Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Wednesday. PW/Hatboro-Horsham photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f1066908596
SOL National Conference
NORTH PENN 9, PENNSBURY 5
As Senior Nights go, they don’t get much better than this one.
On an absolutely perfect spring night, the Knights wrote a magical ending to their conference season, handing the visiting Falcons their first loss in league play and – as a result – capturing a share of the conference crown.
When the final horn sounded, the players converged for a jubilant celebration.
“I was so excited – I couldn’t hold in anything,” senior Kiera Holt said. “I was just jumping, hugging all my teammates, it felt so good.”
“We got two victories tonight,” senior Kayla Stressman said of not only winning the game but also a share of the title. “It’s awesome.”
It’s also – by their own admission – unexpected.
“It’s amazing to be in the position to play for the league in the first place,” senior Lauren Blanch said. “We worked all season to be in this position going into our last league game.
“We all wanted it, we put all the work in this season to get there. It was kind of a culmination of all our efforts. It was crazy tonight – everyone was screaming. I’ve never played in a more hyped game.”
The Knights have won nine straight after a 3-4 start to the season.
“We started off a little slow – we were at least close with teams,” NP coach Heather Mellow said. “We didn’t know each other yet, we didn’t know how things were going to come together, but they’ve really started to come together for us.
“The girls really love each other, which helps out, because at the beginning of the season they really didn’t know each other. I’m speechless, I’m literally speechless. I don’t think I could have guessed this was going to happen. It’s been like a Cinderella season, for sure.”
The stakes were high entering Wednesday’s league finale. The Falcons – who brought a 9-0 league mark into the game – had already clinched at least a share of the league title. For the Knights, it was all or nothing – win and get a share of the crown or lose and finish tied for second.
“We definitely felt it was going to be a hard game, but it was very nerveracking in the beginning because it’s Senior Night and also one of the biggest games of our season,” Holt said. “After the first half, we kind of got collected, got everything together. We got all of our nerves out and we all just finished from attack to ‘D.’”
The two teams battled to a 4-4 halftime tie, and the Falcons led 5-4 after Mia Popovich scored early in the second half. The rest of the half belonged to the Knights, who answered Popovich’s goal with three straight of their own in a two-minute span to go on top 8-5.
So what changed?
“We got a couple more draw controls in the beginning, which helped us out,” Mellow said. “Grace Holmes is outstanding on the draw for them. She is really, really tough to beat.
“We kept making adjustments that kind of worked and that was Quinn Rodoff – we put her in there. She’s a lefty, so it helped out.”
The Knights – as the result of a player receiving two yellow cards – was down a player for the final six minutes of the game but still managed to score a goal to ice the win with four minutes remaining.
“That’s why (the Falcons) were able to pressure us so much on offense,” Mellow said of being a player down. “The girls were just running themselves ragged, but they really dug deep, and they came up huge.”
Stressman led the Knights with four goals – three in the first half – and an assist.
“She’s just been money for us both offensively and on the draws since the beginning of the season, but she’s really been coming into her own,” Mellow said. “She’s really stepped up for us as a captain and a leader.”
Also for the Knights, Quinn Rodoff had a hat trick, and Morgan Rodoff added a goal and an assist. Katie Harkins had one goal, Lauren Blanch had a pair of assists, and Stephanie Gibson had one assist.
Holt was credited with six saves in goal.
“Honestly, this season was a win before we walked out onto the field,” Mellow said. “This was a cherry on the top that we got to tie Pennsbury for the league, but we won anyway. It was such a great season from such an unexpected group of girls.
“Losing nine players (from last year’s squad) – you’re playing with all brand new people basically, and now you’ve put this together, and they’ve come together as a team and playing awesome. You can’t ask for much more than that.”
For the Falcons, Popovich had two goals, and Grace Holmes had a goal and an assist. Olivia Graebner and Rylie Borgman each had one goal.
“Even though the game wasn’t in our favor, our girls should be extremely proud of themselves – they are co-winners of the league,” Pennsbury coach Marguerite Piccolo said. “North Penn played well. They were hungry and got the 50/50 ground balls.”
Mellow had high praise for the Falcons.
“I’m happy to share (the title) with them,” the Knights’ coach said. “Honestly, it’s a good team, it’s a good program. They’re coached really well, so I’m happy to share with a program like that.”
EXTRA SHOTS: Wednesday’s Senior Night game had an interesting theme. “Every year the juniors pick out a theme for the seniors and this year it was cowboy,” Stressman said. “They decorated with a cowboy theme, we had to wear this (cowboy) hat and sunglasses. We had the (hobby) horses in school all day. It’s a fun thing to get us hyped up.” It apparently worked…something else that has apparently worked is Mellow’s lucky black joggers. She hasn’t washed them since her team’s nine-game winning streak began and has worn them to all nine wins…North Penn (12-4, 9-1 SOL) – eighth in the latest District 1 3A power rankings – will host Lower Merion for a non-league game on Friday, and Pennsbury (12-4, 9-1) – 10th in the latest rankings – is off until the start of the district tournament on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 4-1 5
North Penn 4-5 9
SOUDERTON 15, NESHAMINY 8
Sparked by the glittering seven-goal effort of Avery Farina, the Indians notched a conference road win. They opened up an 11-8 halftime lead and then turned up the defense in the second half, keeping the Redskins off the scoreboard.
Tatum Andrews added four goals and five draw controls while Ang Borisow had two goals and a team-high eight draw controls. Carly Gavetti and Anah Petrovich each had one goal. Ava Shaw and Hannah Cornes both had one draw control.
Souderton (5-13, 3-7 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Thursday, and Neshaminy will host Nazareth Academy in a non-league game Friday.
Souderton 11-4 15
Neshaminy 8-0 8
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 11, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 9
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 19, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 10
SOL American Conference
SPRINGFIELD TWP 14, WISSAHICKON 12
It’s official.
The Spartans own a share of the conference crown after escaping with a Senior Night win over the Trojans that was anything but easy. Granted, it looked as though it might be when they went into halftime with a 10-5 lead, but the Trojans reeled off five unanswered goals, and the two teams were deadlocked 11-11 with 14 minutes remaining. The Spartans regained the lead and went into a stall, holding on for the win.
“This game meant a lot to us, and we are so happy with how the team played,” Springfield coach Marissa Conover said. “We had positive energy throughout, and it showed.
“I’m proud of them for not letting Wissahickon’s comeback affect their ability to continue to perform.”
Fiona Rizzo’s six-point game led the Spartans and included three goals and three assists. Shannon Silvius added three goals and two assists while Maddie McDevitt had two goals and three assists. Emma Yoder added a hat trick. Amelia Price, Shannon Meder and Frankie Rizzo each had one goal. Price also had an assist.
“Shannon Silvius had an amazing game, coming up with ground balls and making stellar plays,” Conover said. “Maddie McDevitt played her heart out and left it all on the field. You could tell from the sideline how much she wanted it and how hard she was playing.
“Honestly, all of our attack really played hard today – big plays from all of them. Possession was huge today. Possession of the draw was determining goals. And they were able to get those draw controls in the beginning of the second half and run a good play.”
Tess Talbot was credited with nine saves in a winning effort in goal.
For the Trojans, Alexa McCabe had a huge game, scoring six goals and assisting on two others.
“Alexa McCabe really stepped up in the second half and scored five times,” Wissahickon coach Chuck Wurzbach said. “That kid has shown her grit all season, and when we needed her today, she stepped up again.”
Nora Ryan added two goals, one assist and five draw controls. Maddie Radell had three goals while Emma Greenberg had one goal and Sophia Stehlik, one assist. Greenberg also had six draw controls and Stehlik had five.
Ava Fell recorded six saves in goal for the Trojans.
Wurzbach credited his team for its resiliency in the second half.
“At halftime, we talked about how we want to end the season,” the Trojans’ coach said. “Nora Ryan, Sophia Stehlik and Emma Greenberg did a great job winning the draw and giving us the opportunity to tie the score at 10-10.
“Springfield did a great job of being patient on attack and their ball movement was impressive. That is a very well-coached team.”
Springfield Twp (15-1, 10-1 SOL) will travel to Harriton for a non-league game Friday at 5:30 p.m. Wissahickon closed out its season with a 7-10 record overall, 6-5 SOL.
Wissahickon 5-7 12
Springfield Twp 10-4 14
UPPER DUBLIN 15, CHELTENHAM 5
The Cardinals opened up an 11-2 halftime lead, leaving no doubt that a share of the SOL American crown would be theirs as they rolled to the Senior Day win.
“The girls knew we needed to win this game to share the Suburban One American Conference championship,” UD coach Dee Cross said. “Our last championship was in 2013, so it was exciting to be at this point 10 years later. They played with intensity to set the tone and did a nice job of working together to reach our goal. We honored Cheltenham’s six seniors also before the game.”
Ali Gay (4 goals, 1 assist, 2 caused turnovers) and Paige Dinkel (4 goals, 1 assist, 5 draw controls) led UD. Katie Stoughton added two goals, one assist and two caused turnovers, Allison Loose had one goal and two assists, and Anna DiMartile had one goal, one assist, two draw controls and one caused turnover. Kelly Senior had one goal and one assist, Julie Zlotnikoff added a goal and two assists, and Mads McManus had one goal.
For the Lady Panthers, Lilli Kleiman (3 saves) and Anna Biermaas (4 saves) shared time in goal.
Cheltenham 2-3 5
Upper Dublin 11-4 15
Upper Dublin (14-4, 10-1 SOL) is ranked 12th in the latest District 1 3A power rankings. Cheltenham (1-10, 0-9) will travel to Interboro for a non-league game Tuesday.
UPPER MORELAND 18, WILLIAM TENNENT 3
The visiting Golden Bears took care of business in a hurry, opening up a 14-1 halftime lead on their way to a win that gave UM a share of the conference crown.
“We are excited to win today to clinch a piece of the Suburban One American League conference title,” UM coach Kim Frantz said. “It has been 22 years since Upper Moreland has been able to put a year on our league champion banner, and we were finally able to make a mark and piece of history at Upper Moreland. We are beyond excited. We are looking forward to playoffs and what they will bring, but for now we celebrate our season long quote ‘One Team One Dream.’”
Reagan Cummins led the Golden Bears with four goals and two assists. Annalise Messina and Olivia Meakim both had three goals and two assists. Willow Taylor added three goals and one assist, Charlie Clement had two goals and one assist, Alexa Marczak contributed one goal and two assists, Molly Meakim had one goal and one assist, and Isabel Leiter had one goal.
Addi Hurley was credited with three saves in the win.
Upper Moreland (16-2, 10-1 SOL) is third in the latest District 1 2A power rankings.
Upper Moreland 14-4 18
William Tennent 1-2 3
ABINGTON 9, QUAKERTOWN 7
The Lady Ghosts trailed by one at halftime but rallied in the second half, outscoring their hosts 6-3 on their way to the win.
“We pulled off a win and played the last 15 minutes down one girl,” Abington coach Meg MacClain said. “Being down a player for two minutes is tough but being down a girl for 15 minutes is hard, but the Lady Ghosts worked together and had constant communication to work extra hard to keep it together to win.”
Audrey Silverman and Katie Pennekamp each recorded three goals and 3 draw controls. Carly Hughes, Madden Murray, and Piper McGinley added one goal each. In the midfield, Abington had nine draw controls led by Harper McGinley with five.
“Abington fought every minute of that game, causing turnovers and capitalizing on them,” MacClain said. “The team altogether had 16 caused turnovers that came from players all over the field, but we were led by Harper McGinley who had five of them. In net was Jadyn Bagby, who played an amazing game and had 12 saves.”
Abington closed out its regular season with an 11-7 record overall, 8-3 SOL. The Ghosts are 26th in the latest District 1 3A power rankings. Quakertown (7-10, 5-6) will travel to Lansdale Catholic for a non-league game Thursday.
Abington 3-6 9
Quakertown 4-3 7
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 15, HATBORO-HORSHAM 5
The Colonials celebrated the team’s two seniors – Ella Clarke and Anna McNichol – with a win over the visiting Hatters, recovering from a slow
start to open up an 11-4 halftime lead on their way to the win.
“It was a rough start to our senior recognition game tonight,” PW coach Ellen Reilly said. “Fourteen minutes into the first half, Hatboro was leading for 4-2.
“My girls were excited for the night game and had to settle down before they were able to play their game. It was a nice night to recognize our seniors: Ella Clarke and Anna McNichol.”
Ella Clark scored three goals and added an assist while Liv Reilly had a hat trick to lead a balanced PW attack. Sophia Gartland and Mia Baron both had two goals, and Kaiane Jayo had a goal and two assists. Adding one goal each were Liv Eaton, Meghan Wendler, Liv Budin and Liv Bragg.
For the Hatters, Allison Hewish had a hat trick, and Hannah Brommentrie added two goals.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-8, 7-4 SOL) will travel to Strath Haven for a non-league game Thursday. Hatboro-Horsham will be on the road at Gwynedd Mercy for a non-league game Thursday.
Hatboro-Horsham 4-1 5
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11-4 15
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 16, LOWER MORELAND 8
New Hope-Solebury wrapped up their season with a 16-8 victory over Lower Moreland. The day started off on a high note as Senior Margaret Tresler scored her 100th career goal on the first goal of the game assisted by Nicole Michael. Senior Nicole Michael contributed 2 goals as well in the victory today.
Margaret Tresler finished the day with 3 goals, 2 assists and 3 draw controls.
Junior Madie Thistlewaite contributed 7 goals on the day.
Sophomore goalie had 7 saves in today’s game.
New Hope-Solebury closed out its season at 4-10, 4-7 SOL and Lower Moreland finished at 2-14, 2-9 SOL.
Non-league
MOUNT ST JOSEPH 14, PENNRIDGE 6
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