Check out the results for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Friday.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, UPPER DUBLIN 1
The Patriots' offense perked up in a crossover road match on Friday before it heads into the postseason.
Delaney Kennedy put East on the board six minutes in off Riley Kane's assist. Unlike in Thursday's draw with CB South, East put a second goal up before the half when Hannah Zach belted an unassisted free kick into the net in the 30th minute.
Zach then put the game away when she found Bri Talbot on a corner kick and Talbot put it away in the 50th minute.
"East rebounded off a tight game against South and handled a quality opponent in Upper Dublin," Patriots coach Paul Eisold said. "The players are looking forward to districts and cannot wait to find out their opponent."
East enters the postseason in fine form, having not lost a game since the first week of October when it fell to SOL Continental champion Pennridge.
The challenge Friday was to contain Upper Dublin's pace up top, which East did for 78 minutes. UD finally got on the board when sophomore Sizzy Lawton finally broke the defense for a 78th minute goal.
"We were able to put pressure on their backs and midfield. That allowed our back line to organize and focus on their forwards," Eisold said. "They were very good but we able to keep them in check, we had good cover in the back."
The entire back line was needed for East and those players responded.
"Abby Brown was spectacular in her positioning and finding the ball for clearances," Eisold said. "Katie Bloom locked out the center forward and Megan Mannato and Ashley Balderson did well on the outsides."
Central Bucks East closed out its regular season with an 8-6-3 record (6-4-2 SOL) while Upper Dublin is 12-4-1 (10-3-1).
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2 1 – 3
UPPER DUBLIN 0 1 – 1
Goals: CBE – Delaney Kennedy 6', Hannah Zach 30', Bri Talbot (Zach) 50'; UD – Sizzy Lawton78'
PENNSBURY 1, CONESTOGA 0
Pennsbury, the No. 2 seed in the most recent District I power rankings, faced and topped Conestoga, the No. 3 seeded team on Friday.
As expected, goal-scoring chances were few and far between. The Falcons finally found one in the 75th minute when Meredith Webber put away a pass from Hope Drewes. It was the first loss for Conestoga all season.
"It was nice to gut that win out today," Pennsbury coach Kaitlyn Battiste said. "I think we maintained the better part of possession but Conestoga stayed organized defensively."
Pennsbury will await its final seeding on Sunday.
"Cara Thomas and Rachel Beri put together 80 minutes of hard-fought soccer," Battiste said. "This was a great test heading into next week."
Pennsbury closed out the regular season with a 15-1 record overall (11-1 SOL).
CONESTOGA 0 0 – 0
PENNSBURY 0 1 – 1
Goals: P – Meredith Webber (Hope Drewes) 75'
LOWER MERION 2, PLYMOUTH-WHITEMARSH 0
The Colonials closed their season with a loss after allowing two second half goals in a rescheduled nonleague game.
P-W finished 8-10 overall and 7-7 in the SOL American in Ryan Zehren's first season. He has numerous young players who showed tremendous improvement over the course of the season set to return next fall.
LOWER MERION 0 2 – 2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 0 – 0
WISSAHICKON 3, DOCK MENNONITE ACADEMY 0
A Maddie Elwell goal sent the Trojans into halftime with a 1-0 lead, and they added second-half goals by Carly Amato and Emily Vervlied to earn the non-league win.
“It was a solid win to finish out regular season play tonight,” coach Shannon Creamer-Franke said. “Elwell, with the eventual winning goal, was the first to put Wissahickon on the board with a lofted shot from outside the 18, unreachable by DMA’s keeper.
“In the second half, the Trojans came alive, figuring out and penetrating DMA’s back line, adding an additional 15 shots to the tally. Two minutes in, Amato found a through ball to turn and shoot, giving the Trojans insurance. Vervlied sealed the deal at minute 64, finding the ball at her feet central at the top of the 18 and fired it past DMA’s keeper.
The Trojans (13-4-1, 10-3-1 SOL) held a lopsided 30-4 advantage in shots.
WISSAHICKON 1 2 – 3
DOCK MENNONITE ACADEMY 0 0 – 0
About the Author
