Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action in Tuesday’s opening round of the District 1 Tournament. CR North/Tennent photos courtesy of Kadi Schenk. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f405978483 CB West/Boyertown photos courtesy of Marge Bullock http://www.margebullock.com/
Class 4A
No 9 Abington 5, No 24 Neshaminy 1
Maddie Egan wasn’t ready to say farewell to high school soccer yet.
The Abington senior knew she shared the sentiment with the rest of her classmates, as well as the rest of her teammates, heading into Tuesday’s opening round against the defending district champions. Sure, this was a different Redskins team than the one that hoisted a District 1 trophy and advanced to the state semis last year, but they were in good form coming into the playoffs.
Abington’s form up and down the field was just sharper on Tuesday.
“We said going into today, it’s the playoffs now, so you just have to win,” Egan said. “We were really conscious of that early in the game and I think it drove our energy. We’re a close senior class, we love playing together and we’re just driven to win.”
Each third of the field – attack, midfield and defense – did their part in the win for the Ghosts, who won their playoff opener for the fourth straight postseason. Abington had 10 shots on goal, took four corner kicks and won plenty of contested balls all over the pitch.
It was the kind of performance Abington hopes to produce every time out, especially with a good number of veteran players in key roles to make up the formation.
“We have really good chemistry, we’ve been together for a couple years so it’s something we’ve been doing throughout the season,” Harper McGinley said. “We know what each other is going to do, we know where each other are going to be, so it’s just going out and doing what we know how to do.”
It wasn’t the ending Neshaminy had been hoping for, especially with the way the team had rallied late in the season to get into the postseason. While the Redskins battled the entire game, coach Josh Van Reed noted a handful of miscues that helped put Abington in good places to produce.
“Midseason, we’d gotten way behind points-wise, so we knew it would be an uphill battle to get into the playoffs,” Van Reed said. “We had been playing better and better soccer as the year went on and I was really proud of them just pushing through.
“A loss like that, it’s tough. We gave away a PK, we gave away an own goal, another ball dropped to feet on a clear and those types of goals against a good team like that, they’re going to put them away.”
About 10 minutes in, a Neshaminy foul granted Abington a penalty kick. While it’s not often a center back is the go-to option, that’s what the Ghosts have found success with lately and Sara Kaeser got the call.
“The last couple games, we’ve gone into it knowing it would probably be me,” Kaeser said. “We’ve done a lot with it at the end of practices, and I think with me being a lefty, it throws the keeper off. I think I’ve gotten pretty good at staying out of my own head.”
Kaeser converted and Abington led 1-0, a lead it held for about 10 minutes until Neshaminy did what it’s done all season and battled back.
Abby Collins won a ball in the middle and played it out wide, giving Anna Axenroth a lane to push up the field and fire a cross to the far post that got knocked back in and found Bryn Taylor for the touch-in.
“We finished out well and it’s always a tough loss when it ends,” Van Reed said. “My seniors, they’ve done a great job for us all year long and I’m proud of the work they’ve all done as a team.”
It took about 30 seconds for Abington to regain the lead. McGinley said the Ghosts didn’t want to let Neshaminy have any momentum or get its spirits up about winning the game, so the hosts came right down and earned a corner.
McGinley played the ball in, it caught a piece of Kaeser’s boot then caromed off a Neshaminy defender for an own goal, but the Ghosts didn’t mind how it got there as they took a 2-1 lead.
“That’s been such a big part of this year, just finding any way we can to put the ball in the back of the net,” Egan said.
It was quite a productive afternoon for McGinley in a rather unorthodox way. Aside from the clipped-heel corner goal, she added an assist when one of her shots was blocked and fell right to her twin sister Piper for a laser of a shot and Harper had a more conventional assist making a terrific run down the flank and crossing in to Hannah Gilchrist for the finish that made it 3-1 at halftime.
“A lot of people have their certain goal-scorers, so it’s easier to man-mark them,” McGinley said. “With our team, you have to stay on everybody because we’re all dangerous.”
Kara Slavin had Abington’s other goal, the senior midfielder steadfastly refusing to give up on a ball and having it pay off with a solo finish for a 4-1 lead.
“The 50-50 balls were big today,” Egan said. “We knew they were really good in the air and I think we did a really good job of winning 50-50 balls and taking control of the game in that way. From there, as we moved up the field, we just finished a lot of our chances.”
Abington (14-4-1, 13-2-1 SOL) faces No. 8 Central Bucks East on Thursday, with only the winning team continuing its season. Neshaminy concludes the season 10-8-1.
ABINGTON 3 2 – 5
NESHAMINY 1 0 – 1
Goals: A – Sara Kaeser, Hannah Gilchrist, Kara Slavin, Piper McGinley; N – Bryn Taylor.
No 16 Plymouth Whitemarsh 2, No 17 Perkiomen Valley 1
Historically, hosting an opening round playoff game has gone well for the Colonials.
Granted, it had only happened twice, but PW had come out on top in both instances. For the 2023 Colonials, it was an opportunity the coaches wanted to make sure everybody knew about.
“We had a film session today and spoke about the 2013 and 2019 teams who hosted and won the only two home playoff games ever,” PW coach TJ DeLucia said. “Our goal from August on was to host and win a home playoff game. We were returning all but two players who played in the OT loss to Abington last year in District playoffs.”
The Colonials slugged their way through the latter half of SOL Liberty play dealing with injuries, and while not fully healthy, they felt as strong as they had in a couple weeks matching up with the Vikings. Perk Valley, a PAC playoff qualifier, had lost as the host team in last year’s first round and wanted to spoil someone else’s party on Tuesday.
“Even at home, we started the game tonight with some nerves,” DeLucia said. “The first 10 minutes, PV was really on the front foot.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh settled down and settled in, the Colonials withstanding the first salvo then pushing back. Sophomore Mia Baron’s energy jumped out quickly, the tiny forward coming up huge with an early tide-turner.
“Mia Baron won a header from Caitlyn Dinh’s punt. Mia headed the ball to Keira Whelan and then Mia darted down the field,” DeLucia said. “Whelan carried and played Mia into space. Mia made an incredible individual play with the ball at her feet out wide and played a ball into the box to freshman Maddi Lazaroff.
“Maddi brought it down to her feet and put the ball into the back of the net.”
Lazaroff had the finish, but DeLucia noted it was all set up through the work and awareness of Baron. PW assistant Ryan Kirby, who has been with DeLucia the past eight years, has taken Baron on as an apprentice, both coaches lauding her willingness to learn but more importantly, the way her effort never wanes even if the goals haven’t come as much as anyone has hoped.
“This is sophomore Mia Baron’s first season with us, and she has brought an incredible energy to our program. I had her for a bit at JV basketball last season and I told her if that is the type of effort that she gives at soccer then she’s going to see the field easily,” DeLucia said. “She is incredibly fun to watch. She never stops running. She’s all of 5-foot tall and will challenge any center back in the air.”
PW thinks highly of Lazaroff, its fearless freshman forward. Perk Valley clearly thinks the same of Brianna Young, who had a monster game that included a brilliant equalizing goal.
“With 19 minutes left in the game, we turned the ball over at midfield and PV transitioned quickly. (Young) made a great move to her left foot and took an incredible shot from 25 yards out,” DeLucia said.
The pressure continued, with Young nearly replicating the feat only to be denied by Caitlyn Dinh. The Colonials’ senior keeper played with a determination that she was not going to lose a playoff opener for a second straight year.
“Caitlyn Dinh made three incredible saves in a row – one of which may have been the best save I’ve seen a keeper make in high school. But I’ve probably said that a few times about Dinh’s work in net,” DeLucia said. “After we survived that five-minute push, we had the ball for the remainder of the second half.”
Every team deals with injuries during a season. Sometimes, it’s just plugging the next player up into a vacated position and figuring it out. Other times, a team may ask a player to step out of their role and take a new one.
Plymouth did the latter with junior Liv Reilly by putting her in the midfield and the results couldn’t have been better.
“Liv played forward for us for the first 15 games of the season. For the final three, she’s had to move to midfield due to injury. Tonight, she had the unenviable task of marking Young,” DeLucia said. “She did a terrific job. Liv works so hard, she allows herself to be coached, comes from a great family. The coaches are so proud of her.”
Reilly got the ball moving on PW’s go-ahead goal sequence, which came with only a few minutes left in regulation. Fittingly, Baron also got involved with the play, latching onto Reilly’s through ball, getting to the end line and sending a cross into Marleigh Burton.
From there, it would be all Burton and Whelan, the club teammates combining for the biggest goal of their high school careers.
“Marleigh made a great run into the box, brought the ball down and guided it towards sophomore forward Keira Whelan who passed it into the side netting. Marleigh and Whelan, both sophomores who play club together, have a great connection on the field,” DeLucia said. “That was Keira’s seventh goal of the season and that’s with missing six games. In the games that Keira missed, we lost four of those games and tied one. She is so key to everything we do offensively.
“They were both really excited to score, obviously, and it was great to see them celebrate together.”
Dinh may be a walking highlight reel in goal, but the senior keeper is always quick to credit her backs for taking away a lot of potential problems. Sure, Dinh did her thing on Tuesday but once again, the trio of Bri Reynolds, Katie Lukens and Meg Wendler were cleaning house in front of her.
“PV was dangerous up top and those three did what they’ve done all season. They directed their teammates where to be and who to mark. They cover for each other and their teammates. They’ve just been really really good in front of Caitlyn Dinh all season,” DeLucia said. “This season is – without a doubt – the littlest I’ve coached defense in my eight years in the program. Those three have my complete trust.
“We’re able to put our time at practice into other parts of the field and I think that has made a difference. All three have a high soccer IQ. They took their bumps & bruises as freshmen and sophomores and are now seeing the fruits of all of that labor they’ve put in. They were excited tonight, and they deserve to be.”
PW’s next challenge comes on Thursday when the Colonials will face No. 1 seed Conestoga, with only the winning side continuing its season. The Colonials upped their record to 11-6-2.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 1 1 – 2
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 0 1 – 1
Goals: PW – Maddi Lazaroff, Keira Whalen
No 8 Central Bucks East 1, No 25 Avon Grove 0
Scoring a goal in the first minute always has some kind of effect on the remainder of the match.
Sometimes it’s a precursor to an offensive eruption and others, like Tuesday, it becomes a bit of a high-wire act as that lone score just sits on the board as the minutes tick away. It’s not like CB East wasn’t trying to add on, but it was just one of those nights.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better start from our girls tonight. To get one within the first minute of the game is huge, but for some reason or another tends to make the rest of the game a bit weird,” Patriots coach Jake Nesteruk said. “I give a ton of credit and have a lot of respect for Avon Grove, their coaches, and players. We’ve got a bit of a history, and they made us earn the win through and through.”
It was a year ago that East had to travel to Avon Grove and knocked off the third-seeded Devils in the second round, ending their season. So, it seemed fair that they would be trying to return the favor to East.
Julia Santanello got the ball, crossed it to Stella Genin and there was the game’s only goal.
“It was such a great run from Stella,” Nesteruk said.
More than enough coaches and players have said the first playoff game is the hardest, so there’s probably something to it. All that mattered to East co-captain Sofia Mignon was that the solitary goal held up so that she and her teammates could play another game.
“It was a little bit of a hectic first half, but the goal by Stella Genin crossed in by Julia Santanello within the first minute helped us to settle in. We definitely should have finished more chances,” Mignon said. “Our defense was very locked in the whole game, and we were happy to keep another clean sheet. Our decision making definitely could have been quicker but credit to Avon Grove for applying good pressure.”
It wasn’t exactly the way East drew up the last 79 minutes of play, but that’s just the postseason sometimes.
“We had runs of this game where I thought we settled in and pockets where we let the game get away from us a bit, but I am proud of our group for coming through with the result. In games like this you lean on your leadership, and Sofia Mignon was huge for us,” Nesteruk said. “Jessie Bernabe was a threat going forward when we got her the ball and I think Julia Santanello and Madelyn Hill are stringing together a couple of very good games.”
When a team has the defensive unit that the Patriots do, with Sophie Schorn, Grace Craig, Jessie Bernabe and Katie Bullard on the back line and Mae Leedy and Arralyn Patterson in goal, sometimes a first-minute goal is enough, as odd as it may feel.
“We walked away from this one saying we should’ve taken our chances better, but we have to be thankful to our backline and keepers for keeping the clean sheet,” Nesteruk said.
East (14-3-2, 11-3-2 SOL) hosts No. 9 Abington in Thursday’s second round. The teams met in the season opener, but only Thursday’s winner gets to keep its campaign going.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1 0 – 1
AVON GROVE 0 0 – 0
Goals; CBE – Stella Genin
No 20 Council Rock North 3, No 14 William Tennent 1
CR North showed up and got the job done.
“Any playoff win is good but we were pleased with how we played tonight against a solid Tennnet team,” Indians coach Gavin Flannigan said. “We didn’t start well but once
we settled, we began to gain control of the game and started to create chances.”
Panthers keeper Emily Ehresmann held North in check early on but the visitors were consistent in their attempts to score.
“Mia Cairone was able to get free on the outside and find Audrey Rogan inside the box for a finish,” Flannigan said. “Really pleased for Rogan, we’ve been pushing her to get into more goal scoring positions and over the last few games she has been unlucky but tonight she was in the right place at the right time.”
With a 1-0 lead at half, the Indians knew they were going to get tested after the break. That’s exactly what happened.
“Mairin Coghlan made a good save on a breakaway and then an excellent save on a first time shot off a cross,” Flannigan said. “Soon after we were able to create a second goal when Audrey Rogan found Mia through the middle and she was able to finish.”
William Tennent, the SOL Freedom champion this season, had a strong senior class and it wasn’t a surprise that they didn’t go down quietly.
“They came back again and found a goal with five minutes left,” Flannigan said. “From the kick off we were able to create an opportunity when Mia found Sydney Linus for a composed hit from outside the box.”
Tennent’s season concluded with a 14-5-0 record.
The SOL Patriot champions move on, getting a good test and some things to take another look at.
“We created some good chances tonight, but moving forward there are a lot of areas we need to clean up,” Flannigan said. “I thought Audrey Rogan was really good this evening, she was everywhere and fully deserved her assist and goal.”
CR North (12-5-2, 9-5-2 SOL) will travel to No. 3 Downingtown East on Thursday, the Cougars coming off a first round bye.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1 2 – 3
WILLIAM TENNENT 0 1 – 1
Goals: CRN – Audrey Rogan, Sydney Linus, Mia Cairone
No 21 Council Rock South 1, No 12 Downingtown West 0
Being the “road” team in the postseason is always an adventure.
Usually, it’s a matchup against an unfamiliar opponent – which is hard enough to prepare for – but often, there’s also the venue. Tuesday, the Golden Hawks found themselves not only trying to figure out a foe, but a field and once they did, it was their season that got to get back on the road for the next trip.
“I felt we took about 10 minute to adjust to their field and how quick it played,” South coach Nick Heim said. “We seemed to be just hitting the final pass a foot too long early on.
“To be fair, we had a lot of success early on, but their goalie came up big on three first half breakaways.”
Juliette Salvi is a rock in the back for South at center back. She also has a booming leg that allows her coaches to employ her as a weapon on free kicks and when she’s on, Salvi can really test a keeper.
And, as it turned out on Tuesday, best them.
“We got on the board when Juliette scored on a free kick,” Heim said. “Her free kicks were dangerous all night and it finally paid off.”
The defender was eager to spread the wealth of the victory around.
“I’m so proud of my team and what we were able to accomplish,” Salvi said. “It was a complete team effort where everyone was committed, gave 100 percent and executed the coaches’ game plan.
“I am so happy that we get to continue our season and make a push in the playoffs.”
Heim also spread the credit around to his entire team for taking note of the scouting report and following through on it. He said West was well organized and had its share of threats to account for, something that took a combined Hawks effort to repel.
“They threw numbers at us late and we made some adjustments on the fly that the girls responded well to,” Heim said. “The back line of Salvi, Fiona Reckner, Jenna Waterman and Maggie Kane did a great job on their forwards and I thought Kate Deal settled in well in the midfield battling their side and ability to shoot from distance.”
There’s not really a direct route from CR South to Downingtown, but the Hawks proved they’re willing to travel anyway.
“Gianna Kirlin, Kathryn O’Kane and Teegan Shay made dangerous runs all night and Cam Blatz did a great job up top, pressuring backs and winning crucial balls,” Heim said. “There’s no easy wins in districts, so really proud of the girls taking a long bus ride and grinding out a result.”
South (10-5-3, 8-5-3 SOL) will bus it again on Thursday, visiting No. 5 Garnet Valley
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH – 1
DOWNINGTOWN WEST – 0
Goals: CRS – Juliette Salvi
No 15 Central Bucks West 3, No 18 Boyertown 0
The Bucks are a different team when Alexis Castro is on the field.
Tuesday, the aerial ace brought her best with her to spark a spirited shutout win at War Memorial Field.
“Alexis Castro was massive in the air today and also connecting through the midfield,” West coach Bree Benedict said. “She’s a big-time leader for us and her energy on the field was infectious.”
West never trailed, building a 2-0 halftime lead and getting a brace from Reegan Moran and a solo tally by Emery Sterling on its way to an opening round win for the third straight season.
“Mackenzie Gausch, Reegan Moran and Rian Detweiler provided a lot of width and opportunities on crosses,” Benedict said. “Kate (Weyer) was consistent as always and while she didn’t get on the scoresheet, she was instrumental in our attack.”
Weyer, a VCU recruit, is a four-year varsity starter. She wears a captain’s band with pride and didn’t understate what it’s meant to be part of West soccer as her career extended at least one more match.
“I’m really proud of this team for continuing to leave our hearts and souls out on the field. It really means a lot as a senior that I am able to be a part of a team with this culture and bond that always
has each other’s backs,” Weyer said. “I can’t wait to see what is in store for this team in the future.”
While the Bears didn’t score, it didn’t mean they weren’t trying to. It was just West’s defense being unwilling to give up a goal at home.
“Cam Nocito with another shutout, our backline of Cece Funseth, Janelle Blokker, Kira Winn and Ava Brunner really handled their speed and kept everything in front,” Benedict said. “Cam made a nice breakaway save in the first half to keep it 2-0.”
The Bucks (12-5-1, 11-4-1 SOL) now travel to No. 2 Pennridge on Thursday. The Rams had a first-round bye.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2 1 – 3
BOYERTOWN 0 0 – 0
Goals; CBW – Reegan Moran 2, Emery Sterling
No 26 North Penn 2, No 7 WC Henderson 1
It’s often not how a team starts, but how it finishes.
Take North Penn for example. At the start of the season, the Knights were a young team not sure who would play where or how they’d come together but they just kept working, figured it out and got into the postseason.
Tuesday, five minutes in, they were down a goal on the road against a program that’s got a ton of postseason history.
Again, not the start, but the finish.
“There were definitely some nerves at the start of the game and Henderson scored on a great shot from about 25 yards out in the first five minutes,” North Penn coach Mike Rio said. “Our girls did a great job responding.”
North Penn found its footing, settled in and got back in the game, thanks to a well-hit long free kick goal by Keira Sparango. The Knights kept the pressure up but settled for the halftime draw.
As the second half started, the hosts came back and looked to impose their will down the right flank.
“Jadyn Sperling did a great job containing their winger and made it really difficult for them to get anything going,” Rio said.
Lily McGee also brought a strong effort for North Penn and fittingly was the one who got the game-winning sequence started.
“She made a great run down the flank and put in a great cross that Keira settled and laid off to Maddy Murphy, who laid it by the keeper,” Rio said.
Murphy, a junior forward who has put together a fantastic season, got the winning goal but deflected credit all around.
“We played great team soccer tonight,” Murphy, a University of Buffalo recruit, said. “Everyone who stepped on the field had a positive contribution to the win and I’m so beyond proud to be a part of this team.”
While the Knights had a healthy respect for Henderson, they were also confident in themselves. Between two laps through the SOL Colonial and a mid-season dip in the SOL Patriot, North Penn felt it was well-prepared for the postseason.
Once the match started, the players rose to meet the moment. It showed in how they finished.
“Our girls worked really hard today, and the team defense was really strong. We didn’t let up too many chances and they got opportunities, Sam Ridler smothered everything, including a breakaway she came out and challenged,” Rio said. “This group never stops fighting and they work so hard for each other on the field, it is really enjoyable to watch them play.”
Ridler, the team’s senior goalkeeper, added that every player on the field contributed something even if it wasn’t as visible as a breakaway save or game-winning goal.
“The team played strong defense and we made the most of the opportunities we had,” Ridler said. “We each had our moments that stood us apart and showed our value to our team.”
The Knights (9-8-2, 7-7-2 SOL) will visit No. 10 Hatboro-Horsham in Thursday’s second round.
NORTH PENN 1 1 – 2
WC HENDERSON 1 0 – 1
Goals: NP – Keira Sparango, Maddy Murphy
No 10 Hatboro-Horsham 2 (4), No 23 Central Bucks South 2 (2) PKs
The unfortunate part of the postseason is that every game has to end with someone going home for the season.
It was pretty evident on Tuesday that both the Hatters and Titans were deserving of the opportunity to move on, but one of them just couldn’t. Alyssa Tooley was determined to make sure her team wasn’t packing it up just yet.
The Hatters senior keeper turned away two shots in the shootout, securing a dramatic win for the host team.
“Alyssa Tooley had two amazing PK saves during the shootout and she kept us in the game the whole time by making crazy saves,” HH captain Emma Levin said. “I thought the energy was so high tonight from everyone and it was just a total team win.”
While South’s season ended, it was a remarkable turnaround for the program. In just her second year, coach Gabbie Nolan guided the Titans back to the postseason and she wrapped up the campaign knowing her squad had left all it had on the pitch.
“We played great tonight. I couldn’t have asked for more from our girls as a coach,” Nolan said. “They did everything we needed them to do and executed what we planned. We had multiple chances all game that looked like they were an inch away from going in the net.
“We worked super hard and played as a team. It was a game we could leave knowing we gave our best effort.”
Regulation was a back-and-forth tilt that saw both teams have to rally from a goal down at one point. Hatboro-Horsham struck first, with Levin getting the header off a Clara Walker corner kick.
CB South responded just before the half with Olivia Daniele converting on a corner.
“It was a great game. Overall, both teams gave it their all and put in a lot of effort,” HH coach Kelsey Daley said. “Going into the second half, I thought we had a lot of momentum, but CB South was able to find the back of the net to go up on us 2-1.”
South took the advantage midway through the second half off another corner, this time with Olivia Wade getting in for the finish.
“Our girls never gave up and were able to score off another corner kick by Clara Walker and Sarah Roesing getting the head ball goal to make it 2-2,” Daley said.
CB South concludes the season with an 8-9-2 record, but that number does not tell how far the program has come in two years or for the seniors, how far they’ve come since entering the program.
“When our current seniors were freshmen, the varsity team won one game that season. They came a long way by ending their career as a playoff team,” Nolan said. “That’s not easy to do. We’ve seen so much growth and development from our girls this year. We have a lot to be proud of.”
A year ago, the Hatters (13-4-2, 12-2-2 SOL) were stunned on their home field in the opening round. Thanks to an upset by North Penn, and plenty of their own fortitude, they’ll be back on Thursday when they host the No. 23 Knights in the second round.
“I think all of us just came to play knowing it could be our last game and we wanted to win it so badly,” Levin said. “It was 100 percent a whole team effort tonight, including everyone on the bench.”
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1 1 0 0 – 2 (4)
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1 1 0 0 – 2 (2)
GOALS: HH – Emma Levin, Sarah Roesing; CBS – Olivia Daniele, Olivia Wade
No 5 Garnet Valley 2, No 28 Wissahickon 0
The Trojans certainly knew what they were getting into, having faced a Jaguars team they closed out the regular season with.
Tuesday’s tilt ended with the same score, only this time bringing an end to Wissahickon’s season. A slow start saw Wiss go winless in its first six fixtures before the team came together, battled the rest of the way and earned a chance to play in the postseason.
“The seniors came together and left it all on the field tonight against a very good Garnet Valley team,” Wiss coach Chris McDaniels said.
The Trojans end the season 7-10-2.
Garnet Valley will host No. 12 Council Rock South on Thursday.
GARNET VALLEY – 2
WISSAHICKON – 0
No 6 Lower Merion 4, No 27 Quakertown 0
The Panthers saw their season end Tuesday afternoon. Quakertown rallied late in the season to earn a playoff bid and finished the year 7-10-2.
LOWER MERION 2 2 – 4
QUAKERTOWN 0 0 – 0
Class 3A
No 8 Upper Moreland 1, No 9 Marple Newtown 0
The Golden Bears turned the tables on the Tigers in a rematch of last year’s opening round.
“We knew what Marple Newtown was going to bring. We knew that they would play us strong, that they would be looking for their target players up top, and they play aggressively,” UM coach Lisa Benvenuto said. “We wanted to set the tone and come out strong from the start.”
Upper Moreland couldn’t have asked for a much better start than the one it put together. Before five minutes had expired, the Bears had the lead and an advantage they would hold the rest of the way.
It was the team’s big three of offensive threats who all came together on the game’s only score.
“We were able to possess the ball from our back line and Willow Taylor came out of the middle with it. She quickly played Kyra Favors who put in a hard shot on frame that the goalie was able to get a hand on,” Benvenuto said. “Brooke Lobban followed the shot and buried the ball in the back of the net.
“Willow, Brooke and Kyra played a consistently strong, smart game tonight.”
Getting a lead in the postseason is tough. Holding it, especially for almost 75 minutes, is an even bigger ask.
UM didn’t lean on just one or two players to get that done.
“In the midfield Madeline Cox and Maggie Brophy were able to keep Marple Newtown’s dangerous players from entering the box,” Benvenuto said. “Our back line of Molly Meakim, Devin Bush and Annalise Messina coupled with goalie Gracie Costello played strong and worked very well together in containing Marple’s attack. “
At the half, the Golden Bears made a few adjustments and despite pushing hard to add onto their lead, they were turned away by the Tigers. However, their defense proved just as stout and continued to keep Marple-Newtown at bay.
“We had some great contributions from Stephanie Jones, Keiley Hawk, Deanna Swedberg, Mickie Soroka and Leah King,” Benvenuto said. “Our bench was alive and electric and gave us that extra boost when we needed it.
“We are really proud of our girls for their grit, commitment and composure tonight. They played as a unit and were able to hold the lead and played a hard 80 minutes.”
Upper Moreland (11-7-1, 8-7-1 SOL) travels to top-seeded Upper Perk on Thursday.
UPPER MORELAND 1 0 – 1
MARPLE-NEWTOWN 0 0 – 0
Goals: UM – Brooke Lobban
No 7 Villa Maria Academy 2, No 10 Springfield Twp 1
Even when things didn’t go right at the start, in typical Springfield Twp fashion, the Spartans went down fighting.
“Both teams had equal possession and fight, opportunity and mistakes, Villa played great and just made a couple less mistakes,” Spartans coach Marissa Conover said. “I loved the matchup and would love to play them again.”
It seemed like the game would get to halftime as a scoreless draw, but an unfortunate bounce and a breakdown spotted the Hurricanes two goals just before the break.
“We rallied after halftime and never gave up, if anything, we pushed even harder,” Conover said. “We didn’t let any in for the second half and ended up scoring off a rebound from a free kick
“We fought so hard, especially in the last 10 minutes.”
Maddie McDevitt took the initial free kick, with the rebound leading to a scuffle in close. Alana Decker had a crack at it, then Fiona Rizzo was able to finish the job and finally get the ball across the goal line.
The loss ended a special season for Springfield Twp, which featured an accomplished senior class that was part of two postseason appearances.
“We had a standout season for us, beating Upper Moreland once, Lower Moreland once, tying Abington and Upper Dublin and beating Quakertown in overtime, they are all great games that we are really proud of,” Conover said. “We don’t always have a winning season, so this year has been fun being in the game with bigger competitors and playing them tight.
“We had a lot of talent, a lot of standout players and we are thankful to have played in a division that is so competitive.”
The Spartans end the year with a 9-7-3 record.
VILLA MARIA ACADEMY 2 0 – 2
SPRINGFIELD TWP 0 1 – 1
Goals: ST – Fiona Rizzo
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