Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action Wednesday. CB East/CB South photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Liberty
Upper Dublin 2, Wissahickon 1 (OT)
Last year, the SOL Liberty’s defining trend was the high, high number of one-goal games played between its six members. Wednesday’s first round of division play had a similar feel as all three games were decided by a single goal, though it was the Cardinals with the most dramatic as they used an overtime winner to edge their next-door rivals.
Both of UD’s wins this year have come at home and come in overtime, maybe not a trend they’d like to rely on every game, but
Scoring summary
2nd half
UD – Rosie Sitman (Morgan Walsh)
W – Lila Marciniak
OT
UD – Peyton Ward (Sophia Sirianni)
UD coach John Topper on the win: “I was really pleased with the way we came out in the first half. We were in Wissahickon’s end for what felt like the better part of that half, we were doing well in all phases of the game but having trouble finding the back of the net. Going to the half, it was 0-0 and we were a little frustrated we didn’t find the back of the net, but the girls had played well. We talked at halftime, and they came out firing.”
–Opening score: “Rosie Sitman finished on a nice ball from Morgan Walsh. Rosie was a big presence all day, she was dangerous at times, which is what we needed her to do but also slow the pace down and find the smart passes, so it was good to see her get on the score sheet.”
–OT winner: “A little more than halfway through the first overtime, Peyton Ward settled a nice ball that was crossed in by Sophia Sirianni for a composed finish to the bottom corner.”
–Standouts: “Shannon Connaughton, she had a lockdown game at left back. Morgan Walsh was dangerous down the right flank all day, she played in a lot dangerous balls we just didn’t get on the end of. Abby O’Meara and Erin Seabrook bossed the midfield, we won a lot of the possession in that area, but they were also able to drive forward and find some smart passes.”
Up next: Upper Dublin (2-2, 1-0 SOL) hosts Abington at 3:30 on Friday. Wissahickon (3-1, 0-1) visits Plymouth Whitemarsh at 3:30 on Friday.
UPPER DUBLIN 0 1 1 – 2
WISSAHICKON 0 1 0 – 1
Abington 2, Hatboro-Horsham 1
The Ghosts and Hatters have been no strangers to battling late into the season for the spot atop the division table. Both sides are still figuring themselves out a bit this fall, each team having lost some key players to graduation, but that didn’t take anything away from their first tilt this season.
A few days off did Abington good, the Ghosts limping out of a rugged opening slate but getting healthy over the long weekend to put together a solid first 40 minutes. It was needed as the Hatters tried all they could to try and snag at least a share of the points.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Half
A – Alexis Whaley (Hannah Gilchrist)
A – Nya Riggs (Marissa Hellyer)
2nd Half
HH – Mya Stevens (Ryleigh White)
Abington coach Rick Tompkins on the win: “Today we were a little healthier and that made a big difference. We’re not that deep yet, so the long weekend helped us a lot, we got four girls back. Second half, we hit the post twice, missed a penalty kick and gave up a goal then all of a sudden, we were in a dog fight. Hatboro’s not going to quit, it’s just the style of play they bring, but we were able to hang on. We needed it.”
–Midfield standout: “We moved the ball very well, Marissa Hellyer completed 35 passes and only gave it away twice, plus she had an assist and four shots, so she really dominated the game.”
–Defensive stand: “It starts with Madison Oldham and Sara Kaeser. Those center backs, they dictate what’s going to take place and they buckled down when we needed them to. Madison especially was very, very good today, when she wins the ball, she makes sure we keep it. They did a lot of really good things for us.”
–Growing attack: “Those three up front – Alexis Whaley, Hannah Gilchrist and Addison Doyle – they don’t have a lot of starting experience, but they do have varsity experience. Addison and Alexis have an ability to hold the ball while Hannah, she takes people on, and she makes that offense go.”
Hatboro-Horsham coach Chris Artman on the match: “We came out flat and our effort was not up to our standard in the first half. The second half we were much better and created more scoring chances. Senior keeper Molly Donaldson came up big stopping a PK keeping us in the game.”
Hatters’ goal: “Our goal came on a great individual effort by junior midfielder Ryleigh White who beat her player and ripped a shot to the far post. The Abington keeper got her hands on the shot, but the rebound was hammered home by senior Mya Stevens.”
Up next: Abington visits Upper Dublin at 3:30 on Friday. Hatboro-Horsham treks to Quakertown at 3:30 on Friday.
ABINGTON 2 0 – 2
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 1 – 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2, Quakertown 1
The Colonials walked off the field at halftime on Wednesday looking defeated. With 40 minutes still to play, it was not a place they could afford to stay for long, especially with a confident Quakertown team on the other side.
PW’s first brush with adversity this season put a question in front of the team, one that it answered resoundingly in the second 40 minutes. Those Colonials looked much different when they walked off the field a second time.
Scoring summary
1st half
Q – Ashlyn Calabria
2nd half
PW – Maddie McGuckien (Liv Patete)
PW – Marleigh Burton (Maddi Lazarof)
PW coach TJ DeLucia on the win: “Our first half was really poor. We had two really strong practices leading up to this game, so I was a tad surprised. That being said, this was our first league game, and we knew that Quakertown was going to come out strong, coming off the CB West win…so, this being a new team in their first league match – you never know how they’re going to react. And we didn’t react well at all to being punched in the mouth. Quakertown was stronger, faster, was first to second balls, etc. in the first half. They scored about 15 min into the game when we lost a kid on coming from the far post.
“The team walked into halftime with really poor body language. We had a nice, long conversation at half – made a few adjustments and to this team’s credit, played a completely different game in the second half. We gave ourselves a lot of opportunities in the second half, and I think had eight corners overall to their one.”
–The tying goal: “Maddie McGuckien scored her fourth goal of the season with about 17 minutes left in the game off of a Liv Patete corner kick. Maddie played strong the entire game in midfield. Quakertown certainly targeted her, and she did a really nice job keeping her composure. Her and I spoke before the game about this being an 80-minute game and I need her for all 80. She is completely driven to succeed, and she demands a lot from her teammates. But, the coaches are asking a lot from her. She’s delivered thus far in the season.”
–Game-winning goal: “With nine minutes left in the game, junior Marleigh Burton scored her second of the season off of a Maddi Lazaroff assist. Marleigh has been one of our best players, day in and day out at practice. She did not have her best half in the first half. She was outstanding in the second half. She continues to make things happen with her energy and work rate. She has really high expectations for herself this season so if those two things remain consistent, good things will continue to happen for her.”
–Crediting the assists: “Sophomore Liv Patete is someone who came on strong at the end of last season, coming up from JV. We’re moving her around a lot this year – trying to find the right spot for her. She has two goals and an assist now through three games.
“Sophomore Maddi Lazaroff is a starting-caliber player who we are bringing off the bench. She’s had to make that sacrifice for the team so that she can come on and change a game 15 minutes in. She had an incredible second half at Methacton in our opener, and I thought today, really put a full game together. She did the defensive work that we asked of her and then was dangerous getting forward. I think she’ll continue to improve as the season goes on and her confidence grows.”
–Defensive effort: “Our new backline was tested today, really for the first time all season. We played six different kids today to mixed results. We have total belief in everyone we’re playing on defense but there’s a lot of inexperience. So, I think, the more varsity game time they receive – the better they’ll be. We saw it today as all six really dug in in the second half when their number was called.
Our new goalkeeper, junior Olivia Bragg, was not at fault for their goal and did a nice job cleaning up balls in the box.”
Up next: Quakertown (2-1, 0-1 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham at 3:30 on Friday. PW (3-0, 1-0) hosts Wissahickon at 3:30 on Friday.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 2 – 2
QUAKERTOWN 1 0 – 1
SOL Patriot
Council Rock South 2, Pennsbury 0
The Golden Hawks and Falcons have played a lot of games over the years, plenty of them having quite a bit on the line, but there had never been one like Wednesday.
Pennsbury’s recently revamped stadium played host to the Golden Hawks under the lights for the first time, setting the stage for an important SOL opener for both. A couple well-taken goals and a gritty defense effort by South stopped Pennsbury’s unbeaten run to start the season as the visitors had a night debut to remember in Fairless Hills.
Scoring Summary
1st half
CRS – Macy Laidlaw
2nd half
CRS – Teagan Shay
CR South coach Nick Heim on the win: “It was a cool atmosphere, it was the first time we’d played at Pennsbury on their campus with the new turf at night. We jumped on them early, about two minutes in, we had a nice little string of possession and Macy Laidlaw from just outside the 18 was able to put one in the far upper 90. After that we settled in, maybe a little too much, because Pennsbury created a couple chances. They’re good on set pieces, they have been the 15 years I’ve been coaching, and Ella Mayberry in goal came up with a really big save for us.”
–Second half: “We didn’t make too many adjustments, we just said we were playing a little too frantic when we were on the ball, so let’s settle down and play our game. They started 
throwing numbers forward and we were in our defensive third a little longer than we would have liked but eventually we started to create a number of chancess in the second half.”
–Second goal: “With about 12 minutes to go, Gianna Kirlin found Teagan Shay on a late run. Teagan settled it, beat one player then went one on one with the keeper and it was a really, really composed finish. It was that dead-on angle a lot of high school kids can struggle with but she was really poised in front of goal and calmly slotted it in.”
–Standouts: “Our back line in the second half was dealing with a lot of longer services coming in, which can be challenging. Carly McCory, Fiona Reckner, Juliette Salvi and Krissy Philip really came up big, they were solid and calm in the back, they weren’t just hammering it out to give up throw-ins or anything, they were trying to find feet and play through possession.”
Up next: Pennsbuy (4-1-1, 0-1 SOL) hosts Harry S Truman at 4 on Friday. CR South (2-1, 1-0) hosts Neshaminy at 3:30 on Friday
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1 1 – 2
PENNSBURY 0 0 – 0
Neshaminy 5, Bensalem 0
For the second time in as many days, the Neshaminy attack generated five goals. Twins Kylie and Taylor Maxwell were again on the front foot, responsible for three goals with all coming from one of the sisters assisting the other.
The Neshaminy backline also did its fair share, posting the shutout while also helping the offense through a goal and assist credited to defender Cassidy Tweedie.
Scoring Summary
1st half
N – Taylor Maxwell (Kylie Maxwell) 22:40
N – Kylie Maxwell (Taylor Maxwell) 19:00
2nd half
N – Kylie Maxwell (Taylor Maxwell) 28:57
N – Cassidy Tweedie (Aislyn Fitzgerald) 20:10
N – Anna Axenroth (Cassidy Tweedie) 17:30
Neshaminy coach Josh Van Reed on the win: “Bensalem is well coached, their girls are organized, and it is never a team to be taken lightly. They always give us a tough time. If you allow them to have opportunities, they will finish them. This was our first league game of the season, and we wanted to jump out ahead. We have been moving the ball well and a lot of credit has to be given to our outside midfielders Allie Ortman and Anna Axenroth for keeping us wide. The field is narrow, and it allowed us to switch the play through the defense and midfield.”
–Standouts: “Kylie, Abby and Taylor did a great job finding each other and linking up, Keira Siwinski won a lot of balls for us in the midfield. Defense – Cassidy Tweedie, Emerson Rooney, Natalie Weidle, Natalie Cimochowski and Lilly Kaczmarek – did a great job minimizing shots and helping us earn a clean sheet today.”
–Goal highlights: “1st goal- Kylie received the ball in the corner, drove endline dropped the ball back to 18, Taylor hit a ball in the lower corner
2nd goal- Taylor took a shot that the keeper deflected and Kylie tucked it in.
3rd goal- Taylor slid a ball in behind the defense and the keeper came out to get it, Kylie beat her to it and was able to turn and finish.
4th goal – Cassidy Tweedie header off a corner near post.
5th goal- Anna received a through ball, beat her defender and finished.”
Up next: Bensalem (0-2, 0-1 SOL) hosts Council Rock North at 3:30 on Friday. Neshaminy (5-1, 1-0) visits Council Rock South at 3:30 on Friday.
NESHAMINY 2 3 – 5
BENSALEM 0 0 – 0
Council Rock North 9, Harry S Truman 0
Freshman Sarina Igval scored twice along with two for Audrey Rogan. Claire Kelly scored her first Varsity goal. Isabel Diaz had a goal and two assists, Ashley Barone and Reese Ludwig rounded out our scoring. Goalkeepers Ellie Beldowicz , Sophia Mills, Reese Ludwig & Audrey Rogan combined for the shutout.
Up next: CR North (4-1, 1-0 SOL) visits Bensalem at 3:30 on Friday. Truman (0-4, 0-1) visits Pennsbuy at 4 on Friday.
SOL Colonial
Central Bucks East 2, Central Bucks South 1 (2 OT)
Jessie Bernabe is the type of player a coach can ask to do anything and expect a good result. Last year, it meant playing the wing at times and at fullback on defense at others, asked to create and score goals as much as defending chances and preventing scores.
Wednesday night, the Patriots needed someone to be clutch in the second overtime of their first division game of the season. Bernabe’s skills have earned a spot at the University of Buffalo next year but for now, East is pretty happy she’s got that clutch gene among her other skills as the senior delivered a game-winner in the waning moments of the match.
SCORING SUMMARY
2nd half
CBE – Ava Mignon (Mia Forney) 30:06
CBS – Olivia Wade 3:00
2nd OT
CBE – Jessie Bernabe (Mia Forney) 4:00
CB East coach Jake Nesteruk on the win: “This was exactly the type of game we needed and proud of our group for pulling out a result. I thought we were excellent in the first half – the best we played so far this year and created enough to finish one or two good chances. South’s keeper came up with a lights-out diving save on a Mia Forney header to keep the first half at 0-0. We knew going into the second half, South was going to make some adjustments and try to press a bit more.”
–Opening goal: “Credit to the movement of Mia Forney, Kiera Sleicher, and lastly Ava Mignon for creating our first goal. Ava had a huge game for
us, on both sides of the ball, and to see her score that goal was great.”
–OT Winner: “I thought the game got a bit leggy and frenetic, but I thought we had just enough shape in us to push for something. With a little over four minutes remaining, the ball was played wide by Stella Genin out to Mia Forney who drove down the right flank, cut back along the end line, and Jessie just finished clinically. She’s a kid who’s been delivering in the biggest of moments over the past three years, and there’s no better feeling getting one in a rivalry game in double OT.”
–East standouts: “I thought Sydney Ralph and Savannah Hayes earned their spots tonight. Really gritty performances in moments, and in possession, exactly what we needed them to be. Madelyn Hill and Stella Genin turned in great shifts tonight, and our Roumy twins – Taylor and Ella – played top games.”
CB South coach Pat Lordi on the match: “The team played a spectacular game against a really good CB East team. Our commitment to defend was impressive. The back line played an outstanding game led by Alana Peev, Delaney Rowe, Kelly Donnelly and Grace Keane. The game was equalized on a corner kick volley from Olivia Wade. It was a complete team effort that will hopefully help our development as a team moving forward.”
Up next: CB East (3-0, 1-0 SOL) visits Pennridge at 3:30 on Friday. CB South (3-2, 0-1) visits North Penn at 3:15 on Friday.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 1 0 1 – 2
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0 1 0 0 – 1
Central Bucks West 4, North Penn 1
It was an early season check for the Bucks.
After losing to Quakertown in a high-intensity match last week, West found itself trailing by a goal on its home field halfway through its SOL opener. The Bucks coaches believe there’s plenty of heart, plenty of fight and plenty of confidence in their roster and the players had their chance to prove in the second half.
Junior Emery Sterling’s brace and energy set the tone as West rallied to a big second half and a needed win to open the SOL table seating.
Scoring Summary
1st half
NP – Maddy Murphy
2nd half
CBW – Emery Sterling
CBW – Anna McGrath (Kira Winn)
CBW – Emery Sterling (Cam Nocito)
CBW – Eva Wierzbowski
CB West coach Bree Benedict on the win: “The team has been experiencing some adversity in our recent games. On Thursday we came back but then ended up losing late. Today our team went down early and struggled to find rhythm and confidence but found a way to come back and finish the game. We are really proud of their response and growth.”
Sparking a comeback: “Emery Sterling started the comeback with an early goal. It was a real CB West hustle play and Emery just worked hard to chase it down, she collected a deflection off the goalie way outside the box and finished from some distance. Emery continued to stay on the hunt and created our second goal, tracking back to cause a turnover that led to a through ball from Kira Winn to Anna McGrath who slotted it low into the far post corner.”
West’s strong finish: “Our next goal came off a great cross from Cam Nocito who found Emery back post, backpedaling at the 18. Emery just hit a perfect shot fading out that just beat the keeper. Our final goal was a great pass from Kaia Ward to Emery who nearly had a hat trick, but the ball hit off the post to an onrushing Eva Wierzbowski who somehow kept the shot down to score our fourth goal. North Penn was solid all night, they have great speed and a tough defense.”
CB West junior Emery Sterling “It was a rough first half, but the team came together at halftime to motivate each other, and we knew that we needed to step up our game. It felt great to get the goal early in the second half and it really fired up the whole team. We had lots of momentum and were just able to execute like we worked on in practice. I was really proud of our response.”
CB West senior Eva Wierzbowski “I knew we were pressing really hard and controlling the game, so I made it my goal to sneak one into the net. As I saw my teammate dribble down the sideline, I knew I had to be there for the tap in. I saw it hit off Cam and bounce right out for me, it was a perfect set up for our fourth goal to close out our goals. I’m so happy with my team and how we responded today.”
Up next: North Penn (1-4, 0-1 SOL) hosts Central Bucks South at 3:15 on Friday. CB West (4-1, 1-0) hosts Souderton at 3:30 on Friday.
NORTH PENN 1 0 – 1
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 4 – 4
Pennridge 2, Souderton 1
The halftime score, which read Souderton 1 – Pennridge 0, was certainly eye-opening.
Caitlyn Peace’s sixth goal of the season kicked off a comeback, capped by Camryn Snyder notching her first varsity goal for the eventual game-winner. The Rams have faced several tests already this season and facing an unfamiliar scenario of being down a goal at the half, they came up with another positive response.
Scoring Summary
1st half
S – Gabriella Longacre 9:27
2nd half
P – Caitlyn Peace (Jessie Moylan) 18:28
P – Camryn Snyder (Addy Mills) 13:26
Pennridge coach Audrey Anderson on the win: “I thought the girls learned a lot about themselves tonight. We had to battle hard all over the field and fight for every opportunity. I thought we did a great job at staying composed and working together.
“At halftime we were able to make some adjustments that helped us create some more goal scoring opportunities.”
Rams standouts: “I thought Gabby Herrmann was fantastic tonight. She was really good at winning the first ball and was not afraid to dribble. Emma Shaeffer was really strong in the second half and was able to create some dangerous opportunities for us in the final third.
“I thought the players in our team and bench area were incredibly positive with what they were saying to the players on the field.”
Up next: Pennridge (4-0, 1-0 SOL) hosts Central Bucks East at 7 on Friday. Souderton (2-2, 0-1) heads to Central Bucks West at 3:30 on Friday.
PENNRIDGE 0 2 – 2
SOUDERTON 1 0 – 1
SOL Freedom
Lower Moreland 7, Cheltenham 0
The Lions’ attack was on the same page in Wednesday’s SOL Freedom opener while the defensive unit posted a shutout as it continues to build continuity in the early part of the season.
Scoring Summary
1st Half
LM – Shannon Mahon (Nikki Sahl)
LM – Shannon Mahon (Kenna Rozanski)
LM – Emma Leibert (PK)
LM – Emma Leibert
2nd Half
LM – Kenna Rozanski (Ruby Levin)
LM – Ruby Levin (Kenna Rozanski)
LM – Quinn Rozanski (Emma Leibert)
LM coach Todd Hill on the win: “Another good team win for our girls. We had some things we wanted to keep improving on in this game, and the girls worked hard to grow. Our back line has been doing a lot of work to improve early in the season and Agnes Kroll, Keira Huber, Violet Levin and Gabby Fogarty showed some improvement working as a unit today.”
Up next: Lower Moreland (2-1, 1-0 SOL) visits Springfield Twp at 3:30 on Friday. Cheltenham (0-4, 0-1) visits William Tennent at 3:30 on Friday.
LOWER MORELAND 4 3 – 7
CHELTENHAM 0 0 – 0
Springfield Twp 3, New Hope-Solebury 0
The Spartans got their first win of the season at an opportune time with the start of SOL play. A young Springfield Twp team, which features four freshmen in its starting lineup, didn’t have the results but had felt confident in its play.
Wednesday showed there was plenty of reason for that optimism.
Scoring Summary
1st Half
ST – Murphy McGranaghan
2nd Half
ST – Zoe Ferrante (Ava Brnich)
ST – Liz Hanushchak
Spartans coach Chris Tomarelli: “Olivia Gatewood and Jocelyn Davis, earned a well-deserved shutout. Springfield will look to continue their momentum as they host Lower Moreland on Friday.”
Up next: Springfield Twp (1-2, 1-0 SOL) hosts Lower Moreland at 3:30 on Friday. New Hope-Solebury (0-3, 0-1) hosts Upper Moreland at 3:30 on Friday.
SPRINGFIELD TWP 1 2 – 3
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0 0 – 0
William Tennent 6, Upper Moreland 3
Goals, goals and more goals was the story of a second half that saw the Panthers and Golden Bears combine for seven of the nine total tallies registered in their SOL Freedom opener. Tennent’s offense had its second outing of five or more goals through four games, showing there’s plenty of firepower left for an attack that had to replace some of its top names from last fall. UM fell short on the scoreboard, but the second half showed the Bears won’t be an easy out all season and their new-look attack has some claws to it as well.
Scoring Summary
1st half
WT – Grace Bochnak (Bailey Kasner) 32:35
WT – Grace Bochnak (Bailey Kasner) 39:43
2nd half
WT – Bailey Kasner (Sofia Jakimoski) 6:02
UM – Maggie Brophy (Annalise Messina)
UM – Brogan Neely (Maggie Brophy)
WT – Sami Roby 17:40
WT – Sofia Jakimoski 29:00
UM – Brogan Neely (Madeline Cox)
WT – Sofia Jakimoski (PK) 39:07
Goalkeeper saves:
UM – Gracie Costello 6 saves
WT – Aubri Maldonado 8 saves
William Tennent coach Elise Jara on the win: “This was our first divisional game of the season, and it was crucial for us to get off to a good start. Sofia Jakimoski had a strong game in the middle of the field and added a couple of goals as well. Her second goal was a PK which was awarded due to her hard play on the ball. Grace Bochnak had two goals as well, both off of a nicely played seam passes from Bailey Kasner.”
–WT standouts: “Alena Beer had a nice game and contributed in several positions on the field. It certainly helps to have a player that can transition into different positions and be effective in all of them. Our middle back of Sami Roby and Lia Jablonowski were solid as always and were able to help keep Upper Moreland’s offense at bay.”
Upper Moreland coach Lisa Benvenuto on the match: “We knew coming into today’s game that William Tennent was going to play us strong. They are very organized in their attack and their transition. We were able to get a few opportunities in the first half but were unable to finish any of them. At the half, we were down 2-0. We made a few changes to our system, talked about the fight that we were going to have to put up to get back in this game, and we did. Although the score shows a three-goal deficit, we were right in this game with Tennent.
“There is this innate factor in the culture of Upper Moreland girls’ soccer, and it is the grit and determination to never give up. When you look at the numbers, we lost the second half by a goal. We didn’t get on the board until the 60th minute of play and truly fought right up until the end. I am proud of the intensity our girls showed, it tells you a lot about this team’s character.”
UM standouts: “We had really strong play from Madeline Cox, Brogan Neely, and Maggie Brophy. The three were able to play off each other really well. Adding to the mix was Leah King and Keiley Hawk who both worked their way into the offensive transition and defensive drops. We were able to walk off the pitch today with some knowledge about ourselves, we know what we need to work on and improve upon, and we will continue to use each game as an opportunity to grow as a team.”
Up next: Upper Moreland (2-1, 0-1 SOL) visits New Hope-Solebury at 3:30 on Friday. Willliam Tennent (3-1, 1-0) hosts Cheltenham at 3:30 on Friday.
WILLIAM TENNNET 2 4 – 6
UPPER MORELAND 0 3 – 3
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