below the 25. We have to do better and expect more from ourselves for a complete 60 minutes. Upper Moreland had some nice plays in the middle with players stepping to the ball and connecting on stick-to-stick passing. They were hard workers and never backed down.”
Pennsbury answered back in the fourth by adding two incredible goals to finish off the game winning 5-1.
“Five minutes into the fourth quarter, sophomore, Mallory Harrison took a shot from a zero percent angle on the endline and connected for a great goal that seemed impossible to be true,” Curtis said. “It was unbelievable and an awesome effort by Harrison to keep the ball in play and get it on cage.”
Pennsbury’s final goal came with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
“Abby Iacona reversed the ball across the circle in the air over everyone into space, and Angelina Kenney batted it down out of the air passed the keeper,” Curtis said. “It was not a dangerous play at all and something you see the NCAA players doing all the time. The coordination and connection those two exhibited was so great.
“Today was a bit sloppy and seemed disjointed at times, but it was a full team effort, and we are doing a great job of helping each other at every turn. Cailyn Reilly keeps us solid in the backfield with patient play and great decision making. We are taking one step at a time and focusing only on what is in front of us.”
Pennsbury will stay on their home turf and host Truman on Thursday afternoon.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 6, LOWER MORELAND 0
Sierra Kim connected for a hat trick to lead the visiting Indians to the big win in a non-league crossover contest.
Kate Horan scored an unassisted goal to put the Indians on the scoreboard with just over six minutes remaining in the first quarter. It turned out to be the game-winner. Also scoring one goal each were Taylor Dahms and Morgan Owens. Julia Lyons and Brynn Bogle each contributed an assist.
Scoring Summary
First quarter
Kate Horan (CRN) 6:19
Sierra Kim (CRN) 0:16
Second quarter
Taylor Dahms (CRN) 6:12
Sierra Kim (CRN) from Julia Lyons 4:15
Third quarter
Sierra Kim (CRN) from Brynn Bogle 8:35
Morgan Owens (CRN) 0:32
Council Rock North coach Jules Singer on the game: “It was a good win from the team. We are continuing to build confidence and dig deep. Shout out to Sierra for the hat trick, Taylor for the goal, Kate for the goal, Morgan for the goal and Brynn and Julia for the assists.”
Lower Moreland coach Janet Lutter: “LM closed out the crossover games for the season with a 0-6 loss to Council Rock North. Each year, I warn (our players) that the crossover games are the longest and toughest part of the season, and again, this year that statement was correct. Now we look ahead to our remaining division games and take what we’ve learned from playing the larger schools to finish the season strong. The team looks forward to traveling to Cheltenham on Thursday.”
–Props: “Goalie Jordyn MacPhee had 18 saves on the day. Juniors Mia and Roya Rosala moved the ball well down the field and locked down our defensive corners.”
Up next: Council Rock North (6-6, 4-1 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Thursday, and Lower Moreland (5-7, 3-2) will travel to Cheltenham as teams begin their second go-round in division play.
Lower Moreland 0-0-0-0 0
Council Rock North 2-2-2-0 6
PENNRIDGE 5, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
After a tough go-round in Colonial Division play, the Lady Rams notched their fourth win in as many games in crossover play – all four were shutouts.
Sophomore Colbie Landherr got the ball rolling with a pair of goals in the second quarter, her fourth and fifth goals in the last three games. Pennridge took that 2-0 lead into halftime. The Rams never looked back. Adding second-half goals were Alex Jensen, Lucy Obarowski and Audrey Fretzen.
Scoring Summary
First quarter – No score
Second quarter
Colbie Landherr (P)
Colbie Landherr (P)
Third quarter
Alex Jensen (P)
Fourth quarter
Lucy Obarowski (P) from Alyssa Gobrecht
Audrey Frentzen (P)
Pennridge coach Elana Romesburg on the win: “Very happy with how the girls played today coming off of a little break and not playing a game in almost a week. Our midfield communicated very well and controlled the ball for most of the game. It was great to see the girls listen and respond to each other out on the field. We’ve really taken the last few games to build our confidence and try new things before we head back into the second round of league play.”
–The scoring: “Sophomore Colbie Landherr continued her scoring streak scoring a pair in the second quarter. Freshman Alex Jensen scored on a rebound in the third quarter and Senior Lucy Obarowski scored on a beautiful pass from fellow senior Alyssa Gobrecht. Audrey Frentzen rounded out our scoring in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter on another rebound in the circle.”
Up next: Pennridge (4-6, 1-4 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Thursday (7 pm), and Hatboro-Horsham (5-7, 0-5) will be on the road at Abington Thursday.
Pennridge 0-2-1-2 5
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-0 0
NESHAMINY 2, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0
Neshaminy bounced back from a pair of losses in crossover play to notch a shutout win over the visiting Lions.
Late in the second quarter, Chloe Brison turned a pass from Alayna Roscoe into a goal that broke a scoreless tie. In the third quarter, Claire Saloky added an insurance goal with an assist from Kasey Rieger for the 2-0 final.
Scoring Summary
First quarter – No score
Second quarter
Chloe Brison (N) from Alayna Roscoe, 4:31
Third quarter
Claire Saloky (N) from Kasey Rieger, 8:05
Neshaminy coach Jamie Pinto on the win: “We came together and played as a team today when we needed to after a few tough losses. We start the second round of league play this week, and we know we need to continue to work hard for each other and play together as a team.”
–Props: “Defensively Alayna Roscoe and Taylor Tenaglia did a nice job of cutting off passes and playing strong defense. Reese Merrill stepped up today when we needed her to. Ava Arbakov and Claire Saloky played well in the midfield, and Kasey Rieger did a nice job generating offense.”
Up next: Neshaminy (8-3, 5-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Thursday (7 pm), and New Hope-Solebury (8-3, 6-0 SOL) will host Springfield Twp (6 pm).
New Hope-Solebury 0-0-0-0 0
Neshaminy 0-1-1-0 2
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2, UPPER DUBLIN 1
The Flying Cardinals took a 1-0 lead midway through the second quarter and took that lead into halftime.
The Patriots wasted no time before knotting the score in the third quarter with Sydney Lafferty finding the cage 20 seconds into the half. Josie Lauro turned a pass form Emma Weisel into the go-ahead goal with 3:30 remaining. That 2-1 score stood the rest of the way.
Scoring Summary
First quarter – No score
Second quarter
UD goal 7:05
Third quarter
Sydney Lafferty (CBE) 14:40
Josie Lauro (CBE) from Emma Weisel 3:30
Fourth quarter – No score
Central Bucks East coach Emma Rosenthal on the win: “We got off to a slow start today but really came together in the third quarter. It’s great momentum to have going back into league play.”
Central Bucks East (5-6-2, 2-3-0 SOL) will host North Penn on Thursday (7 pm), and Upper Dublin (2-8-1-, 2-3-0) will be on the road at William Tennent Thursday (5:30 pm).
Central Bucks East 0-0-2-0 2
Upper Dublin 0-1-0-0 1
SPRINGFIELD TWP 0, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 (OT)
Springfield goalie Grace Bell turned away all 10 shots she faced in the shutout. The visiting Spartans were awarded five penalty corners but took just three shots.
Up next: Springfield Twp (6-5-1, 4-1-0 SOL) will travel to New Hope-Solebury Thursday (6 pm), and Council Rock South (4-4-3, 3-2-0 will host Neshaminy on Thursday (7 pm).
Springfield Twp 0-0-0-0-0 0
Council Rock South 0-0-0-0-0 0
About the Author
