William Tennent defeated previously unbeaten Pennridge. Check out the recaps of all of Tuesday’s SOL girls’ soccer games. Pennridge/Tennent photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Continental
William Tennent 3, Pennridge 2
As Brianna Broccardi lined up a free kick about 40 yards away from the net late in the second half, her teammates implored her to shoot.
Normally, such a request would be audacious. A 40-yard strike is a tall task for even top college players, but Broccardi knew she could put the ball on target. Her team needed something big to seize momentum back.
So Broccardi stood over the ball, drove her foot under it and delivered.
"I got over it perfect and hit it to the top corner," Broccardi said. "We needed that to go in so bad."
The senior's brilliant free kick goal with 11 minutes left hoisted the Panthers to a win over the previously unbeaten Rams. Tennent had been making a name for itself with some impressive results the last few weeks.
This win firmly put the Panthers on the map.
"The infusion of youth into this team is really putting everyone on top of their game," Tennent coach Bill Hontz said. "The freshmen are showing something that's made everyone realize they have to step up. It's been a team effort from top to bottom, and the seniors are doing a nice job keeping everyone together."
Prior to Tuesday, the Rams had allowed just one goal, total, all season. Tennent led them 2-0 at the half. Even when Pennridge stormed back after halftime, Tennent's seniors knew if they continued to play with intensity, they could get back in the game.
The Panthers weren't afraid to go right at Pennridge, especially in the back and it led to some uncharacteristic miscues from the Rams. One of them led to a goal in the 10th minute when Caroline Weir forced a turnover, then found senior Ashley Rivera for the finish.
"We have speed up top and girls who want to score," Broccardi said. "Those girls get the ball up top and they think they're getting right to the goal line. It's what they do, they go to the net and keep shooting, and goalies – they can only save so much.”
Pennridge then took its turns at net, only to be denied time and time again by Jessica Jara, including a leaping save on a free kick by Ashley Groeber late in the half. Against the flow of play, Tennent got a goal from Rebecca Smith with four seconds left in the half.
"Going into the halftime speech up 2-0 to Pennridge is something I don't think many teams have done," Hontz said. "To have two goals at halftime, that was something special."
The Rams played an inspired second half, led by Abby Groff. Groff was just relentless when she was in the game, forcing three saves from Jara and second-half keeper Emily Vickalitis and just attacking over and over.
Hontz said the one thing he pleaded with his team to avoid was fouling Pennridge, but the Panthers gave one up and Groeber was happy to cash in on the free kick. The junior bombed the ball into the net, giving the Rams new life.
They followed it up two minutes later when Groff found Lindsey DeHaven, who chipped it over Vickalitis to tie the game.
"The last three years, I know if I made a mistake, I let it stick in my head and it ruined my first three years," Broccardi said. "It's my senior year and I've told myself, if you do something bad, you get back and you do what you need to do. That's what our underclassmen have done and I'm so proud of them."
Hontz credited Broccardi and senior Nikki Reh for keeping the team steady after the Rams tied it.
"BB wants to be a forward, but she's settled into being on the defense and knowing she can control the back line," Hontz said. "She's just so solid for us."
Pennridge (5-1-1, 3-1-1 SOL), which dropped into a tie with CB South atop the Continental, hosts North Penn on Thursday. Tennent (7-2, 3-2) travels to Souderton, sharing third place with the Indians.
WILLIAM TENNENT 2 1 – 3
PENNRIDGE 0 2 – 2
Goals: WT – Ashley Rivera, Rebecca Smith, Brianna Broccardi; P – Ashley Groeber, Lindsey DeHaven
Central Bucks South 1, North Penn 0
A day after a gutting loss to Neshaminy in double-overtime, the Titans rebounded with a hard-fought win.
"It was a very well-played and closely-contested game," Titans coach Betsy Bullock said. "North Penn has two very speedy forwards that our defense of Mackenzie Edwards, Amanda Krysko, Izzie Manzella and Margot Centofanti were able to neutralize."
Aleksa Peev broke the deadlock in the 60th minute after Izzy Manzella found the senior for a slotted finish into the net. Peev and sophomore Grace Tecce were responsible for most of South's offensive pressure.
Peev is one of the top forwards in the conference, and her composure has shown through plenty this season.
"She was one of our lead scorers last year, but she seems more composed this year," Bullock said. "She has always been so technically sound."
After losing to Neshaminy in a long game, the Titans showed their mettle by turning around to keep pace in the conference standings.
"They are very tenacious," Bullock said. "They're really coming together as a cohesive unit."
Maddie McShane made eight saves, including two pivotal stops coming off her line in the second half.
Central Bucks South (5-2-2, 3-1-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Thursday, and North Penn (3-5-1, 1-3-1) will travel to Pennridge on Thursday.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0 1 – 1
NORTH PENN 0 0 – 0
Goals: CBS – Aleksa Peev
Souderton 4, Central Bucks West 0
Indians coach Chris Felber knew his team had more goals in it.
Tuesday, Souderton showed he was right. Tori Dowd scored and assisted another goal as the Indians clicked on all cylinders in what Felber called "fantastic soccer to watch."
Dowd, a senior forward, picked up a fumbled ball by the keeper, feeding classmate Cara McCausland for the opening goal with 26 minutes left in the first half before scoring herself 13 minutes later on a rebound.
"She is all hustle and grit," Felber said of Dowd. "She forces her way into situations and creates opportunities for herself and others."
Dowd was far from the only Souderton player to play with some flash.
"Sara Readinger (central mid) and Campbell Power (left back) were incredibly creative today dribbling and finding passes everywhere," Felber said. "All over the field, we kept the ball extremely well and continued to work opportunities for everybody."
Readinger sprang Allie Trick for the game's third goal 15 minutes into the second half with Erin O'Keefe capping the scoring off some excellent build-up. Fullback Sam Harwick found winger Krisitn Loh, who made the final pass to O'Keefe.
"Our third and fourth goals were both very well-taken, composed finishes," Felber said. "We just need to keep that head about us and we will score two to four goals every game."
While Souderton played well, the Bucks let the Indians get away with too much.
"Souderton is a strong, fast, technical, and talented team and we did not play well and had too many players have off games. They took advantage of our mistakes, and we were never able to recover," West coach Chris Fehrle said. "Our league is too strong to have bad games against quality opponents, hopefully we learned that lesson tonight."
Souderton (7-2, 3-2 SOL) will host William Tennent on Thursday at 5 p.m., and Central Bucks West (5-5, 1-5) is off until Monday when the Bucks will host William Tennent.
SOUDERTON 2 2 – 4
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 0 – 0
Goals: S – Cara McCausland, Tori Dowd, Allie Trick, Erin O'Keefe
SOL National
Pennsbury 4, Council Rock North 1
The Falcons were jolted awake after a North score and then ran away with a win on Tuesday.
Heather McLaughlin staked the Indians to a lead midway through the first half, but Pennsbury came right back and leveled the score just two minutes later. Christine Cataldo-Smith was the catalyst for Pennsbury.
"She tied up the score with a follow-up to a Hope Drewes shot that hit the crossbar," Falcons coach Kaitlyn Battiste said. "Shortly after her tying goal,
Cataldo-Smith was on the end of a Gabby Zalot free kick for the go-ahead goal."
Cataldo-Smith wasn't done and completed a hat trick in the second half when she directed Jenna Peters' corner kick into the net.
Pennsbury iced the game with less than 10 minutes left on the clock.
"Kelsey Butler kept a free kick alive on the Indians endline, to set up Kelli Hunter's first goal of the season," Battiste said.
Set pieces provided plenty of chances for Pennsbury and a lot of agony for North.
"Pennsbury punished us for our mistakes and took advantage of their set pieces. We did some good things today but not enough for the score to be in our favor," Indians coach Gavin Flannigan said. "They deserved the win."
Pennsbury (8-1-1, 4-1 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Thursday, and Council Rock North (6-4-1, 3-3-1) will return to action on Monday when the Indians will travel to Truman.
PENNSBURY 2 2 – 4
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1 0 – 1
Goals: P – Christine Cataldo-Smith 3, Kelli Hunter; CRN – Heather McLaughlin
Council Rock South 3, Bensalem 0
The Golden Hawks got a goal from three different players before half as they took down the Owls.
Sierra Tarantino and Jordi Rubkah each scored and assisted a goal. Julia Goldberg scored the second goal while Sammy Jones assisted Rubkah on the third goal.
"We were able to get a lot of players significant minutes today, so it was truly a team effort," South coach Nick Heim said. "Emma Jones, Sophia Datsko and Erin McStravock made big contributions in the midfield, as did Maddie Ellershaw on defense."
Council Rock South (8-0-0, 5-0-0 SOL) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Bensalem (2-6-1, 1-5) will host Abington on Thursday.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3 0 – 3
BENSALEM 0 0 – 0
Goals: CRS – Sierra Tarantino, Julia Goldberg, Jordi Rubkah
Neshaminy 5, Harry S Truman 0
Neshaminy scored five times in the first 33 minutes as part of a 23-shot effort on Tuesday.
Five different players scored for Neshaminy. Just over a minute into the game Gina Sexton turned a cross from Jackie Ziegler into a goal, and three minutes later, Sexton set up a goal by Emily Tantala. Another Ziegler cross resulted in a goal by Deanna Lebotesis. Ziegler – who finished the day with a goal and two assists – connected on an unassisted goal, and then it was Alex Ziegler scoring an unassisted goal to give the Redskins their final margin of victory.
Riley Spingler and Victoria Smith were not forced to make a save in the shutout win for the Redskins, who took 23 shots
Neshaminy (5-3-1, 3-1-1 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and Harry S Truman (0-8, 0-5) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Thursday.
NESHAMINY 5 0 – 5
HARRY S TRUMAN 0 0 – 0
Goals: N – Gina Sexton, Emily Tantala, Deanna Lebotesis, Jackie Ziegler, Alex Ziegler
SOL American
Upper Dublin 3, Hatboro-Horsham 0
Tina Haig isn't an out-and-out striker, and if she's not scoring, she's doing plenty of other things for the Cardinals.
But this season, the senior has shown a knack for putting balls in the net when her team needs her to. In a disjointed first half, Haig gave UD the lead, then put another one home as the Cardinals came charging out of the break.
"She does 100 other things on the field to help us out, but for someone not playing the striker position, she scores a lot of goals," UD coach John Topper said. "If she goes one or two games without scoring, we don't worry, but she is someone who has stepped up and been integral to a lot of our wins."
Haig scored in the 42nd minute, with Emily Booth following up a minute later to give the Cardinals a commanding lead.
Upper Dublin has been a stout defensive team all season and the trend continued on Tuesday. Topper cited the play of Sascha Keitz and Laura Pendleton in the middle of the defense, but also outside backs Katie King and Erin O'Brien.
O'Brien, a senior, was especially impactful.
"She plays right back and made a number of timely tackles and was just great in her individual battles, as was Katie King," Topper said. "She's stepping up and being a little more of a leader, a little more vocal out there. She's really just a solid back you don't have to worry about."
The Cardinals (7-0-1, 6-0-0 SOL) face Upper Moreland on Thursday, then host North Penn on Friday. Hatboro-Horsham (3-5, 3-3) will host Cheltenham on Thursday at 3:45 p.m.
UPPER DUBLIN 1 2 – 3
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 0 – 0
Goals: UD – Tina Haig 2, Emily Booth
Wissahickon 6, Upper Moreland 3
The Trojans shook off a slow start and got their offense rolling.
Alexis Smith scored three goals, Lieke Black had a brace and Wissahickon overwhelmed the Golden Bears to take a 4-1 lead at the half. The three-goal lead held up as the teams traded scores after halftime.
Meghan O'Donnell staked UM to a lead 10 minutes into the game, but the Trojans were sparked by Smith, their senior co-captain.
"Alexis Smith put Wissahickon on the board at 25:48 finding the lower 90 on a set piece," Trojans’ coach Shannon Creamer-Franke said. "This seemed to breathe life into her team as the Trojans then figured it out and started to string together their passes and play combinations."
Carly Amato played a pair of expert passes to set up the next two goals, with Black putting her team up, then Smith knocking in the third goal with Black ready to pounce on any rebounds.
"Toward end the half, Sam Comonitski hit a beauty from well outside the 18," Creamer-Franke said.
Wissahickon put three goals on the board in three minutes to close out the half.
"In the end, that is what gave us the loss today," Golden Bears coach Lisa Benvenuto said. "In the second half we played much more evenly with the second half score being 2-2."
Black and Smith each scored in the second half to make sure the Trojans closed out the win. Maddie Gerlach (Sarah Veneziale assist) and Katherine Morrow each had a goal for the Golden Bears.
“Maddie Gerlach’s header off the corner was a huge lift for us,” Benvenuto said. “We worked hard and Katherine Morrow was able to convert on a breakaway.”
Wissahickon (2-6, 2-4 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township on Thursday, and Upper Moreland (3-6, 1-5) will host Upper Dublin on Thursday.
WISSAHICKON 4 2 – 6
UPPER MORELAND 1 2 – 3
Goals: W – Alexis Smith 3, Lieke Black 2, Sam Comonitski; UM – Meghan O'Donnell, Maddie Gerlach, Katherine Morrow
Plymouth Whitemarsh 6, Cheltenham 1
The Colonials scored four times after the break to turn a close game into a resounding victory.
Ali Diamond scored on a penalty kick then assisted Sarah Putsch in the first half to give PW a lead against Ella Brown's goal for the Panthers. Natalie Lannie scored twice while Alyse Caffrey and Catie Branscome both scored after halftime for the Colonials.
"We worked hard from start to finish," PW coach Ryan Zehren said. "It was a team win. Everyone did their job to get the overall job done."
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-2, 4-1 SOL) will host Quakertown on Thursday, and Cheltenham (1-5, 1-4) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 2 4 – 6
CHELTENHAM 1 0 – 1
Goals: PW – Ali Diamond, Sarah Putsch, Natalie Lannie 2, Alyse Caffrey, Catie Branscome; C – Ella Brown
Quakertown 5, Springfield Twp 0
Kyra Handel's season worth of hard work paid off for the Panthers.
The midfielder netted a brace to lead Quakertown's offensive effort. Ashley Gluck and Haley Pursel each scored and assisted a goal while Sam Barkholz also found the back of the net. Melina Jagiello and Katie Moyer provided assists.
"Handel is a crazy, hard-working outside mid that does a lot of the inglorious stuff," Quakertown coach Mike Koch said. "Nice for her to make the stat sheet with two goals that were the result of her trademark hard work."
Koch also cited the play of center back Becha Fox on the defensive end of the field while keeper Morgan Small posted her fifth straight shutout in goal.
Quakertown (7-2, 5-1 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday, and Springfield Township (2-6, 1-5) will host Upper Merion in a non-league game on Thursday.
Goals: Q – Kyra Handel 2, Ashley Gluck, Haley Pursel, Sam Barkholz
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