Check out the results for SOL field hockey teams in action.
QUAKERTOWN 10, CHELTENHAM 0
Emma McLaughlin contributed four goals and one assist in Tuesday’s rout, looking anything but the part of a sophomore.
“Last year, the older players helped me feel more comfortable on the field,” said McLaughlin, who connected for the hat trick in the first half. “Now this year I’m trying to do the same thing.”
The decisive win came on the heels of a disappointing 2-1 loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh in Friday’s opener. One year earlier, the Panthers handed the Colonials a 7-1 loss in the season opener for both teams.
“I think the surface we played on Friday played a big part in the game – they were used to playing on turf, and we obviously have a grass field,” said junior Josh Schwarz, who added two goals and three assists. “It’s a lot different.
“It was pretty bad. We were winning all our tournaments in the preseason, and we came into that game and lost 2-1. It was so close.”
“I think the loss motivated us to come back today to get a big win,” McLaughlin said. “After the loss, this was good just to pick up our confidence.”
Sophomore Becky Gerhart had a hand in five goals, contributing one goal and four assists. Sophomore Hillary Scott added one goal and two assists while junior Dylan Reid had one goal and one assist. Sara Reigh (one goal) and Chris Chookagian (one assist) closed out the scoring.
“I think this is a confidence boost, and it’s a good way to help on us work on our passing and some of the skills we need during games that we can’t work on as much in drills,” Schwarz said.
Coach Melinda Lepko was pleased with her team’s response to Friday’s heartbreaking loss.
“On Friday, we weren’t passing, and we weren’t shooting,” the first-year coach said. “We were really surprised. We called timeouts, we talked to them at halftime, but we did not play the way we expected to play.
“In the preseason, we were real relaxed with them because they came into the preseason in shape. Then the game came, and they were quieter, and it seemed like they were more nervous and weren’t as confident in what we had been practicing, so that’s what we talked about after the game – believe in what we’re doing.
“It wasn’t our plan to go out and score that many goals, but when that was our problem on Friday, it’s hard to pull back from that. There was a lot of passing, and there were goals and assists from a lot of people.”
The Panthers are still a young team with a starting lineup that includes three seniors, five juniors and three sophomores. They enter the season with their sights set high.
“I think we definitely want to come out with a winning record, first of all, and make it to districts,” Schwarz said.
“Last year we were so close,” McLaughlin said. “We want to make it this year.”
Last year, the Panthers missed out on districts by just one game.
“If we would have won one more game, there’s a good possibility we would have been in,” Lepko said. “For a lot of them to be back again and to realize how close we came – losing 2-1 on Friday, I hope it doesn’t come back to bite us later on.”
Quakertown is 1-1 on the young season while Cheltenham fall to 0-2.
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Quakertown 5-5 10
HATBORO-HORSHAM 3, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2 (OT)
Colby Eldridge scored a pair of goals in regulation to spot the Hatters a 2-0 lead only to watch the Golden Hawks rally to knot the score, extending the game to overtime. Jenna Cutilli scored the game winner with an assist from Carlee Baldus on a corner.
Coach Laura Swezey lauded the excellent speed and distribution of the ball by Jaime DiQuattro, Syd Rausa and Kelsy Hopkins as well as her team's strong defense in keeping Rock South out of the circle to limit their shots on goal, acknowledging the standout defensive efforts of Jane Henry, Keeley Henry and Brenna Reilly.
Council Rock South 0-2-0 2
Hatboro-Horsham 2-0-1 3
NORTH PENN 7, UPPER PERKIOMEN 1
Casey O’Donnell had herself a career day on Tuesday, scoring five goals to lead the Maidens to the impressive non-league win.
“Casey O’Donnell played phenomenal today,” coach Shannon McCracken said. “She was reading the keeper and the defense so well. She was moving the keeper side to side and then just getting a shot off.
“She’s been working so hard since last season, and she really improved herself in the offseason.”
While stats sometimes tell the story, that certainly wasn’t the case in Monday’s game that saw the Tribe hold a lopsided 12-3 advantage in corners and a 15-14 edge in shots.
“It was lopsided when it comes to the statistics, but every opportunity we got in the circle – we scored,” McCracken said. “I told my team, ‘When you get in the circle, you have to get a corner or a shot. You have to make something of it.’
“Today we didn’t get a lot of corners, but we got a lot of goals. They’re a very good team. They have Casey Umstead, who’s a very good player.”
Umstead accounted for Upper Perk’s lone goal, and that came 16 minutes into the game, knotting the score after O’Donnell spotted the Maidens an early 1-0 lead. With three minutes remaining in the opening half, O’Donnell connected again to break the deadlock, using a Kara Imes assist. One minute later, O’Donnell scored with an assist from Emma Herb to send the Maidens into halftime with a 3-1 lead.
That 3-1 lead held until midway through the second half when O’Donnell scored her fourth goal of a productive afternoon.
“Casey just played so well on the attack line,” McCracken said. “Amanda Laessig, on right forward, had some great passes to her, and she was carrying the ball on the outside as well.”
With 10 minutes remaining, Imes scored her second goal (Amanda Laessig assist, and six minute later, O’Donnell connected. Shannon Talbot scored an unassisted goal to close out the scoring.
All but lost in the shuffle of the Maidens’ rout was another standout performance by goalie Chessa Kownurko, who was credited with 15 saves.
“Chessa made a huge difference,” McCracken said. “She made some phenomenal saves. If they had scored a goal, it could have shifted the momentum, but she came up with some phenomenal saves.”
McCracken lauded the defensive efforts of outside backs Juliana Hill and Cassidy Barrow. Barrow was credited with a defensive save.
“They had a great day,” the Maidens’ coach said.
The Maidens are 2-0 on the young season.
“It’s a great start and helps with the girls’ confidence,” McCracken said. “It’s putting us on the right path, and what’s great about these wins is we’re seeing the things we need to work on. The things they worked on over the summer definitely made a big difference. The girls came in great shape, and now our conditioning is really good.”
North Penn 3-4 7
Upper Perkiomen 1-0 1
GARNET VALLEY 4, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3
Garnet Valley took a 1-0 lead only to watch the Patriots rally to knot the score with 18 seconds remaining in the half when Sarah Thiroway connected, using a Maggie Stella assist.
The Jaguars scored back-to-back goals in a one-minute span early in the second half to go on top 3-1, but the Patriots battled their way back into the game. With 11:40 remaining, Chelsea Fife scored with an assist from Caitlin Stout to make it a 3-2 game, and with 5:14 remaining, the Patriots scored the equalizer when Stella once again assisted on a Thiroway goal.
On a Garnet Valley corner late in the game, the Patriots were called for jumping early and were forced to play shorthanded. Katie Keyser scored her second goal of the game at the 3:56 mark to propel the Jaguars to the hard-fought win.
East goalie Sam Grzegorczyk was credited with 14 saves. Teammates Sydney Badger, Alex Law and Laura Jackson each delivered a defensive save. Garnet Valley keeper Hailey Valerio was credited with six saves.
Central Bucks East 1-2 3
Garnet Valley 1-3 4
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2, PENNSBURY 1 (OT)
The Bucks won an overtime thriller when Kim Hitchcock – on the opposite post - deflected a corner shot by Elena Romesburg into the cage for the game winner. Erick Fiorelli took the initial corner hit, setting the stage for the perfectly-executed corner just two minutes into the OT period.
Earlier, the two teams battled to a scoreless halftime tie.
“We dominated but just couldn’t find the back of the cage,” West coach Courtney Hughes said.
The Falcons got on the scoreboard first when Haley Toadvine connected on a goal during corner play midway through the second half. Hitchcock got things going in the circle with a pass to Fiorelli, who knotted the scored with 2:42 remaining in regulation, setting the stage for overtime.
West (2-0) held a 14-3 advantage in corners and a 12-2 edge in shots over the Falcons (0-2).
ABINGTON 4, UPPER MERION 1
The Ghosts and Vikings exchanged goals in the first half. Brianna Jameson scored off a Jackie Farides assist with 12:13 remaining in the half, and less than three minutes later, the Vikings got on the scoreboard when Danielle Antonucci scored, sending the two teams into halftime deadlocked 1-1.
With 9:49 remaining, Heather Trainor scored off a Sam McGee assist to put the Ghosts on top 2-1, and they added a pair of insurance goals – the first an unassisted goal by Farides and the second by McGee with an assist from Courtney Klug.
Abington goalie Tia Barnhardt was credited with seven saves in the game. While the Ghosts improved to 2-0 on the season, the Vikings fell to 0-2.
Upper Merion1-0 1
Abington 1-3 4
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 2, LOWER MERION 0
Allison Spinelli put the Colonials on the scoreboard when she connected on a corner, using an assist from Rachel Konowal. Paige Totten pounced on the rebound of a goalie save for the score to give PW its final margin of victory. PW sweeper Sierra Spencer had two goal line saves to preserve the shutout.
MOUNT ST JOSEPH ACADEMY 3, NESHAMINY 0
- Log in to post comments
