Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Wednesday.
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 8, NORTH PENN 7 (OT)
The Golden Hawks won a thriller Wednesday night when Lizzie Hearn found the net with the game-winner two minutes into the first overtime period.
“We won the first draw in overtime, and my jayvee coach (Sara Foley) played a huge role in getting us that draw,” Rock South coach Madison Hurwitz said. “North Penn’s number 35 (Kayla Stressman) was a tall girl and had won a lot of draws, so when we were talking about how to set up for overtime, Sara Foley – my unsung hero – said, ‘Thirty-five is getting draws, she’s a big kid. Let’s put Karissa (Smedley) on her.’
“Karissa is our backer, our main defender, out senior captain, and she came up with the draw, and that was huge. There was a forced pass in the middle, we fumbled the ball. Meg Rafter got it back and Lizzie scored the goal.”
Listening to Hurwitz tell it, the game didn’t have to be quite this exciting.
Especially since the Golden Hawks led 5-2 early in the second half only to watch the visiting Knights rally to tie the score 7-7 with 2:51 remaining in regulation.
“I think we learned how important it is to take care of the ball when we’re up,” Hurwitz said. “With five minutes left (in regulation), we were up by two, and my dad (assistant coach David Hurwitz) and I were saying, ‘Red,’ which means stall, and they didn’t. We let them back in the game.
“But we learned. When it’s a close game and there’s five minutes left, we have to take care of the ball much better.”
Zoe Brossman’s four-goal effort led the Golden Hawks. Amy Loving added two goals and an assist while Hearn had a pair of goals. Meg Rafter chipped in an assist.
“Our defense played awesome – our set defense was outstanding,” Hurwitz said of Teagan Shay, Emerson Wackowski, Grace Franchini and Smedley. “Kaya Mallon played excellent in goal.
“They knew this game was important. They played incredible on Monday (in a 10-8 win at Pennridge). I was so proud of them.”
For the Knights, Stephanie Gibson and Lauren Blanch each had two goals. Blanch also had three draw controls. Stressman added a goal and an assist and also had seven draw controls. Adding one goal each were Katie Harkins and Maddie Brown. Grace Mcgeehan added an assist.
Kiera Holt recorded 12 saves in goal for the Knights and reached an impressive milestone.
“Kiera was outstanding in the cage tonight and even made her 300th save in the process,” NP coach Heather Mellow said. “Our team played a tough game. Unfortunately, we had too many turnovers to overcome.”
Council Rock South (4-0, 2-0 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Friday, and North Penn (1-2, 1-1) will be on the road at Abington Friday.
North Penn 2-5-0 7
Council Rock South 4-3-1 8
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 9, SOUDERTON 8
What a difference a half can make.
The Indians took a 6-4 lead into halftime that turned out to be anything but secure as the Titans owned the second half, outscoring the visiting Indians 5-2.
“It was a very back and forth game,” South coach Janique Craig said. “We had the momentum at the start, but we had a few turnovers that gave Souderton opportunities. The girls played well and as a team the second half.”
In a contest that was a roller coaster of emotions for both sides, the Titans led 3-0 nine minutes into the game only to watch the Indians reel off five unanswered goals to go on top 5-3. The two teams exchanged goals with South scoring to pull to within one and the Indians answering to go into halftime with a 6-4 advantage.
South scored first in the second half, but Souderton once again had an answer and led 7-5. South pulled to within one only to see Souderton go up 8-6. The Titans, however, had the final word, scoring three consecutive goals to close out the game on top 9-8.
Senior captain Gabby Mayo turned in a standout performance in goal, recording 10 saves.
On attack, Addy Geary was all but unstoppable with seven goals and four draw controls. Brooke Cenci added one goal and two assists, and Avery Curtis had one goal and five draw controls. Kaeli Vandersluis had three draw controls.
For the Indians, Avery Farina scored two goals. Scoring one goal each were Carly Gavetti, Ang Borisow, Tatum Andrews and Rach Schewe. Borisow also led the Indians with three draw controls. Dayanera Long and Hannah Cornes each had an assist with Long also contributing a pair of draw controls. Ella Longacre had one draw control.
Gabby Hirschmann was credited with five saves in goal for the Indians.
Central Bucks South (3-2, 2-0 SOL) will host Avon Grove in a non-league game on Saturday at 11 a.m. Souderton (0-2, 0-1) will host Phoenixville in a non-league game Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Souderton 6-2 8
Central Bucks South 4-5 9
PENNRIDGE 16, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 8
If the visiting Rams needed a bounce-back win after Monday’s loss to Council Rock South, they got just that, racing to a 10-3 halftime lead on their way to the convincing road win.
Kate Unzicker scored six goals and assisted on another to lead the Rams. She also had three ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls. Ava Fantaskey added four goals and three assists to go along with four ground balls, four caused turnovers and two draw controls. Grace Rosica added two goals, one assist, two caused turnovers and four draw controls.
Coach Karen Feher credited several players for their contributions in various areas of the game.
“Kate Unzicker’s placement on shots,” the Rams’ coach said. “Ava Fantaskey and Grace Rosica on the draw. Kendall Posey seeing the cutters, and Anjali Verma with some big stops in net.”
Posey added one goal, two assists and two caused turnovers. Cayla Wurz had two goals and two ground balls, Taylor Burkett added one goal, one assist, one ground ball and two caused turnovers, Lauren Moylan and Abby Keller both had three caused turnovers, Leah Verespy had one ground ball and one caused turnover and Madigan Posey had two caused turnovers.
Pennridge (4-2, 1-1 SOL) will host Springfield-Delco in a non-league game Friday at 7 p.m., and Council Rock North (3-3, 1-2) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
Pennridge 10-6 16
Council Rock North 3-5 8
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 15, BENSALEM 7
The Patriots opened up a 6-3 halftime lead over the visiting Owls and closed out the game strong, scoring nine second-half goals on their way to the win.
“Bensalem is always aggressive, and today their attack came out strong,” East coach Maggie Stella said. “They looked composed and were running smart plays. Once the second half hit my team really kicked it into full gear.”
The Patriots received contributions up and down their lineup. Paige Dougherty led the attack with four goals to go along with two caused turnovers, three ground balls and three draw controls. Paige Keller added a hat trick as well as one assist, three caused turnovers, two ground balls and three draw controls.
Sammy Kishel contributed two goals, one assist, two caused turnovers, a team-high four ground balls and one draw control. Sierra Buesing added two goals while Riley Schmidt, Savannah Jagoda, Natalie Berndt and Ava Delfini each had one goal. Berndt also had one assist, two ground balls and two draw controls while Jagoda had one draw control and Schmidt had one caused turnover and two ground balls.
Amanda Ries had one caused turnover while Megan Fahey and Olivia Samkavitz each had one ground ball.”
“Paige Keller, Natalie Berndt, Sammy Kishel, and Paige Dougherty were adjusting to the draw and winning,” Stella said of her team’s second-half adjustments. “My attack was being smart and running our sets.
“My attack is truly the definition of strength in numbers – they all can score and play a variety of positions. Ava Delfini and Sammy Kishel led our attack to victory. My defense was solid per usual. Avery Stephenson had a really great game – she was sliding and communicating very well. Abby DiAmico made key saves for us as our quarterback.”
Central Bucks East (3-2, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Gwynedd Mercy for a non-league game Monday at 5 p.m., and Bensalem (0-2) will travel to St. Hubert’s for a non-league game next Wednesday.
Bensalem 3-4 7
Central Bucks East 6-9 15
PENNSBURY 16, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 5
The visiting Falcons seized control of Wednesday’s game from the outset, opening up a 12-2 halftime lead on their way to the impressive road win.
Grace Holmes scored five goals and assisted on two others to lead the Falcons while teammate Mia Popovich added four goals. Sasha Dobos contributed two goals and two assists, and Lily Abraham also was part of four goals with a goal and three assists. Olivia Graebner and Rylie Borgman both contributed two goals and one assist.
Pennsbury (3-2, 2-0 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Monday, and Central Bucks West (2-3, 0-2) will host Parkland in a non-league game Saturday at 1 p.m.
Pennsbury 12-4 16
Central Bucks West 2-3 5
SOL American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 11, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 10 (OT)
Anna DiMartile connected on an 8-meter shot with 27 seconds remaining in the first overtime, propelling the Cardinals to the heartstopping win.
“It was a typical PW vs. UD game,” UD coach Dee Cross said. “No lead was safe throughout the whole game.
“PW played a tough second half and tied the game up with 10 seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime.”
Bri Reynolds scored PW’s tying goal.
“She scored after a great defensive play on UD transition – she created a turnover, picking it up and going in to score,” PW coach Ellen Reilly said.
The Cardinals came up with a defensive gem of their own in overtime.
“PW won the draw and challenged to goal right away,” Cross said of the OT period. “Our goalie, Anna Biermaas, had the save of her life on a point-blank shot, and we got possession with everyone on the defensive end working to get the ball. Anna DiMartile ultimately was fouled with 27 seconds left in the first OT and scored on an 8-meter shot to win the game.
“It was a total team effort. PW never let up and we both had to battle for every draw control, possession and shot. This win was important to teach our girls how to play together and play until the end. They are young and a league win against a very good, aggressive PW team, helps to build confidence.”
DiMartile had a hand in seven UD goals, scoring five goals and assisting on two others. Paige Dinkel had four goals and one assist, and Allie Gay added two goals and an assist. Julie Zlotnikoff contributed an assist.
Cross also gave credit to her team’s defensive unit.
“Our defense was led by Abby O’Meara, Olivia Broome, Ava Shohen, Sophia Sirianni and Maeve Hogan,” the UD coach said. “Our midfielders, Allie Gay, Paige Dinkel and Anna DiMartile, worked hard all game to gain possession on the draw and worked both ends of the field.”
There were peaks and valleys for both sides in Wednesday’s contest. PW led 5-2 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
“Upper Dublin slowly came back, taking the lead – they were up 8-5 at halftime,” Reilly said. “PW continued to fight and slowly closed the gap, and with 10 seconds left in the game, we tied it up. In overtime, we gained possession off the draw. We had an offensive opportunity and couldn’t put it in the cage.”
Reynolds scored four goals to lead the Colonials while Sophia Gartland had three goals and two assists. Maite Jayo added two goals and Ella Clark, one goal. Olivia Eaton had one assist, one ground ball and one caused turnover. Kaiane Jayo had five caused turnovers.
“We played excellent defense the entire game, and contributing to our comeback was Kaiane Jayo with five caused turnovers,” Reilly said. “Additionally, midfielders Bri Reynolds, Meghan Wendler and Maite Jayo all worked hard the entire game. Sopia Gartland had a great game on the offensive end.”
Upper Dublin (3-2, 2-0 SOL) will host Boyertown in a non-league game Friday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-2, 0-1) will travel to Wilson Thursday for a non-league game at 7 p.m.
Upper Dublin 8-2-1 11
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-5-0 10
ABINGTON 8, HATBORO-HORSHAM 5
The visiting Lady Ghosts found themselves on the short end of a 4-3 halftime score but limited the Hatters to just one second-half goal while they scored five.
“The defense never gave up and kept the team in the game with 19 caused turnovers,” Abington coach Meg MacClain said.
In goal was Jadyn Bagby who had nine saves to assist the Ghosts’ win. Audrey Silverman contributed four of the Ghosts’ eight goals and also had six draw controls. Avery Sullivan and Madden Murray had two goals each. Murray also recorded three assists in the game.
Abington (4-1 2-0 SOL) will host North Penn on Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (0-4, 0-1) will be on the road at Council Rock North Friday for a 5 p.m. contest.
Abington 3-5 8
Hatboro-Horsham 4-1 5
QUAKERTOWN 17, WILLIAM TENNENT 1
Midfielder Mya Hibsman put the Panthers on the scoreboard, setting the stage for a 12-0 first-half tear and the no-doubt-about it win.
“Quakertown controlled the ball most of the game allowing little opportunity for William Tennent to score,” Quakertown coach Tracy Hibsman said. “Our strong defense held William Tennent to only a handful of shots. It was a solid win on our home field.”
Katelyn Derstine and Cameron Hagerty led the Panthers with three goals apiece. Other goal scorers included Ciara Morey with two and Livian Stover, Isabelle Kave, Madison Taylor, Molly Kowalski, Kayla Glaeser, Casey Rosenberger and Addyson Davis with one goal each.
Quakertown (1-4, 1-1 SOL) will host Souderton on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and William Tennent (0-2) will host Council Rock South on Friday.
William Tennent 0-1 1
Quakertown 12-5 17
WISSAHICKON 13, LOWER MORELAND 1
Sophia Stehlik scored six goals to lead the visiting Trojans to their third win of the young season, their second in conference play.
Nora Ryan had two goals and two assists and a team-high eight draw controls. Maddie Radell had two goals, four assists and three draw controls.
“I’m really proud of the effort of Nora Ryan,” Wissahickon coach Chuck Wurzbach said. “She stepped up and took command of the midfield today.
“Sophie Stehlik continues to show up and show out. Maddie Radell did a great job of seeing the field and dishing the ball to open cutters.”
Closing out the scoring for the Trojans was Thalia Tsiobikas with a goal and an assist and Chloe Lee with one goal.
“We are really short-handed right now,” Wurzbach said. “The team is dealing with injuries and missing players. Today was a total team effort.”
The Trojans caused 10 turnovers in transition.
Abbie Wasserstrom scored Lower Moreland’s lone goal.
Wissahickon (3-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Marple Newtown in a non-league contest Monday at 5 p.m., and Lower Moreland (2-2, 1-1) will be on the road at Jenkintown Friday for a non-league contest.
UPPER MORELAND 20, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 9
Annalise Messina scored seven goals and assisted on two others, and teammate Isabel Leiter added five goals and two assists. The duo combined for 12 goals and four assists to lead the Golden Bears to the conference win.
“New Hope came to the game ready to play, and we really struggled to get going,” UM coach Kim Frantz said. “New Hope had an early 3-1 lead. We were able to battle and get moving after about 10 minutes of the game.
“New Hope’s goalie, Nicole Seyler had a great game. Thresher and Thistlewaite both had great games and combined they scored all the team’s goals. Thistlewaite also dominated the midfield on draw controls for New Hope. With not working well together in the beginning of the game, I was really happy with how the players were able to turn around their play and come together as a team.”
In addition to Messina and Leiter, Reagan Cummins had a hat trick. Olivia Meakim added a goal and three assists, and contributing one goal and one assist each were Jenna Piatieri and Willow Taylor.
Upper Moreland (2-2, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Archbishop Wood for a non-league game on Monday, and New Hope-Solebury (0-4, 0-2) will host Villa Joseph Marie in a non-league game Friday at 7 p.m.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 20, CHELTENHAM 1
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