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By Nick DeLorenzo
William Tennent 3 Bensalem 2
After nearly 90 minutes of back and forth action full of missed opportunities and unlucky bounces, William Tennent was able to finally to defeat Bensalem in the final minutes of overtime by the score of 3-2.
Despite controlling the tempo early on, Tennent had nothing to show for it in the first half, falling behind 1-0 on a Bensalem goal by senior Jody Sokol midway through the half.
For the Owls, sophomore goalie Hailey Geller, who was playing her first varsity game in goal, shone in the first half, stopping all the Panthers shots including a penalty kick by Erin Foley with five minutes remaining.
Tennent came out in the second half with a clear boost of energy, scoring within the first few minutes of the half on a goal by Erin Foley to tie the game 1-1.
Bensalem was able to counter with a goal by Kristen Jones (Casey Gendron assist) to retake the lead 2-1, but then Alex Pero responded almost immediately with yet another tying goal for the Panthers. Tennent continued to dominate the second half, creating several great scoring opportunities late in an attempt to take the lead, but Bensalem was able to hold the Panthers off and force overtime.
In the 10-minute overtime period, Geller made a big save on Tennent’s first scoring opportunity but was unable to corral a strike from Kelsey Williams in the game’s final two minutes, giving Tennent the 3-2 victory.
Tennent head coach James Barry was pleased with the number of scoring chances his team generated but thought they could have done a better job of execution in regulation.
“I think it was a combination of bad luck and poor execution,” Barry said. “When you hit the post five times, you’ve got to stay composed and finish the game off. Some of the shots were unlucky and some of them I think we should have scored.”
While Barry was happy to escape with the league victory on the road, he expects his players to perform better if they want to build upon the success of their 2009 season when they advanced to the district quarterfinals.
“It was about getting the win,” Barry said. “We spoke in the second half of regulation about working hard for ten minutes (in overtime). We thought we had the quality (of play) to score a goal, but we were extremely disappointed in our play throughout regulation, especially with the amount of quality players on our team”
Tennent’s Victoria Bremer was credited with three saves while Geller turned away 10 shots in a busy afternoon.
Central Bucks West 1, Pennridge 0
Central Bucks West hadn’t beaten Pennridge since the 2005 season, but that streak was broken on Wednesday afternoon when the Bucks – thanks to a picture-perfect goal – downed the defending district champs 1-0.
The Bucks scored just over four minutes into the second half when sophomore Lindsay Horst – after beating her defender in the right alley – lofted a pass into the front of the net where Sam Moyer was waiting and banged it home for a goal that turned out to be the game winner.
“It was the perfect ball,” Moyer said. “All I had to do was be there. I didn’t have to do anything. It was all Lindsay.”
Horst – who found herself on the sidelines just minutes later after getting kicked in the shins – was unquestionably the catalyst.
“The ball took a weird bounce over a defender’s head, and I read the bounce and tried to get behind her,” the sophomore midfielder said. “She just tripped on her feet, I guess, and I got by her and tried to serve it into the back post, and Sam was there to finish it.”
Freudig’s decision to move Horst, an adept ball handler, from defense to midfield is looking like a stroke of genius.
“We work so much on crossing and finishing,” the West coach said. “We missed a couple, and they defended a couple well, but we got in and had a chance. Same was right there.”
The Rams mounted some offensive pressure but never seriously threatened as West’s defense held.
“It was a close game, and I don’t know if we’re thinking one goal (would win it),” Horst said. “We just wanted to outwork them and hope it pays off in the end.”
And it was the ‘outworking’ part that Ram coach Jorge Rodriguez pointed to as the difference in the game.
“It just came down to effort,” the Rams’ coach said. “We got completely outworked the entire game.
“I know CB West, I know the players they have, and I knew coming in that they were going to be working extremely hard, especially after last year. They wanted to get back at us. We’re struggling with a handful of injuries. We have some very key players hurt. We had a pretty long game on Monday, and we were tired already and not necessarily in the best shape.”
Bridgette Hess, according to Rodriguez, has been battling injuries all season.
“She was extremely frustrated and really couldn’t give us the minutes that she could have if she was healthy,” the Rams’ coach said. “My outside backs – Tattie (DePaolo) and Laura (Pritz) – are playing 50 percent.
“My goalkeeper (Ashley Schoellkopf) is also hurt. Everybody has something.”
The win was the second of the young season for a West squad that has eight freshmen receiving significant playing time.
“Just to see where they’re playing at in April gives us hope that in May we’ll be playing really well,” Freudig said. “Today it was just two evenly matched teams playing.”
In addition to Moyer and Horst, Freudig credited seniors Mary Kate McCrea and Rachel Jastrzebski as well as freshmen Kalin OJert, Lauren Schofeild and Erin McQuate for their strong performances in the win.
Upper Dublin 5 Cheltenham 2
Upper Dublin kicked off their conference schedule with a bang and improved to 3-0 overall with a high-scoring victory over Cheltenham.
After going into halftime tied 1-1, head coach John Topper was able to make the proper adjustments to combat Cheltenham’s defense.
“We tinkered with some things in the second half,” said Topper. “After we scored the go-ahead goal, the third, fourth, and fifth goal came pretty quickly.”
Larissa Nysch netted two goals for Upper Dublin. Emily Marvill and Ryann Noe also scored for the Cardinals.
“This is one of our most talented teams,” Topper continued. “We’re dealing with some injuries right now, but if we can stay healthy I’m optimistic that we can compete for the division.”
Wissahickon 1 Springfield 0
Wissahickon notched its first win of the season in a defensive battle with SOL American rival Springfield.
After a scoreless first half that was controlled by Springfield, Alex Schaefer tallied the game’s only goal for Wissahickon midway through the second half, which was enough for the victory.
“We had great transition and missed some golden opportunities in the first half,” Springfield coach Julia Boles said.
Goalie Alyssa King was stellar in the shutout, and her performance was highlighted by a great save on a breakaway to keep Springfield from tying the game.
Spartan goalie Julie Boles had some big saves of her own, also thwarting a breakaway.
Head coach Chris McDaniels is happy to be in the win column but knows the Trojans will need to score more goals to win on a consistent basis and compete for a playoff berth.
“Offensively we have two goals in three games,” McDaniels said. “Despite our [scoring] chances, we’re not finishing.
“Upper Dublin looks real good so far,” he continued. “So the rest of us (in the conference) are going to have to battle it out. Every league victory counts.”
Boles had four first-half saves for the Spartans, and Jess Kem had three saves in the second half.
Central Bucks South 2 Quakertown 0
CB South improved to 3-1 overall and notched its first win in SOL Continental play with a shutout victory over Quakertown.
Molly Grove scored at the tail end of the first half to put South up 1-0. Maddie Zitelli added a goal early in the 2nd half.
Goalie Megan Kaminski led a solid Titan defensive attack with four saves to earn the shutout.
Despite losing several key players from his team’s state playoff team of a year ago, head coach Joe Bocklet is excited about what this season's squad is showing him on the field early on in the season.
"These girls are stepping up and it's exciting to see them develop," the South coach said. "Our defense is strong and our scoring will increase as they get used to playing with each other."
Upper Moreland 5, Norristown 0
Tricia Connolly scored a pair of goals while teammates Tawny Buelow, Brandi Weaver and Leslie Weaver each added single goals.
“We were able to move the ball well and put the ball in the back of the net,” coach Joe Joyce said. “We also were able to get playing time for girls that don’t get to play that much.”
Leslie Weaver turned away six shots in goal and came out of the net to score the game’s final goal.
Council Rock South 8, Truman 1
Lauren Heath connected for the hat trick while teammate Chrissy Vollrath added a pair of goals in the decisive win. Jamie Vaniver, Kelsey Pressler and Sarah Moyer each added single goals. Colleen Diviny had a pair of assists while Vaniver, Alexa Crosier, Paula Jurewicz and Kady Schley all had an assist.
South goalies Lola Buonomo and Michelle Berg each turned away two shots. Truman’s Theresa Landrum had seven saves in goal.
Neshaminy 2, Abington 0
Brianna Hires scored in the 12th minute of Wednesday’s SOL opener, and Brooke Diegel added a goal in the 35th minute to propel the Redskins to a 2-0 halftime lead that held up the rest of the way.
Abington keeper Jess Schmidt turned away seven shots.
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Souderton 0
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