Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Wednesday. PW/Hatboro-Horsham photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos. All SOS photo galleries for GIRLS’ LACROSSE can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL National Conference
North Penn 13, Pennsbury 8
There’s only one Emily Varilla. But on Wednesday, it seemed like she was everywhere.
From marking one of Pennsbury’s top offensive threats, to dominating draws (5 DCs) in the midfield, to peppering in a game-high 5 goals, Varilla made her mark as North Penn jumped out to a 9-4 halftime lead en route to a 13-8 victory over Pennsbury in Wednesday’s matchup.
“Emily had a big day both offensively and defensively,” said Knights’ coach Heather Mellow. “She was tasked with marking Darrien Furiness and held her scoreless.”
Kayla Stressman also shined on draws, winning 7 for the Knights to go along with 2 goals and 2 assists.
The hosts also got offensive contributions from Danielle Preston (3G, 1A), Jordan Baily (1G, 3A), Kerry O’Donnell (1G, 2DCs), Olivia Caputo (1G), and Riley O’Donnell (2A).
“Our attack is starting to click and seeing each other,” Mellow said. “I love that we had 8 assists, with many different goal scorers. It shows we are working together as a team.”
Kiera Holt made 5 saves in goal, and was supported by solid defensive play from Hannah Mallitz, Ella Burget, Grace MacNamara, Haley Decker, and Lauren Blanch.
For the Falcons, Mia Popovitch scored a team-high 3 goals and added 1 assist. Olivia Graebner scored twice and added 4 draw controls, Grace Holmes had 2 goals, and Caroline Mellon added 1 goal. Sophia Curtis picked up 4 ground balls. While Graebner and Furiness each nabbed 2 GBs. Kema Brown made 6 saves in goal.
With the win, North Penn remains undefeated in league play at 4-0 (6-2 overall).
“This was a huge win,” Mellow said. “They are (without Penn State commit Maggie Golder), but they’re still a good team. They have some young players. Grace Holmes is a nice player, and she’s going to be lights-out good.
“Emily did an amazing job face-guarding and marking Darrien—she stopped her from getting the ball, and I think that confused Pennsbury’s offense. Even doing that, we also pressured the ball quite a bit. Our defense stepped up. It was a good victory for my defense in shutting their offense down because they have a really good attack.”
The Knights return to action when they visit Strath Haven at 5:15 pm Friday for a nonleague clash.
Pennsbury (3-2, 1-1) will host Methacton in a non-league game on Thursday.
Pennsbury 4-4 8
North Penn 9-4 13
Pennridge 21, Bensalem 2
Fifteen different players contributed to the offense as Pennridge exploded to an 11-1 halftime lead and kept up the pressure in the second half to run away with a 21-2 victory over Bensalem on Wednesday.
Kate Unzicker had 6 points (3G, 3A) and Maddy Edinger added 5 (3G, 2A) to lead the Rams, who also saw Grace Rosica score 3 goals. Pennridge also received offensive contributions from Amelia Loughery (1G, 2A), Kendall Posey (1G, 2A), Lexi Murreda (2G), Ava Fantaskey (1G, 1A), Aubrey Bailey (1G, 1A), Natalie Yilanjian (1G), Sophie Craig (1G), Maddy Pottichen (1G), Sydney Williams (1G), Jessie Moylan (1G), Kira Shukla (1G), and Leah Verespy (1A).
Anjali Verma made 3 saves in goal for the Rams.
Pennridge improves to 3-1 in National Conference play, 5-3 overall. The Rams will visit Lansdale Catholic at 5 pm Friday for a nonleague game, then return to league action when they host Council Rock South at 7 pm Monday. Bensalem falls to 0-3, 2-4. The Owls will host St. Hubert at 3:30 pm Friday, then visits Central Bucks East at 5 pm Monday looking for their first league win.
Bensalem 1-1 2
Pennridge 11-10 21
Souderton 15, Neshaminy 1
Reiley Knize scored a game-high 5 goals and Jess Burns added 5 points on 3 goals and 2 assists as Souderton cruised to a 15-1 victory over Neshaminy on Wednesday.
“Today we did a great job with our transition game, which is something we’ve been relying on our middies for,” said Souderton coach Claudia LaMarca. “We made good passes, saw the field for our next decisions, and pushed the fast break.”
The Indians received offensive contributions from Tatum Andrews (2G, 2A), Lauren Hallman (2G, 1A), Peyton Clemmer (1G, 1A), Angela Borisow (1G), and Ava Jones (1G). Tegan Farina made 2 saves to record the win in goal for Souderton.
Souderton keeps pace with the National Conference leaders, remaining undefeated in league play at 3-0 (6-2 overall). The Indians will host nonleague opponent West Chester Henderson at 5 pm Friday. Neshaminy drops to 0-3, 0-4, and will look for its first win of the season when Lower Moreland visits at 7 pm Thursday for a nonleague matchup.
Central Bucks West 8, Central Bucks South 7
It was another classic battle in Wednesday’s rivalry game pitting the sister schools, and it was the Bucks – under first-year coach Kali Cook-Grisewood – eking out the thrilling win.
“Today’s game came down to three key areas: the energy, the coaching strategy, and the execution of that strategy,” the Bucks’ coach said. “The intensity, heart, and tenacity that both teams played with today made this game not just highly competitive but amazing to play, coach, and spectate. High energy radiated from every Buck on the field and on our sideline. That level of positive morale played a huge role in today’s win. Had it not been for my sideline’s intensity and support for their teammates, I don’t know if the desire to win and heart to play the best game they’ve played yet would have happened. That energy was our fuel.
“Second to keeping the energy high and positive was the strategizing that took place. CB South has a lot of talent and seniority on their roster, which is something we knew going into today’s game would require a detailed plan. My assistant coach, Jordan Sanocki, and I wanted to make sure that we placed each athlete on our roster in a position to succeed and distribute the contribution towards a big win across the field. That plan paid off.”
The two teams were deadlocked 4-4 at halftime, and the Bucks never gave up the lead after taking it and went up by two goals at one point.
Bella Schrandt’s four goals led the Bucks’ attack. She also had three ground balls. Hope Dryden added a pair of goals. Grace Naylor came up with a team high five draw controls and also scooped up five ground balls.
Mason Keller added one goal, two draw controls, two ground balls and five caused turnovers. Alexis Barklage added one goal, one draw control and three ground balls.
Margot Haring (8 saves) and Kalena Mandeville (5 saves) shared time in goal for the Bucks. Haring also was credited with two ground balls.
“While the stats are impressive, what’s even more impressive is playing down one player for 14:38 in the last half of the game and holding CB South to only two goals during that time, going back and forth fighting for possession and ultimately coming up with the 8-7 win,” Cook-Grisewood said. “Additionally, what the stats don’t tell you is that every person on our team made this possible.
“Hannah Maughan, Abby Rogers, Paige Controy, Tai Henkels, Isabella Carter, Riley Fitzmartin, and Emma Schrandt all impacted the success of today’s game along with our leading stat holders. The amount of speed, ball movement, communication, and trust in the coaching calls being made today was phenomenal. The girls executed everything we asked them to. They trusted each other and they fought hard to earn the win. I couldn’t be more proud to be their coach.”
Central Bucks West (2-4, 1-2 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Monday, and Central Bucks South (4-5, 2-2) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
Central Bucks South 4-3 7
Central Bucks West 4-4 8
SOL American Conference
Upper Dublin 9, Abington 7
Aditi Foster had 5 goals and 1 assist and goalkeeper Dara Fishman led a solid defensive effort with 11 saves as Upper Dublin pulled out a big 9-7 victory over Abington in Wednesday’s matchup.
“It was a nice bounce-back win for us today,” said Upper Dublin coach Dee Cross, whose team dropped a tough 12-10 decision to Upper Moreland on Monday. “Abington was tough and aggressive. Our defense—led by Erin Eby, Ava Costanzo, Abby O’Meara, and Sophia Sirianni—
was able to work together to limit some shots and come up with key groundballs.”
Paige Dinkel had 2 goals and 1 assist to go along with 3 draw controls for the Cardinals. Tess Reardon scored 1 goal and added 1 assist, Allie Gay chipped in with 1 goal and 1 caused turnover, and Anna DiMartile racked up 1 assist, 2 draw controls, 3 ground balls, and 1 caused turnover.
“Paige Dinkel, Anna DiMartile, and Allie Gay played steady in the midfield and helped to get key draw controls as the game went on,” Cross said.
Mei Mei Cheng led the Abington offense with 3 goals and 1 assist, Wren Castor scored 2 goals, and Piper McGinley and Caroline Hughes each added 1 goal.
Abington coach Amalie Kreitman noted the outstanding defensive efforts of Madden Murray, Harper McGinley, Jamie Falling, Luci Scarpello, and Joclyn Pollack.
“Our defense did an amazing job keeping out Upper Dublin’s attack,” Kreitman said. “They did a great job communicating. And Jay (Bagby) had a great game in goal. Overall, a tough game but we did a great job.”
Upper Dublin improves to 3-2 American Division, 6-4 overall. The Cardinals will take to the road to square off against Plymouth Whitemarsh at 3:30 pm April 28 in a key American Division battle. Abington moves to 3-1, 4-4. The Ghosts will look to return to their winning ways when they visit Central Bucks East at 5:30 pm Friday.
Abington 4-3 7
Upper Dublin 5-4 9
Plymouth Whitemarsh 16, Hatboro-Horsham 15
The true sign of a quality team is its ability to battle through adversity.
In Wednesday’s battle against Hatboro-Horsham, Plymouth Whitemarsh came out strong, taking a 3-goal lead into halftime. The Colonials lost focus for a stretch in the second half, and despite
falling behind, regrouped and rallied for a huge 16-15 win over the Hatters to remain undefeated in league play at 5-0 (6-1 overall).
Brianna Austin led the Colonials’ attack with a game-high 7 goals.
“In the first half, Brianna was winning the draws for us, and offensively, she had seven goals for us,” PW coach Ellen Reilly said. “She is an aggressive player, she fights.
“Defensively, Lonna Buono is a low defender for me, and she transitioned the ball several times, got it out of the defensive end and gave it to our attack, which benefitted us. My other two midfielders, Brianna Reynolds (1G) and Meghan Wendler, played well for us. The draw was the key. We capitalized on a lot of them, and we turned them into points.”
Fiona Gooneratne added 3 goals for PW, and freshmen Sophia Gartland (4G) and Rhianna Gooneratne (1G) played crucial roles in securing the victory.
“Rhianna Gooneratne and Sophie Gartland are our two freshmen,” Reilly said. “They’ve been stepping up, especially today. Hatboro was really keying on Brianna Austin and Sophie and Rhianna stepped up and weren’t afraid to go to goal and scored some key goals for us.”
The Hatters called for three stick checks on the Colonials, with one successfully overturning a PW goal. The calls shook the team, but the players regrouped and battled back to take the victory.
“We were up by two, scored a goal, they called for a stick check, and the ref called the goal back. I think that frazzled my kids a little bit. They were really upset,” Reilly said. “I think that threw my kids off kilter a little bit and we got behind. They eventually 
came back and took the lead. They were one goal up on us, and there was still about 8 minutes left. I said, ’There’s plenty of time, just take your time.’”
The Colonials took the 16-15 lead with about a minute left, but a pair of PW turnovers gave the Hatters two more late chances to knot the score. The Colonials’ defense held up to earn the win.
“It was all a matter of draw control,” Reilly said. “Whoever got the draw control in the second half got the shots off. Luckily, in the end, we won draws that we capitalized on down on the offensive end, and we took the lead.
“It was a barnburner, but it shouldn’t have been. I felt in the first half we controlled the game, we controlled what we were doing. In the second half, we got frazzled and let them get into our heads. We had to settle down and do what we were capable of doing.”
For the Hatters, Sophia Liott led the way with 6 goals, Abby Roesing scored 4, Cait Carpenter posted a hat trick, and Lydia Nolin added 2 goals.
PW will visit Downingtown East at 10 am Saturday, then will return to league play at Upper Moreland at 3:30 pm Monday. The Hatters (2-3, 3-5) visit Central Bucks South at 3:30 pm Friday, then host Abington at 3:45 pm Monday.
Hatboro-Horsham 4-11 15
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7-9 16
Wissahickon 14, Springfield Twp 11
Springfield scored 5 unanswered goals late in the second half to roar back into Wednesday’s game but couldn’t complete the comeback as Wissahickon held off the Spartans and earned a hard-fought 14-11 win in Wednesday’s American Division game.
“I’m proud of the girls for keeping their composure and closing today,” said Wissahickon coach Nicole Fisher, whose team led 7-2 at halftime before the Spartans roared back.
Emma Baker had a stellar game for the Trojans with 6 goals, 3 caused turnovers, and 8 draw controls. Alexa McCabe netted 3 goals while Lex Hobson posted 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 caused turnover, and 2 draw controls. Emma Greenberg earned rave reviews for her play in the midfield with 4 goals and 4 draw controls. Emma Reily was a force on the defensive end with 4 caused turnovers and 3 ground balls. Camille Hubbs made 12 saves, including 7 in the second half, to help hold off the charging Spartans.
Though the comeback bid fell short, Springfield coach Marissa Conover had nothing but praise for her charges’ efforts on this day.
“The energy we had on the field was unmatched!” Conover said. “And we began winning draw controls, which really changed the game for us. Emily Smith was great on the draw for us today.
“We scored those 5 unanswered goals, unlocking a truly magical energy from the field. Our girls were on fire with a comeback! Unfortunately, this began a little late in the game and we didn’t have enough time to tie it up.”
Conover also noted the stellar 16-save effort of Tess Talbot.
Fiona Rizzo led the Spartans with 4 goals, 3 assists. Smith had 3 goals and 2 assists, Emma Yoder notched a hat trick, and Shannon Meder chipped in with 1 goal.
Springfield Twp 2-9 11
Wissahickon 7-7 14
Quakertown 9, Cheltenham 8
New Hope-Solebury 15, Lower Moreland 6
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