Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Monday. Wissahickon/Ridley photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f1066908596
Non-league
Upper Dublin 9, North Penn 7
The visiting Knights jumped out to a 5-2 halftime lead, but the Flying Cardinals roared back in the second half to earn the win in yet another nail biter.
Close games are becoming the norm for the Cardinals, who have played five games decided by two goals or less (four have been one-goal games).
“North Penn is young, just like us, so the game was a battle for who would score last,” UD coach Dee Cross said. “North Penn came out strong in the first half and took a three-goal lead into halftime. Their goalie (Kiera Holt) was very good and made great saves, so we had to try and move her in the goal which we could not do in the first half.”
The second half was another story as UD’s offense came to life.
“The second half started with us scoring the first three goals to tie it up,” Cross said. “North Penn scored two more to take a two-goal lead and then the defense buckled down again and held them scoreless for the rest of the game. Sophomore goalie Anna Biermaas made some point-blank saves in the second half and helped to kick start the transition.”
UD’s gutsy comeback represented a team effort.
“Maeve Hogan caused a turnover in the midfield and scored to tie the game up with six minutes left,” the UD coach said. “We then were able to string together some draw controls, and Anna DiMartile scored the last two goals of the game to put us ahead 9-7 with three minutes left in the game.
“It was a matter of gaining possession and running out the clock. This again was a total team win from end to end. North Penn is well-coached, and they made adjustments as the game went on. They have some speed in the midfield, and we had to work for every groundball and draw control.”
Cross credited the play of her defense.
“The defense, led by sophomore Olivia Broome (4 caused turnovers), came up with great plays one after another, but we would throw the ball away in transition so we could never gain any momentum. Ava Shohen and Maeve Hogan added two caused turnovers.”
For the Cardinals, who celebrated Upper Dublin Youth Day, Allie Gay had two goals and one assist, Paige Dinkel added two goals, one draw control, two ground balls and one caused turnover. DiMartile contributed two goals and four draw controls. Julie Zlotnikoff had one goal and one assist, Lily Buckius had one goal and Hogan added one goal and two ground balls.
Shohen finished with three ground balls and two caused turnovers while Broome had three ground balls and a team-high four caused turnovers.
Biermaas was credited with eight saves in a winning effort in goal.
“Upper Dublin did a nice job of capitalizing on our mistakes and never giving up,” said North Penn coach Heather Mellow. “Our team came out strong in the first half, but flattened out in the second half, almost felt like we ran out of energy. We need to focus on fewer turnovers and continuing to improve as an entire unit.”
Lauren Blanch scored 3 goals and had 4 draw controls for North Penn. Kayla Stressman scored twice and had 3 draw controls, Grace McGeehan and Ashley Yu each scored 1 goal, Stephanie Gibson recorded 1 assist, and Grace MacNamara had 3 caused turnovers.
Kiera Holt made 8 saves for the Knights (2-3, 1-1 National Conference), who will host Council Rock North at 3:30 pm Wednesday.
Upper Dublin improves to 5-2 overall with the victory (2-0 American Conference). The Cards are off until April 12, when they host New Hope-Solebury at 3:30 pm. North Penn will host Council Rock North at 3:30 pm Wednesday.
North Penn 5-2 7
Upper Dublin 2-7 9
Pennsbury 14, Abington 7
Olivia Graebner scored 5 goals and assisted on 2 others as Pennsbury jumped out to an 8-3 halftime lead and rolled to a 14-7 victory over Abington.
Mia Popovich scored 4 goals for the Falcons, Sasha Dobos added 2 goals, Lily Abraham and Grace Holmes each had 1 goal and 1 assist, and Angelina Kenney chipped in with 1 goal.
With the victory, Pennsbury improves to 3-2 overall (2-0 National Conference) and visits nonleague opponent Ridley at 7:30 pm Wednesday. Abington falls to 4-2 (2-0 American Conference) and will return to action visiting neighborhood rival Cheltenham at 3:30 pm on April 12.
Upper Moreland 15, Archbishop Wood 6
Reaching the 100-goal mark is an achievement all high school lacrosse players dream of
Annalise Messina accomplished that milestone in less than two seasons.
The Upper Moreland sophomore struck triple-digits on Monday, scoring the 100th goal of her lacrosse career as part of a 6-goal, 1-assist performance as the Bears rolled past nonleague opponent Archbishop Wood 15-6.
“Today was a day of celebrations for UM,” said coach Kim Frantz. “Of course, we are happy for the win, but we are also happy to celebrate Annalise Messina’s 100th goal. She is a very tenacious player with an incredible work ethic, which is one reason she is so successful. She works hard every day in practice and games to be a better lacrosse player. The team was very excited to celebrate Annalise.”
But while Messina led the way on this day, she was far from the only Upper Moreland player to contribute. In all, 10 Golden Bears registered points, with Isabel Leiter and Willow Taylor each scoring 2 goals and adding 1 assist, Olivia Meakim had 1 goal and 5 assists, Allison LaRocco scored once and assisted on another, and Reagan Cummins, Maggie Morrow, and Alexa Marczak each chipped in with one goal. Cambrie Richmond and Jenna Piantieri each recorded 1 assist.
“We had 8 players contribute goals and 7 players contribute assists,” Frantz said. “Olivia Meakim had an outstanding game with 5 assists.
“Our defense is really coming together as a whole and today. Charlotte James had a really great game on defense and led our team in ground balls for the day. Addi Hurley played solid in the goal with 10 saves.”
The Golden Bears improve to 2-2 overall with the win (1-1 American Conference) and will host Plymouth Whitemarsh at 3:30 pm today.
Marple Newtown 9, Wissahickon 6
Wissahickon put in a terrific effort, battling back from a 4-0 deficit to keep the game close until the end, but fell short by a 9-6 count to Marple Newtown in Monday’s nonleague game.
“The team reached down and really put in an amazing effort,” said Trojans’ coach Chuck Wurzbach. “We were within two in the closing minutes of the game, but Rowan Hilden made a crucial save on an 8-meter shot. Marple Newtown transitioned the ball up the field and scored. We couldn’t get the ball back after that.”
Ellie Stein played out of position and provided a stellar offensive spark, scoring twice for the Trojans while adding 2 draw controls and 1 caused turnover.
“We asked Elle Stein, who is normally a defender, to play midfield today,” Wurzbach said. “She has been working really hard to improve her shot and off-ball movement. She scored the first goal in the second half on an amazing one-timer from Sophia Stehlik.”
Nora Ryan scored 2 goals for Wissahickon (3-1, 2-0 American Conference) and added 3 GBs and 1 CTO. Stehlik had 1 goal, 2 assists and 4 draw controls, and Thalia Tsiobikas chipped in with 1 goal.
Ava Fell made 11 saves against the powerful Marple Newtown offense, bolstered by a solid defensive effort.
“Ava Fell was a beast in goal,” Wurzbach said. “She continues to impress each week and she really kept us close.
“I’m really proud of the hard work Allie Pijanowski put in today. Defense doesn’t show up on the stat line, but she brought a ton of energy and did a great job of sliding to the ball carrier.”
The Trojans are back in action on April 12, when they host Hatboro-Horsham at 5 pm.
Wissahickon 2-4 6
Marple-Newtown 6-3 9
Council Rock South 18, Neshaminy 1
The Golden Hawks notched their sixth win without a loss, opening up a commanding 7-0 halftime lead and rolling to the conference win.
Zoe Brossman had a hand in eight goals, tallying six goals and assisting on two others. Lizzie Hearn also accounted for six goals. Amy Loving added two goals and an assist, and Amanda Green had a pair of goals. Kelly Longmore chipped in a goal and assist, and Ella Mayberry had one goal. Meg Rafter had a pair of assists, and Kate Deal had one.
Council Rock South (6-0, 3-0 SOL) will host Gwynedd Mercy Academy in a non-league game Wednesday, and Neshaminy (0-5, 0-3) will travel to Lansdale Catholic Tuesday for a non-league game.
Council Rock South 7-11 18
Neshaminy 0-1 1
Gwynedd Mercy Academy 17, Central Bucks East 4
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