Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Thursday.
SOL Patriot Division
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, BENSALEM 0
The Golden Hawks closed out their regular season with a shutout road win at Bensalem that included special recognition for the seniors from both sides.
“Pre-game was a really nice senior night ceremony where Bensalem honored our seniors as well, and a current military member,” Rock South coach Nick Heim said. “It was a really classy move by their program.”
Anna Horn’s goal midway through the first half turned out to be the game-winner. The Golden Hawks took that 1-0 lead into halftime and added goals by Brianna Howard and Teagan Shay in the second half for the 3-0 final.
Scoring summary
First half
Anna Horn (CRS) from Gianna Kirlin
Second half
Brianna Howard (CRS) from Krissy Philip
Teagan Shay (CRS)
Council Rock South coach Nick Heim:
–On the game: “We knew the field dimensions (in Bensalem’s stadium) would be something we weren’t accustomed to and focused on trying to play as wide as possible. It seemed to pose us some problems early in the final third. Midway through the first half, Gianna Kirlin found Anna Horn at the top of the box, and Anna nearly took the net off with a rocket into the top of the net. Bensalem’s keeper was fantastic in the first half to keep it close. A goal line clearance by a defender kept it 1-0 at the break.
“In the second half, I thought we continued to find feet really well, and it paid off when Krissy Philip found Brianna Howard on a great run out of the midfield and Howard hit a fantastic one-time finish to the far side of the net to open the game up a bit. A few minutes later Teagan Shay picked off a back pass to the keeper to make it 3-0, where it ended.”
–Props: “I thought we got great play from a lot of other players that weren’t in the scoresheet tonight, including Brooke Pavlow, Macy Laidlaw, and Liana Shikhvarger.”
–Tip of the hat to the Owls: “Credit to Bensalem as well – Bob’s teams are always tough and organized and really make you earn anything you get. Their record certainly isn’t indicative of how they play. They fought till the final whistle and made some great defensive plays, including a seemingly improbable clearance by a defender to keep the game tight.”
Up next: Council Rock South – 16th in the latest District 1 4A power rankings – will return to action Tuesday in the opening round of districts. Bensalem closed out its season with a record of 4-13-1 overall.
Council Rock South 1-2 3
Bensalem 0-0 0
SOL Colonial Division
PENNRIDGE 1, NORTH PENN 0
Emma Shaeffer turned a G Howley pass into a goal early in Thursday’s SOL finale, and that goal turned out to be the beginning and the end of the scoring for both sides.
The SOL Patriot Division champions closed out league play with a 9-1 record.
Scoring summary
First half
Emma Shaeffer (P) from G Howley 33:08
Pennridge coach Lucas Kriner:
–On the game: “It was nice to finish out the regular season on a good note. Never easy playing two in a row, but the girls showed character getting across the finish line. There was an improvement in our attack this afternoon, which I think helped the overall performance. As a team, we want to trend in the right direction with playoffs starting next week. My view is we took important steps in the right direction.”
–Props for Shaeffer: “I was really happy for Emma scoring. She missed from a similar area the other day, so there’s always a sweet feeling when a player overcomes a previous moment of not executing with a new moment of confidence to try again and execute – and she buried the opportunity.”
Up next: Pennridge – the top seed in the District 1 4A power rankings – will have a first round bye and will return to action Thursday in a second round game of the district tournament. North Penn is 18th in the latest District 1 4A rankings, and the Knights will see action in Tuesday’s opening round.
North Penn 0-0 0
Pennridge 1-0 1
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 4, ARCHBISHOP RYAN 1
Rock North closed out its regular season on a high note, defeating Ryan in a non-league contest that belonged to the team’s nine seniors on their special night.
The Indian scored a pair of goals in the first half and opened up a 4-0 lead before Ryan scored a late goal.
Scoring summary
First half
Isabel Diaz (CRN) from Kinsley Smith
Sarina Igval (CRN)
Second half
Audrey Rogan (CRN) from Sarina Igval
Bella Lanza (CRN)
Archbishop Ryan goal
Council Rock North coach Gavin Flannigan:
–Special seniors: “We are fortunate to have nine seniors this year: Ellie Beldowicz, Kayla Gage, Reese Ludwig, Maddy McGettigan, Alexa Pikul, Maddie Ritter, Audrey Rogan, Kinsley Smith and Amber Yuan.
“This year’s group has had great on-field success in their four years, but I think their impact on the program has gone above and beyond playing the game. Since freshman year they have been diligent, hardworking, mature and unselfish. Their investment into our program over the last four seasons and the success we have had in that time is not an accident, it’s truly a product of the environment they have helped create. As seniors this season, they have shown a great ability to lead through their actions on the field in practice and games, and their maturity and care off the field for their teammates. Everyone’s role on the team has been different but their support for each other and the team is evident in what they do. Tonight’s game was a reflection of them as student athletes, and we were all very happy that they got that experience for Senior Night.”
–The opening half: “Sometimes the actual game is awkward when you have nine seniors, some play in similar roles, and in our case, we have two senior goalkeepers. We were able to start the game with Reese in goal and Ellie on the field. For the first 10 minutes of the game, Ellie was one of our better players. She connected on every pass and almost got on the end of a through ball, I think her adrenaline was running high, and everyone was rooting for her to score.
“I thought we dominated the possession, and about halfway through the first half, we were able to take the lead when Kinsley Smith hit a long free kick to the back post for Isabel Diaz to finish. That gave us some confidence, and we added a second a few minutes later when Sarina Igval scored on a shot from out wide.
–The second half: “At halftime, we were really happy with our play and wanted to start the second half quickly. We were able to do that when Sarina’s corner found Bella Lanza on a header and then again when a scramble led to Audrey Rogan finishing well.
Ryan came back strongly and scored a really nice goal from the left side, but after that, I thought we did a nice job controlling the game, limiting their chances and creating some good moments.”.
–Props for the seniors: “All of our seniors played really well tonight. What was really pleasing is that they showed a desire to make the adjustments that we talked about in practice and that fed through to the other players, and I thought our performance reflected that.”
Up next: Council Rock North – sixth in the latest District 1 4A rankings – will be in action in the opening round of districts on Tuesday.
Archbishop Ryan 0-1 1
Council Rock North 2-2 4
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 5, GARNET VALLEY 0
If Jake Nesteruk was worried about his team’s response to a disappointing 1-0 loss to North Penn 24 hours earlier, the East coach needn’t have worried. The Patriots were in command from the outset on their way to the no-doubt-about-it non-league win over the visiting Jaguars.
“Such a good response from our kids after a bit of clunker yesterday and massive credit to our senior leadership and captains for getting us that mindset,” Nesteruk said. “From the jump of this one, we did a great job on the ball, forced some mistakes higher up the pitch and capitalized on them really well today. On the opposite end, I don’t think we gave away anything of real danger.”
A pair of first-half goals by Mia Forney sent the Patriots into halftime with a 2-0 lead, and in the second half, Taylor Roumy added a brace with Ella Roumy closing out the scoring with a goal.
Scoring summary
First half
Mia Forney (CBE) from Mattie Williams
Mia Forney (CBE)
Second half
Taylor Roumy (CBE)
Taylor Roumy (CBE) from Mia Forney
Ella Roumy (CBE)
Central Bucks East coach Jake Nesteruk::
–On the game: “Mia got us started early on a great ball from Mattie Williams out of the midfield and followed up about ten minutes later with a rebound goal. inside the six.
“Coming out of the half, Taylor kept the momentum going early, jumping a ball from their center back and finished on the 1v1 against the keeper. Ten minutes later, she found her second hunting the rebound off a great save from their keeper. To round out the day, Ella Roumy finished a ball inside a bit of a scramble from a well-placed Kiera Sleicher corner.”
–Props: “Such a good game from Kiera Sleicher today along with Ella Roumy on both ends of the ball. Mia and T gave us games we’ve come to expect from them, and Mattie Williams and Mackenzie Peters just did a ton of work to disrupt possession.”
Up next: Central Bucks East – second in the latest District 1 4A power rankings – will return to action next Thursday in the second round after an opening round bye.
Garnet Valley 0-0 0
Central Bucks East 2-3 5
WISSAHICKON 3, HARRITON 3 (2 OT)
The Trojans put three goals on the scoreboard – one each by Sophia Stehlik, Brook Collins and Ellie Miller, but Harriton matched them goal for goal, forcing them to settle for a tie in their season finale.
“Defense had their hands full with a very dangerous forward from Harriton,” Wissahickon coach Chris McDaniel said. “Meredith Blight had some nice saves in her last game at Wiss.
“All of our seniors contributed meaningfully to our win and draw to close out the season.”
Wissahickon closed out its season with a 4-13-1 record.
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