Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ lacrosse teams in action Wednesday. CB East/CB South photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos. (Additional photos provided by Pennridge lacrosse & Upper Moreland lacrosse)
SOL National Conference
Pennsbury 17, Council Rock South 14
The Falcons had a lot going on Wednesday night between Senior Night, a wild second half with 20 total goals and the not-so-small measure of a conference championship on the line.
With the winner between the Falcons and visiting Golden Hawks securing no worse than a share of the SOL National title, there was a lot at stake and the game more than matched it. The victory was a cap on a steady progression by Pennsbury’s program in recent years, going from 4-13 and 1-7 in the SOL in 2017 to a conference champ in 2021.
“We came into the season with a vision to win the league, and tonight being Senior Night – I think it was the perfect night,” said Pennsbury coach Shannon MacPherson. “We might end up sharing that with North Penn, but I think that’s a great accomplishment from where we came the last couple of years.
“Our seniors have really pulled through this year, and overall, it’s just been such a great team, so fun to coach.”
The Falcons scored first, fell behind 2-1 but rallied to regain the lead. Despite staying in front most of the way, Pennsbury couldn’t seem to pull away from a determined Golden Hawks team.
Making the accomplishment more impressive was the fact Pennsbury had to play without standout junior Darrien Furniess. The Ohio State recruit, also a standout soccer player, was sidelined with injury but is expected back for the postseason.
Her teammates had her back on Wednesday.
“Tonight’s win was a full-out effort of us just readjusting and the girls making changes,” MacPherson said. “We missed having Darrien, but the girls came through. They’re just an awesome group of kids this year. They’re so adaptable, and they do what they have to do to win. It’s such a breath of fresh air to coach a team that is so willing to adjust and do whatever they need to do.
“They just genuinely care about each other, and that’s one of the biggest parts of their success. They all just want to see each other succeed. Even though Darrien wasn’t on the field tonight, she was on the sidelines cheering her teammates on, and she wanted more than anything to be on the field with them tonight. She’s still there in full. That all carries over. They wanted to win for each other, they wanted to win for the seniors, they wanted to win for Darrien who couldn’t play tonight.”
Both teams came in with just one loss in SOL play, so it wasn’t a surprise the contest was back-and-forth and saw plenty of offense.
“It was such a crazy game today,” MacPherson said. “I think both teams played a great game. Council Rock South has some really good players.
“It was a lot of competition on the draw, and the draw today was key, so even towards the end of the game, we needed the draw, and we needed to possess the ball because it came down to the wire. Their goalie came up with some nice saves, and they gave us a good run tonight.”
Senior Lexie Snyder helped out filling in for Furniess, scoring and assisting a goal and putting her mark in the book with six draw controls and six ground balls.
Maddy Spratt and Maggie Golder were nonstop for the Falcons, contributing in nearly every category. Golder posted four goals and three assists and was a presence on draw controls, recording nine wins for her team while also scooping up seven ground balls.
Spratt was a stat-stuffer as well with a hat trick, three assists, four draw controls and four ground balls while also causing a turnover defensively.
“Lexie Snyder stepped up huge on the draws. Her draw controls definitely helped us today,” MacPherson said. “Maggie Golder definitely helped lead us in the midfield. Maddy Spratt sets her teammates up – she has great assists, she wins draw controls, and she just wants to help her teammates succeed. Maddy and Maggie truly shined with that today.”
Sarah Walcott paced Pennsbury’s high-scoring attack with six goals, scoring efficiently on eight shots on goal. Olivia Walcott added two goals.
“Sarah Walcott is just so accurate, and she’s really stepped on attack for us,” MacPherson said. “Sophia Curtis is such a great kid – today we had to bump her to midfield. She did a nice job, and she had an awesome goal. I’m super proud of her.
“Ava Ricciardi stepped up on defense and had some key ground balls today and some caused turnovers.”
Ricciardi had three ground balls and one caused turnover while Olivia Graebner had one ground ball and two caused turnovers.
The Falcons (13-1, 9-1 SOL), who will host Methacton on Friday in a non-league game, will wait to see if they share the SOL National title as CR South (13-4, 7-2) visits North Penn on Thursday at 3:45 p.m. The Knights have one loss in the conference and would split the crown with a win.
PENNSBURY 7 10 – 17
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 4 10 – 14
Pennridge 19, Neshaminy 5
Captain Peytan Rimmer’s return went hand-in-hand with a Senior Night win for the Rams.
The senior, who has battled an injury most of the season, returned with a two-goal game on the night she was honored alongside classmates Emily Amsden, Sara Casey, Emily Brown, Mackenzie Herbst, Emily Padva, Ella Phipps and Aubrey Maher.
“Tonight we celebrated our eight seniors with tons of love and passion on the field,” Pennridge coach Karen Feher said. “When Peytan scored her first goal, you could feel and see the love and joy for their teammate.
“It was truly a beautiful and amazing night and I am so proud of all the hard work and dedication these eight have given. ’Play like you only get one game’ – that was tonight, and it was truly amazing to watch and be a part of.”
Maher made the most of her night, scoring four times and assisting on three other goals while fellow senior Herbst scored twice and also posted three assists to lead the attack.
Seniors Sara Casy and Emily Brown joined Rimmer as two-goal scorers. All eight seniors recorded at least one goal, with Amsden, Padva and Phipps all tallying a goal and Amsden adding on two assists.
Amelia Loughery, Kate Unzicker and Natalie Yilanjian were the Rams’ other scorers with one goal apiece while Unzicker, Yilanjian and Grace Rosica each tallied an assist.
Pennridge closed out its season with a 5-11 record (4-6 SOL). Neshaminy (1-15, 1-9) will travel to Conwell-Egan for a non-league game on Friday.
PENNRIDGE – 19
NESHAMINY – 5
Central Bucks South 15, Central Bucks East 6
The Titans picked up the win Wednesday on a day the programs came together to support a cause close to East coach Maggie Stella’s heart.
Both teams formed the shape of a heart on the field for a photo to raise awareness for Lax-4-Life, a national campaign geared toward adolescent
and young adult suicide prevention awareness. The campaign was brought to West Chester University head coach Ginny Martino in the spring of 2009 and has grown every year.
“As a former graduate of West Chester University, Lax-4-Life is an organization that is close to my heart,” Stella said. “My senior year, 2019, my teammates lost a close friend to suicide, and it became a huge factor in our season. We played for each other, and we lived every moment to the fullest.
“It’s my goal to spread awareness and help young athletes know you are never alone. If you, or a friend, is in need, reach out, listen, and act. Tell a counselor, teacher, parent, school administrator, a teammate, or any trusted person in your life. Especially during COVID, it’s important we continue to support the people around us.”
Bridget Curtis and Janessa Watson again paced South, with the seniors each scoring three goals. Watson had nine draw controls and two assists while Curtis had four draws and five ground balls.
Tegan Mullen had a three-for-all, scoring three goals, causing three turnovers and scooping three ground balls while Kate Victor tripled up with three goals and three assists. Grace Gannon had two goals and three assists, Brooke Cenci scored a goal and Maddy Connell and Brynn O’Donell each caused a turnover.
Gabby Mayo turned away nine shots to pick up the win.
Courtney Curry led the Patriots with two goals and an assist, with Courtney Mackenzie, Morgan Eater, Sammy Kishel and Paige Keller all scoring once. Keller also had two draw controls and two ground balls while Kishel added one draw control, one ground ball and one caused turnover. Grace Bethke had three draw controls, three ground balls and a caused turnover while Mackenzie added two draw controls and a caused turnover. Rylee Surovec had a pair of draw controls and one caused turnover while Abby Durr had one draw control and two ground balls. Lyndsey Zezzo had one caused turnover.
Central Bucks South (8-9, 8-2 SOL) will travel to Spring-Ford for a non-league game on Thursday, and Central Bucks East closed out its season with a 5-11 record (3-7 SOL).
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 12 3 – 15
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3 3 – 6
North Penn 15, Bensalem 3
Jordan Baily scored four goals, and Lily Szilagyi added three goals and two assists in the Knights’ decisive win over the Owls. Alli Lindsay contributed two goals, three assists and four draw controls while Emily Varilla added two goals, one assist and three draw controls. Kat Rimmer had two goals and one assist. Michelle Park and Grace Macnamara both added a single goal. Kayla Stressman chipped in two assists and a team high five draw controls. North Penn goalie Kiera Holt had eight saves.
North Penn (9-4, 8-1 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Thursday at 3:45 p.m. If the Knights win, they will capture a share of the SOL National title.
SOL American Conference
Springfield Twp 11, Upper Dublin 10
The Spartans and Cardinals waged quite the battle under the lights Wednesday night that came down to a defensive stand.
Tess Talbot, the Spartans’ freshman goalie, made 12 saves and none were bigger than the two stops she made in the final minutes of play.
“What an event tonight was,” Springfield coach Marissa Conover said. “The last shot Upper Dublin took was in the last minute of the game, and it was an eight-meter. Tess saved it and the crowd actually went wild. It was so fun to watch.”
UD rocketed out to a 3-0 lead, but the Spartans would not only rally back, they took a one-goal lead to halftime. Even without top scorer Ella Marino, Springfield Twp was able to make the most of its chances after a slow start.
“Their defense was pretty good and held us down until we were able to figure out a play that would work to get us through,” Conover said.
The Spartans played a sort of keep-away in the second half, scoring only to have the Cardinals tie it before the visitors again took the lead.
Maddie Yoder was an offensive force, scoring six goals. Lauren Corrado had two goals and an assist while Emma Yoder tallied a score and helper. Fiona Rizzo and Raya Davis rounded out the Spartans’ goal scorers while Sam McDevitt chipped in an assist.
“It is a game of inches, and we just couldn’t capitalize on a turnover or missed shot when we needed to,” UD coach Dee Cross said. “The team played their hearts out and put us in a position to tie it up at the end. Springfield’s goalie made a great save, and they were able to hold on for the win.”
Aditi Foster paced the Cardinals with three goals and two assists. Jenn McCarry also posted a hat trick, Ella Lyon notched two goals while Tess Reardon and Maisie Hanson posted a marker each and Kelly Senior had an assist.
Cross cited the play of defenders Ally Gay, Erin Eby, Devin Fabry, and Sarah Brightcliffe.
“Riley Brady had 10 saves and played a great game,” Cross said.
Springfield Township (13-4, 8-3 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North for a non-league game on Friday. Upper Dublin (8-7, 7-3) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
Quakertown 7, Upper Moreland 6
It’s been a special season for Quakertown.
A hard-earned win over the Golden Bears allowed the Panthers to set program record for conference wins and overall wins in a season. Making the win more special was the fact it came down to the final possession won by the Panthers’ defense.
“They had an opportunity to tie it up, but our defense was able to shut them down, even getting a turnover as time expired,” Quakertown coach Tracy Hibsman said. “It was a great competition, a true nail-biter against a solid team. This win means so much to our new coaching staff and our team.”
Quakertown trailed 3-2 at half but came out strong and took an early 4-3 lead in the second half. A little later, up 6-5, Tessa O’Donnell put away a goal to give the Panthers a two-goal lead. Her tally would end up being the game winner when Upper Moreland scored with four minutes left on the clock.
The night was also a special one for the Golden Bears and goalie Emma Hurley, who was terrific, making 19 saves.
“Each year our team tries to find a way to bring awareness for a different cause at a game,” UM coach Kim Frantz said. “This year we choose to have this game for Diabetes Awareness. As a team we were able to collect over 100 toy items to donate to the CHOP endocrine floor. We collected different toys and activities to help kids that spend time on the endocrine floor often after being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
“This was such a successful night, and this night was bigger than lacrosse. While we fought hard to the last minute, we didn’t come out with a win, but hopefully, we brought a little awareness to our fans and guests and how diabetes can change a person’s life. Our own goalie was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of eight and she is an inspiration to all of us. Through her dad’s words at the game, they helped all of us to understand just how much Type 1 diabetes changes a person’s life.”
For the Panthers, O’Donnell was joined by Madison Peacher, Carolyn Sipprell, Morgan Sipprell, Katelyn Derstine, Jordana Law and Kyla Frederick in the scoring column. Kylie Lerch and Leah Mestayer combined for the win in goal.
Olivia Meakim scored two goals to lead UM. Reagan Cummins, Bree Knox, Willow Taylor and Maddy Trzaska also tallied goals for the Bears while Cummins, Meakim, Knox and Charlotte James recorded assists. Taylor and Heidi Wittick both had a pair of draw controls while Meakim and Sophia Hopf had one each.
Quakertown (7-7, 3-5 SOL) will travel to Abington Thursday for a 7 p.m. game. Upper Moreland closed out the regular season with a 7-11 record (3-8 SOL).
QUAKERTOWN 2 5 – 7
UPPER MORELAND 3 4 – 6
Wissahickon 13, Plymouth Whitemarsh 8
The Trojans continued their unbeaten season with an unselfish offense against the Colonials.
Emma Baker and Abby DeGroat paced Wissahickon with four goals each and helped maintain possession on draw controls, with Baker winning nine and DeGroat coming up with five. Quinn Gaffey and Lexi Hobson each put away two goals, Gaffey adding two assists and Hobson tallying three caused turnovers, two ground balls and a draw control.
Sophia Chiodo Ortiz rounded out the Trojans’ scoring with a goal.
Madeline Murphy recorded 10 saves in net for the Trojans.
Brianna Austin paced PW with a four-goal effort. Meghan Wendler scored twice while Max Leszczynski and Fiona Gooneratne each scored once.
Clancy Lynch saved seven shots for the Colonials.
“Wissahickon capitalized on the draw, and that was the difference in the game,” PW coach Ellen Reilly said. “Possession was key and they made it count when they had the ball. They have several strong, fast, and aggressive players that attack when they have the ball.”
Wissahickon (16-0, 11-0 SOL) will look closed out its regular season with a non-league game at Central Bucks West on Friday. Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-9, 8-3) will host Council Rock North in a non-league game on Thursday.
WISSAHICKON 9 4 – 13
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4 4 – 8
Hatboro-Horsham 15, Lower Moreland 5
New Hope-Solebury 25, Cheltenham 3
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