Abington, Pennridge, Neshaminy, CB East & CB West were winners in Thursday’s second round of the District 1 4A Tournament. Neshaminy/Garnet Valley photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos. All SOS photo galleries for GIRLS’ SOCCER can be viewed by clicking HERE. (Pennridge/CR North photos courtesy of Althea Tomlinson/Pennridge soccer)
No. 6 Abington 1, No. 11 Council Rock South 0
Sara Kaeser admitted the thought crossed her mind.
On Tuesday, an attempt to clear the ball off the goal line hadn’t worked out well for the Ghosts, leading to a goal for visiting Plymouth Whitemarsh that Abington had to spend a lot of energy battling back from. Presented with a similar opportunity in the first half Thursday, Kaeser did think about the repercussions had she missed on her attempt to keep the ball from going over the line.
The key word being “had” as the Abington sophomore had only thought about it after her successful boot had kept things scoreless.
“I knew it needed to get out,” Kaeser said. “I saw it coming in and it was basically ‘don’t mess up, because this could decide the entire game.’
“It was definitely an afterthought, just because it was happening so quickly.”
The Golden Hawks came in with a good plan and were very tough for Abington to figure out in the first half. CR South coach Nick Heim credited Abington for capitalizing on a set piece, something the Hawks knew would be dangerous.
This time of the year is full of emotions, positive for the winning teams and gutting for those that have to go home.
“Ultimately, it is the end of the high school careers of an incredible group. On the field, they were tremendous for us, only losing to three teams this year that are in the final eight,” Heim said. “More importantly it’s off the field that they should be recognized.”
South did an excellent job identifying Abington’s threats and cramming the ball to keep them from really doing much with it in the first half. Ghosts senior Maura Day found herself on the receiving end of a lot of that attention, usually having to navigate multiple defenders to try and link the ball to teammates.
The best way to keep Hawks midfielders like Kathryn O’Kane, Zoe Brossman and Reghan Mudie from clogging up the middle was to get the ball wide and stretch the defense. Day felt that was a key change in the second half that allowed the Ghosts to start taking control and winning more of the balls that had been heavily contested in the first 40 minutes.
“It was win or go home, so we had to come out strong,” Day said. “We talked about what we needed to change and we said, ‘we’re going out and we’re going to win every single ball and we’re going to win the game in the next 40 minutes.'”
Abington’s defense has seen a couple different forms this season. When Kaeser got a crack, she performed well as a center back and coach Rick Tompkins has had a hard time taking her off the field ever since.
Facing a CR South attack that has some good flank players like Kylee Bamberger, Lily Bross and Ashley Yeager and Cam Blatz up top, Abington’s back line of Kaeser, Madison Oldham, Jocelyn Pollock, Anna Cleary and Kara Slavin held their own.
“The outside backs do a great job watching the runs and Madison and I do a good job working back and forth to make sure their striker is always being marked,” Kaeser said. “We want to prevent any through balls and really lock it down back there. It should be good for us going into the next game knowing we were able to lock it down.”
CR South’s seniors – Emily Davis, Reghan Mudie, Karissa Smedley, Kim Speiser, Kylee Bamberger, Ashley Yeager, Allison Roberto, Kelly Lee, and Kiara Wysocki – had plenty of tears at the end of the game, a sign of how much their teammates meant and their pride in representing the program.
“They’ve turned the culture into a winning one, have created a tight knit group, are there for each other, and me, when we need it, and have set the bar even higher for the next few years. Leadership, character, and hard work are things you can’t teach, and they exuded it,” Heim said. “Incredibly proud of them, and incredibly fortunate that we got to have them lead our program. They are certainly going to be missed.
“Teachers and community members reach out to me often about this class, so to have them represent us and wear “South Soccer” across their jerseys means a great deal to us, and they’re terrific role models for the younger ones in the program.”
A foul put Abington in position to take a free kick right around the edge of the range where Day is at her most dangerous. Unlike Tuesday, when the senior midfielder drilled a direct kick goal, she knew the distance on this one was better suited to find a teammate.
“We have set players like Sara or Carley (Slavin), I’m looking back post or to drive it so they can get something on it,” Day said. “Most of the time, I see Carley, she’s easy to pick out and it seems to work so why not keep going with it.”
This particular kick didn’t find Slavin, but it did find Piper McGinley and the junior caught enough of the ball to direct it on goal for a 1-0 lead with 18:31 to play.
“We don’t like to really change up anything, we keep going until it works,” Day said. “Rick sets it up really well for us in practice, and we go over it a lot so it really helps.”
Kaeser said the Ghosts, who are now a win away from the state tournament, are looking to carry the mindset they can beat any team they come up against with them for the rest of the postseason. Day added the squad has thrived on a one game at a time mentality and for her, it’s especially important as her time left with the Ghosts is limited.
“It feels good, it’s my senior year, I want to have more high school games and I do not want to leave this group,” Day said.
Abington (17-3, 14-2 SOL) will host No. 14 Central Bucks East on Saturday in the quarterfinals. The Patriots topped the Ghosts 5-4 in the first game of the season. Council Rock South closed out its season with a 13-4-3 record overall, 11-3-2 in the SOL.
ABINGTON 0 1 – 1
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 0 – 0
Goals; A – Piper McGinley
No. 2 Pennridge 3, No. 15 Council Rock North 2
In the middle of SOL crossover play, Pennridge had to give its all to get past Council Rock North in a close, one-goal game.
Suffice to say, the Indians were not at the top of the list of teams Rams coach Audrey Anderson wanted to see for her squad’s playoff opener. However, that’s how the bracket shaped up and CR
North again pushed Pennridge to its limit in a well-played game between two quality teams.
A tight first half turned into a back-and-forth second half that featured four goals and reminded the Rams’ coach of another slugfest at Helman Field in the postseason.
“It reminded me of when we played Parkland in 2020 in that state semifinal game where only the winner goes on,” Anderson said. “In that game, seven goals were scored in 80 minutes, so tonight it was the same atmosphere.”
It was understandably a tough way to end what was a really good season for the Indians. With some really good young players in key spots, Thursday was an excellent learning experience, but CR North coach Gavin Flannigan also turned praise to his seniors for setting the pace.
“I thought we battled hard for 80 minutes and while the game didn’t finish the way we wanted I think the younger players in our program can take a lot from the experience,” Flannigan said. “I’m very proud of our senior group this season, they’ve reached the last 16 of districts every year, and when you take into account our league schedule, I do think that’s a great achievement. To me, their biggest legacy will be the culture they have set for the future teams and how they’ve interacted and led a young Varsity group.”
Two of those young players – sophomores Mia Cairone and Maya Raghunandanan – showed what they have by combining for a goal that had the visitors in front 1-0 at the break.
“Tonight we played well at times, we executed some of the patterns and combinations that Jorge and Trevor have been working on at practice with the girls,” Flannigan said. “In particular, our first goal from Maya on an assist from Mia can be directly related to that work.”
The chief message for the Rams at halftime was that 40 minutes remained in the game and despite some mistakes in the first half, CR North only had a one-goal lead. Pennridge adjusted at halftime, although the real response would have to be internal.
“We had to go forward with a purpose, we had to stop being so soft and go to goal,” Anderson said. “We knew their keeper was great and we had to come up big to get the ball in the back of the net. It was those little things, winning the midfield, holding onto the ball and winning our 1-v-1s going to goal, and we did that three times.”
Tori Angelo jump-started the goalfest by scoring just a few minutes into the second half and leveling the score 1-1. Pennridge would soon take its first lead on some hustle by senior Joey Tomlinson.
“Her goal was outstanding, she put the keeper under pressure and just took the ball from the keeper and ran the ball into the goal,” Anderson said.
Again to North’s credit, the Indians’ seniors didn’t let the team fall apart and they would come back to tie things up 2-2 with about 15 minutes to play.
“At halftime we stressed that the game was far from done and that we expected Pennridge to come out fast, and they did,” Flannigan said. “Two quick goals for them put us on the back foot, but credit to the girls for coming back and tying it up on a long free kick from Kate Thomson.”
Even in a game where they gave up two goals, Anderson complimented the play of her defenders. The back line, which included Anna Croyle, Lauren Murphy, Lindsey Balmer, Casey Malone and Meredith Blannett on the night, had its hands full dealing with
Cairone, Alyssa Tyler and especially Raghunandanan.
Liv Grenda decided the game with a spectacular goal. The junior midfielder took the ball right at the defense and as she entered the 18-yard box, used a controlled touch and settled the ball in front of her left foot.
With four CR North defenders converging, Grenda tucked a well-placed shot past the diving keeper and just inside the post for the go-ahead tally.
“It was a great goal,” Anderson said. “She had so many opportunities to score and it was fitting for her to score that way because she’s so good when she’s inside that 18 beating the keeper 1-v-1.”
North tried its best to get one back but ultimately fell short of pushing the game into extra time.
“While we battled back and created a couple of set piece chances we weren’t able to find another goal,” Flannigan said. “Our effort was excellent tonight all around, but I thought Kate Thomson had her best game in her whole career for us in the back. (Goalkeeper) Danielle Eden was as strong as ever too.”
Tomlinson, Pennridge’s sole senior, is a win away from her fourth state playoffs while the juniors that make up the bulk of the roster are in the district quarterfinals for a third straight year. Thursday only went to prove something Anderson already knew about this group.
“I believe in this team,” Anderson said. “I believe we’re not going to go down without a fight and tonight, we proved that.”
The Rams (18-1, 15-1 SOL) will host No. 26 Central Bucks West on Saturday afternoon. Pennridge took both regular season meetings with the Bucks. Council Rock North closed out its season with a 12-5-3 record (9-4-3 SOL).
PENNRIDGE 0 3 – 3
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1 1 – 2
Goals: P – Tori Angelo, Joey Tomlinson, Liv Grenda; CRN – Maya Raghunandanan, Kate Thomson
No. 14 Central Bucks East 2, No. 3 Avon Grove 1
Walking off the field Thursday night, East did so blasting the new official playoff anthem of the greater Philadelphia area.
With Calum Scott’s cover of “Dancing on My Own,” the song made famous by the Philadelphia Phillies on their postseason run, bumping on their mobile speaker, the Patriots had a lot of smiles to load back on the bus for the long ride home. Going on the road to try and knock off an unbeaten Red Devils team looked like a daunting task on paper.
After 80 minutes it was like the song says, and East was the one dancing on its own into the quarterfinals.
“To knock off a top team like that, it’s just special,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “(We) came into this one respecting what they do, but knew we had what it took to snipe them. And we just came in quietly and did our job.”
Avon Grove had played some quality teams and had an abundance of talent and the Devil’s 17-0-1 record was well-earned.
East came out respecting that, plus Avon Grove’s strength on the counter and organization and looked to take the game to the hosts. The approach worked, as the Patriots forced the Devils to play on the defensive off the opening tap.
“We created a few dangerous opportunities off the run of play, great game from Cam Williams and Elliot Forney which backed their group off a lot,” Nesteruk said. “We earned ourselves a number of corners, and after a scramble in the box off of Elliot’s service, Camryn found a way to sneak one in. Once we were able to settle in a bit, the first half got a bit easier for us, minus a great ball over the top for them that Aralynn Patterson just came out and made an unreal save on. It was a really even first half.”
Williams was aggressive in the box off a corner kick, knifing her way through a jumble of players to tap in the opener about seven minutes in, the senior’s 14th tally giving her team a 1-0 lead it took to halftime.
The Patriots continued to press the issue after halftime, but it was far from one-way traffic.
“I thought we may have had the better of the run of play and possession, but every time we turned the ball over they were incredibly direct and countered on us ruthlessly,” Nesteruk said.
Still, that wasn’t enough to keep East out of the back of the net again. Senior Gwyn Krystkiewicz doubled the lead, again only about seven minutes into the start of the new half.
“It came off a long diagonal ball by Elliot from left to right. Ball went wide right out to Gwyn, cut it back inside, and as the ball was rising up, just smashed it high from about five feet out,” Nesteruk said. “Great finish.”
Nesteruk said the second goal really energized Avon Grove, and the hosts came back hard trying to keep their season alive and put East to task when they halved the lead with plenty of time left to go.
“Long throws, quick counters, balls over the top, it was a really tough 30 minutes to close this one out,” Nesteruk said. “Their goal came with 25 minutes left off a corner. From there, it was a really gritty finish and our girls just saw it through.”
While the victory song is about someone dancing on their own, CB East had a full floor of contributors.
“Stellar, stellar games from our midfield three – Mikayla Gray, Elliot Forney and Sophia Mignon. Mikayla covered a lot of what makes that team so dangerous. Elliot hit another level, and massive credit to our backline for playing one of the meanest attacking teams I’ve seen,” Nesteruk said. “Between Brooke Roumy, Sophie Schorn, Chantal Van Dongeren, Grace Craig, and Katie Bullard to close that game out, it was just brilliant.”
Krystkiewicz has been a really steady contributor on the wing for East this season, even playing some other positions at times but the senior is always one to give max effort. Having her goal to hold up as the game-winner in such a hard-earned win was another highlight on a long but memorable night.
“For Gwyn to get the goal and have that moment, it’s the beauty of a senior year in districts. A night we won’t forget as coaches and it’s all due to this group,” Nesteruk said. “A lot of love and dedication to each other. After a long bus ride home, we turn our focus to Abington which will be another great one.”
CB East (14-6, 10-6 SOL) will visit No. 6 Abington on Saturday. The Patriots claimed a 5-4 win over the Ghosts in the first match of the season.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1 1 – 2
AVON GROVE 0 1 – 1
Goals: CBE – Camryn Williams, Gwyn Krystkiewicz
No. 5 Neshaminy 4, No. 21 Garnet Valley 1
Two games, two hat tricks so far for Neshaminy.
On Thursday, it was Kylie Maxwell’s turn to show out as the swift and skillful sophomore tallied three times in helping to tame the Jaguars. The Redskins have really turned things up offensively in
the postseason, and it was another case of a lot of good work behind the finishes setting up quality chances.
“Everyone did well today and really kept the pace of the game very high,” Neshaminy coach Josh Van Reed said. “I’m so proud of the girls taking advantage of the opportunities when they come and the creativity in the final third. They’re still continuing to grow and improve.”
Garnet Valley came in with a relatively young team, but also brimming with confidence off a first round upset on the road. Neshaminy made sure that any attempt to replicate the feat would be an increasingly difficult uphill climb thanks to a blistering start.
Mercedez Paino, owner of the first round hat trick against Ridley, instead played facilitator to let Maxwell take over for the playoff lead in goals with a pair of quick strikes in the opening five minutes.
“Mercedez created some space for herself from midfield and the defenders were up and she put a through ball in-between the last two defenders on the right side and Kylie was already running to goal, and tucked it in the bottom left corner,” Van Reed
said. “Second goal was one minute later and in a very similar scenario, Mercedez was carrying the ball back across the field to the right side and again found a gap to slip the ball though to Kylie. This time the keeper did stop the ball, but it was knocked back to Kylie for a second try which she finished.”
Neshaminy continued to work the ball around the field, connecting passes and generating more chances. Van Reed said there was a sense another goal was on its way, it would just be a matter of which player was ready to own it.
On Tuesday, senior Carly Fox didn’t score but earned props for her hard work winning some pivotal balls and keeping possession. Thursday, she called in her dues and nabbed her first tally of the postseason thanks to an all-out effort by a teammate to keep the play alive.
“Garnet Valley had cleared out a ball from the box and (midfielder) Abby Collins collected and had to slide to make the pass snake through the middle to Carly Fox’s feet,” Van Reed said. “Carly made a great fake with her right foot and cut it back to her left to shoot 
and hit a great ball that beat the keeper.”
Fox’s goal came with 12 minutes left in the half and gave the host side a 3-0 lead at the break. The Jaguars roared back after halftime, pulling a goal back and letting the ‘Skins know they were going to have work to close things out.
“The second half Garnet Valley worked real hard and challenged every ball,” Van Reed said. “Our defense from our keeper Hannah LaBadie through our mid field players today did a great job with first touches and moving the ball around, to create more chances.”
Maxwell still had a goal to get for her first playoff hat trick.
“It started from a throw-in down the left sideline, Bri Garyah beat the defender and picked Kylie out running to the PK spot and finished one time with her left foot,” Van Reed said.
Neshaminy (18-0-2, 14-0-2 SOL) will be on the road at No. 4 seed Lower Merion for an early start Saturday, with the game scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
NESHAMINY 3 1 – 4
GARNET VALLEY 0 1 – 1
Goals: N – Kylie Maxwell 3, Carly Fox
No. 26 Central Bucks West 2, No. 23 Downingtown West 0
From sitting on the outside looking in to making it further than any West team in eight years, it’s safe to say it’s been a crazy couple weeks for the Bucks.
After going on the road and knocking off Hatboro-Horsham in overtime on Tuesday, West had to try and solve a puzzle it had yet to do in coach Mike Moyer’s tenure by getting past the second round. An unusual matchup of two teams seeded in the 20s meant another road trip, this one a little longer but also devoid of Tuesday’s late-game dramatics.
“This is the first time for me and for the program to finally get past this Thursday game. The last time that we got past this was 2014,” Moyer said. “We’ve always made it to the Thursday game, and for whatever reason, we just could never get past this hump.”
The trip from Doylestown to Downingtown didn’t seem to slow down the SOL West when it faced the Ches-Mont’s West, with the Bucks putting on early pressure and again getting a first half goal.
“We started out really fast, and after that long bus ride, I was really nervous how we would start the game. We came out ready to go, which was great,” Moyer said. “About 20 minutes in off a set piece, the ball comes inside the box, and Emery Sterling was there composed and just hit a great shot from 20 yards out to give us a 1-0 lead.”
Sterling, who scored for the second playoff game in a row, gave her team a lead it was determined to not give away.
“After that, Downingtown West kind of settled in a bit. They started doing much better, they gained control off the midfield a little bit, but they never had a legitimate chance on goal,” Moyer said. “Jules (Broskey) was playing unbelievable tonight. She came out and any penetrating ball she just swallowed up. We went into halftime up 1-0, and the talk at halftime was – ‘Don’t give a goal up with 18 seconds left in the game.’”
The best way to not give up a one-goal lead late is to make it a two-goal lead late and midway through the second half, CB West managed to get another tally while this time not needing to go beyond the 80-minute threshold to do it.
“We switched up our formation a little bit. About 20 minutes in, Kate Weyer played a great ball up to Mackenzie Gausch, and Kenz used her body really well and hit a rocket from 12 yards out that left no doubt,” Moyer said. “She finished with class and gave us a 2-0 lead, and then it was just time for us to see the game out.”
The Bucks defense posted a clean sheet after coming 18 seconds away from getting one in the first round but did turn in a second straight strong showing while the midfield rebounded to help control the middle of the pitch.
“My defense – Courtney (Moylan), Ava (Longo), Janelle (Blokker) and Ava Brunner – they were on tonight. Taylor Madden got some really good minutes in back there, and so did Kira Winn,” Moyer said. “My midfield tonight – I keep forgetting about them, but Eva Wierzbowski, Cece Funseth got some great minutes tonight, and AC (Alexis Castro) – they just played so much better than they did in that last game against Hatboro-Horsham.”
The Bucks move on to face a familiar foe in a half of the bracket that’s dominated by the SOL. Specifically, with CB East also still in the hunt, three of the four teams left on that side of the tournament are from the SOL Colonial with SOL Liberty champ Abington rounding out the quartet.
West (12-8, 8-8 SOL) will have to figure out a Pennridge team that took both meetings in the regular season when the squads meet at Helman Field for a 3pm start on Saturday.
“I’m really proud of these girls and the program. Now we know we have a really, really tough game on Saturday. I have just a huge amount of respect for what Audrey does up there. Her teams are just so disciplined. They don’t make mistakes, and whenever you make a mistake, they make you pay for it,” Moyer said. “We know what we’re in for, we have to play a perfect game. I’m hoping we’re ready for it. We’re happy and grateful to be in this position. We kind of snuck in the back end, and at that time, everyone is 0-0.We’re just trying to make the most of it.”
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1 1 – 2
DOWNINGTOWN WEST 0 0 – 0
Goals; CBW – Emery Sterling, Mackenzie Gausch
No. 1 Conestoga 1, No. 16 Upper Dublin 0
The Cardinals knew they had a tough task in front of them, but they played the top-seeded Pioneers as well as anyone has this season in a gritty effort to close a successful season.
“Conestoga’s goalkeeper turned away shots inside the box from Alex Devers in the first half and Lilli Kleiman in the second. Meg McMeel’s early corner kick clanked off the near post and Erin Seabrook hit the crossbar late in the second half,” Cardinals coach Chuck Gesing said. “UD limited Conestoga to shots outside the box most of the evening. Despite superb team defense from UD, Conestoga found the ball behind the back line, midway through the second half for the only goal of the game.”
Upper Dublin no doubt played its best soccer of the season down the stretch and a talented senior class was able to pick up its first playoff win in Tuesday’s opening round. From a difficult season as sophomores during the COVID-19 pandemic to playing through the aftermath of last September’s devastating tornado, this group helped leave the program stronger than when they arrived.
With some talented underclassmen coming back, the bar for success will remain high in Fort Washington.
“I’m incredibly proud of the team as a whole. As a coach it’s so rewarding to see a group come together and peak at the right time,” Gesing said. “I give the credit for this team’s evolution to my seniors Regan Rubin, Alaina Sanders, Olivia Hoffman, Emeline Bell, Catherine Scullen, Lilli Kleiman and Alex Devers. Without them leading the way, this season and these last weeks of incredible soccer simply doesn’t happen. I’m going to miss them.”
Upper Dublin (9-6-1 SOL) closed out its season with an 11-7-1 record overall.
CONESTOGA 0 1 – 1
UPPER DUBLIN 0 0 – 0
No. 4 Lower Merion 4, No. 13 Wissahickon 0
Unfortunately for the Trojans, a second win over the Aces this fall wasn’t in the cards.
Wissahickon’s 2-1 win over Lower Merion on Sept. 1 remains the Aces’ sole loss of the season to date. Coming off a well-earned double-overtime win to open the playoffs, Wiss couldn’t quite generate the offense to threaten Lower Merion again.
Despite a rash of injuries early in the year and a tough closing stretch to the regular season, the seniors helped Wissahickon to its first playoff win since 2016.
“Our senior class of Serena Harris, Gianna Maiale, Eva Schools, Kylie Friedman, Sage Stelzer and Margo Kasenchar were an absolute pleasure to work with,” Trojans coach Chris McDaniels said. “They’ll be missed at Wissahickon!”
Lower Merion will host No. 5 Neshaminy on Saturday morning. Wissahickon closed out its season with an 11-7-1 record, 9-6-1 in the SOL.
LOWER MERION – 4
WISSAHICKON – 0
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