Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Thursday. CR North/Bensalem photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL AMERICAN
Abington 3, Hatboro-Horsham 2
In a moment of pure chaos, Camryn Lexow was at her calmest.
Somehow, a Hatboro-Horsham shot had gotten past Abington keeper Olivia Oliphant and was rolling toward the goal line when Lexow, who had dropped out of the midfield to play center back, came over and sent the ball flying out of bounds.
Crisis averted and one-goal lead preserved.
"She's just so smart when it comes to soccer," Abington coach Rick Tompkins said. "UVa is lucky to have her, but for now, I'm lucky."
Lexow scored the first goal of the night in what turned into a wildly entertaining and competitive match between the two top teams in the SOL American table. The Hatters pressed and challenged for 80 minutes and gave Abington all it could handle, but an outstanding individual goal by Casey Touey and a stout defense proved the difference.
"They're good," Tompkins said of the Hatters. "We wanted to get on top early, Kailey and Camryn connected, Touey is a handful and Abby Bautista came through with a real scrappy goal."
Horton played a smart ball to Lexow five minutes in that the senior then took past a defender before putting a volley into the netting.
Abington's back line – outside backs Caroline Hughes and Emily Friel flanking center backs Riley Crabtree and Arianna Mancini – is getting better with each passing game, but it's not perfect yet. The Hatters took advantage of one area the Ghosts are still working at when Sophia Liott fired in a chance off Maggie O'Neill's corner to send the game to half 1-1.
"I can't fault the effort tonight and Hatboro is really good, they have some serious weapons," Tompkins said. "I'm looking forward to the rematch, that'll be a lot of fun. They are very well coached, they work extremely hard and there are no 50/50 balls, if it is, you lose because they're going to keep coming."
The second half saw a lot of intense soccer played between both teams and a four-minute flurry that set up the outcome. Bautista, a sophomore, was able to hustle down a ball in the box for a close range finish, putting the Ghosts up 2-1.
Touey followed up with a superb goal, following a cleared Hatter free kick, heading the ball out in front at midfield and then beating a couple defenders down the pitch before finishing from a tough angle to the far post.
"When we got the third goal, I was pretty confident we'd get the victory because I didn't think they'd get two on us," Tompkins said. "That said, I was surprised with how quickly they got the one back on us. That's a credit to them, they didn't hang their heads but said 'we have to dig down and we have to go fight.'"
Mads Falcione got that goal back less than a minute after Touey scored, taking a field-flipping cross from Cam Hughes, squaring it up and powering the ball top shelf for a quality finish.
Shortly after that goal, Tompkins told Lexow to drop to the back. It was just insurance for a back line that had done an admirable job to that point.
"I thought Riley and Arianna played out of their minds, Friel is tough and Caroline, the freshman, she's improving every game," Tompkins said. "Tonight, the thing I noticed most, in games past the ball would come and she would whack it away, this game she looked to use her skill, take a touch and carry the ball. That's growth from game one."
The Hatters had a host of excellent performances. Up top, Emily Thomas, Kara Thomas and Falcione were relentless all night while defenders Peyton Toale and Isabela de la Torre were strong in front of keeper Martine Royds. In the middle, junior Cam Ryan had another sterling performance.
Abington (7-0, 6-0 SOL) – after a non-league game against Central Bucks East Monday – faces Cheltenham next Tuesday in the final match day of the first half of SOLplay while Hatboro-Horsham (6-2, 5-1) travels to Plymouth Whitemarsh Tuesday.
ABINGTON 1 2- 3
HATBORO-HORSHAM 1 1 – 2
Goals: A – Camryn Lexow, Abby Bautista, Casey Touey; HH – Sophia Liott, Mads Falcione
Upper Dublin 3, Wissahickon 0
After an uneven start to the season, the Cardinals backline has found its groove.
"We played some good teams, but there were some games where I don't know we played a complete game and conceded some goals we shouldn't have," UD coach John Topper said. "I was thrilled today with the way our backs were on point, our midfielders were winning balls and creating and our forwards were finishing chances."
Upper Dublin's back four of Sascha Keitz, Katie King, Maddie Sanders and Kaitlyn Brown along with freshman keeper Rachel Adelman posted their second clean sheet of the week. The backs used their speed to great effect, covering for each other and sweeping out a lot of balls the Trojans thought looked promising.
"Every game, Rachel is finding her voice a little more, it's difficult for a freshman coming into a senior team like this but she's making herself heard," Topper said. "I think they have a lot of confidence in her and that's great to see."
Emily Booth had a good week as well, scoring two goals on Thursday to go with her game-winner in Monday's win over Plymouth Whitemarsh. The speedy striker finished two similar chances, running down a long ball over the top, then showing composure to beat the keeper one-on-one.
Booth had one goal in the first half, then iced the game with her second about midway through the first half. In between, Tina Haig added the other on a rocket of a shot on the edge of the 18-yard box following a corner kick.
"We have a talented and athletic team and I think today was a chance for us to show what we can do," Topper said. "It's a very well coached and organized Wissahickon team so to get a 3-0 win, I'm very proud of that.
"This was a big week we had circled on the calendar so to come out with six points, I'm happy with that."
Upper Dublin (4-3, 4-2 SOL) will host Strath Haven in a non-league game Monday, and Wissahickon (3-4, 3-3) will travel to William Tennent for a non-league game Friday.
UPPER DUBLIN 1 2 – 3
WISSAHICKON 0 0 – 0
Goals: UD – Emily Booth 2, Tina Haig
Springfield Twp 5, Cheltenham 0
The Spartans may have a sparkling new turf facility, but they're a side used to playing on natural grass.
They went back to their roots, so to speak, Thursday when they visited Cheltenham and the Panthers' still-grass field.
“We didn’t start off great – we started off a little slow in the first half, and then after (Emily) Cooney scored on that header- that goal from the corner, I think it just gave us the life,” Springfield coach Suzette Wolf said. “We haven’t played on grass since September first, and my girls really play well on grass.
“We’re not a real turf team yet, but we’re getting there because our fields are turf. They had to get accustomed to grass again, and then they were on grass and really comfortable and having fun playing again.”
Cooney had a memorable game, scoring three goals off corners. She had a header and another the standard way with her foot in the first half as Springfield opened up a 2-0 lead at the break.
"We’ve been trying to score on corners for a few games. We’ve come so close every game. Today Cooney really came through each time we had a corner. We scored three times on corners, and we had more corner opportunities, and we probably could have put in more," Wolf said. “We always like to play at Cheltenham. It’s usually a pretty competitive game both ways.”
Samantha Wynn and Emily Guicheteau scored after halftime before Cooney wrapped up her hat trick with a second header goal off a corner.
“The second half we came back out and our girls just dominated. I was able to get a lot of my reserve players in, and they got to play, and they got to have fun, so it was just a really positive experience for us," Wolf said. "Everybody played well – I can’t say anybody had a rough game. It was just a good game all the way round."
Springfield Township (1-6, 1-5 SOL) will host St. Hubert’s in a non-league game Saturday, and Cheltenham (0-6) will host Harry S Truman Friday in a non-league game.
SPRINGFIELD TWP 2 3 – 5
CHELTENHAM 0 0 – 0
Goals: S – Emily Cooney 3, Samantha Wynn, Emily Guicheteau.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1, Upper Moreland 0
The Colonials got a late goal to back up a robust defensive effort on Thursday.
"Our defense was stellar today," PW coach Ryan Zehren said. "Bella McNew and Jose Tassoni were outstanding in the middle of our back line. UM came out strong in each half and McNew and Tassoni were key in helping us weather the storm."
Finding the Golden Bears a tough foe to crack, the Colonials made a few switches on offense. It paid off in the 73rd minute when senior Alyse Caffrey delivered the breakthrough goal.
"Alyse took a defender on and was able to capitalize after Leah Kaye played an absolutely fantastic diagonal ball from the right side of the field to the left," Zehren said.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-3, 3-3 SOL) will host Haverford in a non-league game Saturday, and Upper Moreland (3-4, 2-4) will travel to Wissahickon on Tuesday.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 1 – 1
UPPER MORELAND 0 0 – 0
Goals: PW – Alyse Caffrey
SOL NATIONAL
Bensalem 2, Council Rock North 0
The Owls got some chances to show their ability on the offensive end Thursday and put away enough of them.
"I was really happy with our forwards today, they were able to get back on track," Bensalem coach Bob Crawford said. "They pressured their fullbacks and didn't give them time to settle the ball or get it out of the back."
Taylor Haffner finished off a particularly exquisite bit of build-up. Winger Julia Murray started the sequence, playing the ball out to fullback Sydney Miller, who then served the ball perfectly in the box where Haffner went up and headed it home.
"I can't even say how beautiful it was," Crawford said. "Taylor put it far post, it was really nice and it was the kind of goal that would be hard for most teams to stop."
Crawford, in his first year coaching the team, has seen his team come together over the past few matches as the players have gotten to know the system better and how they all fit into it. Roles are defined now, and some of the mistakes that proved costly in prior matches have started to clean themselves up.
As nice as the goals were, the clean sheet was just as important for the Owls. Defenders Samantha Crawford and Emily Wineburg provided a wall in front of Kat Rivera.
"The excitement in Kat's eyes today after we went up one goal, seeing her fire today was really nice to see," Crawford said of his senior keeper. "One of the things she did really well today was settle everything down when it started to get frantic. She really did a great job of that and calming everyone down and keeping us on track."
Crawford also credited the midfield, including defensive mid Karleigh Hund, attacking mid Lauren Antry, Alyssa Groves and Lexi Cahill, for holding off North's attacking players and keeping the ball moving.
Murray scored the team's other goal, using a pass from Antry to set it up.
"We just have to worry about ourselves, because every team is good and every team works hard and plays a good brand of defensive soccer," Crawford said. "I'm not surprised, I knew it, but you still see how competitive the league is. On any given day, anyone can win and the biggest thing for us is we have to keep the focus on us."
Bensalem (2-3, 2-2 SOL) will host Dock Mennonite Academy in a non-league game Friday, and Council Rock North (3-5, 2-4) will host Conwell Egan in a non-league game Saturday.
BENSALEM – 2
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH – 0
Goals: B – Taylor Haffner, Julia Murray
Council Rock South 2, William Tennent 0
The weather has not been kind to the Golden Hawks, but they managed a well-earned win on Thursday.
"We missed one scrimmage due to heat and the rain has been brutal, not just postponing games but having to close our fields for practice," CR South coach Nick Heim said. "We end up doing the best we can with the weather and it's a credit to the girls for not letting it get to them but it's been an adjustment for sure."
Tennent has proven a formidable opponent since moving back to the National and the Hawks had their first crack at the Panthers on Thursday.
"They're a well-organized team that plays aggressive and physical. We had some good opportunities early but just couldn't seem to finish around the box," Heim said. "We spoke at halftme about continuing to find feet but also shooting more outside the box."
Luckily for the Hawks, they have Sammy Jones on their team. Jones sparked CR South in the second half, netting a brace to hand her team three points in the table.
"She did just what we talked about and scored our first from about 25 out. We were dangerous on our corners today, scoring on one," Heim said. "We linked the play well but our finishing was off."
Heim gave some of that credit to Tennent's defending, including a ball cleared off the line, but Jones was determined. Even without as many games as some other teams to get into rhythym, Jones has continued to just plug away.
"Sammy's a creative player that can finish and make that final pass to set up a goal. She's one of a few we want to keep plugging away and stay confident," Heim said. "It's easy to remember a bad touch or a missed shot but a player like Sammy and some of the others are the ones we want forgetting the last play and demanding the ball to get back after it.
"When we play with confidence, we can string some passes together and create chances."
Of course, Jones can't do everything and she had plenty of help behind her.
"Maddy McDowell was terrific in the midfield for us today and Allie Jones really created chances from there as well," Heim said. "Kimmie Herritt and Carly Hickey really helped us control play up the middle."
While Heim was pleased overall with his team's play between the boxes, he knows there's another level his side can get to. In a league where results are anything but a given, it's something the Hawks will have to ramp up in coming matches.
Plus, all that rain is still continuing to affect CR South's schedule and not in a good way.
"Today was the first of six games in seven school days. It's certainly a stretch that is going to challenge us mentally," Heim said. "But I know the group we have is up to the challenge and our seniors and captains will tackle the challenge head on."
Council Rock South (3-2, 2-2 SOL) will be on the road at Downingtown West for a non-league game Friday, and William Tennent (3-4, 2-2) will host Wissahickon in a non-league contest Friday.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 2 – 2
WILLIAM TENNENT 0 0 – 0
Goals: CRS – Sammy Jones 2
Pennsbury 9, Harry S Truman 0
The Falcons remained unbeaten with a win on Thursday.
Christine Cataldo-Smith and Alli Nikles each scored two goals while Kasey Kowal scored one and assisted two to lead Pennsbury, which led 5-0 at half.
Darrien Furiness, Emily Welsh and Ashley Conlow each added single goals.
Pennsbury (8-0, 5-0 SOL) will host Pennington in a non-league game Friday, and Harry S Truman (0-6, 0-5) will travel to Cheltenham for a non-league game Friday.
PENNSBURY 5 4 – 9
HARRY S TRUMAN 0 0 – 0
Goals: P – Christine Cataldo-Smith 2, Alli Nikles 2, Kasey Kowal, Darrien Furiness, Emily Welsh, Ashley Conlow
SOL CONTINENTAL
Pennridge 3, Central Bucks East 1
The Rams win on Thursday was a lesson in "Abby style."
Abby Groff scored all three of her team's goals as Pennridge put in a lot of work to break down a tough CB East defense and stay atop the Continental standings.
"She had a great game, she was working back and forth for the ball and was very mobile today," Anderson said of the senior forward. "She was working both sides of the field, coming back a good 20 yards to get a ball, turn and dribble at them. She did a great job battling on both sides of the ball, she pressured when we lost the ball which kept them in their defensive half most of the game."
East is adept at taking away an opponent's threats, so Anderson credited the players around Groff for helping the senior create space. Groff, who hustles hard regardless of the opponent, then took advantage to get herself into open spaces.
"When she can turn with the ball, she's very dangerous," Anderson said.
Anderson couldn't pick out one or two standouts in the midfield or defensively because she felt those two units played well as groups. The Rams won a lot of first balls, especially in the air and when they did get them, they connected them into passes.
"I thought we did a great job keeping control of that first ball and pressuring the second ball when we didn't win it," Anderson said. "Our backs just did a tremendous job and our midfield showed their feet so when the backs did get the ball, they had someone to connect to."
Pennridge keeper Mary Kate Levush was also a key factor in the outcome. Her assertive nature behind the defense was a benefit to Pennridge, especially against an opponent that always brings a high work rate.
"We fouled a couple times and they played in a couple dangerous balls where she was able to come out and get them," Anderson said. "Their forwards are relentless, they will run through until the ball is at their feet and then the back of the goal, so MK did a nice job coming out to win those balls."
Groff doesn't mind making an extra run or dropping a few extra yards to find a ball and it's that kind of work ethic that's paid off time and again for the senior.
"All three goals were Abby style – going in hard, dribbling with speed and getting a quality shot off on goal," Anderson said. "The majority of her shots were on goal, she may have missed wide one or two times but most of the time they were on frame."
Pennridge (6-1, 4-1 SOL) will host North Penn on Tuesday, and Central Bucks East (2-4-1, 2-3-1) will host Villa Joseph Marie in a non-league contest Saturday.
PENNRIDGE – 3
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST – 0
Central Bucks South 1, North Penn 0
No matter the year, the Titans find a way to put a strong defense on the field.
They needed it on Thursday as a rising North Penn team put all its speed to work in a tightly contested match. South got an early goal thanks to Brooke Steigerwalt then held on to fend away a hungry Knights squad.
"The CB South defense of Amanda Krysko, Lauren Ewell, Dori McMenamin (who assisted the goal) and Izzie Manella played well as a unit and keepers Sarah Letizia and Shannon Snyder both had key saves to keep us in the game," South coach Betsy Bullock said.
North Penn has shown it plans to be a factor in the Continental this season and the Titans found out quickly the Knights' speed is no joke. South's discipline on defense proved a difference maker.
"They kept their shape and were able to contain North Penn's most dangerous players," Bullock said. "They have several players that are extremely fast but our team was able to keep up with and contain them."
It also took some help from the upper two-thirds of the field to keep the score what it was.
"The midfielders were able to clog the passing lanes and prevented distribution of the ball," Bullock said. "The forwards had to work back and help. The games are always going to be competitive in the Continental."
Central Bucks South (3-2-1, 1-2-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Monday, and North Penn (4-2-2, 2-1-1) will travel to Parkland on Saturday for a non-league game.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1 0 – 1
NORTH PENN 0 0 – 0
Goals: CBS – Brooke Steigerwalt
Central Bucks West 4, Quakertown 1
Ryan and Erin Fitzsimmons sparked a slow-starting Bucks side to a win on Thursday.
"We couldn't get into a rhythm," West coach Mike Moyer said. "Ryan Fitzsimmons sent a great ball to Taylor Moyer, who took a great first touch plus a couple dribbles and hit a rocket that went side netting to give us a 1-0 halftime lead."
With a tenuous advantage, the Bucks amped things up after the break.
"We really came out on fire in the second half," Moyer said. "We started connecting passes and playing fast and physical, which got the tempo in our favor."
Erin Fitzimmons made a dynamic run up the field, beating three defenders and hitting a good shot for a 2-0 West edge.
"I was so happy for her," Moyer said. "She's been a rock for us at attacking center mid and I was glad she got a goal tonight."
Ryan Fitzimmons then added a goal to her earlier assist with a shot to the near post for a 3-0 lead. Alex Craine got back in the scoring sheet with a crafty one-time volley over the keeper for the fourth tally.
Megan Gallagher, Keely McGlone and Arianna D'Elia anchored the back for the Bucks while Tori Albrecth and Allie Evan put in some good minutes. As the season has gone on, the Bucks have found they don't need one or two players to do everything.
"I love that we have so many weapons and teams can't just key in on one girl," Moyer said. "Trish Hauck sets up so many scoring chances for us and is not only our leader but the most unselfish player on our team."
Central Bucks West (7-2, 3-2 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks South on Monday, and Quakertown (0-5-1, 0-4-1) will travel to Southern Lehigh for a non-league game Monday.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1 3 – 4
QUAKERTOWN 0 1 – 1
Goals: CBW – Taylor Moyer, Ryan Fitzsimmons, Erin Fitzsimmons, Alex Craine
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