Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Tuesday. CB East/Souderton photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Lower Moreland/New Hope-Solebury courtesy of Greg Zesinger, and Pennsbury/Neshaminy photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for galleries of all three games.
SOL LIBERTY
Abington 2, Wissahickon 2 (OT)
As the Ghosts left the field at Wissahickon not really hiding their frustration, the Trojans were uplifted by what they felt was their best-played match of the season.
While both sides could lament missed chances in overtime, Wissahickon knew it accomplished something by being the first team to take points from Abington this fall.
“I thought we were really good all game long,” Wissahickon coach Chris McDaniels said. “It was our best, what ended up being 100 minutes, this season. Our work rate, our intensity, they were good the whole time.”
The hosts struck first, with Sage Stelzer taking the ball in space and launching a rocket from long range that followed the right trajectory to hit its target of the back of the net 16 minutes into the first half. Stelzer would spend much of the night clashing with Abington’s Casey Touey from her fullback position but the early strike was a boost for the Trojans.
Abington charged back hard as Camille Mugnier shook the crossbar with a wicked shot, but it wasn’t until a few minutes later when the Ghosts got on the board.
“We had a couple breakdowns where we don’t communicate and get scored on,” McDaniels said.
The first Abington goal saw midfielder Maura Day play through a gap in space while the Trojans were slow to react before she slipped a pass to winger Lesha Karaba. Karaba, a senior with a knack for scoring this season, hit a left-footed curler to the far post and tied the score.
Six minutes later, the Day-Karaba tandem set up another goal. Day took a quick free kick and again played out to Karaba, who was unmarked by the Trojans’ defense with the senior touching onto her left foot again for another looping shot that found the far post.
“They’re a good team. They play a lot of the same kind of stuff we try to do, they have quality, quality players and everybody else just works around them,” Abington coach Rick Tompkins said. “We have bits and pieces where it looks really good and some others where it’s not. Lesha scored two gorgeous goals, but I also hope they leave here and are frustrated.”
The result put Abington into second place in the conference table behind Hatboro-Horsham but the Ghosts do have one more game to make up after Monday’s scheduled game with Wissahickon was washed out.
Despite trailing at the half, Wissahickon felt it was right in the game. McDaniels felt his team was the better side in the first half, yet found itself behind. The Trojans simply talked things out, figured out where the mistakes were and worked to correct them.
“The game’s just cruel like that sometimes but I think, to our credit, we came out in the second half well,” McDaniels said.
Wissahickon’s tying goal was all hard work and hustle. Emma Baker forced and won a turnover deep in Abington’s end, laying it off to Lannah Werynski, a freshman who has given the team a lift since coming back from injury.
“Emma bodies up a girl, takes her off the ball and wins it for Lannah, who dribbles through two or three girls and looks like she’s going to fall over three times,” McDaniels said. “She rolls it over to Kylie Friedman, who normally doesn’t miss from 20 yards so she isn’t missing from three or four yards out.”
The Trojans’ entire back line played well with Margo Kasenchar giving Stelzer good cover and senior Peyton Weber winning several important headers late in the game.
A free kick in the final seconds of the first overtime gave Wissahickon a prime chance to win, but the following shot went up and over the bar. The hosts escaped a loss after an Abington shot got pushed wide of an open goal after Touey made a strong run and cross down the right side.
“We had a chance or two, they had a chance or two, but it’s probably fair it ended up tied,” McDaniels said.
Abington (5-0-1 SOL) visits Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday afternoon. Wissahickon (3-2-2, 2-2-2) will be at Quakertown.
WISSAHICKON 1 1 0 0 – 2
ABINGTON 2 0 0 0 – 2
Goals: W – Sage Stelzer, Kylie Friedman; A – Lesha Karaba 2
Hatboro-Horsham 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
Just 24 hours after netting a close win over the Colonials, the Hatters had to meet PW again.
Thanks to two goals from Emily Thomas in a quick early burst, Hatboro-Horsham was able to sweep the back-to-back.
“With back to back games, anything can happen. But with the Hatters energy and effort, they were able to come out on top in both games,” H-H coach Kelsey Daley said. “Today we had to travel to PW to play them again. We usually struggle when we play at their home field but today we did not.”
Thomas has been superb for the Hatters all season, whether it’s scoring goals, assisting them or drawing the attention of defenders to open space for teammates. The junior scored both goals on Tuesday and the lone goal of Monday’s win, giving her a series hat trick against PW.
Her goals on Tuesday, scored about seven minutes apart, were assisted by Emma Levin and Maggie O’Neill.
“Everyone played very well today and I am so proud of this team and how every game they come out and give 110 percent,” Daley said.
Sam Hollish recorded her fifth shutout, all of them coming consecutively and Daley cited strong play from outside back Aly Yankanich on Tuesday.
“This team is working so well together and they all have confidence in each other,” Daley said.
The Hatters (6-1 SOL) host Abington on Thursday with first place in the Liberty conference at stake. PW (2-4) starts a back-to-back series with Upper Dublin with a visit to the Cardinals the same day.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 2 0 – 2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 0 – 0
Goals: HH – Emily Thomas 2
Quakertown 1, Upper Dublin 0
After being on the wrong side of a one-goal game too many times this fall, the Panthers got one to go their way Tuesday/
“That’s our fifth one-goal game out of seven games, so it felt good to get the win, no doubt,” Panthers coach Mike Koch said. “We switched some positions around and some responsibilities.”
Among those switches was goal scorer Callie Abel. A center back at the start of the season, Koch liked her constant pressure on the ball and let her loose up top, which paid off with a turnover and stunning goal.
Abel’s efforts came to life midway through the second half.
“I just felt like we needed to try some different things and she was crazy good with the pressure up top,” Koch said. “She forced an error, took the ball, beat the center back, beat the keeper and scored a really nice goal.”
Koch felt the first 20 minutes of the match was the best stretch of soccer his team has played all season. While the Panthers didn’t keep it up at that level for 80 minutes, it was there in enough spurts to pick up the result on the day.
Once again, the Quakertown defense was solid with Cori Pursel, Carol Sipprell, McKenna Calabria, Angela Calvenese, Gianna Monastra and Carlee Roessner all contributing.
“My center backs Cori Pursel and Carol Sipprell have been incredible all season,” Koch said.
Behind them, senior keeper Morgan Sipprell continued her excellent play.
“She does everything and I do mean that,” Koch said. “She makes big time saves and she’s definitely stolen some goals from people. She also prevents a whole lot from happening because she controls the box really well. She’s a field player at the club level, so her feet are good, her sense for the game is really good and her direction is really good.”
Sipprell and her defense have given up 10 goals in eight games, but four came in a loss against Pennridge early in the season.
Koch also cited the standout play of Jade Williams, Maddie Labonge, Kyla Frederick and Hannah Hensel.
“They all played particularly well today,” Koch said.
Quakertown (2-5-1, 2-4-1 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Thursday evening. Upper Dublin (0-6) hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh Thursday in the first leg of a back-to-back with the Cardinals.
QUAKERTOWN 0 1 – 1
UPPER DUBLIN 0 0 – 0
Goals: Q – Callie Abel
SOL COLONIAL
Central Bucks East 2, Souderton 0
After losing to Pennridge last Thursday, Patriots coach Jake Nesteruk believed his team would rebound quickly.
Part of that belief was due to his senior class, the same senior class that was celebrated prior to Tuesday’s win. A robust defensive effort and the seniors on the front foot made sure it wasn’t two setbacks in a row.
“They are awesome. Our seniors lead by example and just always do the little things,” Nesteruk said. “Our captains, Liv Portner, Bailey Schellhorn, Gianna Marino and Emma Martin have been incredible on and off the field and in my eyes, the reason we have 25 girls playing for each other.”
Elise Duffy and Meredith Black provided the two goals. Duffy has been the team’s offensive keystone all fall, so her scoring wasn’t a surprise but Black’s tally was a nice feather in the defense’s cap to go with a clean sheet.
“Elise had a great game for us and it was great to see Mere score,” Nesteruk said. “We’ve been trying to get our outside backs more involved and I’m so happy she had that moment.”
Souderton felt the clamps from East’s defensive effort throughout the game.
“We were able to control possession in the first 15-20 minutes of the match,” Indians coach Ian Smith said. “We had a lot of really positive possession throughout the field, but in the final third of the field we weren’t able to create enough dangerous chances.”
East nabbed both goals in a short span late in the first half.
“The first came off a great pass from Liv Portner on the right flank. Elise did a great job to turn and put a sweet finish to the top corner,” Nesteruk said. “Second came from a build-up off a throw-in. Elise played a good ball to Meredith and she clipped a really well-served long ball that dropped in.”
Nesteruk cited center back Courtney Curry as the standout along the back line. The defender set the tone and kept a high level of play against a potent Souderton attack the Patriots took very seriously.
“Katie Pazdziorko has put up some unreal numbers in the league, so we knew we had a challenge,” Nesteruk said. “I thought our girls did a great job of denying service into them, and our back line was excellent in establishing a level of physicality and not letting their front three turn on the ball.”
Souderton’s best hope at starting a comeback came shortly off the second half restart.
“Right off the tap of the second half, we looked likely to bounce back after the ball was worked well down the sideline between Katie Pazdziorko, Leah Mowery, and Avery Nogami,” Smith said. “After winning a corner, Nogami was able to get on the end of the set piece and headed it toward goal. East’s goalkeeper was able to collect and that was one of the few chances that Souderton had in the entire match.”
Pazdziorko had an opportunity late in the game, getting behind the East defense only to have her chip shot clang off the crossbar.
East had a host of other standouts including Emma Martin, Chloe Strawn and Izze Mignon who brought intensity and creativity.
“Our underclassmen have pushed right back in a good way and it feels like our kids are really at the wheel,” Nesteruk said. “Now our focus is making our next game better than our last and closing out the regular season the way we know we can.”
Souderton (3-4 SOL) hosts North Penn on Thursday night while CB East (4-3) will host CB South.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2 0 – 2
SOUDERTON 0 0 – 0
Goals: CBE – Elise Duffy, Meredith Black
Central Bucks West 3, Central Bucks South 1
After the first meeting between the Bucks and Titans came down to the wire, the Bucks got their goals earlier in Tuesday’s rematch.
In that first game, it was a Taylor Moyer corner kick that led to a game-winning header. Tuesday, West’s first goal came off a Moyer corner as well.
“We got a corner kick, Taylor hit a good ball, and Riley Corona headed it in to give us a one-goal lead,” Bucks coach Mike Moyer said. “I thought we controlled most of the first half – the ball was in their end the whole time.”
While West took a 1-0 lead to half, the Titans are a team that brings great effort every game despite what their record shows.
“I give them a lot of credit – they never quit. We had a little defensive miscue in the back, and they scored pretty quick in the first six minutes of the second half to tie it 1-1,” Mike Moyer said. “It stayed that way a little bit, they started winning balls and applying defensive pressure on us. We were able to withstand that.”
After holding without giving up any further goals, the Bucks looked to get back on the front foot. About 15 minutes into the second half, West found the breakthrough it was looking for.
“Mariella Neri played a great ball up top, and Taylor beat a girl and scored our second goal to make it 2-1,” Mike Moyer said. “It was a pretty even match for the next 15-20 minutes of the game. There was a lot of midfield play, there wasn’t a lot of attacking on either side.”
West got another corner with about three minutes to play, with a scrum in front of net leading to Grace Parlee finding Taylor Madden for a one-time blast into the corner.
Jules Broskey made her first start of the season in goal for West.
“She did an outstanding job,” Moyer said.
The Bucks’ coach pointed to attacking center mid Maeve Shiffler as a spark plug.
“Maeve was awesome playing ACM. She won everything. It was all hustle,” Moyer said. “She was the unsung hero tonight, doing all the dirty work and getting no credit.
“Bella (Centenera) played really good in the back. It was just a really good team effort.”
CB South (0-6-1 SOL) will visit CB East on Thursday. The Bucks (5-1) will host Pennridge under the lights on Thursday night.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1 2 – 3
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0 1 – 1
Goals: CBW – Riley Corona, Taylor Moyer, Taylor Madden
Pennridge 2, North Penn 0
Leah Malone had a pretty good Tuesday afternoon.
The Rams’ team Twitter account posted the junior had given a verbal commitment to High Point University before the match, then Malone went out and scored both goals.
Malone scored her first just seven minutes in and polished the game off with about eight minutes to play in the match. The junior is up to six goals on the season.
Pennridge’s back line of Casey Malone, Anna Croyle, Cady McKean and Kera Dam were strong in front of net for keeper Sierra Sheaffer, who posted her fourth shutout of the fall.
North Penn (1-5-1 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Thursday night while Pennridge (7-0) visits CB West the same night.
PENNRIDGE 1 1 -2
NORTH PENN 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Leah Malone 2
SOL PATRIOT
Pennsbury 1, Neshaminy 0
Despite a sluggish start, the Falcons grabbed an early goal and made it hold up in the latest chapter of their rivalry with Neshaminy.
“Any rivalry match requires a ton of physical, mental and emotional discipline,” Falcons co-head coach Kim Battiste said. “We were having a hard time bringing the energy to all of those areas to start the game and Neshaminy dictated the tone early on.”
Neshaminy had won two in a row since losing to the Falcons 3-0 on October 5 and had started to find its stride as a team entering play on Tuesday.
Instead, it was Sarah Tuohy connecting with scoring machine Taylor Mays in the 18th minute to put Pennsbury on the front foot.
“Despite the slow start, Taylor was able to capitalize on another great restart from Sarah Tuohy. Our second half was better, but it was a gritty win,” Battiste said. “I’m proud of the way they responded to different obstacles throughout the game. It wasn’t our best technical performance but showed some positive examples of their resilience.”
Emma Corso posted a fourth consecutive shutout in goal for Pennsbury as she continues to build on her run of strong form between the posts.
Battiste credited the team’s seniors for digging in, finding another level and gutting out the finish in an always intense contest.
“Kendall Palatine was buzzing all game trying to make things happen from various positions on the field,” Battiste said. “Bella Arcuri continues to demonstrate that she’s one of the toughest players out on the field each game and sacrifices her body in the physical battles day in and day out.”
Pennsbury, which is now 5-1 in the Patriot, will face Council Rock South on Thursday. The Golden Hawks are the only team to have topped the Falcons this fall.
Neshaminy (3-2-1) will try to start a new win streak when it visits PCL runner-up and 2019 PIAA 3A semifinalist Archbishop Wood on Thursday.
PENNSBURY 1 0 – 1
NESHAMINY 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Taylor Mays
SOL FREEDOM
New Hope-Solebury 0, Lower Moreland 0
The two Lions of the SOL battled to a scoreless draw in their latest meeting.
Lower Moreland’s attack has been ravaged by injuries but coach Mike Gould was happy with the energy his team brought to the rivalry game that came over from the Bicentennial Athletic League when the sides joined the SOL this year.
“I thought sophomore midfielder Payton Lennon was great today,” Gould said. “She tracked a ton of ground, held the midfield and did a great job rotating and joining the attack.”
Gould also pointed to the play of senior Amy Zesinger, one of a few veterans left healthy for LM.
“We struggled to put the final pass together when we built up the field but the girls played well and brought great energy,” Gould said. “Freshman Alesandra Malave had her first career shutout in goal and played a strong game with a couple big saves.”
New Hope-Solebury got a strong defensive effort to pick up a point in the table.
“Sam Kruopas played amazing and we thought drew a PK that was called by one ref but reversed by the other,” Lions coach Derek Antonini said. “She also had a breakaway down the right flank that ended up being saved.”
Tess Murray and Sofia Farina again had standout defensive performances at outside back for New Hope-Solebury.
New Hope-Solebury (3-2-1 SOL) hosts William Tennent on Thursday. Lower Moreland (2-3-2, 2-2-2) returns home against Springfield Twp next Tuesday.
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0 0 0 0 – 0
LOWER MORELAND 0 0 0 0 – 0
William Tennent 7 Springfield Twp 1
The Panthers won their sixth straight game with a flurry of goals on Tuesday.
Caroline Weir and Ava DeGeorge alternated goals in the first half, with each bagging a brace as Tennent built a 4-0 lead. Ari Gross, Caitlin Somerville and Gabby Sowers all scored in the second half.
“Happy with the result and play from the whole team,” Tennent coach Bill Hontz said. “Springfield played hard the entire game and had several opportunities in the second half that our defense will learn from and look to shut down in the future.”
Kaleigh Evans scored for Springfield, turning the rebound of a goalie save of a shot by Macy Leitzel into a goal.
Tennent (6-1, 5-0 SOL) visits New Hope-Solebury on Thursday. The Spartans (0-6) will visit Upper Moreland.
WILLIAM TENNENT 4 3 – 7
SPRINGFIELD TWP 0 1 – 1
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