Check out the recaps for SOL field hockey teams in action Friday.
ABINGTON 1, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 (OT)
The Ghosts notched a dramatic win in Friday’s non-league opener when sophomore Olivia Dougherty deflected a crossing pass from Tara Hughes into the cage with 10:12 remaining in overtime. The game-winner was set up by a Cameryn Stewart interception.
“Cam Stewart came up with an interception on a free hit, and then Taryn Hughes took it down the line and passed it into the circle with an Olivia Dougherty deflection into the top corner,” Abington coach Katie Small said of the game-winning sequence. “After last season and not doing as well as we anticipated, this was huge for us.
“I think we went into the game expecting to be playing more on our heels and more on the defensive, and it was definitely a 50-50 game which is showing on the stat sheet. Just being able to come out with a win – I think the girls now have that fire in their belly, ready to see where they can go this year. We’re using a different setup this year or we’re using different girls than we normally have just to see what works. Both teams had good chances to put the ball in the net, but the goalies and defenses held strong. It’s always a contested match with Council Rock North.”
Smalls gave props to several players in the shutout win.
“Tara Hughes on the defensive end was unbelievable – she was just a wall back there,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Obviously, Marilynn Capps had five saves, and they weren’t easy saves.
“Devan DiMaria helped with the transition game – coming out of the backfield she had a lot of nice overlapping with the other left mid. Maddie Slavin, Cam Stewart and Olivia Dougherty in the middle of the field and on the offensive end played really well. It was very exciting.”
Rock North held an 11-9 advantage in corners.
Abington (1-0) will travel to Upper Dublin on Thursday, and Council Rock North (0-1) will be on the road at Harry S Truman on Thursday.
Abington 0-0-0-0-1 1
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0-0 0
WISSAHICKON 4, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3 (OT)
Talk about a dramatic ending – this was it.
The Trojans were awarded a corner in the closing seconds of OT and made it count when senior captain Brynne Miller – from the top of the circle – slammed home Ella Hummel’s insert pass with no time showing on the scoreboard clock.
“It was so exciting because that was it – that was the last play we could possibly have in the game,” Wissahickon coach Lucy Gil said. “The clock is ticking down, and (the referee) calls a corner. We got lucky.
“I’m really proud of them. They did a great job. We are always evenly matched with CR South – it’s a good game for us to start with.”
Miller – the Trojans’ defensive mid – and Hummel – who plays right forward – proved to be a winning combination in Friday’s opener. Miller finished with two goals and an assist while Hummel had a goal and two assists as the duo combined for three goals.
“Brynne had a really, really great game, and Ella is so fast, and she was just dumping the ball and running after it, so she had a really great game,” Gil said.
While Miller and Hummel stole the spotlight, it was the play of a pair of defenders that saved the day, according to the Trojans’ coach.
“I thought Julia Schools, my deep defender at center back, and Alli Wood – both of them just kept us in the game,” Gil said.
Wood, a UMass commit, was credited with 19 saves in goal for the Trojans.
“Alli had a great game,” Gil said. “One of their goals was a penalty stroke, and there’s no way. It was a really nice stroke she wasn’t going to stop.
Every time they would come down, they had 3-4 shots on goal in quick succession. They were pummeling her, which is why she had so many saves, and some of them were huge. She kept us in the game while the others did their part and we put the ball in. It worked out for us.”
The teams spent regulation exchanging goals. Audrey Mullin scored an early goal with an assist from Kate Lovensheimer, and the Trojans led 1-0 after one period. Rock South’s Amanda Green got that goal back less than two minutes into the second period, connecting on an unassisted goal, but Miller (Hummel assist) answered three minutes later. Kerry Kaufman buried a penalty stroke to knot the score 2-2 at halftime.
Three minutes into the third quarter, Rock South’s Caroline Martin – at the stroke line – turned a Kylee Hager pass into the go-ahead goal. The Golden Hawks’ 3-2 lead held until the 8:49 mark of the final quarter when Hummel scored the equalizer with a Miller assist.
“The team fought hard for all 15 minutes of the OT, but unfortunately fell short when Wissahickon connected on a beautiful corner with no time remaining,” Rock South coach Colette Paprocki said. “Our defense came up big with defensive saves from Grace Franchini and Kasey Knapp.”
Wisssahickon (1-0) will host Hatboro-Horsham in Thursday’s SOL opener, and Council Rock South (0-1) will host Neshaminy on Thursday.
Council Rock South 0-2-1-0-0 3
Wissahickon 1-1-0-1-1 4
NORTH PENN 2, METHACTON 1
Erin O’Donnell scored in a crowd with 1:29 remaining in regulation, propelling the Knights to the dramatic win over the Warriors. It was her second goal of the game.
“We came down the field on the right side, and we were attacking on the right,” NP coach Shannon McCracken said. “I don’t know if it was a rebound, but Erin had a hard angle. It went off a Methacton defender into the goal.
“We haven’t beaten Methacton in a few years, so it was exciting – and to win it the way we did.”
The Knights’ coach wasn’t sure when the Knights last defeated Methacton in their season opener, and it turns out it was 10 years ago.
“We would always have a tough start,” McCracken said. “This was huge – such great confidence builder for the kids and a great measuring stick because Methacton is a very good team.
“It’s tough when you come out of preseason – so much time is just spent with yourself. You think you’re doing things well, but it’s not until you get that first test. This was a really good test for us and we’re excited.”
While O’Donnell’s goal won it, it was a play by sophomore goalie Kiera Holt – who had 17 saves in a standout effort – that turned the tide.
“A few minutes before Erin scored, Methacton had a breakaway, a forward had a one-on-one with our goalkeeper,” McCracken said. “Our goalkeeper came out and stopped her and shut her down. It was a huge game-changer because it was so even back and forth, and our goalkeeper, Kiera Holt, just made such a fantastic play on that one-on-one, and I think that just shifted our momentum, and we took it down the field soon after that.”
The final 90 seconds of the game were not without drama as the Knights’ defense came up big when it mattered most.
“Methacton is very tough, and they actually had a penalty corner with no time on the clock at the end of the game,” the Knights’ coach said. “Then we got called for another penalty corner, so my defense stopped two penalty corners with no time on the clock.
“What you do as a coach (when your team is awarded a corner with time expired) – you pull everybody up on the circle, and we were able to stop them. I was just so pleased with the way my defense played – just how gritty and gutsy that is.”
In addition to Holt in goal, the Knights’ defense is comprised of Melissa Sessler, Annabelle Smink and Lindsey Gilbert with Madison Waldspurger – who anchors the Knights’ midfield – the flyer on penalty corners.
Early on, the Knights took a 1-0 lead when O’Donnell found the cage with 34 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. Bay Detweiler contributed the assist. The Warriors’ Jess Serafina (Elena Snodgrass assist) knotted the score midway through the second quarter. That tie stood until O’Donnell’s game-winner.
“I was really proud of how my team came out to start,” McCracken said. “We really set the tone in the first quarter and played a really great first quarter. I was so excited that we earned a goal at the end of the quarter because I thought we played so solid the first quarter.
“Methacton definitely picked it up in the second quarter. The third quarter was even – a lot of back and forth play. It was a well-played, evenly matched opening day game with a playoff feel to it.”
North Penn (1-0) will travel to Central Bucks West for Thursday’s SOL opener.
Methacton 0-1-0-0 1
North Penn 1-0-0-1 2
PENNRIDGE 4, QUAKERTOWN 0
Sophomore Liz Frisch scored a pair of goals – including the first of her career – to lead Rams to the opening day win.
“Great way to start our season,” Pennridge coach Becky Spahr said. “Today helped us work on team possession and moving the ball at pace. We were able to cause corners and finish well.
“Quakertown is a well-coached team that works together as a unit and plays tough team defense.”
Frisch opened the scoring, turning a Hannah Capo pass into a goal that gave the Rams a 1-0 lead after one quarter. In the second quarter, Brynn Wenger scored on a rebound to send the Rams into halftime with a 2-0 lead. They added a pair of goals in the third quarter to close out the scoring. Frisch scored on a rebound, and Haley Borneman found the cage with a Lindsey Campione assist.
“Regardless of the score, this was a good first game for us,” Quakertown coach Kate Kemp said. “Pennridge is tough competition. We did a lot of great passing connections on the field.
“I’m happy with the way the girls continued to fight until the last whistle. It was a good game played by both teams.”
Quakertown goalie Kylie Lerch was credited with eight saves.
Pennridge (1-0) will travel to Central Bucks East on Friday for its SOL opener. Quakertown (0-1) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday in its league opener.
Pennridge 1-1-2-0 4
Quakertown 0-0-0-0 0
SOUDERTON 3, ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 2 (OT)
Reiley Knize scored on a breakaway just over a minute into overtime, propelling the Indians to the dramatic non-league win. The goal brought a welcome end to a game that saw the Indians – who opened up a 2-0 first-half lead – dominate play but struggle to finish.
“We struggled to score last year,” Souderton coach Sue Casciato said. “I have to say – individually, we played well. Other than in our offensive circle, we were a pretty good team, but we couldn’t capitalize. We couldn’t finish.”
The Indians’ dominance is underscored by their advantage in shots (18-4) and corners (19-6).
“Archbishop Carroll did have a good goalie, but our corners were horrific,” Casciato said. “We had a lot of problems with our insert even though we used a lot of different inserters, and we could not get a shot off from the top of the circle.”
With two minutes remaining in the opening quarter, Lauren Kenah put the Indians on top, scoring with an assist from Ava Shaw. Then it was Shaw scoring an unassisted goal with nine minutes remaining in the second quarter to send the Indians into halftime with a two-goal advantage that disappeared in the second half.
Two minutes into the third quarter, Sienna Golden scored to make it a 2-1 game.
“That was just craziness,” Casciato said. “I thought she was outside the circle – it was close to the top, and she and a defender both hit the ball at the same time. It went straight up in the air all the way to the goal cage. Two or three people from each team waved their sticks way over their head at it, and it went over our goalie’s head into the goal cage. I don’t think anybody touched it.”
Carroll knotted the score 2-2 with a goal early in the fourth quarter. The Indians had plenty of chances but couldn’t capitalize until Knize’s game-winner.
Casciato lauded the play of several of the game’s unsung heroes.
“Lauren Frye played well at center back,” the Indians’ coach said. “We had a couple of girls come off the bench who played great. Katie Dalton, a senior who been on swing a couple of years, played at least a half on the forward line, and she played well. She’s one of our tri-captains, which is nice. She’s never been a starter, she’s a hard worker, super sincere and always happy.
“Our strongest players like Ange Borisow and Lauren (Kenah) – you always count on them. If I looked at every single player, I’d have to say – ‘She had a pretty good game, she had a pretty good game.’ We just didn’t finish.”
Souderton (1-0) will host Methacton in a non-league game Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Archbishop Carroll 0-0-1-1-0 2
Souderton 1-1-0-0-1 3
LOWER MORELAND 5, PLUMSTEAD CHRISTIAN 1
In a matchup of former BAL foes, it was the Lions holding the upper hand, receiving goals from five different players on their way to the no-doubt-about-it win.
“Strong team play was the key in this win,” first-year coach Janet Lutter said.
Scoring one goal each were Zoe Karros, Liz Neeld, Jess Pachman, Bri Rocha and Kylie Hopkins. Meredith Lutter was a key contributor and playmaker with three assists.
The Lions, who led 2-0 after one quarter, took a 3-0 lead into halftime and opened up a 5-0 lead before Plumstead scored a late goal. The Lions’ solid defense was credited with three saves – one each from Jess Shein, Kathleen Chen and freshman Avery Stolarski.
Lower Moreland (1-0) will host Upper Moreland on Thursday in its SOL opener.
Lower Moreland 2-1-2-0 5
Plumstead Christian 0-0-0-1 1
POTTSGROVE 8, UPPER MORELAND 0
The Falcons led 1-0 after one quarter but blew the game open with four second-quarter goals to go into halftime with a commanding 5-0 advantage. Cece Bury did most of the damage, scoring three straight goals in a three-minute span to open the second quarter.
“We stuck with Pottsgrove in the first quarter but let up in the second quarter,” UM coach Marissa Elizardo said. “We struggled to find our rhythm and got caught on our heels in the second quarter. The girls picked it up at the end of the game, but it was too late.”
Also, for the Falcons, Carlee Dattilo scored a pair of goals while Abby Hakes, Mailei Schecherly and Katie Bean each added single goals.
UM goalie Emma Hurley was credited with 12 saves.
Upper Moreland (0-1) will be on the road Thursday to face neighboring rival Lower Moreland at the Academy of the New Church.
Upper Moreland 0-0-0-0 0
Pottsgrove 1-4-2-1 8
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