Check out the recaps for SOL girls' soccer teams in action Friday.
Non-league
PENNRIDGE 2, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
The Rams got back in the win column after a Thursday-night setback, but it was anything but easy.
Hatboro-Horsham put forth a determined defensive effort and had their best showing against the Rams in a couple years. Pennridge moved the ball well in the middle of the field but found the final third tough going thanks to the Hatters defense.
"My girls played hard, Pennridge is an unbelievable team and well-coached so they were definitely one step ahead of us," Hatters coach Kelsey Daley said. "We're not used to that, but we hung tough."
When Pennridge's players kept the ball on their feet and dribbled, they made things happen. Abby Groff took that to heart and played a major role in both goals. The senior forward was fouled in the box early in the game, setting up a penalty kick that Ashley Groeber converted.
In the second half, Groff used a smart turn to shield off a defender, then dribbled toward goal before putting away a quality finish.
Outside of those two chances, the Rams found the Hatters defense up for the test.
"Izzy de la Torre had a great game and is the glue to our defense. She always steps up for us and has great confidence in herself," Daley said. "Cam Ryan played an outstanding game in the center mid. She's a great player and never backs down. She does everything I ask her to do and she's very fun to watch."
Kara Thomas and Mads Falcione both worked hard up top for Hatters, who had limited opportunities but not for a lack of effort. Pennridge center backs Sarah Williams and Molly Groff and outside back Holly Harbeck had their hands full dealing with the Hatboro-Horsham attackers.
Meghan Kriney picked up the shutout after getting the start for Mary Kate Levush. Levush was injured in Thursday's game, needing a few stitches, but Kriney was ready to fill in and made two saves on Friday.
Pennridge (10-2, 7-2 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (8-5, -7-4) will host Springfield Township on Tuesday.
PENNRIDGE 1 1 – 2
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Ashley Groeber, Abby Groff
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2, NESHAMINY 0
The Titans added an impressive nonleague win to their two conference victories for the week.
"It was a very physical match and scoreless at the half," Titans coach Betsy Bullock said.
Emily Radwanski and Mackenzie Edwards helped spur CB South in the second half. Both of South's goals came off crosses as the Titans tried to work the flanks more and get the outside mids involved after halftime.
"The first goal came early in the second half when Mackenzie Edwards crossed a ball that Emily Radwanski finished," Bullock said. "The second goal came off a cross from Emily Radwanski that Caroline Serban headed into the back of the net."
Edwards picked up her fourth assist in the last two days.
Radwanski, who finished with a goal and assist, gave her team just what it needed on Friday.
"She was able to possess the ball, got around her defender and served quality balls," Bullock said. "She also hit a well-placed shot that ended the build-up on our first goal.
Shannon Snyder made eight saves in goal for the clean sheet win while her defensive unit held up against a potent Neshaminy attack.
"They kept their defensive shape and played as a unit," Bullock said.
Central Bucks South (8-3-1, 5-3-1 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Tuesday, and Neshaminy (7-3, 5-2) will host Pennsbury in a rivalry game Monday.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0 2 – 2
NESHAMINY 0 0 – 0
Goals: CBS – Emily Radwanski, Caroline Serban
CHELTENHAM 6, PENN WOOD 0
Wins have not come easily for the Lady Panthers, and Friday’s rout of Penn Wood in a non-league contest represented the second in as many days. This one was nice, but it couldn’t compare to the Lady Panthers’ 1-0 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh the preceding day, the program’s first conference win in over a year.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a league win, so it was a pretty big moment for us,” coach Mark Woodcock said. “I said to my assistant coach, when you see the smiles of the girls coming off – because they worked really hard all season, and they played some really good games against teams that were, at that time, better than us, and when they play well, they’re not going to be able to get the result.
“We’ve had a number of games where we know we’ve come off playing well, but we haven’t got the results. Yesterday we had a chance to play against a team we’d lost to pretty badly earlier in the season (3-1). To come away with a result was a very big deal, and when we saw their big smiles after the game, you realized what a big deal it was for the girls too.”
Freshman Peri Albert scored the game-winner in Thursday’s win over PW, but it has been the senior captains, according to Woodcock, that kept the team together. The first props from the Panthers’ coach went to a captain who has not set foot on the field this season, Corinne Packel, who tore her ACL in May and is out for the season.
“She’s the one that’s kind of been driving everything,” Woodcock said. “She never quit on the team. She’s at every practice, she comes to every game. She really inspires to kids to continue playing hard. I have to give her a lot of credit. I’d like to take it myself, but I have to give it to this senior. It’s amazing that a kid who you’d think would be kind of sulking and stuff – absolutely not has been that. I have to give a lot of credit to her.
The Panthers’ coach went on to credit his other three captains – Cassie Malec, Emma Christensen and Jada Holland.
“They haven’t had a lot of success in their school careers in terms of wins and losses, but they’re such fantastic kids,” Woodcock said. “They train so hard, they’re so coachable, their heads never go down, they’re going to go off to great schools and they’re great kids.
“They’ve really helped the young players kind of adapt to playing at the speed and the level. The future is really bright and it’s primarily because my seniors have shown these young kids how you’ve got to learn to play with this kind of speed and this kind of intensity. Yesterday (the win over PW) was kind of the reward, seeing the young kids play with that kind of intensity.”
On Friday, the Lady Panthers opened up a 4-0 halftime over the Patriots and coasted to the 6-0 win. Scoring one goal each for Cheltenham were Julia Silberman, Ella Brown, Donya Baxter, Naomi Aires, Hope Falon-Mazer and Zoe Moreland.
“After last year’s challenges, our AD tried to organize us with a couple of games that he thought might be more suitable for where we were,” Woodcock said. “We proved ourselves to be a lot better than we were last year. We’re playing teams that we probably shouldn’t be playing, but that’s with the benefit of hindsight. Last year we really struggled and we needed a win. Even a win or two would have been significant.
“Now obviously we’ve got a league win – it tells us something big about ourselves. The opportunity to see improvement is what you really need in any program. Especially when you’re a team like ours – we’re no Abington, we’re no Upper Dublin, we’re not a dynasty. We have good years, and we have down years, a lot like the Springfields and the Upper Morelands. When you have these periods of time when things are challenging, every win is going to be important to you.”
Cheltenham (4-8, 1-8 SOL) will travel to Abington Monday for a contest with the SOL American Conference leaders.
“Abington has been ruling the roost, so we look forward to a real challenge, but I think my girls are really kind of ready for it, so its’ pretty exciting,” Woodcock said.
Cheltenham 4-2 6
Penn Wood 0-0 0
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2, VILLA JOSEPH MARIE 1
The Golden Hawks finished off a tough week with a quality win over a Class 3A state powerhouse.
"It was a hard fought win," CR South coach Nick Heim said. "Villa is a good team and it was a great atmosphere with them having an alumni event. Rich (Finneyfrock) is a really good coach that gets his girls to move the ball really well."
The Jems controlled play in the first half, but CR South held the lead at the break thanks to a goal off a counter.
"I told the girls we escaped the first half in that respect," Heim said. "In the second half, Villa went down to 10 players and it seemed to fire them up intensity-wise. I thought the second half was pretty even and Villa scored on a corner kick with a lot of runners, causing chaos in the box."
As the match ticked toward the end of regulation still tied, Aubry Hondros stepped up for the Hawks. She hit a volley from about 20 yards out, giving CR South the winning goal with about six minutes left.
Hondros has become a key piece of the Hawks’ recent run of good form.
"She isn't doing anything physically different, she is just starting to play with more confidence," Heim said. "As her confidence builds, she gets more involved offensively. Her work rate has been outstanding up and down the field."
The Hawks' path doesn't get any easier next week. CR South has two games with Bensalem, a meeting with Pennsbury and a makeup overtime session with CR North on tap.
"It's a lot of high-end competition, but that's what's great about the SOL," Heim said.
Council Rock South (8-3, 4-2 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Monday.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1 1 – 2
VILLA JOSEPH MARIE 1 0 – 1
UPPER MORELAND 1, DOCK MENNONITE ACADEMY 0
Kathryn Morrow used a Sarah Veneziale assist to put the Golden Bears on the scoreboard with 18:30 remaining in the first half. That 1-0 lead stood the rest of the way as the Golden Bears picked up the non-league win.
“Coming off of two tough losses this week, we knew that we needed this win,” coach Lisa Benvenuto said. “The girls played a really strong first half controlling the ball and the tempo. We executed our game plan and smothered Dock’s attempts.
“It was a good team win for the girls, and that is what we needed to end this week.”
The Golden Bears’ coach lauded the strong play of Kathryn Morrow, Grace Burns and Mattea Taylor.
“All three girls played at a high intensity level and helped maintain possession of the ball,” Benvenuto said. “Kat and Grace have been working really well together in the offensive third.”
Upper Moreland (6-6, 4-6) will travel to Upper Dublin on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 1-0 1
Dock Mennonite 0-0 0
SOUDERTON 3, LITTLE FLOWER 0
(Submitted by Souderton soccer)
Souderton was on the front foot early and quickly earned a corner. Senior Campbell Power sent in a cross that was half cleared and worked back out to her on the wing. Her second cross hit a defender at the near post and came out to junior Rachel Croll, who hit a well-placed one time shot towards the net. Little Flower's keeper was able to make a good save, only to see the rebound knocked home by sophomore Averie Doughty just two minutes into the match.
Souderton fell into a rhythm and was continuously pressing throughout the half, with a number of good chances that lacked a clinical finishing touch. At the end of the first half, Souderton had outshot Little Flower 15-3. Again, Souderton appeared to be in control but was unable to put the game out of reach with a comfortable lead.
The second half continued with more of the same from Souderton. Lots of possession but limited quality chances. It wasn't until the 12th minute that a through ball found sophomore Hannah Alderfer in space behind the defense. Unselfishly, Alderfer slowed her run and allowed senior Kailee Harwick to join her in the attack and slotted a pass to set up Harwick for her first goal of the season.
Shortly after, Harwick was able to launch the attack that would lead to Souderton's third goal. Harwick won the ball just outside Souderton's 18-yard box and was able to turn two defenders to switch the point of attack with a through ball to Sophomore Taylor Yoder. Yoder took her space and slipped a ball behind the defense for Doughty to run onto and slot home for a one-on-one finish for her second goal of the match. The match ended 3-0 in favor of Souderton.
Souderton (6-2-4, 4-2-3 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday.
Little Flower0-0 0
Souderton 1-2 3
BENSALEM 1, ARCHBISHOP RYAN 1
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