Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Monday. Pennridge/CR South photos provided courtesy of Althea Tomlinson/Pennridge soccer. Wissahickon/Cheltenham photos courtesy of Josh Stelzer/Wissahickon soccer.
SOL Colonial/Patriot
Bensalem 2, North Penn 1 (2 OT)
Bensalem coach Bob Crawford couldn’t have asked for much more out of his team Monday night.
On the road playing a solid Knights team celebrating its 10 seniors under the lights at their brand new field, the Owls faced a big, energetic crowd and plenty of challenges. Once they settled in, the Owls went play for play with the hosts, even dragging late into a second overtime before managing to scratch out a winner.
“It was a very emotional game, they had a lot of fans there and we went down 1-0 again but I was very proud of the girls,” Crawford said. “The effort level from both teams was so high, it was nice to see.”
Bensalem is used to playing on grass, but the switch to a turf surface wasn’t as much of a challenge as it might have seemed.
“If you’re a grass team, it’s easier to transfer from grass to turf than turf to grass,” Crawford said. “If you’re on grass, you have to be sharper with your touches and work harder just as general practice, so going to the artificial surface, it becomes very easy for you.”
Averi McCoy was the hero for Bensalem on Monday, scoring both goals.
“She really grew today,” Crawford said. “She was a little more physical than she usually is, and she could have had two or three more, they were having trouble controlling her speed.
“Their keepers made a lot of key saves. They limited Averi and the other girls’ time to shoot.”
North Penn struck first and while the Knights weren’t able to come away with a win, they put that type of effort in.
“It was a really hard fought game. The girls played with a lot of heart and intensity, and Bensalem played a really strong game as well,” North Penn co-head coach Mike Rio said. “I thought the girls created some opportunities, but we let them hang around in the game and they were really dangerous on the counter. Have to give credit to Bensalem, they played strong defense and limited our quality opportunities and then were able to put their forwards in dangerous positions.”
While there were only three total goals, the score belies the kind of pace and opportunities both teams played with.
“There was one play where they were down in our end of the field, and Haley Esposito made a great save,” Crawford said. “We quickly transitioned down to their end of the field and their goalie made a great save. That’s the kind of game it was.”
North Penn’s 10 seniors have been an instrumental part of the program the past four years and are hoping for a second half surge like when they were sophomores and the team made it to the state tournament.
“This group of seniors is an awesome group of girls and it’s been fantastic coaching them through the last couple of seasons. They have shown resilience and a determination all year to bounce back after tough games and come out stronger in the next one,” Rio said. “So while tonight didn’t go the way we would have liked, I know the girls are ready to put in the work and turn it back around. They work hard for each other and are always supporting each other on and off the field and it makes it really enjoyable to come and coach them every day.”
Crawford said the Knights’ goal, a rip from 20 yards out, hit the bottom of the crossbar and came down across the line, was just a great hit.
“I talk about this all the time, some teams have a winning mentality and some have a losing mentality. We’ve been used to losing for so long, it’s tough to get out of it,” Crawford said. “I’m hoping we change that. We already have more wins this year than we did last year, so we just have to keep building.”
There was a moment where the Owls looked like they were going to let the moment slip, so Crawford wanted to make sure it didn’t. Sure enough, his message to the team, relayed through the captains, led to a goal almost off the restart tap to tie it 1-1.
“I saw all their heads go down, so I called the captains over and said, ‘You didn’t do anything wrong, that was just a great goal,'” Crawford said. “I told them don’t let up and I was proud of them for how they responded.”
Crawford commended the Knights for how hard they played and the energy their crowd seemed to give them even late in the game. Rio conversely gave the Owls plaudits for how they tested his team time and time again.
“They played a really strong game and were very difficult to break down and then took advantage of their opportunities. They made everything difficult, and every loose ball was a fight for possession,” Rio said. “They have some serious speed up top and honestly Anna and Grace and our center backs made a couple of great saves and plays to extend the game and keep us in it.”
Crawford also cautioned his team the longer the game went, the more the Knights would press to try and find a winner. If the Owls could endure that, he knew there would be chances and with about four minutes left in double overtime, it was there to take.
“Averi had the goals, but if it wasn’t for the team, she wouldn’t have been able to score,” Crawford said. “We wouldn’t win this game if we hadn’t played the way we did as a team. It’s a shame someone had to lose, because that’s how good of a game it was.”
Bensalem (4-5, 3-5 SOL) hosts Pennridge at 3:30 on Wednesday. North Penn (4-5-1, 4-4-1) will visit Council Rock North at 7 on Wednesday.
BENSALEM 0 1 0 1 – 2
NORTH PENN 0 1 0 0 – 1
Goals: B – Averi McCoy 2
Central Bucks East 8, Harry S Truman 0
A fast start and productive first half got the week off to a good start for the Patriots.
Four of the team’s goal scorers – Julia Santanello, Morgan Kelly, Elliot Forney, and Chantal Van Dongeren – all recorded their first varsity goals. Senior keeper Skylar Gash posted her sixth clean sheet of the year in her eighth win of the fall in goal.
“It was great to see a number of first varsity goals for our group. So many of our kids do the hard work that doesn’t show up on the score sheet, so it means a lot when they have their moment,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “With us shifting around a number of our kids, massive credit goes to Grace Heenan for keeping us anchored in the back and keeping the game organized. Our focus now shifts to preparing for Pennsbury.”
Tigers keeper Carmela St. Hilaire had 18 saves.
CB East (8-2, 7-2 SOL) visits Pennsbury at 3:30 on Wednesday. Truman (0-10, 0-9) will be on the road Wednesday at CB West for a 7pm start.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST – 8
HARRY S TRUMAN – 0
Central Bucks South @ Pennsbury – PPD
The Titans and Falcons will play on Tuesday.
Pennsbury then heads to Central Bucks East on Wednesday at 3:30. CB South hosts Neshaminy at 4 on Wednesday.
Council Rock North 1, Central Bucks West 0
The Indians completed their journey through the Central Bucks triangle with another hard-fought win Monday night.
After falling to CB South 2-1 on Sept. 28, CR North has rebounded with back-to-back 1-0 wins over CB East on Friday and now the Bucks. The common factor in the two wins was a complete team effort according to Indians coach Gavin Flannigan.
“Another great team performance in a tough crossover game tonight at CBW. While I feel like we got a little lucky in moments tonight, our overall performance was worthy of the win,” Flannigan said.
Any team facing the Bucks has to account for Taylor Moyer and the way West tries to the get ball to her, either by direct pass or set pieces.
“We knew going in we would have to deal with their more direct style of play and the threat they have getting behind you with Taylor Moyer. We tried to use the spaces they left to connect a little more and use more numbers to attack them. At times our possession tonight was excellent,” Flannigan said. “Our back line continues to excel, Danielle Eden was superb in goal and deserved her clean sheet, but the support she got from the back four was excellent.”
Jayne Bogle had proven to be a threat early on Monday, but the North attacker wasn’t able to complete the puzzle until midway through the opening half.
“Jayne had gotten in behind a couple of times early but couldn’t quite get the ball where she wanted,” Flannigan said. “Third time was the lucky one when Ella Needham played her in again and she smashed it past the keeper.”
The Indians wanted to stick to the same formula that had worked in the first half by filling the spaces and putting numbers and pressure on the ball. Instead, they had to adapt as the hosts did and again worked as a team to hold off the Bucks’ furious efforts from every direction.
“West came out strong in the second half, changed their shape a little and put more pressure on us, corners, free kicks, long throws were all dangerous but credit to our girls for sticking to their assignments and challenging everything,” Flannigan said.
With no more CB schools to play, the Indians will return home and continue SOL crossover play against North Penn on Senior Night.
“We still feel the strength of our group is most important. Every girl who has been getting minutes is contributing, and each game provides different challenges for us,” Flannigan said. “We look forward to celebrating those girls and their career at CRN.”
West (7-4, 5-4 SOL) hosts Harry S Truman at 7 on Wednesday. CR North (6-4, 5-3) hosts North Penn at 7 on Wednesday.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1 0 – 1
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 0 – 0
Goals: Jayne Bogle
Pennridge 5, Council Rock South 0
More than once, when Lauren Murphy or Anna Croyle started to answer a question, the other jumped in with “that’s what I was going to say!”
Murphy, a freshman, and Croyle, a sophomore, have been putting up a wall in front of goal for the Rams this fall but their partnership extends well past the 11 games they’ve played together at Pennridge. They’ve been teammates for a while now and it’s shown in their play at the middle of the team’s back line.
“Our energy was a lot better than it has been,” Croyle started.
“That’s what I was going to say,” Murphy interjected.
“Our energy was a lot better and our high press was crucial,” Croyle then continued. “We didn’t let them get the long balls, which helped a lot.”
Murphy said the transition to high school soccer has gone pretty much as she expected, which the freshman chalked up to her experience playing club with Croyle and a few of her other Pennridge teammates.
Croyle, a first team All-SOL pick last fall, said it’s always been easy with her and Murphy.
“We grew up playing a lot together, but we’re also close friends, so that helps just as much,” Croyle said. “We can tell each other to move or do something better and not take it personally. We have a really good relationship.”
Rams coach Audrey Anderson puts a premium on the center back position, but she didn’t hesitate putting a freshman next to a sophomore in the middle of her back line. The Pennridge coach sees some similarities to former center back duo Courtney Supp and Liv Fernandez, who had a partnership built on mutual respect and shared will to succeed.
Murphy stepped right in and had her teammates’ support, none more than the one she plays next to in front of goal.
“We do a really good job hyping each other up,” Murphy said.
“I was going to say that,” Croyle cut in.
Of course she was.
“Murph,” as she’s known on the team, also netted her first varsity goal on the first of the night, which sent the Rams to their 20th straight win dating back to last season.. An early corner kick was played in by Casey Malone and there at the far post was the freshman to knock it home.
“It was definitely pretty cool,” Murphy said. “It was just a really good service from Casey.”
Leah Malone made it 2-0 in short order, latching onto a through ball and keeping possession through a challenge before slotting past the onrushing keeper with just 39 seconds off the game clock.
Barely more than 10 minutes in, Pennridge got another. Liv Grenda won a header, sending Tori Angelo in alone with the sophomore able to tuck the one-v-one chance away for the 3-0 lead.
Pennridge’s defense has allowed just two goals in 11 games and Croyle pointed to possession as a key to that low total.
“Our offense and our midfield has the ball tons, it feels like most of the time, so we don’t touch it as much as most teams do,” Croyle said.
Despite the final score, Golden Hawks keeper Karissa Smedley was excellent with nine saves, including a terrific kick save on a Leah Malone shot off a breakaway.
Emily Kriney made it 4-0 midway through the first half when her run off the right flank met a pass from Leah Malone and the senior did the rest on the run in. It was a good goal, but relatively pedestrian compared to her second.
Picking up the ball around midfield, Kriney turned on the jets and with the aid of a slick move a couple touches in, left a couple defenders flailing as she ran in and tucked away her second. Almost a calendar year from the knee injury that cost her most of her junior season, Kriney has been a consistent scorer for Pennridge this fall.
“Kriney needs this,” Anderson said. “Our team is so excited for whoever scores but especially Kriney, who is coming back from a tough run of tearing her ACL and trying to get her knee right, think about college and everything else and moments like these will go a long way with her.”
Pennridge (11-0, 9-0 SOL) visits Bensalem at 3:30 on Wednesday. CR South (3-5-1) hosts Souderton at 3:30 on Wednesday.
PENNRIDGE 4 1 – 5
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 0 – 0
Neshaminy 4, Souderton 0
There’s nothing like a good team pasta party to get things back on track.
After a couple of tough games last week, the Redskins captains wanted to get things off to a good start at the beginning of this new one. Sunday’s team dinner carried over to the field on Monday with a good start leading to another win.
“Our captains, Jordyn Fregia, Kiera Bradley, Mercedes Paino and Carly Fox, have done a really nice job keeping the girls together,” Redskins coach Renny Papendick said. “They keep everything positive. They’re really just trying to support each other, and the captains do a good job keeping everyone grounded.”
Freshman Abigail Collins, who was slowed early in the season by an ankle injury, gave Neshaminy a nice lift on Monday.
“She was our center mid, she got our first goal started when she played it up to Taylor Maxwell and (Maxwell) scored early,” Papendick said. “Our second was Carly Fox to Mercedes Paino on a nice through ball.”
Souderton, making the shift to a grass field for the day, wasn’t able to capitalize on some early chances despite a good start.
“Senior Avery Nogami got in behind Neshaminy’s defense and had a couple of really good chances, one that bobbled up at the last moment and ended up going over the bar,” Souderton coach Ian Smith said. “Nicole Schulingkamp and Alexis Stefanowicz let loose a few shots as well, but none found the target.”
Neshaminy added two more goals, one off a set piece and the other off the foot of a freshman.
“Kiera Bradly played a long ball to Paige Borkowski, who buried it in close,” Papendick said. “Our final goal, (Abigail) Collins, she picked one of their defenders and beat the goalie from about 20 out.
“She’s a freshman who came, she plays at a high level club-wise, she had a bad sprain ankle that had her out a couple weeks but she’s come in and really solidified our midfield.”
Smith lauded the performance of Indians left back Natalie Rankin.
“At half she came off and said she wanted to leave the field with the dirtiest jersey on the team, and by the end of the game she reached her goal,” Smith said. “She was putting in tackles left and right and did a really good job of staying engaged and fighting, regardless of what was on the scoreboard.”
Just as important to Neshaminy was the clean sheet. Keeper Hannah Labadie and Fregia, the team’s center back, controlled the defensive side and helped keep things simple.
“We’re excited to play CB South and CB East this week, there are no ‘gimmies’ anymore,” Papendick said. “We want to see how good we can get and the girls are having fun with it.”
Neshaminy (8-2, 7-2 SOL) travels to CB South at 4 on Wednesday. Souderton (2-8-1, 1-7-1) travels to Council Rock South at 3:30 on Wednesday.
NESHAMINY – 4
SOUDERTON – 0
Goals; N – Taylor Maxwell, Mercedes Paino, Paige Borkowski, Abigail Collins
SOL Liberty/Freedom
Abington 7, Springfield Twp 0
The Ghosts had seven players record a goal in Monday’s win.
“Piper McGinley led the Ghosts with a goal and two assists. Carley Slavin added a goal and assist as did Maura Day,” Abington coach Rick Tompkins said. “Mei Cheng opened the scoring by converting a penalty kick.”
Harper McGinley joined her twin sister Piper in the scoring column, as did Lily Gray and Ashley Reilly.
Abington (9-2, 8-1 SOL) hosts William Tennent at 7 on Wednesday. Springfield Twp (2-9, 2-7) will be at Hatboro-Horsham at 7 on Wednesday.
ABINGTON – 7
SPRINGFIELD TWP – 0
Wissahickon 8, Cheltenham 1
Three braces from the front line highlighted an explosive offensive day for the Trojans.
“Solid team effort where we came out ready to play from the opening whistle,” Wiss coach Chris McDaniels said. “The back line led by Margo Kasenchar and goalkeeper Taylor Piergrossi, were able to limit Cheltenham chances. Sage Stelzer and Natalie Ryan got forward to add numbers to the attack regularly from the wing-back positions.”
Stelzer added a goal to add in on a group effort.
“Anna May scored on a nice hit from distance. And our front three of Emma Baker, Margaret Wilde and Kylie Friedman got two each courtesy of their hard work,” McDaniels said.
Cheltenham kept battling and was able to get a goal of its own late in the contest.
“(The Trojans) are a very skilled team with a lot of speed and they found the through pass early on in the game. My girls didn’t go down without a fight and we played till the end like we always do,” Panthers coach Leah Matusow said. “We ended the game on a high note with a great corner from Amelia Fishman and a finish by one of our captains, Sophie Peck.”
Cheltenham (2-9, 0-9 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin at 3:30 on Wednesday. Wissahickon (8-2-1, 7-1-1)travels to New Hope-Solebury at 3:30 on Wednesday.
WISSAHICKON – 8
CHELTENHAM – 1
Hatboro-Horsham 4, New Hope-Solebury 0
Caroline Shegogue’s brace and assist paced the Hatters on Monday.
Emma Levin added a goal and pair of assists while Emily Thomas also found the back of the net.
Martine Royds and Sam Hollish combined for the shutout
Hatboro-Horsham (6-3-1, 6-2-1 SOL) hosts Springfield Twp at 7 on Wednesday. New Hope-Solebury (1-8-1, 1-7-1) hosts Wissahickon at 3:30 Wednesday.
HATBORO-HORSHAM – 4
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY – 0
Goals; HH – Caroline Shegogue 2, Emma Levin, Emily Thomas
Upper Dublin 3, Lower Moreland 0
The Cardinals rebounded from Friday’s loss to district power Conestoga by getting back to what they know best.
UD’s defense was on lockdown and senior keeper Rachel Adelman posted her fifth shutout of the fall. Offensively, some good passing led to chances and Lili Kleiman continued to be a threat, scoring a pair of first half goals before Ava Costanzo polished the win off before the break.
“Strong performances by Emeline Bell, Bliss Brenner, Maddie Amoia and Abby O’Meara in the back secured the victory. Alex Devers had an active day in the center of the midfield finding Lilli behind the back line of LM,” Cardinals coach Chuck Gesing said. “We held their forwards in check the whole game. They tried to get behind us a few times and Bell and Brenner handled them well.”
Upper Dublin (6-2-3, 6-1-2 SOL) visits Cheltenham on Wednesday at 3:30. Lower Moreland (5-6, 4-5) hosts Quakertown at 3:30 on Wednesday.
UPPER DUBLIN 3 0 – 3
LOWER MORELAND 0 0 – 0
Goals: UD – Lili Kleiman 2, Ava Costello
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1, William Tennent 0 (OT)
The Colonials are certainly embracing their identity as a team that simply won’t give up and it’s led to five straight wins.
“PW and William Tennent battled each other for 80 minutes and it was scoreless going into overtime. Both defenses played really strong and scoring chances were limited,” Colonials coach TJ DeLucia said. “PW was determined to finish the game.”
Just 90 seconds into overtime, the Colonials got their chance on a corner.
“Sophomore Caelin Kosvitch played the corner in, and senior Fiona Gooneratne finished it to win the game. Fiona is our leader and she continues to come up big each game,” DeLucia said. “It was Fiona’s sixth goal of the season and Caelin’s third assist of the season.”
Kosvitch was an energizer for the Colonials, playing outside on the flanks, in central midfield and at forward.
That was a theme for PW, especially embodied by Ella Clark.
“Ella Clark is a complete workhorse in midfield,” DeLucia said. “She is a natural wing who had to be converted to midfield due to injuries. She never comes out of the game and truly plays box to box. She won so many tackles today and chased down so many Tennent players to win the ball back.”
The Colonials’ defense authored another stout performance as well.
“Sophomore keeper Caitlyn Dinh earned her fourth shutout of the season behind a strong defensive effort from Brianna Reynolds, Meghan Wendler, Kate Lukens, Libby Daddonna, and Emma Vuotto,” DeLucia said. “After the game, the team headed to the football stadium to kick off Homecoming Week with the 2021 Plymouth Whitemarsh Wing Bowl. The wings tasted a little better after a win.
Tennent (4-6, 3-6 SOL) travels to Abington at 7 on Wednesday. Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-5, 4-5) hosts Upper Moreland at 3:30 on Wednesday
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 0 1 – 1
WILLIAM TENNENT 0 0 0 – 0
Goals: PW Fiona Gooneratne
Quakertown 2, Upper Moreland 1
It wasn’t the prettiest win Panthers coach Mike Koch has ever been a part of, but he and his team know it still counts all the same.
The Golden Bears gave Quakertown all it could handle and forced the Panthers to come from behind in a scrappy game.
“They were at us for a good bit of time and then, within a couple minutes, we grabbed two,” Koch said. “Then, we held on to win. It wasn’t pretty, but I’ll take it.”
After an even and relatively uneventful first half, UM was able to strike first just a minute into the second half.
“Neither team dominated the first half. We were winning most of the 50/50 balls which gave us maybe a slight edge,” UM coach Lisa Benvenuto said. “Coming out of the second half we had some fire, getting a goal from Kyra Favors. We had some good opportunities today that we just didn’t finish.”
Upper Moreland held its lead for about 20 minutes before a pair of good goals by the Panthers flipped the script.
“Madison Kalinowski beat three defenders and slotted home a goal,” Koch said. “Less than two minutes later, Angela Calvanese played a ball that our freshman forward Rachel McMonagle put away on a nice, quality finish.”
Koch credited Upper Moreland’s midfield for giving his team problems early on and prompting a change on the Panthers’ end.
“I moved Callie Abel, who’s one of our main flank players, in as a center mid and she was really helpful in winning some more balls,” Koch said. “It was definitely a quality win.”
Quakertown doesn’t care how the wins come, so long as they’re coming.
“We just have to win these games,” Koch said. “It’s not a film they’re going to show in any soccer training classes but I’ll still take the win.”
Quakertown (5-3-2, 5-2-2 SOL) visits Lower Moreland at 3:30 on Wednesday. Upper Moreland (5-4-1, 4-4-1) visits Plymouth Whitemarsh at 3:30 on Wednesday.
QUAKERTOWN 0 2 – 2
UPPER MORELAND 0 1 – 1
Goals: Q – Madison Kalinowski, Rachel McMonagle; UM – Kyra Favors
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