Check out the results for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Wednesday.
Continental Conference
SOUDERTON 1, QUAKERTOWN 0
It took a dozen games to get there, but the Indians did what they knew they were capable of the entire season - they beat a league opponent. The Indians nabbed their first win in the Continental Conference on Wednesday when they eked out a 1-0 win over the Panthers.
“I’ve told them that they were going to get their break at some point,” said Souderton coach Joe Duffy. “They weren’t surprised with the outcome because they know they are capable, and it was good to see. They felt like they deserved it tonight.”
The game-winner came in the 65th minute when a ball broke free in front of the goal, and while Panthers’ keeper Erinne Finlayson (3 saves), a defender and Indian Kylie Heath battled for the ball, Heath slipped it in the cage.
“It was pretty even, the game went back and forth,” said Duffy. “Quakertown was coming off an overtime game yesterday (1-0 win over Hatboro) and they were kind of laying back waiting to counter attack.”
With fifteen minutes remaining, the Panthers pressed, hoping to come up with the equalizer. The Panthers almost got a buzzer-beater when Shannon Gibat and Big Red keeper Jackie Parry (4 saves) fought over a ball in the air, and it fell to the ground and was bounced around dangerously before the Indians’ defense cleared it away as time expired.
“Today it was a balanced team effort, and possibly that’s what we’ve been lacking,” said Duffy. “I was real happy with their reaction - they took it in stride.”
Although Wednesday’s win was a team effort, Duffy recognized the play of one of his freshman starters, Sara Cassel.
“She has been playing well,” the Indians’ coach said. “We have moved her all over, and today we trapped her in the back to mark up on Gibat, and she really stood up to her. It shows a lot about her maturity as a player already.”
While the Panthers are finished with league play, the Indians (1-9-2) travel to CB South on Thursday for a night game and CB West on Friday.
“We tied South 0-0 and lost to West 1-0, so our attitude and game plan is going to be the same as the first match,” said Duffy, whose team proved they could reverse results after falling to the Panthers 1-0 in the first go round. “I hope we can find a way to score a goal, if we can do that we have a chance a winning both of those games.”
The Panthers end their impressive league season in fourth place with a 7-7 SOL mark, a drastic improvement from their 3-10 record in 2012. They are expected to make it into the district bracket for the second year in a row. The Panthers have a non-league game at Christopher Dock on Saturday under the lights to see if they can pick up one more victory before the postseason.
SOUDERTON 0-1 1
QUAKERTOWN 0-0 0
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1, HATBORO HORSHAM 0
The Bucks claimed a 1-0 victory over the Hatters for the second time this season, using a game-winning goal scored by an unlikely player - keeper Grace Bendon. Bendon, who traditionally will push up to take kicks for the Bucks around the 50, came out of her comfort zone to take what the Bucks thought was a direct kick around the Hatters’ 35-yard line. The Bucks discovered it was actually an indirect kick, but since the Hatters’ keeper deflected the ball before it went in, the goal counted and Bendon picked up her first scoring stat.
“It was a pretty even game, and I thought Horsham had probably the better of the attacking part,” said Bucks coach Jorge Rodriguez. “But Grace took a really well-placed shot.”
After Bendon’s goal, the game remained scoreless for the remaining 65 minutes, and Rodriguez had to get creative with substitutes to keep his players ready for four games in a row this week.
“We rotated a lot of players hoping to give the usual starters bigger rest periods,” the Bucks’ coach said. “Considering the little playing time that all the players had, they did well. We even got our swing players some minutes, and when they stepped in, they played well.”
The Bucks, who upped their record to 7-1-5 in the league, secured third place in the conference even though they have yet to face Council Rock South in a non-league game on Thursday and Souderton on Friday.
“Tomorrow will be a big one, they are a very big contender,” said Rodriguez of Rock South. “Friday we would like to finish with a win. Anytime you finish the season, you want to finish on a good note, and we want to get out healthy and fresh so we can compete in the playoffs.”
The Hatters ended their season with a 4-9-1 mark in the league and are a long shot for making the playoffs. They host Avon Grove on Friday for a final non-league game.
CB WEST 1-0
HATBORO HORSHAM 0-0 0
PENNRIDGE 2, NORTH PENN 1
The Rams have been at the top of the conference the entire season, but for most of the season, they shared the coveted spot with CB East. Wednesday afternoon, however, they finally took sole possession of first place and clinched the title of Continental Conference champions when they downed the Maidens 2-1.
The game remained scoreless until Jackie Stevens found the net after receiving a long pass and beating her defender in the second half. Stevens, who has scored 13 goals this season, had a big day for the Rams, and she scored for the second time off a Kennedy Peace assist to up the lead to 2-0. The Maidens snuck one in before the whistle when Ally King converted a Maddie McClure pass into a goal.
The Rams end their SOL season with an 11-0-3 mark (14-0-3 overall), and they will close out their regular season with senior night festivities on Thursday evening when they host Upper Perkiomen. The Maidens finished their season at 1-9-4 (2-11-5) overall.
PENNRIDGE 0-2 2
NORTH PENN 0-1 1
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
The Titans held the Patriots scoreless the entire first half, but Shaun Kane scored the go-ahead goal in the 45th minute, using an Emma Loving pass after a breakaway down the sideline. Loving found the net herself 15 minutes later for an insurance goal (Kristen Murphy assist).
“South looked very good tonight - they controlled the midfield and won 50/50 balls early on,” said Patriots coach Paul Eisold, whose team ended the season in second place.
“As we got into a rhythm, we finished off opportunities, and we were able to keep South off the scoreboard,” said Eisold. “Maddie Myrtetus, Holly Moyer and Paige Weiss played very well.”
The Patriots, whose league record finished at 10-1-3, have a non-league game against the American Conference champion Upper Dublin on Thursday. The Titans saw their record drop to 3-8-2 and square off against Souderton under the lights on Thursday.
CB EAST 0-2 2
CB SOUTH 0-0 0
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 4, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1
After a heartbreaking 1-0 double overtime loss on Tuesday to Neshaminy, the Golden Hawks rebounded and took down their crosstown rivals on Wednesday afternoon on North-South Day at Walt Snyder Stadium.
The first time the two teams met, the Hawks were victorious in a 1-0 double overtime battle. This time, Taylor Dillon set the tone early, scoring in the sixth minute off a Nikki Caffey assist to give the Hawks the lead and the momentum they needed.
“I think that it’s been such a long week, and they are exhausted,” said Hawks coach Kimmy Francis. “Finally they started to trust each other and pass the ball. We knocked the ball around the best we’ve done all season.”
After Dillon’s goal, the Hawks kept the ball in the Indians’ half and pounded away at the net. A few minutes later, Caffey teamed up with Alyssa Palio for a quality goal.
“Caffey had a great combination play with Palio up the sideline and Caffey scored,” said Francis. “Our first two goals were our best two goals all season in terms of execution and development out of the back.”
The Hawks led the Indians 2-0 at halftime and added another pair of goals in the second half by Shannon Boyle (Jesse Magee assist) and Alexis Nicholl (Elissa Dotzman assist). The Indians’ lone goal was scored by Tori Hill off a penalty kick.
The Golden Hawks (10-2-2, 11-4-2) finish their league season with the #2 spot right behind Neshaminy, and they are pleased with their results.
“As the season progressed, we knew it was going to be tough to catch Neshaminy,” said Francis. “We knew if we couldn’t catch them then we wanted to be close behind. Our only two losses are to Neshaminy, and when we played them, it could’ve gone either way.”
The Indians closed out league play in the fourth spot in the National Conference with a 6-5-3 record (6-7-4 overall). They will square off against Conestoga on Friday. The Hawks have one more game in the regular season - they host non-league opponent Central Bucks West on Thursday for their fourth consecutive game this week.
“We are excited about districts, we are ready and hopefully we place well,” said Francis. “If they play like they played tonight, I think the sky is the limit in playoffs.”
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2-2 4
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0-1 1
NESHAMINY 5, PENNSBURY 0
The Redskins capped off their regular season play with a convincing 5-0 win over the Falcons for their 10th shutout over league opponents. In seven of those games, they were able to score five goals or more.
Gabby Farrell opened the scoring for the National Conference champions in the 17th minute (Megan Schafer assist), and Maggie Daeche added another less than a minute later off an Amy Heller assist to send the ‘Skins into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Fran Donato was the first to get on the board in the second half, scoring 53 seconds into the period when she converted a Megan Schafer assist. Schafer closed out the scoring with a pair of goals (one assisted by Farrell) while McKenna Mullin was credited with the shutout in goal.
The Falcons, who closed league play in third place with a 7-3-4 record, face Strath Haven in a non-league game on Thursday before preparing for the postseason. The Redskins (14-0, 17-0), one of the top teams in the state, will have almost a week to prepare for their playoff run.
NESHAMINY 2-3 5
PENNSBURY 0-0 0
ABINGTON 4, BENSALEM 3 (2 OT)
Julia Guarini scored a pair of goals for the Ghosts, who upped their record to 3-8-2 with a double overtime win over the Owls. Mary Doyle also connected for a goal on a header, and Toni Washington scored the game-winner off an Owls’ defensive deflection in their come-from-behind victory.
Earlier, the Owls staked out a convincing 3-1 lead in the first half after a pair of goals from Sid Doherty and a goal from Sarah Smith (Christine Cueto assist) before they saw their lead disappear in the critical second half.
The Ghosts travel to Radnor Thursday for a non-league game before finishing up their season hosting William Tennent on Friday. The Owls, who now have an identical 3-8-2 record, also face off against Tennent this week on Thursday.
ABINGTON 1-2-0-1 4
BENSALEM 3-0-0-0 3
American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 1, SPRINGFIELD 0
The Colonials ended their season in third place with a 1-0 shutout win over the Spartans on Wednesday and upped their record to 9-4-1 (11-5-1). Nic Abbott, the Colonials go-to weapon, scored the game-winner in the first half. The Spartans’ regular season ended with a 4-8-2 record in the league (4-10-1 overall)
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 1-0 1
SPRINGFIELD 0-0 0
UPPER DUBLIN 1, UPPER MERION 0
The league champion Lady Cardinals ended conference play with back-to-back shutouts, a 4-0 win over Wissahickon on Tuesday and a 1-0 victory over the Vikings on Wednesday night. After a scoreless first half, Anna Petrucci was able to find the back of the net for the game-winner. The Lady Cards upped their record to 13-0-1 and travel to Central Bucks East Thursday to match up against one of the Continental Conference’s powerhouse teams. The Vikings, who will face one more league opponent when they visit Wissahickon on Friday, saw their record drop to 7-4-2.
UPPER DUBLIN 0-1 1
UPPER MERION 0-0 0
CHELTENHAM 1, NORRISTOWN 0
Liza Becker lifted the Panthers to their first win of the season, scoring the game’s lone goal. The Panthers and the Eagles both face off against Upper Moreland to close out the week. The Panthers, who face Upper Moreland on Thursday, improved their league record to 1-11-1 while the Eagles fell to 0-12-1 and visit the Golden Bears on Friday.
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