Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. CR North/Tennent photos courtesy of John Gleeson. CLICK HERE to view Suburban One Sports’ GIRLS’ SOCCER GALLERIES. CB West photos courtesy of Marge Bullock Photography.
No. 9 Upper Dublin 2, No. 24 North Penn 1
A year ago, Upper Dublin saw its season end before the playoffs even began.
The Flying Cardinals had a season where just about everything that could go wrong did with injuries, draws and agonizing close losses. It served as motivation for the returning players, who knew they had talent but needed to prove they could do something with it.
“That was our goal from Day One, do better than we did last year,” senior Anna DiMartile said. “This year, we had the talent, and we have so many seniors who want to keep it going because last year, we didn’t get that result. We weren’t going to take it for granted.”
It took 80 tough minutes, thanks to a Knights team that was determined to keep its season going. Thanks to a pair of goals by DiMartile, who missed a good part of the season with an injury, and a stout defensive effort highlighted by a standout performance from freshman Brooke Ellner, the Cardinals got the result they’d been chasing after.
“It means so much, last year we were so close as a team but had so many unlucky games where we lost 1-0, 2-1, tied, things like that,” UD senior defender Olivia Broome said. “This year, returning so many of the same girls, we love being around each other so much we want to stay together. I don’t think people realize the closeness that comes from playing the same sport together, we just want to have another bus ride together.”
North Penn left it all on the field, the team’s seniors able to lead the program to back to back playoff bids.
Scoring Summary
2nd half
UD – Anna DiMartile (Rosie Sitman, Bridget DiMartile) 48th
NP – Paige Gladfelter 61st
UD – Anna DiMartile 69th
Upper Dublin senior Anna DiMartile on her two-goal effort: “I’m not going to lie, I was hesitant to come back (from an injury) because we were doing so well without me. Coming back, I wanted to make sure I played my role individually and just stayed within my comfort zone. I know I can get out there and shoot if they find me, so today I just went for it.”
–First goal: “My sister’s pretty tall and has a killer throw. I can read her pretty well – we share a room so we’re pretty close, and I saw it coming toward Rosie’s head. I knew her throw could get there, so I just wanted to get a head on it and see what happened.”
–Second goal: “We had a counter. Erin (Seabrook) played a ball from the midfield that hit off one or two people, and when I saw it bounced around the defender, I changed the direction of my run. That worked out in my favor, I was just reading the play and adjusting.”
–Props: “I have to give a shoutout to (goalkeeper) Jordyn Levine. There were a couple huge shots she was able to save cleanly and that’s so huge for us.”
Upper Dublin senior Olivia Broome on Brooke Ellner’s defending: “Marking No. 5 (Maddy Murphy) was really important, she’s a strong, strong player for them. Brooke did a great job, and we were communicating between fronting and backing her and Erin helped us. We had to be physical and deny her the ball because we knew a lot of their offense runs through her.”
–The defense’s growth: “It’s just trusting each other 100 percent. I know if I go up and whiff on the ball, then Brooke’s there behind me. If Brooke whiffs, she knows Shannon (Connaughton) is behind her, Sophia (Sirianni) is behind us, it’s about trusting each other and if we mess up, we’re still with each other and picking each other up.”
–Regrouping after North Penn’s goal: “We communicate between our back four and holding mids about what went wrong on the play and make adjustments. That goal came off a goal kick, so the next goal kick, we adjusted. It’s a lot of talking and communication and not pointing the finger at each other but pointing it at ourselves.”
North Penn coach Mike Rio on the team’s seniors: “They’ve been phenomenal, it’s a smaller senior class with just six seniors, but their impact on the team and younger girls can’t be measured. When you only have six seniors, it’s a little bit more responsibility on each one of them to set the tone for the type of culture they want the team to embody. Back-to-back years in the playoffs is something we hadn’t done for a while, so I am really happy for that progress with the program, especially in the division we play in. The way they came to practice every day, they were willing to work but they kept it fun, kept it light and they enjoyed playing.”
Up next: Upper Dublin (14-3-1, 8-1-1 SOL) will travel to No. 8 Lower Merion at 3 p.m. in Thursday’s second round
UPPER DUBLIN 0 2 – 2
NORTH PENN 0 1 – 1
No. 14 Central Bucks West 2, No. 19 Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
Call it the mark of a winner.
CB West senior Eva Wierzbowski is one of the most talented midfielders in the state, and there are plenty of reasons she’ll be playing at Pitt next year. She also has no qualms about doing the hard work that’s not as
glamorous even if it leaves her walking away with a gnarly knot under her eye to show for it.
The Bucks brought plenty of energy to Tuesday’s matchup with an equally motivated Colonials team, whether it was the work of senior Ithaca recruit Rian Detweiler on the wing, Siena bound senior Cece Funseth in the back or Wierzbowski taking one for the team in the middle
PW’s season ended earlier than hoped, but the Colonials made the postseason for the third year in a row and will return a strong core led by juniors Maddie McGuckien, Marleigh Burton, Mia Baron, Olivia Bragg, Kaiane Jayo, Maddie McLaughlin and Keira Whalen.
Scoring Summary
1st Half
CBW – Emery Sterling
CBW – Mackenzie Gausch (Rian Detweiler)
CB West coach Bree Benedict on the win: “The girls brought so much energy and excitement to the game. We started fast and kept the ball in their half a lot. Our energy was so high it probably hurt us a little bit but was essential. I thought Maura Duffy, Lauren Overbeck, Janelle Blokker and Eva Wierzbowski were solid all night, often outnumbered in the middle but rose to the challenge. Plymouth Whitemarsh posed a serious threat on long throws and restarts, and I was really proud of my team for handling and executing like they trained the days leading up to the match up.”
–Standouts: “Rian Detweiler was a serious problem going forward in the wide area and served tons of crosses. Our outside backs in Kira Winn, Kaia Ward and Reegan Moran all offered attacking services. It was a full team effort. It was another clean sheet, thanks to the great play of Cece Funseth and Mia Menard in front of Fallon Darrows.”
–Energizers: “Mackenzie Gausch has been such a team player and gamer in the later parts of the season, just delivering what the team needs and when we need it. She offers a lot of quality on the ball but can be gritty in front of the net too. Eva Wierzbowski will walk away with a black eye but continues to do the hard work in the middle. She’s fantastic on the ball but she’s just willing to do what the team needs and that makes her a really special kid.”
–Advancing: “I just was really proud of how organized we were and how much we battled for each other. This is such a special group, and I’m really grateful I get to coach them every day, they bring such joy to my life and each other’s lives. We will battle with that fueling us against a really good Pennridge side on Thursday.”
Up next: CB West (13-6,-1, 5-4-1 SOL) travels to No. 3 Pennridge at 6 p.m in Thursday’s second round.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1 1 – 2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 0 – 0
No. 17 Council Rock South 1, No. 16 Springfield Delco 0
Last year’s road warriors got back on the bus and got right back to work.
The Golden Hawks narrowly missed out on a first round home playoff game but they probably felt right at home wearing their away uniforms for a postseason game. Springfield Delco didn’t make it easy, but a keen eye by Kathryn O’Kane and another clutch goal by Riley O’Halloran made sure the bus ride home was a raucous one.
CR South’s back line also proved defense travels, the unit getting a stellar performance from goalkeeper Ella Mayberry to pick up the shutout victory.
Scoring Summary
2nd Half
CRS – Riley O’Halloran (Kathryn O’Kane)
CR South coach Nick Heim on the win: “We felt confident going in with what our strength of schedule had prepared us for, and it showed in the opening minutes. We were honestly a bit disappointed to not score in the opening 10 minutes because we were in their end the entire time. They are dangerous on the counter – they have a fantastic freshman in Mia Gutowski that was very dynamic when running at players, so we had to be a bit careful when not connecting in the final third. We were deadlocked at halftime. We preached just to continue doing what we had planned and to be patient.”
–The goal: “The patience paid off when Kathryn O’Kane got on the end of a ball in the air and flicked a perfect pass on to Riley O’Halloran who calmly slotted it home with 25 left in the second half. They threw numbers up and I thought we adjusted well.”
–Standouts: “I think the experience we have and what this group had been through prepared them to see off a game to the finish. Ella Mayberry had six saves in goal and was big for us on corners attacking the ball. Our back line did a solid job of limiting chances, and I thought we got big minutes off the bench from Gia Littig up top. Macy Laidlaw demanded a lot of attention, and it helped create openings for the likes of Gianna Kirlin, Brianna Howard, and Kate Deal.
–Finishing out the win: “I think the most impressive part is keeping our mental toughness. It can be tough when the other team is frustrated and committing hard fouls and you generate 16 shots with only one goal. To the girls’ credit, they stayed the course. We have a very tall task ahead of us Thursday, but we are excited to advance.”
Up next: CR South (11-7-1, 7-3-0 SOL) travels to No. 1 Conestoga at 6 p.m. in Thursday’s second round.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 1 – 1
SPRINGFIELD DELCO 0 0 – 0
No. 7 Neshaminy 4, No. 26 Hatboro-Horsham 0
Kylie Maxwell simply couldn’t stop scoring in the regular season, and the senior had designs of keeping that going in the playoffs despite increased defensive attention.
Thanks to an influential effort from junior Bri Garyah opening up some room, Maxwell scored twice to run her season total to 38. Garyah, who battled injury early in the season, found her form down the stretch and added a goal and an assist in Tuesday’s effort.
Neshaminy may have defeated the Hatters early in the season, but the hosts weren’t overlooking the visitors and used a complete team effort to advance to the second round.
Scoring Summary
First half
N – Kylie Maxwell (Bri Garyah) 24:02
N – Abby Collins (Ana Axenroth) 16:10
Second Half
N – Kylie Maxwell (Cassidy Tweedie) 24:48
N – Bri Garyah 1:43
Neshaminy coach Josh van Reed on the win: “There are always a bit of nerves when you start the first playoff game. Going into the game we wanted the girls to go play their game and finish chances when they come. We played Hatboro at the beginning of the season, and it was so early I knew that they were going to make adjustments and play to their strengths. They made sure that Kylie was marked tight, and we figured that might happen coming into the game. Bri Garyah has been playing real well for us the last couple games and she was able to link up a couple times tonight with some great through balls.”
–First half scoring: “Our first goal came from a quick turn and ball placed in behind the defense where Kylie was running and she touched it in to get us on the board. A couple minutes later, we were able to get an insurance goal from a big cross from the outside that Abby stepped up and hit from the 18 into the bottom corner.”
–Halftime adjustments: “We talked about how we could create some more chances but also about how Hatboro was working very hard and not giving anything easy away, so those chances might be few and the need to finish when the time comes.”
–Second half scoring: “We added a third goal off a corner kick from Taylor Maxwell that swung out and Cassidy Tweedie hit on frame at the keeper, but Kylie was standing in front of her and back-heeled the ball into the corner. It happened so quickly, there’s not much Kylie could do except react. It was very clever. Our fourth goal came towards the end of regulation off an individual effort from Bri. She collected a loose ball turned and struck a ball that hit the back post and in. It’s one of those where finesse does more for you than power.”
–Props: “Overall I was very pleased by everyone’s effort tonight from top to bottom. Kylie is such a difficult mark to hold down all game and Bri has been very clever with her distribution. Abby was fantastic for us in the midfield tonight winning balls, distribution and scoring goals. And our defense with Taylor Maxwell and Cassidy in the middle with Natalie Weidle and Emmy Rooney outside. They really minimized chances for the other team to help Alexis Barnes keep the clean sheet. I was happy with our subs coming in and contributing and the variety of goals we scored. Big team effort tonight.”
Up next: Neshaminy (17-2, 10-0 SOL) hosts No. 10 Owen J Roberts at 6 p.m. in Thursday’s second round. Hatboro-Horsham closed out its season with a 7-10-2 mark overall, 3-6-1 SOL.
NESHAMINY 2 2 – 4
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 0 – 0
No. 11 Council Rock North 3, No. 22 William Tennent 2
Last season, CR North went to William Tennent and dispatched the Panthers in the first round.
Midway through Tuesday’s rematch, this time in Newtown, it looked like Tennent was going to repay the favor. The Panthers have held their own against some top competition this year, and they had given a senior-laden
Panthers team plenty to think about.
Sophomore Isabella Lanza came to the rescue, netting pair of second half goals that included the game-winner as CR North scratched out a hard-earned victory to keep the season going.
Scoring Summary
1st Half
William Tennent goal
2nd Half
CRN – Isabella Lanza (Isabel Diaz)
CRN – Mia Cairone (Darcy McCullough)
William Tennent goal
CRN – Isabella Lanza (Sara Tyler)
CR North coach Gavin Flannigan on the win: “Really happy to advance after a close win against William Tennent. I thought we had a lot of good play, but they came in with a really good game plan and executed it well, and it took us some time to adjust to start creating chances. We controlled a lot of the game early, but Tennent did a good job of killing the spaces and counter attacking, they took the lead 10 minutes in when they were able to create a 1v1 with our keeper and finish. It was 1-0 at half. At halftime, we spoke in length about how we wanted to play and we really came out in the second half more confident and in sync with each other.”
–Taking the lead: “We started to create a little more, and Isabella Lanza was able to head home on an assist from Isabel Diaz, soon after Darcy McCullough found Mia Cairone who was able to score to make it 2-1.”
–Final minutes: “Tennent never gave up and equalized with about 15 minutes left and then the last period of the game got nervy. We got a great free kick from Sara Tyler and Lanza was able to win the second header to take the lead with under a minute left.”
–Surviving and advancing: “There are no easy games in the playoffs. I thought the girls did a great job of listening to the adjustments at halftime and focusing on the process of getting back in the game rather than worrying that we were losing in the moment. That’s a great lesson for us as we prepare for Thursday.”
Up next: CR North (14-5, 7-3 SOL) travels to No. 6 Downingtown West at 7 p.m. in Thursday’s second round. William Tennent closed out its season with an 11-7-1 record overall (8-2 SOL).
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 3 – 3
WILLIAM TENNENT 1 1 – 2
No. 13 Central Bucks South 4, No. 20 Quakertown 1
It had been a while – 2016 to be exact – since CB South’s last postseason win.
It had also been a while – going back to 2017 – since South played host to a playoff fixture, so Tuesday’s victory over the visiting Panthers felt long overdue. A fast start and big performances from senior Alana Peev and junior Riley Karpinski made CB South’s first home postseason victory since 2016 one to enjoy.
Karpinski scored twice and assisted another goal, and Peev tallied three assists while helping in a lockdown defensive effort. Morgan Sowash also had a major impact, saving a first half penalty kick while the Titans led 2-0.
Scoring Summary
1st Half
CBS – Riley Karpinski (Alana Peev) 7th
CBS – Camilla Wright (Alana Peev) 33rd
2nd half
CBS – Olivia Daniele (Riley Karpinski) 67th
Quakertown goal
CBS – Riley Karpinski (Alana Peev) 78th
CB South coach Pat Lordi on the win: “The offense created 15 shots on goal and scored on two corners and two set pieces. Quakertown fought hard all night, and with a 2-0 score had a penalty shot that was saved by Morgan Sowash. That could have made the game extremely interesting. It was a great team win. All players played a part in taking a positive step forward and winning their first playoff game in seven years. Hopefully, we can keep this going for a few more games its great to feel a playoff win.”
–Defensive standouts: “Delaney Rowe, Alana Peev, Grace Keane and Tenley Rogers for defending the speed of Quakertow’s attack all night.”
–Props: “Riley Karpinski, Olivia Daniele, Khloe Montini, Camilla Wright for putting offensive pressure on the defenders all night.”
Up next: CB South I12-6-1, 4-5-1 SOL) will travel to No. 4 Garnet Valley at 4 p.m. in Thursday’s second round. Quakertown closed out its season with a 9-10 record overall (4-6 SOL).
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2 2 – 4
QUAKERTOWN 0 1 – 1
No. 6 Downingtown West 6, No. 27 Pennsbury 2
The Falcons knew they faced a tall task in Tuesday’s first round.
The host Whippets lived up to their billing while Pennsbury put a wrap on a resurgent season that ended a three-year playoff drought. A talented crop of underclassmen means a bright future, but credit also goes to this year’s senior class for leading the turnaround.
Pennsbury coach Jenna Peters on the match: “It was a tough battle against a great team. Downingtown West found some key through balls and capitalized on their opportunities. I am proud of our girls for continuing to fight and play hard until the final whistle. Our first goal was from sophomore Ria Pevzner, who was able to win the ball down the line and get a cross off and junior Stephanie Baker finished it. The second goal was a through ball from senior Raeya Hecht that Ria Pevzner ran onto and slipped into the back of the net.”
Final message to team: “At the start and end of the game, we discussed the incredible growth we’ve experienced this season. Transitioning from just three wins last year to competing in a playoff game is an accomplishment in itself. This transformation reflects the dedication and commitment of our players, who have worked tirelessly to bring a winning mentality to PHSGS. Our ‘team first’ mentality was evident throughout the season. The seniors played a crucial role in shaping our team culture, leading by example and fostering unity among the group.”
Pennsbury closed out its season with a 9-9-1 record overall, 4-6 in the SOL.
DOWNINGTOWN WEST – 6
PENNSBURY – 2
No. 5 Spring-Ford 2, No. 28 Wissahickon 0
No. 10 Owen J Roberts 2, No. 23 Abington 1
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