Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Thursday. Neshaminy/Truman photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson, and Tennent/Cheltenham photos courtesy of Kadi Schenk. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f405978483
SOL Patriot
Council Rock North 1, Council Rock South 0
Sara Tyler had quite the day on Thursday.
The Council Rock North junior not only passed her driving test and got her license, she was able to suit up and play for the first time in a couple weeks after an injury just in time for the annual Unity Cup game. If all that wasn’t enough, she made sure her senior teammates got to celebrate by scoring the match’s lone goal on a terrific free kick in the final minute.
“For me, I just wanted to get it on frame,” Tyler said. “I’d had a few shots on net in the first and second half that missed, so I just wanted to get it on frame. I knew we had time left, so I just hoped someone would get in and finish it.
“I got lucky and it went in without needing all that. It felt amazing, honestly, I hit it and just watched it.”
The North-South rivalry is always intense and always competitive. It’s also pretty unique in its own ways. North coach Gavin Flannigan coaches several of the South players on his club team while South coach Nick Heim teaches at CR North and has quite a few players as his students.
“Last year, we played them to a tie, so we were definitely seeking the win this year,” North senior co-captain Lexi Fischer said. “We had the whole team come together. The energy on the benches from both teams, it was just a really good game.”
“We owe a lot of it to our bench,” Tyler added. “They were the ones hyping us up today and we had a great student section, especially in the second half, that helped us get through.”
Fischer, and her twin sister Taylor, are two of the North players who Heim teaches. Their competitiveness also extends past the field, Flannigan having the co-captains play rock-paper-scissors to see which one would do the postgame interview.
That competitiveness has been a defining trait of this North team in a season filled with injuries and a lot of overtimes. In fact, the first North-South game ended as a double-overtime draw, and it seemed to be heading for extra time again Thursday prior to Tyler’s heroics.
Through it all, the Indians have just kept showing up to work every day and as a result, lead the SOL Patriot title race going into the final week of the season.
“It couldn’t have finished better for us, but it went back and forth,” Flannigan said. “To get the momentum built and grind our way through things, the girls come ready every day even as we’ve been injured and had to go deep into our roster.”
CR South has been just as competitive and motivated, it’s been a matter of inches for the Golden Hawks much of the season. Thursday, they hit a crossbar, were denied an early second half goal by a brave challenge and came agonizingly close to putting away a couple set pieces that easily could have flipped the outcome.
A win would have put CR South atop North in the division title, but as it stands, both teams are in line for a District 1 playoff bid. North currently ranks No. 17 in 4A and South at No. 21, Heim hoping that his team will catch a break somewhere to match outputs like Thursday’s.
“We’re in it until the end every single game and hopefully that’s something to lean on come playoffs,” Heim said. “It’s a special night, the boys play before us over at South then come over and make the stands loud. Gavin and I always view both games, but especially the one under the lights as special.”
The entire match was an ebb and flow of opportunities and both teams trying to impose themselves as the controlling force. Defensively, both teams put a max effort in, but it was a testament to the quality of players on both sides that the chances came so frequently.
South may have hit a crossbar and came close a few other times, but North hit a post and had a couple chances of its own drift just inches wide of going in. Both keepers, Mairin Coghlan for North and Ella Mayberry for South, played very well and came up with all the plays they could have.
Coghlin did have the save of the night, rushing out to challenge a shot by South’s Cam Blatz in the opening minutes of the second half that would have left a wide-open net if she didn’t get to it. The third of North’s co-captains, the keeper earned plaudits from Fischer for her play.
“Cam Blatz is an amazing player, she had a lot of breakthroughs tonight but Mairin always knew exactly where to be at the exact right moment to intercept a lot of her counterattacks,” Fischer said.
When the respective teams had their spells on the front foot, they did a lot of what they wanted to do. For South, that meant letting junior Kathryn O’Kane maneuver the ball around the midfield then look to play to Blatz up top or out wide, with Lily Bross being the one to sting the crossbar five minutes into the second half.
On North’s side, the eventual end was to get the ball to Mia Cairone, but the Indians had several avenues to do it. With South’s Fiona Reckner battling Cairone all game, North looked instead to flip the field with some long passes and get the wingers going.
“Once we got confidence in getting the first pass in and had confidence in each other, we were able to use the space, especially on the outside,” Fischer said. “Once we started to switch the field, we were able to use Mia and get her in toward the net.
“Every game comes with a new strategy and when we follow it, like we did today, the results come.”
That also allowed the midfield, notably Sydney Linus and Audrey Rogan, to be more assertive going forward.
Tyler got involved pretty quickly, her return giving North one of its best set piece options back in the mix. She challenged Mayberry with a curling free kick in the first half, took a corner and had another free kick blast go wide of goal.
“It was my first game back in two weeks and it showed a lot of what this team is,” Tyler said. “Just coming back on the field, everyone was hyping me up. The last time we played South, it was a tie after overtime and I could just tell everyone wanted it and that goes back to the energy we all had.”
The North defense of Amber Yuan, Kinsley Smith, Ottavia Copestick and Audrey Thomson played well, the group coming together throughout the course of the season despite not much experience between them.
Conversely, the Hawks back four of Katelyn Deal, Jenna Waterman, Maggie Kane and Juliette Salvi was strong and adjusted when Salvi had to exit the match with an injury in the second half.
“We have played South for 180 minutes this season and it came down to that goal at the end tonight,” Flannigan said. “It’s a testament to both programs for their desire to win. Credit to Nick and his girls for two tough games.”
“It’s exactly what you expect North-South to be,” Heim said. “I turned to Gavin 10 minutes in and said it looks exactly what we thought it would like. We had some really good spells and good chances, we pinned them back a bit and they held strong on the back end the same as we held strong, handling Cairone up top is a challenge and if you shut her down, then they have dangerous players underneath you have to worry about.”
During a stoppage in the second half that allowed both teams to gather near their benches, Flannigan had some guidance for Tyler. He could tell the junior was frustrated at herself, and if another chance came up, he wanted Tyler confident enough to go for it.
“It was a shot earlier in the half where I really wanted her to hit it and she didn’t strike it well so I was telling her just to get after it again and make the next one count,” Flannigan said. “Fortunately for us, she did.”
With the ball spotted far on the left flank on the football field’s 15-yard line, Tyler approached and drove through it with her right foot. It would have been hard to hit it any better, the ball curling up to its zenith before a fierce backspin brought it back down and into the top shelf, just over a valiant attempt by Mayberry to punch it over the bar.
Fischer recalled her first thought being to crash the goal for a potential rebound, then once the ball had gone in, just getting back ready to defend out the final 47 seconds.
“A big motivator for the whole team is that everyone’s in it together,” Fischer said. “We’re always together, no matter if we win, lose, whoever makes a mistake, we stick together, and I think that’s something that’s really important in this type of game.”
Tyler made a beeline for Isabel Diaz, the two hugging it out as the rest of the team swarmed them. She drove in the winning goal, then got to drive home and put her new license to use.
“It’s up there for sure,” Tyler said of where the goal ranked personally. “I had one other goal like that, my freshman year, and I still remember it to this day, so it’s up there.”
CR South (7-5-3, 6-5-3 SOL) hosts Pennsbury at 7 on Monday. North (10-4-2, 9-4-2) visits Neshaminy at 7 on Monday.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 1 – 1
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 0 – 0
Goals; CRN – Sara Tyler
Bensalem 3, Pennsbury 1
The Owls know every result matters from here out.
Sitting on the outside looking in at the District 1 4A playoff bracket, Bensalem will likely need to win out and probably get some help, to get into the 28-team field. To think about that, they had to think about winning on Thursday.
“We played really well in the first half,” Bensalem coach Bob Crawford said. “(Pennsbury) did a good job in the second half, they were taking every opportunity they could to shoot and put us on our heels.”
Bensalem’s three goals came from three different scorers. Crawford felt his team did a good job of slotting passes through Pennsbury’s back line and playing into gaps for the opening 40 minutes, leading to opportunities in front of goal.
“We were getting numbers in the box and controlling the game,” Crawford said. “Defensively, we were sound and kept the ball in front for the most part.
“The second half is where they started getting behind us and if it wasn’t for Haley Esposito, she really stepped up in the second half.”
Mary Beck opened the scoring for Bensalem, following a cross by Ava Burski and crashing the goal to get her finish.
“She’s one of our smaller players, but she plays so big,” Crawford said.
Ava Wilson, off a feed by Michelle Rogers, tallied the Owls’ second goal before Victoria Mathieu capped the scoring with a finish that caught her coach’s attention.
“Mikayla Donahue slid her through, she was 1-on-1 with the goalie and instead of shooting, she almost passed it into the goal off her left foot,” Crawford said.
Esposito, the Owls’ senior goalkeeper, had another stout performance. She is drawing some local Division II college interest, including Holy Family and Chestnut Hill, and has been a rock in goal all season.
“She made three saves on one sequence, like one shot, then two and three on rebounds,” Crawford said. “All season, she’s been so solid for us.”
Crawford also cited the play defensively of Devon Bell, Vanessa Shay and Julia Leibig.
“Our bench really played well today,” Crawford said. “It was one of those games you want to give everyone an opportunity.”
Bensalem (6-8-1, 6-7-1 SOL) travels to Harry S Truman at 3:30 on Monday. Pennsbury (3-12-1, 3-10-1) travels to Council Rock South at 7 on Monday.
BENSALEM 3 0 – 3
PENNSBURY 0 1 – 1
Goals: B – Mary Beck, Ava Wilson, Victoria Mathieu
Neshaminy 7, Harry S Truman 0
Six players found the net for Neshaminy on Thursday, paced by two goals from Aislyn Fitzgerald.
Emerson Rooney had a goal and an assist while Anna Axenroth, Grace Yimyam, Natalie Weidle and Maggie Volgraf all scored. Leah Kaczmarek added an assist
Neshaminy is firmly on the playoff bubble, sitting No. 28 in District 1 4A and currently holding the final spot.
Truman (0-14, 0-14 SOL) hosts Bensalem at 3:30 on Monday. Neshaminy (8-7-1, 7-6-1) hosts Council Rock North at 7 on Monday.
SOL Liberty
Abington 3, Upper Dublin 0
There aren’t many things more frustrating in soccer than a 1-0 loss after a really good team effort.
That’s how the Ghosts felt leaving Tuesday’s loss to Hatboro-Horsham, a result that put a dent in their hopes of repeating as SOL Liberty champions. Thursday, they bounced back.
“It was a good win for us, they played very well tonight,” Abington coach Rick Tompkins said. “They were able to move on and we’re hoping to peak for the playoffs, that’s all.”
Tompkins felt his side controlled the match from the start and had opportunities to put away even more goals. As it stood, the Ghosts got what they needed by carrying over their effort from Tuesday.
There’s been a lot of grit from the group of late too.
“We’re injured, I have three out with concussions including our goal, Addison Hayden,” Tompkins said. “We Alicia Martino in goal and she did fine, no goals against. We also moved Nya Riggs to the back and Madison Oldham up to a defensive mid and didn’t lose anything.”
Piper McGinley opened the scoring less than four minutes into the game. A foul gave Abington a free kick a bit over 30 yards out and the senior hit an absolute laser, the ball rising up and over Upper Dublin’s wall and tucking inside the post on the opposite corner.
“It was a bomb,” Tompkins said. “It was like a dart, she just crushed it and got us started on the right track.”
The highlight offensively for Abington was the first career goal by freshman Addison Doyle 10 minutes into the second half. Tompkins said the freshman had been pressing a little bit, not used to high school soccer after being a successful scorer at the club level but overall had been doing all the right things.
“She was beaming,” Tompkins said. “Piper put her through with a pretty deft pass off the outside of her left foot, I thought it was going to go out of bounds, but Addison caught it, made a great move and put it in underneath the keeper. It was a very hard shot, it took a lot of skill to do what she did.”
Sara Kaeser wrapped up the Abington scoring with a penalty kick.
Abington (104-1, 10-2-1 SOL) visits New Hope-Solebury at 3:30 on Friday in a makeup game. Upper Dublin (6-7-2, 5-7-2) visits Plymouth Whitemarsh at 7 on Monday.
ABINGTON 1 2 – 3
UPPER DUBLIN 0 0 – 0
Goals: A – Piper McGinley, Addison Doyle, Sara Kaeser
Hatboro-Horsham 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 (2OT)
Time was about to run out on Hatboro-Horsham when Kitty Randa got the ball and got behind the defense.
The senior forward scored both goals, the second coming with just 35 seconds left in the second overtime, to keep the Hatters on the front foot in the SOL Liberty title
race. That race isn’t over, but the three points HH picked up Thursday could loom large in deciding it.
“Clara Walker slots Kitty Randa a through ball where Kitty beats a defender and makes a move around the keeper to find the back of the net to end the game,” HH coach Kelsey Daley said.
Lily Harvey staked the Hatters to a 1-0 lead in the first half, the forward pressing the ball which led to an attempt to clear the ball crashing off her legs and looping over the keeper.
It was an early spark for a Hatboro-Horsham side still shuffling its formation around.
“We had to move some players around to start the game,” Daley said. “All the Hatters gave everything they had and never gave up the entire game.”
Tuesday’s win over Abington was an 80-minute battle and to no surprise, Thursday’s victory unfolded the same way. Hatboro-Horsham had needed extra time to beat PW the first time and the gritty Colonials weren’t going to give in easily during the rematch.
“Second half we let up a goal pretty early. From there on it was a battle with PW having a lot of momentum,”
Daley said. “But the chances that we had were threatening. Girls had to dig deep and give it everything they had.”
West Chester is routinely one of the top teams in the PSAC and was in the Division II national title game last fall. The Golden Rams made an investment in Hatters senior Sarah Roesing and the co-captain showed why with another outstanding effort on Thursday.
“Sarah Roesing played lights out for us today. She’s been a center midfielder all season and the past two games she has had to move to center back and has been playing fantastic,” Daley said. “With 20 minutes left I moved her back to offensive center mid to get more forward and she left everything that she had on that field today.
“She had her best game of the year for us today in a time we needed her most.”
PW (8-5-2, 7-5-2 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin at 7 on Monday. Hatboro-Horsham (12-4, 12-2) visits Quakertown at 7 on Monday.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1 0 0 1 – 2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 1 0 0 – 1
Goals: HH – Kitty Randa 2
Wissahickon 2, Quakertown 0
The Trojans went into this one with a plan.
In their first meeting with the Panthers, it was Quakertown’s Ashlyn Calabria who had taken over the game in a Quakertown win. Knowing how much trouble the speedster had caused with her skilled game, Wiss coach Chris McDaniels had some ideas how to avoid a repeat performance.
“That girl is as dangerous as anyone we’ve seen all year, she got two on us last time, she’s good, she’s crafty and relentless,” McDaniels said. “We went in with a little bit of a plan for her. We didn’t necessarily man-mark her, but we had somebody dropping a bit deeper to try and steer her a bit wider and not let her cut in on that right foot.
“We did a nice job. Lila Marciniak and Gillian Blight were the two that had the job of pushing her wide to give us the extra two or three seconds to get back.”
It was certainly a defensive game, with Wissahickon not scoring until the latter stage of the second half. Going in, aside from paying Calabria her due respect, the Trojans didn’t want to overhaul their shape but more keep to it.
“We had Sophia Yeh play holding mid and made sure we didn’t vacate that spot,” McDaniels said. “We had to positionally watch how they’d set up and score their goals. We had a good plan, Sophia Yeh did a really nice job keeping up balance in the middle of the field which is something we didn’t do well the last time we played them.”
Wiss had a good amount of possession in the attacking end early on but didn’t get many chances out of it. The Trojans did ring a shot off the crossbar in the first half, but it would take a little while longer for the breakthrough.
“Emma Greenburg got down the left wing and sent a cross over, a really nice ball, that got through everybody and ended up on the other side of goal,” McDaniels said. “Lannah Werynski jumped on it and clipped a ball back across, dropped it over the keeper’s head and right on to Emma, who jumped up and smacked the header into the back of the net.”
Some insurance would come with three and a half minutes to go.
“We found Lannah Werynski in the middle of the field, Lannah turned and hit one from about 25 out and managed to put it over the keeper’s head,” McDaniels said. “She didn’t hit it with a ton of power, but it was really well placed.”
In between the goals, there was one pivotal defensive sequence that Wissahickon emerged from unscathed.
“Right after we went up, they got a corner kick and their girl smoked a volley right out of the air,” McDaniels said. “She hit it right to Olivia Lore and Liv held it, which was impressive because this girl pounded that ball.”
Wiss won for the sixth time in its last seven games. The Trojans are currently No. 22 in the District 1 4A table, with 28 teams getting in, although McDaniels isn’t ready to call a playoff berth locked up yet with a big closing week ahead.
“The goal is to get a team that didn’t win in its first six games into the playoffs,” McDaniels said.
Wissahickon (7-6-2, 7-5-2 SOL) hosts Abington at 3:30 on Monday. Quakertown (6-8-1, 5-7-1) hosts Hatboro-Horsham at 7 on Monday.
WISSAHICKON 0 2 – 2
QUAKERTOWN 0 0 – 0
Goals: Q – Emma Greenburg, Lannah Werynski
SOL Colonial
Central Bucks South 1, Central Bucks West 0
There was little doubt the Titans and Bucks left all they had on the pitch Thursday.
It took one chance, and even that came off a deflection that happened to find the right person, to separate the two rivals.
Kelly Donnelly hasn’t been a varsity player for very long this season, but she’s wasted little time in producing since getting the call up. In six games, counting Thursday, Donnelly has scored eight goals.
On Thursday, she was in the right spot to knock in a deflection off a shot taken by Riley Karpinski.
“This was the hardest I’ve seen our team work all season. We played hungry and competitively. Every 50/50 ball was contested, and our girls put their whole body into every tackle,” South coach Gabbie Nolan said. “This is the type of game you can’t point out one person for because every single player played great, but most importantly played as hard as they could.”
West’s effort was right there, once again led by senior captain Kate Weyer.
“Kate Weyer was all over the field, she served two amazing corner kicks into the box that nearly went straight in,” Bucks coach Bree Benedict said. “She played center back, center mid, and center forward and played all three exceptionally.”
West had some chances of its own, but just couldn’t put any of them away.
“Mia Menard stepped up and filled a key center mid position for us,” Benedict said. “Ashley Lott had our best chance collecting a cross beating a defender and missing just a few inches wide.”
The result was a good end to a tough week for South, the Titans coming off back-to-back 2-0 losses as they continue to jostle for playoff positioning.
“It’s always a battle against West. They played hard too,” Nolan said. “It was a hard-fought game at both ends.”
CB West (10-3-1, 10-3-1 SOL) visits Pennridge at 7pm on Monday. CB South (8-6-1, 7-5-1) hosts North Penn at 7pm on Monday.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH – 1
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST – 0
Goals: CBS – Kelly Donnelly
North Penn 1, Souderton 0
Since the midpoint of the season, the Knights have been surging up the standings and have played into postseason contention.
Souderton on the other hand, has not been able to get much traction going in terms of wins. It would have been hard to tell that was the Indians’ trajectory on Thursday night.
“I want to give a lot of credit to Souderton, that is a much stronger and tougher team than their record shows,” North Penn coach Mike Rio said. “They really fought hard and challenged us all over the field and made it really difficult. We had to really grind and fight for each chance and I was really happy with the way our girls played.”
The Knights were proactive in the first half but had nothing to show for it save a goal that was called back due to an offside whistle. North Penn’s defense was engaged, and the Knights were having success down the outside flanks, but they knew a little more was needed.
Of course, part of that was due to the host team.
“Another hard-fought game and solid performance from us that just didn’t get the result we were looking for,” Souderton coach Ian Smith said. “We were able to generate some offense throughout the match, but just couldn’t capitalize when we needed to.”
Smith noted the impact of several players in the second half as the Indians’ started to come alive around the goal.
“Sienna Stunkard looked dangerous all night and was constantly creating chances. Kylie Cummings was very aggressive and had a quality chance saved well by North Penn’s goalkeeper in the second half,” Smith said. “Hannah Beckett had a decent shot from distance saved well and we weren’t able to pounce on the rebound. Lily Heron got in a ton of dangerous spots as well.”
It took a couple resolute defensive stands from North Penn to ensure it didn’t fall behind.
“Souderton had a really great chance when they caught us in a quick transition and Sam Ridler came out to make an amazing save,” Rio said. “Souderton was able to cross the ball along the 18 and Emily Patkos was able to block the shot on the open net. Just a great defensive effort to recover like that.”
Maddy Murphy continued to show the fine run of form she’s been on, starting with crossover play and carrying into the second half of Colonial Division play. The junior, a Buffalo recruit, has led the Knights offensively and chalked up another impressive tally on Thursday.
“We finally broke through when Izzy Ault played a ball to Maddy Murphy, who hit a great shot from outside the 18 that went high into the far corner,” Rios said. “She’s been huge for us all year and came through again. She had another chance a few minutes later and Souderton’s goalie made a great save.”
The Knights were able to hold off Souderton to pick up another win as they continued to fight for a playoff spot. Thursday ended with North Penn sitting No. 27 in District 1’s 4A rankings, with 28 teams making the playoff field.
“Overall just a really competitive and hard-fought game from both teams and I’m proud of my girls for doing what they needed to do to get the win,” Rio said. “I thought Izzy Kee had a great game in the middle of the field for us today, she was everywhere, was physical and breaking up everything Souderton did in the middle of the field.”
Souderton (2-13, 1-13 SOL) hosts Lansdale Catholic at 2:30 on Saturday. North Penn (7-7-1, 6-6-1) visits CB South at 7pm on Monday.
NORTH PENN 0 1 -1
SOUDERTON 0 0 – 0
Goals; NP – Maddy Murphy
Central Bucks East @ Pennridge – postponed
Due to a shortage of officials, the Rams and Patriots will now play Oct. 20.
Pennridge hosts CB West at 7pm on Monday. CB East hosts Souderton at 7 on Monday.
SOL Freedom
Upper Moreland 3, Springfield Twp 1
Two minutes.
Two incredibly exciting minutes decided the Golden Bears’ Senior Night contest against the visiting Spartans. In a match that featured four second-half goals, seeing three of them come in a 120-span certainly put a jolt into an already charged up night.
“The night was electric. You could feel it when you walked up to the stadium. We have nine seniors on our team, nine girls that have dedicated themselves to our program and we all wanted this win tonight,” UM coach Lisa Benvenuto said. “These seniors have led our team on the field and on our sideline. They are a stellar group of girls and we wanted to close out the last regular season home game with a win.”
Upper Moreland honored Devin Bush, Nikki Cancel, Kyra Favors, Brooke Lobban, Molly Meakim, Johna Pryzchowicz, Mickie Soroka, Willow Taylor and Claire Zabalou then went out and played up to the level and tone they’ve worked to make a constant in their four years as Bears.
The first 40 minutes ended 0-0. It was not a precursor of what was yet to come.
To that end, Upper Moreland came out of the intermission ready to go.
“We had some dangerous opportunities, and we knew that we had to be mindful of Springfield’s quick counter-attacks. At the half, we made a few technical changes in our formation, and we wanted to strike early,” Benvenuto said. “That is exactly what we did.”
It didn’t even take a minute for UM to find the back of the net.
“We were able to get a strong offensive push off the re-start, and the ball found its way to Maggie Brophy in the middle who put an excellent shot on frame,” Benvenuto said. “Springfield’s goalie was able to get a hand on the shot, and Leah King was there to get us our first.”
The Spartans have some pretty talented seniors as well, and they weren’t going to be content going away without a challenge. Kaleigh Evans turned it into a game, the Ursinus recruit leveling the score in the 65th minute to kick off the wild decisive sequence.
“Our girls countered 10 seconds later with Brooke Lobban finding Willow Taylor,” Benvenuto said. “Two minutes later, we earned a corner, and we netted our third with Maggie Brophy finding Brooke Lobban.”
Both keepers were extremely busy on the night. Springfield Twp’s Gracie Dailey made 10 saves while UM keeper Gracie Costello turned away 11 shots between the posts.
“We had outstanding play tonight from our back line of Devin Bush, Molly Meakim and Annalise Messina. Gracie Costello has been so solid in the net for us,” Benvenuto said. “Her growth from the beginning of the season to now is a tribute to her hard work.”
It was an impressive week for Upper Moreland. The Bears handed William Tennent its first loss in SOL Freedom competition on Tuesday, then put together an effort worthy of their seniors to finish it off.
“Quality minutes in the midfield from Leah King, Keiley Hawk, Steph Jones, Mickie Soroka, and Deanna Swedberg,” Benvenuto said. “Maggie Brophy and Madeline Cox controlled the middle of the field for us tonight. They were able to find Willow Taylor, Brooke Lobban, and Kyra Favors and create some really dangerous offensive drives.”
Springfield Twp (7-5-3, 6-5-3 SOL) visits Delco Christian at 3:45 on Friday. Upper Moreland (8-7-1, 6-7-1) visits Cheltenham at 7 on Monday.
UPPER MORELAND 0 3 – 3
SPRINGFIELD TWP 0 1 – 1
Goals: UM – Leah King, Willow Taylor, Brooke Lobban; ST – Kaleigh Evans
Lower Moreland 2, New Hope-Solebury 0
It took the better part of the match, but Lower Moreland’s ability to create chances finally paid off.
The battle of the Freedom’s two teams using the Lions mascot was scoreless into the final 15 minutes but not for a lack of effort. All Lower Moreland needed was one and as soon as that was on the board, the second came in short order.
“Nikki Sahl sent a nice ball to Morgan Pennisi who had a really strong finish into the back of the net,” LM coach Todd Hill said. “A few minutes later Ruby Levin crossed from the right wing to Gabby Fogarty on the left. Gabby turned on it and struck a beautiful ball that curved inside the far post.”
Putting two quick goals on the board backed up a strong team effort for Lower Moreland.
“Our group playing in the middle worked really hard at dominating the ball in the middle of the field. This group included Kenna Rozanski, Payge Lennon, Keira Huber, and Edona Selemaj,” Hill said. “Sandra Malave was solid in goal again, earning another shutout.”
New Hope-Solebury (2-12, 2-11 SOL) hosts Abington in a makeup game at 3:30 on Friday. Lower Moreland (7-7-2, 5-7-2) hosts Springfield Twp at 4:30 on Monday.
LOWER MORELAND 0 2 – 2
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0 0 – 0
Goals: LM – Morgan Pennisi, Gabby Fogarty
William Tennent 6, Cheltenham 0
Cheltenham hosts Upper Moreland at 7 on Monday. Tennent hosts New Hope-Solebury at 6 on Monday.
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