Hatboro-Horsham 15, Central Bucks South 9
The Hatters lost a pair of Division One players – Lauren Purvis and Sarah Tustin - to graduation, but so far this season, they haven’t missed a beat, improving to 2-0 after their impressive win over the Titans (2-1).“I’m well aware of what they lost, and in sports when you lose two players like that, there can be a huge drop off,” coach Duncan Swezey said. “These girls have been playing together for so long that they just work together as a team.
“Our core group of girls – we have five juniors who have been playing together and one senior, and that leadership – they have very good ball control, and they don’t make a lot of stupid mistakes. As a coach, that makes you feel a little more comfortable. The girls are excited. They’re young, but they have skills, and they’ve stepped up.”
Cortnee Daley and Nicole Beck both had four goals and one assist to lead the Hatters. Julie McKay and Caroline Hagan each added two goals and three assists while Lizzy Carr had two goals and one assist and Rachel Rauza had two goals. Katy McKay added a single goal to close out the scoring.
Carr also had a monster day defensively, creating six unforced turnovers.
“That’s huge – that’s a big number,” Swezey said. “That stands out in the scorebook.
“We have been working a lot on double teams and how to try and shut people down, and Lizzy has come along really good on that.”
Another player that is leaving an early mark is Rachel Rauza, who scored the winning goal in OT against Council Rock North. She is one of five freshmen in the Hatters’ lineup.
“She plays offense, and she plays defense,” Swezey said. “After people were starting to get a little bit tired, we put her up on the line because she’s like the Eveready Bunny. She flies all over the place.
“You have to keep an eye on her because she’s moving all the time. Being so young and being able to bring a spark that quick is pretty good. She gets it, she knows how to play the game.”
Swezey is starting several freshmen on the defensive end as well.
“They have all contributed early,” the first-year coach said. “There’s a high confidence factor. I don’t think they’re playing like freshmen.”
Swezey and his coaching staff took intentional steps to bring their young team together, taking the squad of 22 girls on a weekend trip to Swezey’s vacation home in Lake Harmony for the weekend.
“The girls get it,” he said. “I come from the guys’ side, and a little bit of what we’re doing is we’re introducing different aspects of the game that guys do but a lot of girls don’t learn until they’re at a different level.
“Most of the stuff that’s happening now is stuff they brought with them. We have so much growing to do. There were a lot of mistakes today we can’t afford to have in a tighter game.”
Maddie Dibrino led the Titans with three goals and one assist while Mackenzie Harding added two goals and one assist. Kayla Kenney, Kelly Hamilton and Casey Haegele each contributed a goal and an assist while Taylor Michener added a single goal.
Titan goalie Leslie Searles was credited with 11 saves while Hatboro’s Jackie Giovinazzo had 10 saves.
Upper Merion 15, Norristown 6
The Vikings turned in a balanced scoring effort in Tuesday’s season-opening win over the Eagles. Casey Griffith led the way with three goals and three assists while Melanie Ryan and Amanda McAteer both contributed three goals and two assists. Liz Botto added the hat trip, and Haley Fitzgerald, Brooke Dubin and Jackie Schauble each scored single goals.
“I thought we came out and we started playing well, and then the game started getting sloppy,” Viking coach Angie Yanoccha said. “We started playing intimidated based on how they were playing, and we lost our focus.
“Obviously, playing a full game to our fullest potential is our main goal, but a win is a win. Plus, we haven’t had much field experience this spring because of the weather, and we don’t have turf. We’re still trying to figure out who we want in certain positions and just work on meshing. We’re trying to improve our midfield transition and just trying to get comfortable with each other on offense and defense.”
Yanoccha was pleased to see Botta – who is just a freshman – step into the lineup and make an immediate contribution.
“In her first varsity game, she scored three goals,” the Vikings’ coach said. “I have her playing midfield, and she’s an offensive threat. She’s one of those kids you love to have on the field because she hustles all over the place.
“Casey Griffith had three goals and three assists, and she was just getting herself open in the midfield and was going hard to goal. All the girls were going hard to goal.
“We had a five-minute breakdown where they scored three goals. They have a fast team, and they were using speed to their advantage. We have to work on our midfield defensive transition. I told them – ‘There are things you’re not going to get away with when we face Wissahickon and Upper Dublin.’ We’re just looking at different learning experiences and trying to take something away from it.”
The Eagles were led by the three-goal effort of Beverly Pate while Taylor Werkiser scored a pair of goals and Charmaze Banks added a single goal.
Upper Merion goalkeeper Aly Frymoyer had 10 saves while Norristown’s Ignas had four saves.
North Penn 17, Central Bucks East 7
Macie Hauck contributed six goals and one assist while Brenda McDermott added five goals to lead the Maidens to the big win in the Continental Conference opener for both schools. McDermott also had five draw controls.
Rachel Shaw also had a big day, contributing four goals, three assists and three draw controls. Garrie Grenfell added a pair of goals while Maddy Humphrey and Carly Ball each had an assist.
For the Patriots, Jamie Burns led the way with three goals while Lauren Wick added a pair. Carolyn Remmey (one assist) and Carrie Gillen each added single goals.
The Maidens held a 23-19 advantage in shots on goal.
North Penn goalie Jenna Stover turned away 12 shots while East’s Madi Steuber had five saves.
Neshaminy 9, George School 6
The Redskins were winners in their first game of the season. Caitlin Carrezolla led a balanced attack with three goals while Alicia Sabatini and Brittany Sheenan each added a pair of goals. Lindsay Blum and Kimber Kisselback both added single goals.
In goal, Francis Gentry turned away nine shots for the Redskins while her counterpart – Carly Rodgers – was credited with eight saves.
Souderton 11, Central Bucks West 7
The Indians and Bucks were deadlocked 5-5 at halftime, but the Souderton came out of the intermission on fire, outscoring West 6-2 in the second half.
Senior Kirstin Russell scored four goals to lead the Indians while teammate Danielle Notvest contributed the hat trick. Junior Liz Mower and sophomore Alyssa Ziegler both chipped in with a pair of goals. Mower also had an assist.
For the Bucks, Elena Romesburg led the attack with three goals while Jane Savard, Tara Shugars, Steph Cooper and Amanda Parker each added single goals. Jess Circuit had an assist.
“Although we were able to hold off the goals and Souderton fastbreaks in the first half – in the second half, Souderton got the best of us with more draw controls and capitalizing on shots and ground balls,” West coach Tara Schmucker said. “We’ve improved a lot from last year.
“Jane Savard had a great game with five ground balls, lots of hustle and two draw controls. Amanda Parker also played very well with one goal, four draw controls and three ground balls.”
In goal, West’s Sammy Hogan turned away nine shots while Souderton’s Kaitlyn Crouthamel had 10 saves.
Wissahickon 12, Plymouth Whitemarsh
Laura Frankenfield turned in a huge performance for the Trojans, scoring a game-high five goals and contributing an assist. She also had a team-high six ground balls.
Zoe Gomez contributed the hat trick while Taylor Myers added a pair of goals. Emily Croke and Carly Weist each added single goals. Alex Schaefer had one assist.
PW’s lone goal was scored by Molly Getzfread.
In goal, Wissahickon’s Jessica Scannapieco had six saves while PW’s Jordan Dunacusky turned away six shots.
Upper Dublin 12, Cheltenham 1
Brooke Callahan and Kelly Cross each scored three goals. Callahan also had a pair of assists while Cross – who returned to the lineup after being sidelined with a pulled hamstring – added one assist. Kaley Weinstein, Michele DeVincent and Taylor D’Ginto both chipped in with two goals and one assist while Emily Hitchings (one assist), Megan Rock and Rachel DiFrangia each had single goals.
Cheltenham received single goals from Brunk and Szczapanck.
Upper Dublin goalkeeper Anna Lauer was credited with two saves while Cheltenham’s Wallace had eight.
Downingtown East 17, Abington 4
Carli Fitzgerald scored a pair of goals while Meredith Cox and Kelsy Fitzgerald added single goals in a contest that saw the Cougars sprint to an 11-2 halftime lead. Hannah Sjholm added an assist. Abington goalie Emily Towey was credited with 10 saves.
Downingtown East is ranked fourth in the latest state poll.
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