Check out the results for SOL field hockey teams in action Friday.
American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 3, WISSAHICKON 1
Sophomore Sam Spera scored a pair of goals within a one-minute span midway through the second half, turning a tenuous 1-0 lead into a 3-0 advantage on the way to the big win for the Colonials.
“She has great speed, and her skills have really improved over the last year,” PW coach Charise Halteman said of Spera. “It’s always a battle between PW and Wissahickon.
“We’re league rivals, and I think the kids for both teams really get up for the games, but I thought Sam really was able to use her speed effectively on the right side today.”
Michelle McGrath (Frankie O’Brien assist) scored late in the first half off a corner play to send the Colonials into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Just over 16 minutes into the second half Spera found the cage, using a McGrath assist, and exactly one minute later, she connected again, this time unassisted.
“Her first goal – she was just low on the post in the right position to put the ball in,” Halteman said. “Her second goal she was coming down the right side, got in the circle, and she just took a shot that went in the near side. She saw the shot, and she took it.
“I thought she was making good decisions today. It was good for her. I think she had a moment in the first half where she was getting frustrated, so it was really neat to see her make some adjustments and score two for us.”
Two minutes later, the Trojans got on the scoreboard when Ellen Kane scored an unassisted goal for the 3-1 final.
PW goalie Katherine Houghton was credited with five saves in the win. Kyra Myers had two defensive saves for the Trojans.
“I thought our defenders really stepped up,” Halteman said. “Sami Mangine played our deep back position, and she really picked up all the loose stuff in the circle for us today and really helped protect our goalkeeper which was nice.
“We had some moments in the second half where the heat got to the kids a little bit, so I don’t think we were sharp for a full 60 minutes. That’s something we need to work on. We took a timeout, talked about the adjustment we needed to make and then we came right back out and scored our two goals, so that was really good to use a timeout effectively and implement what we talked about. Credit Wissahickon for playing to the end and challenging our defenders.”
Last season, just one game separated the defending conference champion Colonials from second place Wissahickon in the standings.
“This was a big win, especially since there are two new teams in the conference,” Halteman said. “It’s different than it traditionally had been, so a goal of our team was to really start our league play strong so we could set ourselves up for success later on since we have to play everybody a second time.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-0, 2-0 SOL) will be on the road at Springfield Township on Tuesday, and Wissahickon (1-2, 1-1) will travel to Council Rock South for a non-league game Monday.
Wissahickon 0-1 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1-2 3
UPPER DUBLIN 2, QUAKERTOWN 1 (OT)
The Flying Cardinals dominated play but found themselves deadlocked 1-1 at the end of regulation. Jess Grodsky brought a dramatic end to the game when she scored her second goal of the day with 7:20 remaining in overtime, using an Emma Mead assist.
“It’s a good road win, especially after a long trip up to Quakertown,” UD coach Heather Boyer said. “We know that Quakertown was very competitive, so we expected to have a hard-fought game.
“I was very impressed with the girls’ composure. It would have been very easy – after leading 1-0 most of the game and having them tie it up – to let the wind out of our sails a little but, and they didn’t do that. We continued to really try to get opportunities in the circle and get shots off. Their goalie just did a good job and their defense also shutting us down until we finally got the goal in overtime.”
The Cardinals – who held a lopsided advantage in shots (32-2) and corners (20-1) – took a 1-0 lead when Grodsky (Shannon Reape assist) scored midway through the first half. That lead held until Anna Thompson connected on a penalty stroke at the 13:36 mark of the second half, setting the stage for overtime.
Boyer credited the effort of Maddie Templeton, who was moved to forward after playing midfield the past two years.
“I feel like she’s our unsung hero right now,” Boyer said. “This kid was everywhere.
“She was coming all the way back on the defensive end to mark and then she would go all the way into the circle getting shots. She really has come into her own as a player this year. She’s confident, she’s carrying the ball well, and she’s creating opportunities for other players.
“We’re trying to get her to break through and get that first goal because I think when she gets it, the rest will start coming, but she’s definitely doing a lot that doesn’t get represented in the stat line, which makes her a critical player.”
Boyer also gave a shout-out to midfielders Marlee Siegel and Shannon Reape.
“We switched our formation this year, so I’m playing a two midfield lineup right now,” the Cardinals’ coach said. “Today with the weather they went the entire game non-stop – again, the entire field.
“My sweeper – Allie DeMichele – has played very, very poised this year. She’s confident, cool as a cucumber. Quakertown did a good job of transitioning into a fastbreak, and there were a couple of times where she was 3v1 by herself and was able to make a stop and give our defense a chance to recover and help out and never lost her cool.
“She was very solid back there, which is huge because our goalkeepers are brand new this year, so they’re still learning. To have somebody steady in front of them like that takes the pressure off of them a little bit.”
Quakertown goalie Morgan Craighead and Amanda Tuley combined for 16 saves. Hallie Frederick recorded a defensive save in the first half half.
UD goalies Sarah Herchenroder and Meghan Muth combined for three saves.
Upper Dublin (2-0-1, 2-0 SOL) will be on the road at Wissahickon on Tuesday, and Quakertown (0-3, 0-2) will host Palisades on Monday in a non-league contest.
Upper Dublin 1-0-1 2
Quakertown 0-1-0 1
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 6, SOUDERTON 1
The Patriots capped a 3-0 week with a no-doubt-about-it win over the Indians. In those three games combined, they’ve scored 15 goals.
In Friday’s win, it was the Donnelly sisters doing most of the damage as each contributed two goals and one assist.
With 3:09 remaining in the first half, Cailey Lever broke a scoreless tie with a goal that sent the Patriots into halftime with a 1-0 lead, and it looked as though goals were going to be hard to come by for both squads.
That wasn’t the case.
Back-to-back goals by Riley Donnelly in a two-minute span early in the second half gave the Patriots a 3-0 advantage, and midway through the half, Emma Donnelly turned a pass from Riley Donnelly into a goal.
With 7:45 remaining, Isabelle Palde put the Indians on the scoreboard, but Emma Donnelly answered with a goal for East, using a Mackenzie Boyle assist. Lever (Emma Donnelly assist) closed out the scoring with a goal at the 4:24 mark.
East held an advantage in shots (16-7) and corners (11-2).
Central Bucks East (3-1, 2-0 SOL) will be on the road at Pennridge on Tuesday, and Souderton (1-2, 1-1) will travel to Spring-Ford for a non-league game on Saturday.
Central Bucks East 1-5 6
Souderton 0-1 1
National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 5, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1
The extreme heat has called for extreme measures, and with the temperature on the turf in Walt Snyder Stadium over 100 degrees, Friday afternoon’s showdown between the neighboring schools was moved to the grass field.
It could have been a distraction, but it certainly wasn’t for senior Caroline McGovern, who scored two goals in the opening seven minutes of the game – the first with an assist from Tori Wright during corner play.
“Caroline McGovern had a very focused and intense warm-up,” South coach Lisa Belz said. “At first we were taken aback that we weren’t going to play on the turf, and she had to prepare herself for the game. She came out on fire.”
A goal by Mikayla Van Aken sent the Golden Hawks into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
“We came out very strong today,” Belz said. “Both teams are turf teams, but the ball was moving because the grass was so dry.”
That 3-0 lead held until 8:33 remained when McGovern scored to complete her hat trick. The Indians broke up South’s shutout bit when Julianne Mangano converted a penalty stroke, but the Hawks got that goal back when Shannon Lind turned a pass from Paige Schmid into a goal and the 5-1 final.
“Everybody played really hard and supported each other all over the field,” Belz said. “Neshaminy has really strong players, but our girls stepped up to the plate.
“In the second half, (goalie) Sabrina Masone had a couple of saves right in a row. Overall, it was a team effort.”
The Golden Hawks held an 11-9 advantage in shots.
Masone was credited with six saves in the win while Rock North’s Margaret D’Auria had three saves.
Council Rock South (4-0, 2-0 SOL) will host Wissahickon in a non-league contest on Monday, and Council Rock North (2-2, 1-1) will travel to Bensalem on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 3-2 5
Council Rock North 0-1 1
NESHAMINY 8, BENSALEM 0
Seven different players contributed goals for the Redskins, who led 3-0 at halftime and never looked back. Kiley Gurysh scored with an assist from Emily Alexis just over eight minutes into the game, and goals by Alexis (Jamie Pennington assist) and Elayna Curton (Mia Sexton assist) late in the half put the ‘Skins on top 3-0.
Anna Skrot (Curtin assist) scored 4:38 into the second half, and back-to-back goals by Peyton Ritchey with Gurysh assists made it a 6-0 game. Single goals by Sexton and Kailyn Deon – both set up by Pennington – closed out the scoring.
Neshaminy (1-1, 1-0 SOL) will be on the road for a non-league game at Mount St. Joseph on Saturday .
Neshaminy 3-5 8
Bensalem 0-0 0
WILLIAM TENNENT 4, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 0
The Lady Panthers, according to coach Kaitlyn Rauchut, brought the heat in their non-league road match at LC.
“They arrived with a positive attitude and kept that mindset until the last whistle,” the Panthers’ coach said. “The girls channeled the strength and endurance acquired during the preseason to get through the scorching weather conditions.”
Freshman Karly Adkins put the Panthers on the scoreboard nine minutes into the game, using a Jenna Craigan assist. Midway through the half, senior Lexi Freiling converted a direct shot off a crisp pass from junior Claudia Krouse into a goal. The Panthers led 3-0 when – shortly thereafter – Craigan turned a pass from junior Sydne Fairall into a goal.
Sophomore Sarah Starr (Fairall assist) found the cage 10 minutes into the second half to close out the scoring.
Tricia McCoy recorded the shutout in goal.
William Tennent (1-1-1, 0-1 SOL) will host North Penn on Tuesday.
William Tennent 3-1 4
Lansdale Catholic 0-0 0
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