Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Wednesday. Pennsbury/CR South photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos. All SOS photo galleries for GIRLS’ LACROSSE can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL National Conference
PENNSBURY 14, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 8
The visiting Falcons took a 6-4 lead into halftime and outscored their hosts 8-4 in the second half on their way to the impressive conference win.
Maggie Golder (4 goals, 2 assists), Grace Holmes (4 goals, 1 assist) and Darrien Furiness (3 goals, 4 assists) were a triple threat in Wednesday’s win.
“The girls really started meshing well the second half,” Pennsbury coach Shannon MacPherson said. “CR South did a nice job defensively. The girls were able to figure out how to be successful on attack – this is something I’m very proud of them for.
“Grace (Hughes) had an amazing game today; she worked hard and came up with some key turnovers and beautiful goals. Very proud and happy with the team as a whole and how they played today.”
Also contributing to the scoring for the Falcons were Caroline Mellon (2 goals), Mia Popovitch (1 goal) and Olivia Graebner (2 assists).
Furiness had five draw controls to lead the Falcons. She also had a team high six ground balls to go along with four caused turnovers. Graebner had three draw controls, a team high five caused turnovers and five ground balls. Golder had three draw controls and two ground balls, and Holmes contributed two draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Sophia Curtis had three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Pennsbury (12-4, 7-2 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Thursday, and Council Rock South (10-7, 7-2) awaits word on its final district ranking. The Golden Hawks were 21st in the latest District One 3A power rankings in what will be a 24-team field.
Pennsbury 6-8 14
Council Rock South 4-4 8
PENNRIDGE 18, NESHAMINY 4
Kate Unzicker’s eight-point night (5 goals, 3 assists) led a balanced attack for the Rams, who raced out of the gate to a 12-1 halftime lead on their way to the decisive win. Unzicker was one of nine players to contribute goals.
“Getting 18 goals from nine different scorers through 11 assists is a product of good teamwork,” coach William Rodzewich said. “Kate Unzicker and Amelia Loughery had big offensive numbers. Kendall Posey and Leah Verespy were also strong in the attack zone. We shared the ball nicely today, and our defense put in a solid performance.”
Loughery added three goals and two assists while Posey had two goals and two assists. Verespy had a hat trick. Also contributing were Sophie Craig (1 goals, 2 assists), Grace Rosica (1 goal, 1 assist), Taylor Burkett (1 goal, 1 assist), Ava Fantaskey (1 goal) and Maddie Pottichen (1 goal).
“Freshman Taylor Burkett and sophomore Ava Fantaskey both had a strong day on the circle, each collecting five draw controls,” Rodzewich said. “Grace Roscia had three draw controls, and Maddy Edinger and Kendall Posey had two draw controls apiece. Taylor Burkett and Sophie Craig shared the team lead with three ground ball pickups each.”
For the Redskins, Maya Lewis had a hat trick while Megan Lang added one goal.
Pennridge (12-4, 8-2 SOL) will close out its regular season at Hatboro-Horsham on Friday, and Neshaminy (1-10, 1-9) will travel to Villa Joseph Marie on Thursday for a non-league game.
Pennridge 12-6 18
Neshaminy 1-3 4
NORTH PENN 15, BENSALEM 4
The Knights celebrated their eight seniors with a no-doubt-about-it win over the visiting Owls that clinched sole possession of the SOL National Conference crown. This year’s seniors included Emily Varilla, Jordan Baily, Hannah Mallitz, Danielle Preston, Haley Decker, Ella Burget, Olivia Caputo and Belle Sparango.
“My senior class has been a pleasure to coach,” NP coach Heather Mellow said. “They all offer so much to the team.
“One very special senior, Belle Sparango, just returned to the field for the first time this season after battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma for the past six months. It has been a very difficult and scary journey for Belle and her family. Belle is now on the path to recovery. And getting to see her back out on the lacrosse field tonight was amazing. The icing on the cake – she had a hat trick.”
Sparango finished the night with three goals and one assist. Baily led the Knights with four goals and one assist, and Kerry O’Donnell had three goals and one assist to go along with four draw controls. Varilla added two goals and four draw controls, and Riley O’Donnell had one goal and one assist. Kayla Stressman had one goal and a team-high seven draw controls. Danielle Preston had one goal.
Kiera Holt had five saves.
North Penn (13-3, 9-0 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh in a non-league game Thursday, and Bensalem (3-9, 0-8) will host Conwell-Egan in a non-league game on Thursday.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 8, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 6
The Patriots took a 5-3 lead into halftime, but the Titans outscored their visitors 5-1 in the second half to escape with the hard-fought Senior Night win although the outcome was in doubt until the final horn.
“It was a very exciting and a tight game the entire night,” South coach Janique Craig said. “CB East did a great job on the draw control and maintaining possession in the first half.
“We ended up coming up big in the second half (5-1) and started playing as a team. Our defense did a phenomenal job and had some crucial caused- turnovers.”
Grace Gannon’s four goals and two assists led the Titans’ attack. She also had three caused turnovers. Kate Victor scored two goals and assisted on another while Maddy Flynn and Brooke Cenci each had one goal.
Tegan Mullen had four draw controls to lead the Titans. Rachel Steigerwalt had three caused turnovers while Brynn Reilly and Colby Roach each had two caused turnovers.
Grace Mayo had eight saves in a winning effort in goal for the Titans.
For the Patriots, Paige Keller had a big game, finishing with four goals, five draw controls, four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Rylee Surovec added a goal and an assist to go along with three draw controls and two caused turnovers. Morgan Tait added one goal and Sammy Kishel contributed one assist as well as one draw control.
Courtney Curry had two draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Olivia Samkavitz had one caused turnover and one ground ball. Aidenn O’Leary was credited with three ground balls while Ericka Zimmer and Ava Delfini both had two ground balls. Lauren Boylan and Emma Weisel each had one ground ball.
In goal for the Patriots, Grace Gidwani was credited with eight saves.
“My team fought so hard tonight,” East coach Maggie Stella said. “My attacking end played so smart and worked hard for good goals. My defense was sliding and dominating on the 8-meter, crashing and communicating. My team also fought hard for the 50/50 balls, from the draw to transitions, they did not stop.
“It’s a shame it came down to the last minute. It was 5-3 at half, and we were in the lead. Then into the second half South scored two quick goals, and then we scored, making it 6 to 6 for most of the second half. South scored at the very end, with 1:17 to go. We got the draw and lost possession
“With a score of 7-6 and 16 seconds left, South called a timeout. They ended up scoring one more goal. It was a great game, and good competition. I have to say this was my team’s best game, they applied everything they learned and ran with it, and as their coach, that’s all I can ask. This year our record was not the best, and honestly on paper CB South should’ve crushed us, but they didn’t. We gave them a good fight, and I hope as my team develops, we take the lessons from this year and apply them to next year.”
Central Bucks South (10-7, 7-2 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Thursday, and Central Bucks East (3-13, 2-8) will host Jenkintown in a non-league game on Friday.
Central Bucks East 5-1 6
Central Bucks South 3-5 8
SOUDERTON 14, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 8
Propelled by the seven-goal effort of Reiley Knize, Souderton picked up a big road win, defeating the host Indians 14-8.
Also contributing for the visiting Indians were Lauren Hallman (2 goals), Ava Jones (1 goal, 2 assists), Angela Borisow (1 goal, 1 assist), Jess Burns (1 goal, 1 assist), Ava Shaw (1 goal, 1 assist), Tatum Andrews (1 goal, 1 assist) and Peyton Clemmer (1 assist).
Rock North was led by the four-goal effort of Ali Carpentier while Morgan McCaffery added three goals. Charlotte Ondria added one goal.
“Souderton’s goalie did a great job to help them win the game,” Rock North coach Denise Noseworthy said. “Morgan did well on the draw for us.”
Souderton (9-7, 5-4 SOL) will host North Penn on Friday at 5 p.m. Council Rock North (11-7, 4-6) – 20th in the last District One 3A power rankings – will await final word for district seeding.
SOL American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 12, WISSAHICKON 11
Freshman Olivia Reilly scored the biggest goal of her young career and certainly the biggest goal of PW’s season, breaking a 10-10 tie with a goal that turned out to be the game-winner.
“It was a very good game,” PW coach Ellen Reilly said. “Both teams played really well, and it was – who was going to get the last shot.
“Luckily, one of my little freshmen, Olivia Reilly, has been getting some time, and she was in the game, got the ball, sprinted 50 yards with Wissahickon girls coming at her from both sides, trying to catch up to her, swinging their sticks, and she put the ball in the back of the net.
“From there, the ref called a yellow card on one of Wissahickon’s kids because they came really close to her head. Then they were short a player. We pretty much held the ball. There was three minutes and 18 seconds on the clock, and we held the ball for two minutes. Then they got another yellow card, and they were short and we were up by one.”
The final moments of the game were not without drama.
“With maybe 18 seconds to go, we turned the ball over, and they get to come down,” Reilly said. “They had an opportunity to score, but they didn’t. The clock ran out.”
Fiona Gooneratne and Meghan Wendler both had three goals and one assist to lead the Colonials. Brianna Austin added two goals and one assist, and Rhianna Gooneratne had two goals. Sophia Gartland and Reilly both had one goal.
The two teams were deadlocked 6-6 at halftime in a contest that was close from beginning to end.
“In the second half, Wiss scored first and PW followed it up to tie,” Reilly said. “Wiss then scored twice to take a two-goal lead. PW won the draw and capitalized to draw within one. But Wiss scored again to take a 10-8 lead.
“PW continued to fight and scored to tie the game and then scored to take the lead. But Wiss came right back to tie the game.”
That set the stage for Olivia Reilly’s game-winner.
“This is huge,” Reilly said. “When you play a good team and you hang with them, you are just as good as them, so you need to be able to bring that every day.
“My kids played phenomenal, they really did. We put the ball in the net. Their goalie made some good saves where I thought we should have the lead at halftime, but we didn’t. My kids hung in there, and they worked the game plan.
“We knew Emma Baker was going to go, and when she goes, she goes. We worked to step in front of her, get a body in front of her and just tried to stop her – make the other kids win the game, make her have to dump the ball, and my kids did that phenomenal. It was probably one of the best high school games I’ve seen in a while. It went back and forth, back and forth.”
Another key to the game was the PW’s ability to win the draw.
“We won the majority of possessions, and my kids fought hard.” Reilly said. “Playing great all over the field was Bri Reynolds coming up with seven draw controls, two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
“Defensively, Lonna Buono, Kaylin Smyth, Lauren Lewis, Ella Clark and Katie Lukens played well anchoring our defense.”
For the Trojans, who are a win over Cheltenham away from clinching sole possession of the conference crown, the loss was the first of the season in league play.
“This was a tough one,” Wissahickon coach Nicole Fisher said. “PW came hungry and worked for the full 50 minutes. There were a lot of great moments for both teams and I look ahead and as we continue to learn and grow.”
Freshman Alexa McCabe had four goals and one assist to lead the Trojans. Baker finished with three goals, two assists, three draw controls and two ground balls. Lex Hobson had two goals, one assist, two forced turnovers and two draw controls.
“Her performance on the draw helped in netting five other possessions,” Fisher said of Hobson. “She truly gave 110 percent for the full 50 minutes. She worked hard to control what she could control.”
Emma Greenberg added one goal, one assist and four draw controls. Maddie Raddel had one goal, and Ellie Stein had one assist, one ground ball and one forced turnover. Amanda Brecher and Emma Reilly both had one forced turnover.
Camille Hubbs was credited with six saves in goal for the Trojans.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-6, 9-2 SOL) will host SOL National Conference champion North Penn in a non-league game on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Wissahickon will be on the road at Cheltenham on Thursday.
Wissahickon 6-5-0 11
Plymouth Whitemarsh 6-5-1 12
UPPER DUBLIN 12, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 11
Nothing came easily for either side in Wednesday’s classic conference battle between the neighboring rivals, but it was the Cardinals eking out the win. Paige Dinkel scored the game-winner with 3:35 remaining in regulation.
“It was a great game all around,” UD coach Dee Cross said. “Both teams have young players and both teams played hard until the last second.
“We were able to get up by two or three goals, and Springfield would come back and tie the game up. The difference was the draw control. We could not win a draw for most of the second half, and Springfield took full advantage of it by tying the game up and then going up by one with a little over six minutes left in the game. We made an adjustment on the draw and had more success.
“Our defense led by Erin Eby, Ava Costanzo, Sophia Sirianni and Abby O’Meara came up with some key turnovers and gave us a chance to get possession and score. Aditi Foster tied the game with five minutes left and then Paige Dinkel scored the game-winner with 3:35 left. Our midfield, Paige Dinkel, Anna DiMartile and Allie Gay played their hearts out at both ends of the field. Tess Reardon came up with key draw controls and Aditi Foster scored some key goals to help us gain momentum. Kelly Senior helped out on attack and helped us to possess the ball. Dara Fishman also had a key save with time running off the clock! Great effort all around tonight. It was a great neighborhood rivalry game. Springfield is very talented, and the game could have gone either way.”
Foster’s eight-point game (5 goals, 3 assists) led the Cardinals while Dinkel added four goals. Senior had two goals and two assists and Tess Reardon contributed a goal and an assist.
Fishman was credited with five saves in goal for the Cardinals.
Emma Yoder’s three goals and two assists led a balanced Spartan attack while Emily Smith added three goals. Maddie McDevitt had one goal and two assists, and Fiona Rizzo contributed a goal and an assist. Shannon Silvius and Sam McDevitt each had one goal.
“It was 1-1 16 mins into the game, and to say it was evenly matched is a true statement,” Springfield coach Marissa Conover said. “We both had the lead at different times, and both of us were able to tie it up and get the lead. This was one of those games where every move and every decision matters – and one dropped ball meant the other team could capitalize on that (and vice versa).”
Tess Talbot’s stellar 16-save effort in goal kept the Spartans in the game.
“It was one of Tess Talbot’s best games,” Conover said. “They would get their shot off and Tess was coming up with it time after time. Freshman Jess Shapley had a couple of amazing plays back on defense, as did Autumn Aingletary as standout defenders today.
“We have to primarily work on our nervousness under pressure – I think a lot of the girls were nervous to make a mistake which resulted in more mistakes because they weren’t as loose. We had the lead 11-10 and UD was able to tie it up and gain the lead in the last couple minutes of the game. I’m sad we lost but it was a great game to watch – the crowd definitely had fun with it.”
For Conover and her veteran players, the game had a familiar feel to it. Last year, the Spartans edged the Cardinals 11-10.
“The exact same situation happened last year where we came to UD for their Senior Night – it was the same back and forth game, same final buzzer situation that makes or breaks the winner and the loser,” the Spartans’ coach said. “Last year we won on their turf, and this year they won on our turf. It’s a friendly rival, and I definitely always look forward to this game.”
Upper Dublin (12-5, 8-3 SOL) will host Harriton in a non-league game Thursday, and Springfield Township (11-7, 7-4) will await word when the district seedings are announced.
Upper Dublin 7-5 12
Springfield Township 5-6 11
UPPER MORELAND 14, QUAKERTOWN 5
Annalise Messina scored six goals and assisted on another to lead the Golden Bears to the road win that settled the score for the UM veterans.
“In what has been a crazy ride this season, we are very happy to end our conference play on a win,” UM coach Kim Frantz said. “Last year Quakertown beat us on our Senior Night, and our seniors this year were not about to let that happen. In a full team effort, we were able to pull out our final conference win.”
Reagan Cummins added two goals and two assists, and Isabel Leiter had two goals. Olivia Meakim had a goal and two assists while Mallory Sieder had a goal and an assist. Charlotte James and Maggie Morrow each added one goal while Willow Taylor and Heidi Wittick both had two assists.
Emma Hurley was credited with 17 saves in another stellar outing in goal for UM.
“Unfortunately, in our game on Monday, we overlooked Emma Hurley’s huge milestone of 400 career saves, so tonight we picked a number and celebrated her 411th save to make sure she got the celebration she deserved,” Frantz said. “We made sure that 411 would be even more memorable. Missing her sophomore year to COVID, this is a really big accomplishment for Emma.”
Upper Moreland (13-3, 9-2 SOL) will host Upper Merion in a non-league game on Thursday while Quakertown closed out its season with a 4-12 record (3-8 SOL).
Upper Moreland 8-6 14
Quakertown 1-4 5
HATBORO-HORSHAM 15, LOWER MORELAND 6
Sophia Liott scored five goals, including the 100th goal of her standout career, and she also had one assist. Abby Roesing also had five goals to lead the Hatters, who jumped out of the gate to an 11-4 halftime lead.
Tara Orloski added three goals and one assist while Hannah Bommentre had one goal and three assists. Natalie Tocci contributed one goal.
Hatboro-Horsham (10-7, 8-3 SOL) will host Pennridge on Friday, and Lower Moreland (0-16, 0-11) will be on the road at William Tennent on Thursday.
ABINGTON 19, WILLIAM TENNENT 2
The Ghosts made their season finale a good one, rolling to a conference win over the Pathers.
“Overall, it was a great last game for our seniors,” coach Amalie Kreitman said. “It was a great season they will always remember.”
Emma Warner and Piper McGinley both had three goals to lead a balanced attack. Haley Hamscher, Caroline Hughes and Audrey Silverman each had two goals. Adding one goal each were Katie Warner (two assists), Mei Mei Cheng, Avery Sullivan, Madden Murphy, Brooke Hall, Carley Slavin and Maggie Cardmone.
Jadyn Bagby (2 saves) and Marilynn Capps (1 save) shared time in goal.
Abington closed out its season with a 7-10 record over (5-6 SOL).
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 16, CHELTENHAM 3
Tuesday, May 10
Non-league
PENNSBURY 18, HATBORO-HORSHAM 5
Maggie Golder celebrated her return to the field with a stellar outing, scoring four goals and assisting on two others. She also had six draw controls, five ground balls and one caused turnover. Darrien Furiness also had a six-point night, finishing with five goals and one assist to go along with six draw controls, five ground balls and one caused turnover. Olivia Graeber had a hat trick and one assist. She also had five caused turnovers, four ground balls and two draw controls.
“The attack continues to mesh well with each other,” Pennsbury coach Shannon MacPherson said. “Darrien and Maggie together just add a whole new element that’s fun to watch.
“Sophia Curtis did a nice job defensively and also in the midfield. Olivia Graebner had a great game with caused turnovers and ground balls. Grace Holmes also is growing with attack and playing well.”
Holmes had one goal and one assist to go along with three ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls. Lily Abraham added one goal and one assist.
Hatboro-Horsham 3-2 5
Pennsbury 10-8 18
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