Lower Moreland closed out its regular season with a win while Hatboro-Horsham battled a strong Lower Merion team to a scoreless tie. Lower Moreland/Upper Moreland & Hatboro-Horsham/Lower Merion photos provided courtesy of Kadi Schenk. CLICK HERE to view the posted galleries for GIRLS’ SOCCER.
SOL Freedom Division
Lower Moreland 2, Upper Moreland 1
The Freedom Division champions kept their perfect league mark intact with a hard-fought win in Thursday’s rivalry game.
Emma Liebert scored a pair of first-half goals to send the Lions into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
The Golden Bears battled to the end, and Meghan Hichens scored in the closing minutes of regulation for the 2-1 final.
Lower Moreland – fourth in the latest District 1 3A rankings – will begin postseason play next Thursday.
Scoring Summary
First half
Emma Liebert (LM) from Shannon Mahon 15th minute
Emma Liebert (LM) from Nikki Sahl 30th minute
Second half
Meghan Hichens (UM) 78th minute
Goalie saves: Gracie Costello (UM) 9, Mariah Gazzara (LM) 10
Lower Moreland coach Todd Hill on the game: “Our girls held off an energetic UM team tonight for a 2-1 win. With a couple injuries to key players in the first half, we had some girls come off the bench and provide some quality minutes to help us secure the win.
“We knew that UM would come at us with energy tonight as they celebrated their seniors. I think our girls did a good job at responding with some really smart play. We were able to create a lot of chances in front of their net and capitalized on two of them.”
–Standouts: “Payge Lennon was dominant in the middle of the field tonight. She won a majority of the 50/50 balls which enabled us to continue to put pressure on UM.
“Emma Leibert scored both of our goals tonight – one assisted by Shannon Mahon and the other by Nikki Sahl. Emma is so tough to defend. She can beat you a number of different ways, and that proved to be the difference in tonight’s game.
“Keira Huber was really strong in the back tonight as well. Throughout the game she went from being the deepest defender, rescuing us when a ball had gotten through our defense, to stepping up and intercepting a ball in front of our back line and beginning our counterattack with a really smart pass out of the back. She has really good instincts.”
Upper Moreland coach Lisa Benvenuto on the game: “I am really proud of the way our girls showed up tonight. Every game this season they have showed up for each other, and tonight was another example of that. We all rallied behind our nine seniors in their sendoff game. Congratulations to Stephanie Jones, Molly
Dancer, Erin Distel, Megan Hamill, Meghan Hitchens, Alison Diaz, Deanna Swedberg, Lizzie Walker and Annalise Messina. These nine along with the rest of their teammates left it all out on the field today.
“We knew what Lower Moreland’s strategy was going to be and what we would need to do to contain and slow down their attack. Their first goal was off a well-crossed ball and their second on a corner kick. We went into the half down two, but we weren’t worried about it. We matched Lower Moreland’s seven shots with six, so we definitely were still in the game. We made a couple of adjustments at the half, and we were able to get another seven shots on goal in the second half.”
–Props: “Gracie Costello has been, and was again tonight, lights out in the net. Our defensive backs – Annalise Messina, Deanna Swedberg and Lizzie Walker – have been tremendous for us all season long. Tonight was no exception. Maggie Brophy and Stephanie Jones and Erin Distel were solid in the middle, and Leah King and Keiley Hawks ran their flanks both offensively and defensively. Our front line of Madeline Cox, Brogan Neely and Ava Warga high pressured in the offensive third and put in a solid effort up top.”
–The seniors’ night: “The night, though, belonged to the seniors. With just under six minutes left in the game, with all of them on the field, in the same fashion that they started their soccer journey as freshmen, we scored. We had transitioned the ball from the back line through the midfield and found ourselves outside of the 18, Maggie Brophy put a ball across, and Meghan Hitchens found the back of the net—it was awesome! Hitch has been gritty since day one, and her determination cannot be beat. She has had to persevere through injury over her career; so, so happy for her to end her career with her first varsity goal. Inevitably, time ran out, but we fought till the end, what more can a coach ask for. I am so proud of every member of this team.”
Up next: Lower Moreland (13-4, 9-0 SOL) is ranked fourth in the latest District 1 3A power rankings. The Lions will begin play next Thursday. Upper Moreland closed out its season with a 9-9 record overall, 4-6 in the SOL.
Lower Moreland 2-0 2
Upper Moreland 0-1 1
Non-league
Hatboro-Horsham 0, Lower Merion 0 (2 OT)
The Hatters battled a Lower Merion squad in the top 10 of the District 1 4A power rankings to a scoreless tie.
“We entered this game not sure if we were getting into the playoffs or not,” Hatters’ coach Chris Ortman said. “We knew we needed a good result to ensure we could continue our season, and the girls delivered.”
The Hatters – who were 3-2-1 in their last six games – are 25th in what will be a 28-team field in the most recent 4A power rankings.
Hatboro-Horsham coach Chris Ortman: “We battled a very talented and well coached Lower Merion team to a tie, which guaranteed us a spot in the playoffs. Lower Merion put a lot of pressure on our back line but could not break through.”
–Standouts: As they have done all season, our back line was super solid. They play a lot of minutes and never seem to show any weakness. I can’t say enough about Cara Neeld, Marissa Bennett, Madison Duggan and Jordyn Nelson.
“Our central midfield also chipped in defensively and disrupted the Lower Merion Offense. Dakota Slye, Maddy Morino, Lexi Cohen and Courtney Rinius really did a great job getting behind the ball and slowing the Lower Merion attack.
“We also got great goaltending from Riley McGuire and Molly Donaldson. They both made some great saves keeping us in the game.”
–A job well done: “We had a lot of players graduate last year, and we entered the season as an inexperienced team. We had our struggles throughout the season, and there were times I think the girls may have had some doubts about the season. However, they kept working hard, and we are now playing our best soccer of the year at the right time. I am very proud of the entire team for not giving up when things were not going our way. They all have a ton of heart, and I could not be more proud of them. They deserve a lot of credit for what they accomplished.”
Up next: Hatboro-Horsham (7-9-2, 3-6-1 SOL) is 25th in the latest District 1 4A power rankings and will be in action Tuesday.
Lower Merion 0-0-0-0 0
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-0 0
Harriton 3, Wissahickon 1
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