Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Friday. Wissahickon/Upper Moreland photos provided courtesy of Josh Stelzer.
SOL Colonial/Patriot crossover
Central Bucks East 1, Bensalem 0
The Patriots were tested by a resilient Owls defense on Friday but stayed the course and came home with a win.
“Very proud of our kids today. Girls moved the ball really well and in a tough place to play, and it becomes even more challenging to stay patient going into halftime tied at 0-0,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “Second half we came out with more of a bite and created a number of higher quality chances.”
East, which was looking to bounce back from a loss to Council Rock South on Wednesday, found itself in a battle after 40 minutes on Friday. No matter what they tried, the Patriots were unable to crack a Bensalem defense coming off a shutout draw against Souderton.
“Full credit to Bensalem, their group did not make this game easy, and their keeper played one of the most stellar games I’ve seen at the high school level,” Nesteruk said.
In the senior half, Mikayla Gray found senior Elliot Forney, who was able to find a crease in Bensalem’s defense.
“The ball was played centrally into Elliot’s feet, she turned, drove at her defender and had an excellent finish,” Nesteruk said.
The goal seemed to ease some pressure and while East didn’t get a second goal, the Patriots were able to keep testing the Owls. Thanks to their own stout defending, the Patriots made sure Forney’s goal was enough to see it out to the finish.
“Lots of credit to share for this one—I thought Chantal Van Dongeren and Grace Craig have had a very long streak of great games,” Nesteruk said. “The combination of Elliot and Camryn Williams provided us a few very good chances to extend our lead. And felt MK had her best game so far this season.”
Bensalem (3-4-1, 2-4-1 SOL) hosts Lower Moreland at 3:30 on Monday, then hosts CB West at 3:30 on Tuesday. CB East (5-3, 4-3) visits Villa Joseph Marie at 3:30 on Monday, then resumes SOL play at Harry S Truman on Tuesday at 3:30.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 1 – 1
BENSALEM 0 0 – 0
Goals: CBE – Elliot Forney
Council Rock North 1, Central Bucks South 0 (2 OT)
Coming off a tough, physical game with CB West on Wednesday, the Indians had to handle a Titans team that has played well above its record on the season.
“I think we stole the game tonight. CB South were excellent and outplayed us for long periods of the first half and had more of the ball,” Indians coach Gavin Flannigan said. “Our perseverance throughout the rest of the game and OT and then one quality moment got us the win.”
Flannigan had plenty of good to say about CB South, starting with the center of the Titans’ formation.
“For almost the whole first half we struggled with the movement of CB South’s midfield and even when we had the ball we were too eager to go forward quickly, we never held the ball long enough to build sustained pressure on them,” Flannigan said. “At halftime, we tried to stress more possession, I thought our second half was better but there were no clear cut chances for either side until late in the game.”
CR North senior keeper Danielle Eden was good on Wednesday and replicated the feat again Friday night. Late in regulation, she bailed her team out by coming up with a massive 1-v-1 save to keep things scoreless.
“I thought Danielle Eden’s composure, reading of the game and solid handling kept us in the game tonight while our freshman midfielder, Audrey Rogan, was our best outfield player. This was her best game of the season so far,” Flannigan said.
North had its own chance late in regulation but would have to wait a little longer to get the breakthrough it needed.
“Mia Cairone had a chance in the final few seconds but their GK came out strong and denied her,” Flannigan said. “At the start of OT we shuffled some players around, and in the second OT, Audrey Rogan caused a turnover, then played a great ball out wide to Jayne Bogle who cut inside and hit one over the GK for the win.”
With North’s football team on the road, the Indians took the opportunity to play under the lights of their home stadium.
“It’s another good learning experience for our team, playing in front of a good home crowd at night heightened the expectation, and grinding out a win when we were not our best,” Flannigan said. “We have to take the positives from this one and move on to next week.”
The Titans (3-5, 2-5 SOL) host Council Rock South at 7 pm on Tuesday. CR North (6-1-1, 5-1-1) visits North Penn at 7pm on Tuesday.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 0 0 1 – 1
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0 0 0 0 – 0
Goals: Jayne Bogle
Council Rock South 1, Central Bucks West 0
A long week ended with the Golden Hawks picking up their third win in four days, although this one wasn’t easy.
“Third game this week and the second of a crossover schedule that has no weak spots, we wanted to come out and set the tone early,” CR South coach Nick Heim said. “Credit to CB West, they really forced us to play their style and kept us pretty narrow offensively.”
The Bucks are always a difficult matchup with their size and physicality, and one player in particular caused plenty of havoc for CR South.
“Their center mid, Alexis Castro, was dominant,” Heim said. “She had to win 95 percent of aerial balls she went for, and she almost single handedly kept us from finding a rhythm.”
Heim also credited West senior keeper Jules Broskey for disrupting their few chances that got past the ball-winners in the midfield.
“We had a few good build ups in the first half, but their goalie was very, very solid and controlled her box well,” Heim said. “We knew nothing easy was going to beat her, but she still came up with big plays coming out to stop attacks.”
After surviving a flurry of West corners to end the half, the Hawks used the break to make some adjustments while also taking stock of the first 40 minutes.
“At half, we told the girls we may have been a bit lucky to get to halftime even, but sometimes you need the luck on your side,” Nick Heim. “The second half we made a few adjustments to try to get Kathryn O’Kane into more space to help generate the attack.”
The move worked and the Hawks started to find some spells of good possession in the second half, with some productive attacks following. Getting O’Kane into open space allowed her to go into attack mode.
“O’Kane was able to slip defenders and find Cam Blatz for a goal with 22 to play,” Heim said. “West continued to press and at times we had our hands full playing what we felt fit their style of play a bit more.”
Council Rock South scored six goals this week. To be more accurate, Cam Blatz scored six goals this week and every one of them was vitally important for her team.
After Blatz stuck her team in front, the back five did their best to make it stand up for her.
“The back four of Emily Davis, Fiona Reckner, Kim Speiser, and Jenna Waterman were able to stay strong in front of a good performance from Karissa Smedley to keep West at 0 and grind out a win,” Heim said. “Mike (Moyer) really had them well organized and I told him we probably stole one today with the number of set pieces and corners they had, which they are very, very dangerous on. Hopefully it wakes us up a bit and we come back next week prepared for more crossover action.”
CR South (6-1-1, 6-1-0 SOL) travels to CB South at 7pm on Tuesday. CB West (4-4) visits Bensalem at 3:30 pm on Tuesday.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 1 – 1
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 0 – 0
Goals: CRS – Cam Blatz
Neshaminy 3, North Penn 0
The final score benefitted Neshaminy, but it didn’t start that way.
“North Penn came out very aggressive from the beginning of the game, and we seemed flat,” Neshaminy coach Josh Van Reed said. “Maybe it was the bus ride or a Friday, but we didn’t start very strong, and they did. They pressured the ball and played physical.”
Van Reed chalked up his team’s early struggles to the simple, but vital, factor of not connecting passes. Each lull in the action or pause to restart or change players gave the Neshaminy coaches a chance to get their team back together.
The game seemed likely to get to the half level until the visitors found a passing touch.
“When we had stoppages, we just kept reminding them to settle the ball down and find feet, quick touches,” Van Reed said. “With five minutes left in the first half, we put a string of five, one-touch passes together down the left side of the field. The through ball was to Mercedez Paino, who chipped a ball back post to Aidyn Tierney for the finish when the keeper came out.”
That the final ball came from Paino was not surprising. The senior captain, a St. Francis (PA) recruit and part of this summer’s national champion PSC Coppa Rage club team, brought the right mentality to the field on Friday.
“She is quick and smart and tough,” Van Reed said. “She always seems to forget the last play and focus on the next one which is important because if you don’t, you’ll miss opportunities. Today she really stepped up for us.”
Paino didn’t score Friday, but her vision and experience still led to a pair of goals.
“We came out much stronger to start the second half which resulted in our second goal,” Van Reed said. “Mercedez Paino had a ball played through to her down the right side towards the sideline and she played a ball back across the goal to Gyzell Rowan, who made a great run anticipating that the ball would be there.”
Neshaminy had turned the tables after its slow start and finished strong, getting a third goal in the final 10 minutes. A ball served into the box off the left side, leading to the scoring sequence.
“The ball was cleared out and landed at the feet of Carly Hock-Smith, who hit the ball back on frame and went in just under the crossbar,” Van Reed said.
North Penn (1-7, 1-6 SOL) hosts CR North at 7pm on Tuesday. Neshaminy (5-0-1) hosts Pennridge at 3:30 on Tuesday.
Goals: N – Aidyn Tierney, Gyzell Rowan, Carly Hock-Smith
NESHAMINY 1 2 – 3
NORTH PENN 0 0 – 0
Harry S Truman @ Souderton – postponed
Transportation issues forced the Indians and Tigers to have to reschedule for later in the season.
Harry S Truman hosts CB East at 3:30 on Tuesday. Souderton visits Pennsbury at 3:30 on Tuesday.
SOL Freedom/Liberty
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3, New Hope-Solebury 0
For 65 minutes, it was a battle between two defensive units determined not to give anything up.
“We played tough, although pretty defensive, for 70 minutes,” Lions coach Matt Duffey said. “PW had a very solid defensive unit, but we did manage to get a couple of decent chances. We simply couldn’t put them away. PW also had consistent and aggressive attacking runs that gave our defense fits all game long despite being able to keep them out of goal.”
It was a similar case on the other side of the pitch.
“The game was scoreless for the first 65 minutes. We had multiple chances to score but couldn’t put one away,” PW coach TJ DeLucia said. “New Hope was dangerous on the counter during that time but our defense of Kate Yocom, Brianna Reynolds, Katie Lukens, and Meghan Wendler were up for the challenge.”
After nearly 70 minutes without a goal, it only took a matter of minutes for PW to put a couple away.
“Junior Caelin Kosvitch – who dominated the midfield all day – received a pass on our side of midfield and bombed a ball up to our two freshmen up top, Maddie McGuckien and Keira Whelan,” DeLucia said. “Keira and Maddie attacked the bouncing ball, Maddie tipped it past the keeper and Whelan scored her first varsity goal.”
One constant this fall for PW has been the efforts of senior Angelina Balcer. It has started to pay off in recent fixtures, and Balcer struck again just a few minutes after the Colonials’ opener.
“Maddie McGuckien won a tackle in midfield and played a ball through to Angelina Balcer,” DeLucia said. “Angelina, who was dangerous in attack all night, takes a touch and rifles a shot past the keeper. Angelina’s work rate throughout this game was terrific. She didn’t get frustrated about her early chances; she just kept working.”
PW wrapped up the scoring in the final minute with a senior-to-senior connection and a reward for the defense.
“Senior Ella Clark found senior Kate Yocom on a trail pass way out towards the touchline and Yocom hit a beautiful strike far post to score her first of the season,” DeLucia said.
Despite the loss, New Hope-Solebury keeper Margaret Tresler continued to play well, drawing plaudits from both coaches.
“Once again, credit to Margaret Tresler for making a large number of saves,” Duffey said. “In the field, Ava Marrone and Meeghan Griffith played well in the midfield.”
“New Hope’s goalkeeper was terrific in net all day, making multiple saves,” DeLucia said. “I’d like to highlight a terrific battle out on the flanks between PW freshman Marleigh Burton and New Hope’s Nina Meixler. Both players attacked each other all night. It was fun to watch.”
DeLucia also credited his keeper, Caitlyn Dinh.
“Junior keeper Caitlyn Dinh was terrific in net, and we were able to play her feet multiple times to get our attack going,” DeLucia said. “The two assists from Maddie McGuckien are just another reason for us to be excited about the multitude of freshmen getting varsity minutes for PW girls soccer.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-4 SOL) travels to Lower Moreland at 3:30 on Tuesday. New Hope-Solebury (1-6-1, 1-5-1) visits Abington at 3:30 on Tuesday.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 3 – 3
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0 0 – 0
Goals: PW – Angelina Balcer, Kate Yocum, Keira Whelan
Hatboro-Horsham 4, Lower Moreland 1
With both sides down a few key players, the Hatters’ depth won out in the second half, but both teams were to take something away from a meeting of current division leaders.
“Our girls knew going in that HH is a really strong team. And they were. So, I am really proud of my girls for going toe to toe with them for a majority of the game,” LM coach Todd Hill said. “We were able to hold them to one goal in the first half and scored off a perfectly executed free kick.
“At 2-1 midway through the second half, the game was in reach. We had a couple tough breaks and HH kept attacking and pulled away at the end.”
The first half was a tight battle between the two teams, but it was the Hatters who managed to slip a goal past the rigid Lions’ defense.
“We were missing a couple of key players for today’s game, so we knew we had to come out strong,” Hatters coach Kelsey Daley said. “Cait Carpenter gave us the 1-0 lead at half time with a beautiful head ball goal off a corner from Emma Levin. Lower Moreland’s goalie made such great saves for them.”
Hatboro-Horsham carried the momentum into the second half, doubling its lead when Kitty Randa found Sarah Boland for a goal, her fourth in the last two games.
“Though they scored a second in the early part of the second, we were able to respond with a goal of our own from a nice cross from Abbie Wasserstrom delivered to Morgan Pennisi, who placed a beautiful shot over the goalie and into the back of the net from 20 yards out,” Hill said.
The goal was definitely a wake-up call to the Hatters, who showed some of the finishing touch that had them atop the SOL Liberty standings entering crossover play.
“Lower Moreland was able to get a beautiful volley goal on us. We started to get more energy and communication after that goal against us. We took it down the field when Kitty Randa laid it off to Emma Levin for an 18-yard shot to go in,” Daley said. “Only a couple minutes later we took it down the left side where Mia Bellizzie found Caroline Shegogue who took a shot from distance to hit the cross bar to go in.”
Although the Lions came out on the wrong side, they saw they could hang with another quality team even while not at full strength.
“It was a gutsy game from all of our girls. We began the game missing two of our starters due to injury and sickness, with some of our bench players really banged up as well. Our bench was very thin -so everyone had to log extra minutes in the heat -the girls were exhausted,” Hill said. “Additionally, though I feel like a broken record talking about Payton Lennon every game, she is such a strong presence in the middle of the field that even against a dominant team like HH, she disrupts their attack while creating an effective counter-attack.”
The Hatters likewise had a lot to like about the outcome.
“It was a very good battle between both the teams. Maddy Morino really stepped up for us playing the defensive center mid role,” Daley said. “It was her first start as a freshman and she was winning almost every 50/50 ball and was able to hold us down in that position.”
The Hatters (6-0-2, 6-0-1 SOL) visit Springfield Twp on Tuesday at 3:30. Lower Moreland (4-2) visits Bensalem at 3:30 on Monday, then hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh at 3:30 on Tuesday.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1 3 – 4
LOWER MORELAND 0 1 – 1
Goals: HH – Cait Carpenter, Sarah Boland, Emma Levin, Caroline Shegogue, LM – Morgan Pennisi
Quakertown 2, Springfield Twp 0
A rough start to the week turned around quite nicely for the Panthers, who closed with two wins on back-to-back shutouts.
“I liked that we have been really playing together like a team,” Panthers coach Jon Gingrich said. “We have been really positive with each other and making sure that everyone stays aggressive and confident for 80 minutes.”
While the Spartans weren’t able to come away with a win, coach Dan Malora felt his team put forth a worthy effort and learned some good lessons.
“We had a great game with Quakertown. Both teams put together a quality match today,” Malora said. “The Panthers run some well-rehearsed set pieces and play a great air game.”
Quakertown’s defense is its calling card and the Panthers were prepared for Springfield’s potent front line of attackers.
“Our defenders were ready for their strikers, we didn’t let them get over top of us and shifted extremely well to adjust to their movements,” Gingrich said.
Springfield was also resilient in its effort, thanks to a tone-setting performance from its leaders on and off the field.
“We had some stand out performances today that can’t go unsung. Our three senior captains showed their leadership with a passionate display of hard work and heart,” Malora said. “The defensive efforts made by captains Shannon Meder, Paige Robinson and Ashley Jenkins were instrumental in stopping the attacking opportunities generated by the Quakertown forward line.
“Sophomore Leni Rumer matched our captains’ example and played an impressive game on the midfield wings.”
Carolyn Sipprell gave Quakertown the lead in the first half, converting off a Madison Kalinowski assist while Callie Abel had a second chance effort off a rebound after halftime to give Quakertown’s defenders some insurance.
Springfield Twp (3-4 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham at 3:30 on Tuesday. Quakertown (3-4) hosts William Tennent at 7pm on Tuesday.
QUAKERTOWN 1 1 – 2
SPRINGFIELD TWP 0 0 – 0
Goals: Q – Carolyn Sipprell, Callie Abel
Upper Dublin 4, William Tennent 1
The Cardinals keep leaning on their seniors in big spots and it keeps working out.
A potentially disastrous start turned around thanks to some veteran leadership and goal-scoring ability, leading to a second straight win for UD. Getting there meant responding after a 180-minute and change shutout streak was snapped early in Friday’s match.
“The Tennent duo of Jackie Sowers and Paige Marek put Tennent up 1-0 in the 10th minute. A shot from Sowers was blocked by UD but fell to Marek who tucked home the rebound,” UD coach Chuck Gesing said.
Upper Dublin would need about 20 minutes to respond, with senior Lilli Kleiman tying things up in the 30th minute. Gesing, however, wasn’t too worried thanks to what his team had shown him the day before.
“Honestly, we had a great practice (Thursday) where we identified options all over the field in different situations. I think seeing it helped the girls,” Gesing said. “We connected on many more passes than we had previously. It was an excellent step to playing the way we want to play. It wasn’t the most dynamic or physically taxing practice, but it was great to get everyone on the same page and actually be able to see what we are trying to accomplish.”
After halftime, it was the seniors leading the way.
Setting the tone was Catherine Scullen, who gave UD the lead on the first varsity goal of her career.
“Catherine is one of our hardest working seniors. She generally comes off the bench and gives great minutes at midfield and forward,” Gesing said. “She found a ball bouncing around in the box on the back post and pounced on it. It was a great result. No one works harder so it was nice to see her get one.”
Scullen’s moment was the boost the Cardinals needed, with Kleiman bagging a second goal about 12 minutes later and running her season total to nine. Alex Devers rounded out the scoring with an absolute rocket of a shot in the final minutes.
Upper Dublin(4-3-1, 3-3-1 SOL) hosts Upper Moreland at 3:30 on Tuesday. William Tennent (3-4, 3-3) visits Quakertown at 7pm on Tuesday.
UPPER DUBLIN 1 3 – 4
WILLIAM TENNENT 1 0 – 1
Goals: UD – Lilli Kleiman 2, Alex Devers, Catherine Scullen; WT – Paige Marek
Wissahickon 3, Upper Moreland 2
The Trojans have been through a lot already this season, so a halftime deficit didn’t rattle them on Friday.
It still took a gutsy effort to rally past a Golden Bears team that did a lot of good things
“We have really been stressing this week the importance of playing a consistent style and a full 80 minutes. We spoke about finishing our opportunities and playing within our system and today we did that, stressing the idea that we can only control our play and our response,” UM coach Lisa Benvenuto said. “Wissahickon has some very talented players, and they play off each other really well. Today’s match was very competitive, and momentum did flow back and forth between both teams.”
Upper Moreland controlled the tempo early and cashed in with a couple goals to go up 2-0.
“We started off defending the middle of the field strongly and in doing so we were able to string together quick transitions,” Benvenuto said. “Both of our goals in the first half came from pressuring the middle and finding the slot.”
Brooke Lobban was able to slot a pass through the defense, finding Maggie Brophy for the finish nine minutes in. Brophy would double her total, and the lead, in the 23rd minute, putting away a pass from Deana Swedberg off the flank.
“We knew that Wissahickon would come out with all they had, and they did. We were able to contain the attack, forcing them to shoot from the outside,” Benvenuto said. “Annalise Messina, Devin Bush, Katie Slear and Amanda Walker worked diligently to keep Wissahickon’s attack out of the box.”
Wiss, which has rallied out of several 2-0 deficits this fall, wouldn’t stay quiet for the full 40 minutes of the first half, and answered about four minutes later when Emma Greenberg halved the lead.
At the break, the visiting Trojans made a few adjustments and came out with an attacking mindset.
“We accounted for the size of the pitch and changed our shape,” Wiss coach Chris McDaniels said.
Four minutes into the second half, Sage Stelzer put away another goal, with this one from the senior tying things up 2-2. The score held for about 15 minutes, then Wiss found a winner from an unlikely source.
“Lucy Greenstein, who is always good defensively, chipped in with a goal on a great overlapping run from Kylie Friedman,” McDaniels said.
While Trojans have battled a rash of injuries that have depleted their starting lineup and forced some younger players into extended roles, the team’s veterans have continued to lead the way.
“Emma Greenberg and Sage Stelzer continue to put in miles and disrupt opponents,” McDaniels said. “Margo Kasenchar has been a ball winner at the back.”
Kyra Favors, Willow Taylor, Kylie Wiest and Michalena Soroka all battled for the Bears, who created some chances in the second half but were unable to find an equalizer.
“In the second half we continued to play hard, and consistently. Wissahickon left today with the win, but as a coach, I am really proud of the grit and mental toughness that our squad played with today,” Benvenuto said. “It is great to see us evolving from each match we play. We had really strong efforts from everyone today.”
Upper Moreland (2-5-1, 2-5-0) visits Upper Dublin at 3:30 on Tuesday. Wissahickon (6-2, 5-2) hosts Cheltenham at 3:30 on Tuesday.
WISSAHICKON 1 2 – 3
UPPER MORELAND 2 0 – 2
Goals: W – Emma Greenberg, Sage Stelzer, Lucy Greenstein; UM – Maggie Brophy
Abington 7, Cheltenham 0
Abington’s offense was remarkably consistent this week, with the Ghosts scoring seven goals in all three matches they played.
Not to be lost was the effort of the defense, which allowed just one goal in that span and closed the week on back-to-back shutouts.
“The Ghost defense of Sara Kaeser, Madison Oldham, Kara Slavin and Anna Cleary was stout again,” Abington coach Rick Tompkins said.
Braelyn Harrington scored her first varsity goal for Abington. Maura Day had a brace as she continued her rampant senior season while Carley Slavin also tallied a goal. The entire front line of Harper McGinley, Piper McGinley and Lily Gray all added a goal for the Ghosts.
“We had several players step up today due to injuries throughout our team and we competed to the end,” Cheltenham coach Leah Matusow said.
Abington (7-2, 6-1 SOL) hosts New Hope-Solebury at 3:30 on Tuesday. Cheltenham (0-6-1) visits Wissahickon at 3:30 on Tuesday.
ABINGTON – 7
CHELTENHAM – 0
Goals: A – Maura Day 2, Carley Slavin, Harper McGinley, Piper McGinley, Lily Gray, Braelyn Harrington
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