Check out the recaps for all of Tuesday’s SOL girls’ soccer games. Photos of the Quakertown/Upper Moreland game provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography, and CR South/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of both games…CLICK HERE to go directly to the GIRLS SOCCER GALLERIES.
SOL National
Council Rock South 2, Pennsbury 0
The senior class of CR South had never beaten Pennsbury prior to the start of their 3:30 game on Tuesday.
After 80 intense minutes, the nine Golden Hawk seniors – Callie Deola, Grace O'Kane, Julie Rebh, Julia Goldberg, Paige Mikula, Emma Jones, Sophia Datsko, Keria Flanagan and Sara McDonald – could finally say they took down the Falcons.
"In all honesty, all credit goes to the seniors," CR South coach Nick Heim said. "Their class had never picked up a win against Pennsbury and they made it a priority to change that. They had the team focused and answered the first whistle with great intensity."
Heim said it's one of the larger senior classes in recent years. The Hawks usually start about five of the seniors, but those who don't start easily could and are major contributors off the bench.
"Pennsbury has been the class of the conference the last few seasons and have built a really strong program, so to pick up a win at their place was huge for this senior class," Heim said. "The coaching staff is extremely proud of the effort today and we look to build off it as we go forward."
Rebh, fittingly, provided the eventual winner early in the match on an Allie Jones assist. Jordi Rubakh scored in the second half, a needed tally with Pennsbury pushing back hard against the Hawks.
Heim is in his first year as South's head coach, but as an assistant, he built a bond and trust with this senior class. While his title is different, their relationship is not.
"Some of them were asked that question and they responded with 'He's the same Nick to us.' That was a positive sign," Heim said. "For three years they've trusted me as a coach and have done what has been asked of them, and they continue to do the same. It's their program; they are the ones who lead us on the field and set the standards, both on and off the field, that our program lives by."
Council Rock South (5-0-0, 4-0-0 SOL) will travel to Archbishop Wood on Saturday for a non-league contest at noon. Pennsbury (6-1-1, 3-1) will host Hershey in a non-league game Saturday at noon.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1 1 – 2
PENNSBURY 0 0 – 0
Goals: CRS – Julie Rebh, Jordi Rubkah
Abington 6, Harry S Truman 1
The Ghosts' offense returned to form a day after being shut out at Upper Dublin.
Casey Touey put two goals in the net to pace Abington's offensive effort. Kayla Taylor, Kailey Horton, Emily Friel and Issy Mugnier also scored for the Ghosts.
Abington (4-5, 2-3 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks East on Monday, and Harry S Truman (0-7, 0-4) will host Neshaminy next Tuesday.
SOL Continental
William Tennent 2, CB East 1
The Panthers are now firmly a team to pay attention to.
First-year head coach Bill Hontz has known many of his players through coaching them in middle school and club, so he knew they had potential. But even he's willing to concede they're off to a bit of a surprising start.
"I'll take a surprise team and wouldn't mind keeping it like that. It's good for the girls when we are playing teams that are two to three times our enrollment size," Hontz said. "I know what they are capable of when they are playing hard. It was a hard-working summer where I saw commitment to do better."
Both Tennent goals were scored on headers off of Nikki Reh's highly potent long throw-ins.
"It's huge when you have that kind of weapon," Hontz said. "It's very hard to defend when it can be placed into the box."
Tennent has a lot of young and inexperienced players in the lineup this season, but Reh has been a mainstay since her freshman season. A polished and experienced senior, she's leaving what she has on the field each game.
"I have coached her for the last 10 years on my club team and most of her teammates graduated last year," Hontz said. "She wants to go out with everything she has left because she is not committed to play college ball at the moment."
Jenna Rodabaugh and Olivia Miller provided the two goals. Rodabaugh scored the game’s first goal in the 15th minute while Miller provided the winner in the 55th.
The Patriots tied it in the first half on a goal from Kate Schlotter with Ashley Balderson assisting.
Scoring on East is never easy, and the Panthers turned to their young legs to create opportunities.
"East is very sound in the back, we kept pressure on the top with our young players that want to win and who have a lot of speed," Hontz said.
Defensively, Tennent was led by Liz Layer, Paige Schmidt and Brianna Broccardi. Keeper Emily Vicklitis played with "great field awareness."
"Winning a game in our division is very exciting and also difficult to do," Hontz said. "We have another big game tomorrow, so they can't get too excited about the old and take one game at a time and we must think like that all year."
William Tennent (5-2, 2-2 SOL) will host Strath Haven in a non-league game on Wednesday. Central Bucks East (3-3-2, 2-2-1) will travel to Emmaus on Saturday for a non-league game on Saturday at 10 a.m.
WILLIAM TENNENT 1 1 – 2
CB EAST 0 1 – 1
Goals: WT – Jenna Rodabaugh, Olivia Miller; CBE – Kate Schlotter
Souderton 1, North Penn 0 (OT)
The Indians needed extra time to find a winner, but not for lack of trying.
After 80 frustrating minutes of regulation where seemingly every chance either hit a North Penn defender’s leg, was stopped by the keeper or just missed the mark, Souderton put one away a shade over three minutes into OT.
"We were really close, it wasn't so much getting the shot off, we were an inch away from scoring," Souderton coach Chris Felber said. "It showed we were creating the right chances but we were so close and not hitting it. We're doing the right things and sometimes being patient and waiting for it is part of the game."
The break finally came when Bre Direnzi won a tackle in the midfield and played it up to Sara Readinger. Readinger found Tori Dowd flying down the right side and the senior carried it into space before crossing to classmate Cara McCausland in the box.
McCausland put a shot to the bottom right corner of the net and set off the celebration.
"It's a big part of the game when you know if you give up doing it, you're not going to score," Felber said. "We could have given up and tried something different, but we kept going at it and it eventually came. We're confident in what we can do. We know we can score goals, I think there's more goals in us, we know we have people we can rely on."
Dowd put in a strong effort running into space and chasing down passes. McCausland and Allie Trick had chance after chance while the midfield, including Direnzi, Readinger and Taylor Moritz, found their game after North Penn crowded things up in the first half.
The result was just what the Indians needed as they try to stay in the thick of the Continental title race.
"We had six games where we felt we might be better on paper but it doesn't mean we're going to win so we have to go out and make sure we win," Felber said. "We've already lost two games in conference so we can't afford too many more if we want to be in the top two-three of the conference."
Souderton (4-2, 2-2 SOL) will host Little Flower in a non-league game on Wednesday at 5 p.m. North Penn (2-3-1, 1-2-1) will host Central Bucks South next Tuesday.
SOUDERTON 0 0 1 – 1
NORTH PENN 0 0 0 – 0
Goals: S – Cara McCausland
Pennridge 1, CB West 0 (OT)
Abby Groff played hero again for the Rams on their home turf in extra time Tuesday afternoon.
The junior winger/forward converted a pass from Lindsey DeHaven for her second straight game-winning overtime goal at Helman Field. Pennridge has allowed just one goal in five matches.
The Rams (4-0-1, 3-0-1 SOL) visit Wissahickon on Wednesday at 3:30, an Central Bucks West (4-4, 1-4) will be on the road at Bensalem on Monday for a non-league contest.
PENNRIDGE 0 0 1 – 1
CB WEST 0 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Abby Groff
SOL American
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1, Hatboro-Horsham 0
The Colonials knew what they were walking into at Hatters Stadium.
"We came out with a lot of intensity, but they made some adjustments at halftime that had us on our heels," PW coach Ryan Zehren said. "Our girls battled through the first 10 minutes of the second half and took back the momentum for the rest of the game. We had plenty of opportunities but just couldn't find the back of the net."
Alyse Caffrey delivered, as she's done for much of the early season, scoring with about seven minutes to play and more importantly, a few minutes after a crucial missed chance.
"Alyse found herself alone in front of goal with about 15 minutes left and hit the post," Zehren said. "However, she bounced back and finished one."
The Hatters love to possess the ball, so it was up to the Colonials to try and disrupt that. It started with Sarah Putsch, Emily Rosenberger, Anni Shula, Catie Branscome and Ali Diamond in the midfield and extended back to Haley Zygmunt, Bella McNew and Ava Schreiber on the back line.
"We did our best to keep them on one side of the field and prevent switches," Zehren said. "They found a way through a few times, but our girls were very disciplined with their responsibilities."
Hope Barist also came up big for PW in net, recording what Zehren called an "amazing save" about midway through the second half.
Diamond was the star of the night for PW, turning in what Zehren called her best performance of the season. A mainstay on PW's basketball and lacrosse teams, Diamond has a wide range of versatility that opens up so much for the Colonials when she's locked in.
"The defensive concepts in soccer, basketball and lacrosse all overlap. Her on-field, on-court IQ is just outstanding. That comes from playing multiple sports at a high level," Zehren said. "Also, her coachability is one of her best traits. She listens and is able to execute a game plan and again, that comes from playing three sports."
Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-2, 4-1 SOL) will travel to Lower Merion for a non-league game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Hatboro-Horsham (3-4, 3-2) will be on the road at Upper Dublin next Tuesday.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 1 – 1
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 0 – 0
Goals: PW – Alyse Caffrey
Quakertown 2, Upper Moreland 0
The names are starting to become routine for Quakertown.
Sometimes, Haley Pursel scores the goals and Ashley Gluck usually sets them up. When Pursel isn't scoring, she's usually assisting Gluck. Such was the case on Tuesday.
Gluck scored two goals, with Pursel assisting the second and Haley Hangey the first.
Panthers coach Mike Koch noted the defensive play of Becah Fox, Cori Pursel and Maelina Jagiello.
UM goalkeeper Jen Storbrauck made 11 saves. Maddie Gerlach, Kaiya Herb and Amelia Przychowiscs played strong for the Golden Bears.
Quakertown (5-2, 4-1 SOL) will host Southern Lehigh on Friday at 3:30 p.m., and Upper Moreland (3-5, 1-4) will be on the road at Wissahickon next Tuesday.
QUAKERTOWN 1 1 – 2
UPPER MORELAND 0 0 – 0
Goals: Q – Ashley Gluck 2
Upper Dublin 2, Springfield Township 0
The Flying Cardinals held their perch atop the American without another shutout.
Karolina Bocul put UD on the board in the 19th minute off a Tina Haig assist and Laura Pendleton scored in the 40th minute for some insurance. Pendleton scored for the second straight game.
Again, Upper Dublin's midfield played a pivotal role in the outcome.
"As usual, Lexi Moss did a great job winning battles in the midfield and controlling the game's tempo," UD coach John Topper said. "Lindsey Schreiber played a great game on the wing, creating multiple scoring chances."
Despite the outcome, Spartan coach Suzette Wolf was pleased with her team’s performance.
“We just played man-to-man all over the field,” the Spartans’ coach said. “We played great. We were very defensive, but during the second half, we sort of broke out of our defense and started to pressure. We were in their end in the second half with many opportunities.”
Wolf lauded the performances of Meghan Nelson and Sarah Potocki in the center midfield.
“They played incredibly well,” she said. “They really controlled the flow of the game. They won 50-50 balls, and they shut down a lot of Upper Dublin’s play – their playmakers come out of the center of the field. They stood up and played as well as they could have possibly played.”
Upper Dublin (6-0-1, 5-0 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham next Tuesday, and Springfield Township (2-5, 1-4) will be on the road at Quakertown on Tuesday.
UPPER DUBLIN 2 0 – 2
SPRINGFIELD TWP 0 0 – 0
Goals: UD – Karolina Bocul, Laura Pendleton
Wissahickon 7, Cheltenham 2
The Trojans opened the floodgates offensively and picked up their first win of the season.
Wissahickon (1-6, 1-4 SOL) will host Pennridge in a non-league game Wednesday, and Cheltenham (1-5, 1-4) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh next Tuesday.
Non-league
Central Bucks South 3, Archbishop Wood 0
The Titans stepped out of the conference but played to their strengths as they defeated a Phildaelphia Catholic League opponent.
Aleksa Peev netted a brace for the Titans, who got on the board with a 20th minute goal from sophomore Grace Tecce. Tecce, a mid-season call-up from JV last year, has provided a nice change of pace to complement Peeve and Brooke Steigerwalt.
"We recognized her speed, technical ability and scoring," South coach Betsy Bullock said. "She comes off the bench to give us valuable minutes. She works extremely hard with Aleksa Peev and Brooke Steigerwalt."
Wood is know for its speedy and skilled forwards, and the Titans' defense was well-prepared.
"I have two speedy center backs, Mackenzie Edwards and Amanda Krysko, who seem to handle the speed," Bullock said. "We were very aware going into the game they had some very fast forwards."
Overall, it was a solid outing for the entire Titans defensive unit.
"The defense played well as a unit and Maddie McShane came up big again with seven saves, including stopping a PK in the second half," Bullock said.
Central Bucks South (3-1-1, 2-1-1 SOL) will be on the road at Great Valley on Saturday.
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