Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Friday. New Hope-Solebury/Villa Joseph Marie photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Patriot
Council Rock South 3, Hatboro-Horsham 0
The Golden Hawks have done all they can and will now have to wait and see what their fate will be.
Needing a win to have any shot at a District 1 Class 3A playoff bid, the Hawks were able to get it but still find themselves at 26 in the latest District One 4A Tournament power rankings. CR South will need some help from teams playing Saturday to make it into the top 24.
“We took today as a playoff atmosphere with hopes a win and some help would get us in the top 24,” Hawks coach Nick Heim said. “We knew regardless it would be our seniors’ last game on our home field and wanted to end their careers there in a good way.”
CR South came out energized and had the run of play, but couldn’t find the back of the net early on. Eventually, Zoe Brossman’s set piece found Reghan Mudie, and the Hawks took a 1-0 advantage to halftime.
“At the interval, we stressed sticking to our principles and continuing to attack in the areas we wanted to,” Heim said.
“Kathryn O’Kane was able to deliver a dangerous ball that Lily Bross got on the end of to put us up 2-0,” Heim said. “In fitting fashion, two seniors combined for the third goal as Skyler Scarborough found Maddie Deal in the box who slotted home the final goal.”
The Golden Hawks’ defense of Kim Speiser, Emily Davis, Dana DeDominicis, Jenna Waterman, and Kennedy Kuechler put forth a tremendous effort to get the shutout in front of goalkeeper Karissa Smedley.
“Really proud of the girls for grinding through this schedule and coming out with a very respectable record and some highlight wins,” Heim said. “Hoping to make it into the playoff field where the atmosphere can be electric and on any given night some magic can happen.”
It was a challenging regular season for CR South, which battled injury woes and had to replace several key contributors from last year’s squad. Throughout it all, Heim credited the defense and midfielders for continually setting the tone and allowing the forwards and flank players to play with more freedom.
“It’s been great to see this group grow as a unit. They have each other’s backs and are truly invested in one another,” Heim said. “One of the tightest knit groups we have had in a while and that stems from senior leadership.”
The loss also puts the Hatters (10-7-1, 10-5-1 SOL) in tenuous position. Hatboro-Horsham ended the night holding the No. 23 spot in the rankings. The Golden Hawks are 10-6-1 overall (9-6-1 SOL).
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1 2 – 3
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 0 – 0
Goals: CRS – Lily Bross, Maddie Deal, Reghan Mudie
Council Rock North 2, Bensalem 0
A few weeks into the season, the Indians were just hoping for an identity and some consistency, much less a chance at a conference title.
While a midseason slate with the SOL Colonial looked like a daunting task on paper, it was just the opportunity North needed, and a 5-1 trek through crossover play provided a lot of answers. Friday, the objective was clear: win and clinch a share of the SOL Patriot title.
“A pleasing end to a long regular season. Incredibly proud of the girls for fighting back from a slow start this year, we were 4-4 in late September, and we couldn’t quite figure ourselves out,” Indians coach Gavin Flannigan said. “Credit to the group for working hard, putting the team above themselves and going through the rest of our schedule 9-1 to be co-champions of the division.”
Tuesday’s loss to Neshaminy snapped an impressive win streak that included victories over Colonial co-champs CB East and Pennridge and gave Neshaminy a lane to the other share of the Patriot title, but North rebounded with a win Thursday. Bensalem has been anything but an easy result this fall, but the Indians had come too far to not get their share of the title.
“The game today was a little slow at times, I think the conditions weren’t helpful for either team and we took advantage of our opportunities when they came,” Flannigan said.
Freshman Mia Cairone has been a huge addition to the Indians’ roster this season, and the clutch forward provided both goals on Friday.
“We started well and had a couple of good opportunities early before Mia Cairone was able to find her way through their defense and slot one home,” Flannigan said. “It was a similar pattern in the second half, Bensalem created some good chances and were unlucky not to score at least once, but Mia came through again late in the game to finish another chance to seal the win.”
With their conference title secured, the Indians will turn their attention to the postseason. CR North sat No. 15 in the district rankings late Friday night, on course for a home game next Tuesday.
“We were fortunate to rotate a lot of players today, and we got solid minutes from everyone, although maybe slightly disjointed at times, it was good preparation for next week,” Flannigan said. “Our run in the last four weeks has given us confidence. We’ve had some great wins in that time, and we feel like on our day we can challenge any team in the district, but it’s up to us to prepare and be ready for the challenge ahead.”
Bensalem finished the season with a 7-11 record while Rock North is 13-5 (12-4 SOL).
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1 1 – 2
BENSALEM 0 0 – 0
Goals: CRN – Mia Cairone 2
SOL Colonial
Central Bucks West 2, Souderton 1
Mike Moyer had a singular goal entering the Bucks’ regular season finale.
“The goal was to come out with no injuries,” the West coach said.
Things didn’t exactly go as planned.
“In the first couple of minutes, Shea (Lubin) reaggravated her injury,” Moyer said. “A couple of minutes later Riley (Corona) reaggravated her injury.
“Taylor (Moyer) was going for her second goal eight minutes in, collided with another girl and ended up not going back in. We had some injuries where some starters weren’t even playing tonight. We just managed the game.”
Earlier, Moyer scored her 17th goal of the season to spot the Bucks a 1-0 lead that they took into halftime.
“Halfway through the second half, I pushed Kate Weyer up to center midfielder, and right when I did that a ball came out at the 18, and she hit one from 20 out to give us a 2-0 lead,” Moyer said. “At that point, I didn’t want any more injuries, and I started subbing. They got a goal on us with about 10 minutes left, but I didn’t make any changes. I kept the same girls in and hoped they could see it out, and they did. It wasn’t the way we drew it up. We probably took them too lightly. I’ll take full blame for that.”
The Indians came alive in the second half.
“Avery Nogami led the line up front and created a number of chances,” Souderton coach Ian Smith said. “At the start of the second half, she made a great run in behind and cut loose a shot that would’ve made it 1-1 but West’s keeper came up with a really good save to tip it over the bar. Later in the half, she worked her way in behind the defense again, earning a foul inches outside the 18. Alexis Stefanowicz stepped up to hit it and sent it just over the bar.
“Even when West went up 2-0, we continued to press on to stay in the game. Kait DiCandilo put us back in it with less than ten minutes left. She found the ball in the midfield and created some space for herself on the wing and let fly a shot from about 30 yards that was placed perfectly in the top corner. From then on, we continued to press up until the last second. Nicole Schulingkamp nearly had a wonder goal with 40 seconds left in the game, but her shot sailed an inch wide of the top corner.”
The Indians closed out their season with a 2-15-1 record (1-14-1 SOL), but they gave their coach everything he asked for and then some on Friday.
“Tonight, we asked the team to put up a performance they could be proud of, and they delivered,” Smith said. “We’ve had a challenging season, and it would have been easy to show up against a strong conference opponent and just accept defeat, but we held our own and we’re probably unlucky to walk away with the loss.
“Our back line of Abby Kolb, Maggie Fisher, Ava Steidle, and Natalie Rankin were incredibly organized against a strong attacking side. We worked on communicating and defending as a unit throughout the week and it paid dividends. Our back line stepped up well throughout the game, and we were able to draw West’s attacking players offsides 14 times. Ashlyn Odenwald played a big role in our defense’s success, directing traffic and coming up with some key saves as well. The game ended 2-1, but the team can go home proud of the performance.”
Central Bucks West closed out it season with a 14-4 record (12-4 SOL) and is 11th in the latest District One 4A power rankings.
“We’ll wait and see what happens on Tuesday and hopefully we can get everybody back,” Moyer said.
Souderton 0 1 – 1
Central Bucks West 1 1 – 2
SOL Liberty/Freedom Crossover
Quakertown 6, Cheltenham 0
Callie Abel connected for a hat trick to lead Quakertown to a win that solidified its position in the 24-team field of the District One 4A Tournament. The Panthers are 21st in the latest power rankings with the final tournament bracket to be announced Sunday.
Carol Sipprell turned a Kyla Frederick pass into a goal and a 1-0 Quakertown lead in the 10th minute. Ten minutes later, Abel went to work, scoring her first goal – this one with a Kyla Frederick assist. Quakertown led 3-0 after Ciara Mory scored with a Lauren Harwick assist in the 25th minute. The host Panthers took that lead into halftime.
In the 53rd minute Rachel McMonagle found the back of the net with an assist from Jade Willliams. Six minutes later, Abel went to work, scoring her first of two goals in a six-minute span – this one with a Williams assist. Abel connected on her third and final goal, using a Hannah Hensel assist.
Cheltenham (5-13, 3-13 SOL) was coming off an emotional 2-1 win over Springfield Township less than 24 hours earlier, and despite Friday’s season-ending loss, the Lady Panthers walked away with no regrets.
“After last night, it was hard to come out with the same energy against a good Quakertown team,” Cheltenham coach Leah Matusow said. “I’m proud of how our girls battled after an emotional night.
“Our team had fun, our seniors walked off the field giving it everything they had, and in our final team huddle, there was nothing but love shared.”
Quakertown closed out its regular season with a 10-6-2 record overall. The Panthers were 9-5-2 in league play.
Cheltenham 0-0 0
Quakertown 3-3 6
Non-league
Villa Joseph Marie 4, New Hope-Solebury 0
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