Hatboro-Horsham defeated North Penn to move one step closer to earning a conference crown. Check out all of Wednesday’s SOL results.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 12, NORTH PENN 7
The Hatters are closing in on sole possession of the Continental Conference crown, and if they were looking to make a statement, they did just that in Wednesday’s no-doubt-about-it win over the defending champion Maidens in front of a large Pink Night crowd.
“We just wanted to win,” Hatter junior Jackie Giovinazzo said. “We just wanted to win the title, we wanted to go out there and play our best, and we wanted to play our game 100 percent the whole game.
“I don’t think we’ve ever done that before tonight. This was a very big game for us.”
Giovinazzo certainly did her part to make sure the Hatters would take another big step toward a conference crown, collecting nine first-half saves - which included more than a few on free position shots - and allowing the Hatters to jump out to a commanding 10-2 halftime lead.
“Laura (Swezey) works with Jackie every day for 45 minutes, so she’s seeing many more balls this year,” coach Duncan Swezey. “Joe Vitalli has come and helped her out two or three nights a week, but literally every day Laura takes her for the first 45-50 minutes.
“We have never done that. We have never had a goalie coach. The other day Laura was banging tennis balls at her with a tennis racquet. It’s just the repetition of seeing more balls.
“Jackie’s progression from the beginning of the year to now and from last year to now has just been geometric. She had a record game, which was great.”
While Giovinazzo was frustrating the Maidens at every turn, the Hatters’ high-powered attack was busy working its magic at the other end of the field. Before the game was 15 minutes old, coach Jami Wilus Behm had burned both of her timeouts.
“We looked shell-shocked,” the Maidens’ coach said. “I’m not really sure why. We prepared at practice, and the girls seemed ready to play. They were talking like they were ready, but obviously, we weren’t ready on the field.”
It took no time at all for the Hatters to seize control of Wednesday’s showdown. Although the Maidens won the opening draw, they lost possession almost immediately when they were whistled for a mouth guard violation. The Hatters took advantage of the opportunity, scoring a goal less than 90 seconds into the game when Lizzy Carr, who led the Hatters with three goals and two assists, found Caroline Hagan for the score.
“In a high-scoring game like this, whoever comes out and scores first, it definitely has a big impact on the game,” Giovinazzo said. “It was definitely good for us to get our momentum going.”
The Hatters reeled off eight straight goals and led 8-0 when Carr (Cortnee Daley assist) connected with just over eight minutes remaining in the opening half. The Maidens didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 5:56 mark when – while up a player because of a yellow card assessed to the Hatters - Brenda McDermott found Hannah Young for the score. Aubrie Stouffer followed with a goal to make it an 8-2 game, but the Hatters used goals by Julie McKay (Carr assist) and Carr to go into halftime with a 10-2 lead.
“The big difference was that their goalie was incredible in the first half,” Wilus Behm said. “We were kind of shooting at her, but she made all the saves.”
The Hatters still led by eight (12-4) at the 19:47 mark of the second half when Daley – after a stick check beyond midfield – raced through the Maidens’ defense for the score on a glittering individual effort. They would not score the rest of the way, but the Maidens never threatened as the Hatters rolled to the impressive win.
Swezey said he has spent a lot of time watching the film of the last meeting between the two squads that saw the Hatters eke out a 10-9 win.
“I watched that film three or four times,” he said. “I brought the girls over to my house for dinner, and we all watched the film.
“At practice for two days, we went over what their strengths were. I called the five seniors together and said, ‘This is it for you guys. You have to take this game upon your shoulders and try to get everybody to follow you. Let’s go play the game and have some fun.’”
In addition to Carr, Daley had three goals and one assist and McKay (one assist) and Hagan both had two goals. Nicole Beck (one assist) and Laura Cresta each added one goal. Maria Guerra had one assist.
For the Maidens, Tara Rogers (one assist) and Kaitlin Suzuki both scored two goals. Young, Aubrie Stouffer and Gabby DiDomizio each added one goal.
While the Maidens fell to 8-2 in league play (11-4 overall), the Hatters increased their stronghold on first place in the conference standings, improving to 8-0 (12-2 overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 14, SOUDERTON 11
The Titans rallied from a 7-3 halftime deficit to stun the Indians.
“This is huge because right now we’re fighting for a playoff position,” coach Janique Craig said. “Our conference is extremely tough, and in any game, anyone can win.”
The Titans roared out of halftime and knotted the score 9-9 on a goal by freshman Corrine Kenney at the 15:26 mark. Senior captain Maddie DiBrino scored five minutes later to give the Titans a lead they would not lose.
Another DiBrino goal capped a 6-0 South run and put the Titans on top 13-9 with 1:27 remaining. The Indians, however, didn’t go down quietly, connecting on a pair of goals within a 10-second span to make it a 13-11 game with just under a minute remaining. DiBrino put to rest any thoughts of a Souderton comeback when she scored with 32 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock.
“We talked about the feeling after our overtime victory against (CB) East, and I think that gave us motivation to want to feel that feeling again,” Craig said of her team’s 13-12 win of their archrivals. “They knew they had to fight for every ball and gain possession. It had to be a total team effort. I was really proud of the girls for coming back and never giving up. Being down by four goals - that can be tough, and their hard work paid off.”
DiBrino had another big game for the Titans, contributing six goals and two assists, while Megan Hamilton had four goals and two assists. Emily Cliggett added two goals and two assists, and both Devon Dietzel and Corrine Kenney had one goal. Dietzel also had three assists while Kenney had one assist. Brynn Dietzel, Mackenzie Harding and Anne Danyluk also each had an assist.
“Maddie had six goals, which was fantastic, but everyone contributed,” Craig said. “That’s why we won today. We didn’t rely on just one or two people. Every single person contributed.”
The Indians were led by the five-goal, two-assist effort of senior Liz Mower. Alyssa Ziegler and Natalie Bulgier both had a pair of goals, and Amber Lambeth and Chessie Rahmer each chipped in with one goal.
While the Indians fell to 5-5 in league play (8-5 overall), the Titans improved to 5-6 (7-8 overall).
WISSAHICKON 17, UPPER MERION 10
The Trojans jumped out to a 9-4 halftime lead and never looked back. Junior Laura Frankenfield was all but unstoppable, contributing seven goals and one assist. Taylor Myers added four goals, and Zoe Kale connected for the hat trick. Lauren Irvine and Rachel Zucker both had one goal.
For the Vikings, Dominique Gambone had four goals, and Mel Ryan had the hat trick. Liz Botto and Danielle Felice both added single goals.
Julie Silverman turned away nine shots in goal for the Trojans, who improved to 8-1 in league play (8-5 overall). The Vikings fell to 4-6 in the league (7-7 overall).
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