Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Wednesday. CB West/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f131331739
SOL Colonial/Patriot Crossovers
Central Bucks East 2, Council Rock North 0
In a battle of first-place teams, CB East showed its mettle with a huge 2-0 shutout of visiting CR North on Wednesday.
“All around, just a really great, clean game of soccer,” said Patriots’ coach Josh Isaacsohn. “Massive respect and props to Joe Stackhouse and his guys. Very, very organized and came out ready to play, but we just had a little more physicality about us. It was just really well done. We earned a lot of corner kicks, and again, our defense held it down well.”
Both of the Patriots’ goals came in the first half, starting with one by Koen Rein 13 minutes in.
“We earned a corner kick and Joey Roth placed a really nice, near-post ball to Koen Reid, who finished it for the goal,” Isaacsohn said. “It was a really nice head ball goal.”
In the 35th minute, Roth scored one himself.
“We had a free kick from 45-50 yards out, and Will Zlogar, who has been serving really nice balls from the back as our center back, had the ball on the ground and served it in,” Isaacsohn said. “Joey Roth did a beautiful job using his body to hold off the guy and just turned and rifled it home.
“At halftime, we talked about keeping that shutout, and that’s what they did. We knew they were going to push some guys up, which they did. They had a few more opportunities, but again, I just thought we played really well and probably could have had another one or two.
“Again, it was just a really, really good game all around between two good teams. I’ve got to be honest, I was up about three in the morning worrying about this one. It was good."
There were a lot of players who earned praise after this win.
“Joey Roth, who I mentioned, and we always give props to our defenders - Reese Davis, Wes Myers and Will Ziogar,” Isaacsohn said. “But today, in particular, Wes Myers really picked up his play and did a great job in his position, so we were really proud of him back there.”
With the win, CB East improved to 11-1 overall and remained unbeaten in SOL play with a 11-0 record. It hosts rival CB West on Friday.
CR North (9-1-2, 8-1-2 SOL) hosts Harry S. Truman on Friday.
CR North 0 0 - 0
CB East 2 0 - 2
Central Bucks West 3, Neshaminy 1
With a big one on deck Friday at CB East, CB West couldn’t afford to overlook Neshaminy and it didn’t, earning a big win at home Wednesday in the teams’ final crossover game.
“I have to start off by giving Neshaminy credit because they’ve been on the wrong side of a bunch of close games and on a different day, could’ve picked up points
against us and against East last week,” said Bucks coach John Adair. “(I’m) really proud of the way we started tonight. As a staff, we knew that we couldn’t look past this game and had to try to keep the boys focused on the task at hand rather than looking forward to East on Friday.”
The Bucks got on the board first.
“To the boys’ credit, they were up for it from the opening whistle, and our pressing forced a mistake early which Jason Lee tucked away before they could really settle into the game,” Adair said. “That was huge for us as we’ve gone behind in so many games this year and have had to be the team responding to an early goal.
“Honestly, we didn’t play our best today, but we’ve really emphasized being the better team in both boxes as of late and today we were. We didn’t create as many chances as we would’ve liked today but it was great to see us finishing when we did.”
The Bucks took a 1-0 lead into halftime. Joey Dowd scored twice in the second half to put the game away.
“There’s so many individuals that have taken massive steps forward in their development,” Adair said. “Jace Peterson, for example, has really grown into a presence at the back for us that makes sure the group is switched on and has been as steady as it gets at the back after a slower start to the season.
“Joey Dowd was massive for us again. His goal early in the second half gave us some breathing room and quickly after we conceded, he gave us back a two-goal cushion. I know personally I’ve been really tough and asked a lot of him. He’s a two-year starter as a left back and midfielder, and
this year, we’ve asked him to play higher up the field and be someone that we can play through and create chances for and off of. He’s had moments where he’s been really good, but this was the most well-rounded and complete performance.
“Andres Reyes-Garcia deserves a shout as well. We’ve brought him up due to some injuries, and in his first varsity minutes tonight, he really caused some problems for them. He’s trained really well and I’m really proud and happy for him because he’s a great kid that’s earned his opportunity.”
On the other side, Neshaminy was right there with the Bucks the whole time, and even cut it to 2-1 at one point, but the Redskins were snakebit by mistakes.
“We played really hard, but we make big mistakes, and we’re not a team that can afford to make mistakes,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said. “We’re young, and it’s a big learning job for us this year.
“Once we figured out what West tried to do - they love to play diagonal balls, and we kind of minimized that - we didn’t really give them many good chances.
“(On our goal), a team finally gave us a gift. They did an own goal on one of Jack Sexton’s long throw-ins. We’re owed a lot of those. We’ve been generous to other teams.
“Hats off to West. They’re big and strong and fast. They utilized their speed to their benefit, and in the end, they deserved to win. Granted, we made it a little easier than it should have been. They’re a nice team. We worked hard, but we’ve got to eliminate the big mistakes."
CB West (8-5, 8-3 SOL) travels to CB East for a 5 p.m. start on Friday.
Neshaminy (3-9-1, 2-8-1 SOL) hosts rival Pennsbury on Friday.
Neshaminy 0 1 - 1
CB West 1 2 - 3
Central Bucks South 3, Pennsbury 0
The Titans dominated play in the first half, opening up a 2-0 lead, and celebrated Senior Night with an impressive shutout win over visiting Pennsbury.
“Senior Night couldn’t have gone any better,” said CB South coach Kyle Pettican. “The boys played probably the best I have seen them play all season in the first half today. Everyone worked hard, moved off the ball, played 1-2 touch in every direction.”
Midway through the first half, CB South got on the scoreboard with a Nate MacLeod goal, “after some beautiful link-up play from pretty much the whole team. Some east to west, short, short, long type play that found Nate about 20-25 yards out, ripping a shot that flew over the keeper.
“We made it (2-0) before the half when Pat Chrzanowski found himself in a race with the last defender chasing the ball going towards the keeper. The ball was bouncing awkwardly, but Pat was able to stay composed and knock it over the top of him.”
In the second half, the Titans went up 3-0 and finished off the Falcons.
“(Up) 2-0 at the break, and we were playing so well that we lost ourselves a little in the second half,” Pettican said. “I think because of the circumstances everyone was trying to get on the scoresheet.
“We eventually made it 3-0 halfway through the second half when Christian Canally broke down the left-hand side and went 1-on-1 with the keeper. He had a very nice deft dink over the keeper to the back-side netting.”
Pettican also credited the play of Paul VanLuvanee and Connor Victor, in goal and on defense, respectively.
CB South (8-2-1, 7-2-1 SOL) is on the road Friday at Souderton.
Pennsbury (2-9-2, 2-7-2 SOL) plays at Neshaminy Friday afternoon.
Pennsbury 0 0 - 0
CB South 2 1 – 3
Pennridge 3, Bensalem 2
Despite falling behind early, Pennridge turned it on later in the first half, tied it up and then put the game away in the second half for the crossover win against visiting Bensalem on Wednesday.
“It was a really physical, hard-fought game for both teams,” said Rams coach Aaron Rapsinski. “We went down early in the first half. It was a decent strike but took a weird bounce and we weren’t able to wrangle it.
“We responded well and really dominated the rest of the half. We had four or five really good chances that their goalie either made a really good save on or we just missed.
“We were able to tie it up about 15 minutes into the first half. Oak Boone scored off a Pat Fannon free kick.”
Matt Wheaton scored Bensalem’s first-half goal, with Humza Baig picking up the assist.
“I feel like we got a little complacent, and Pennridge just continued to play and they tied it up 1-1,” said Owls coach Kevin Bock.
Midway through the second half, the Rams went up 2-1 on a David Le goal.
“Oak Boone flicked a ball off a free kick and David Le was there to tuck it away,” Rapsinski said. ”We scored another with about six minutes left. Troy Thanel made a great run into the box and Sal D’Aquino found him. Troy hammered it home.
“Bensalem didn’t give up though. Even though their keeper was sent off and they were down to 10, they were able to pull one back with 2 minutes left to make it 3-2 but we were able to fight them off.”
Wheaton also had Bensalem’s second goal.
“We were down their throats a little bit but couldn’t find the tying goal,” Bock said. “I think Matt is our leading scorer, and he’s been scoring goals, but we’ve been working on him trying to find his shot, and he was able to find that today. It was a good game for him."
Pennridge (5-8, 4-7 SOL) is back home Friday afternoon against North Penn.
Bensalem (3-8, 3-8 SOL) plays at Council Rock South on Friday.
Bensalem 1 1 - 2
Pennridge 1 2 - 3
North Penn 4, Harry S Truman 0
On Senior Night, 14 seniors stepped on the field for the Knights, and they delivered with the shutout win over visiting Truman.
“But it was a junior Bruno Brnardic who scored twice with two low hard shots off the dribble,” said North Penn coach Chris DePeppe. “And his brother, Nino, made his first appearance this season after suffering a broken leg in summer ball. Great to see the Brnardic boys roaming the midfield together.”
Diego Castellanos scored on a header off a corner kick for the third goal, while Matt Haines scored the team’s fourth goal.
“Truman deserves a lot of credit for playing every game with passion and they are much improved from last season,” DePeppe said.
Seniors Troy Nine and Connor Harrington shared time in goal with sophomore Brady Schwengels, combining for the shutout.
North Penn (5-5-2, 4-4-2 SOL) next plays Friday at Pennridge.
Truman (0-12, 0-11 SOL) plays at CR North Friday.
Truman 0
NP 4
Council Rock South 5, Souderton 1
The Golden Hawks started quickly and never looked back in this one, earning a quality win over Souderton in their final game of the crossover portion of the SOL schedule.
Five minutes into the game, Mike Burns scored off a Frankie Rafferty assist, and 20 minutes later, the Hawks had upped that lead to 3-0, thanks to goals from Reid Vandemark (Giorgi Shinjiashvili assist) and Burns (George Simon assist). The Golden Hawks, who took that 3-0 lead into halftime, were dominant in the first half and scored timely goals.
“Our intensity and focus was very good tonight, and we kept Souderton on the back foot for much of the game,” Rock South coach Alan Nicholl said. ““The second half was much of the same.”
The Golden Hawks opened up a 5-0 lead after goals from Rafferty (George O’Brien assist) and Vandemark (Shinjiashvili assist).
Souderton scored its only goal midway through the second half when freshman AJ Pisoni assisted senior Jake Luciani.
Nicholl lauded the efforts of several players.
“Mike Burns was energetic and very lively, and scoring a brace was his just reward,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “This was his best game in a South jersey.
“Giorgi was also excellent, disrupting Souderton’s quick passing and breaking up their rhythm throughout. He also had a wonderful crossed ball for Reid’s second goal.”
Souderton coach Frank Demas credited his team for playing until the final whistle.
"South started the game really well and jumped on us quickly,” the Indians’ first-year coach said. “While we weren't thrilled with how we started or played in most of the game, we were very happy with how (our) young team never gives up.”
CR South (8-3-1, 7-3-1 SOL) is back in divisional play Friday at home against Bensalem.
Souderton (4-6-1, 4-6-1 SOL) looks to bounce back at home Friday night against CB South.
Souderton 0 1 - 1
CR South 3 2 - 5
SOL Liberty/Freedom Crossovers
Upper Dublin 3, Lower Moreland 0
Yuvraj Lidder scored two goals and the Flying Cardinals went on the road to shut out Lower Moreland in a key crossover win.
“Today was a good team win,” said Upper Dublin coach Noah Johnson. “I was really proud of the boys today to pull out this win. It definitely was a tough win to get with it being, 1, really, really hot outside, and 2, us having some players that are injured and sick and playing through that to make sure we got a win today.”
Kyle Spirt assisted on Lidder’s first-half goal that sent the Cardinals into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, Lidder scored again to make it 2-0, this time assisted by Corey Abramson. Spirt then scored unassisted for the final goal.
“Having that game on Monday, you can see that we’re tired,” Johnson said. “For us to be able to still perform at our highest level possible and get the job done, it was nice to see.
“We did an awesome job of moving the ball around, staying composed and not losing our head or losing our cool. Today was a good day to see them composed, no matter what the situation was and as a team fighting together and talking together and fighting and talking their way through everything. Good job by the boys today.
“Looking forward to the game on Friday. Hopefully, we can walk away with another 3-0 week.”
UD (10-2, 9-2 SOL) next plays at Quakertown on Friday.
LM (8-5, 6-5 SOL) plays at Upper Moreland Friday.
UD 1 2 - 3
LM 0 0 - 0
Quakertown 2, New Hope-Solebury 0
Wilson Martinez scored his first goal of the season midway through the first half and Quakertown never looked back, turning in a solid effort on both ends of the field to blank New Hope on the road Wednesday.
Carter Tull scored for the Panthers in the second half.
“In the second half, Carter Tull was able to capitalize on a great corner service from Rylan Dauter with his head to the near post,” said Quakertown coach Bill James. “Our players who played in the back did a nice job to secure the shutout and keep some of New Hope’s speedy forwards off the scoreboard.”
James pointed out Jared White, Ayden Walsh, Alex Jalboot, Jackson Kalinowski, and Dalton Mapes, as well as keeper Jacob Mosser, who, the Panthers’ coach said, “had another great game to secure the shutout, making some crucial saves.”
Quakertown (4-7, 4-6 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin on Friday.
New Hope (0-11, 0-11 SOL) is on the road Friday night at Cheltenham.
Quakertown 1 1 - 2
New Hope 0 0 - 0
Springfield Twp 3, Wissahickon 1
Tied at 1 at halftime, Springfield scored twice in the second half and posted a big win over Wissahickon in a crossover game Wednesday.
“It was a good team win,” said Spartans coach Dan Meder.
Nick Hanuschak scored the only goal of the first half, assisted by Riley Martin, to put the Spartans up 1-0 at the break.
Dylan Horowitz tied it for Wissahickon early in the second half, but three minutes later, the Spartans responded with a goal of their own when Martin scored off a Chase Rubincam assist.
“This group has done that,” Meder said. “They’re resilient, they don’t let things bother them too much, and they do what they can to overcome what’s in front of them.”
Kaden Sowell finished the scoring, with Hanuschak getting the assist, as Springfield went up 3-1.
Meder credited the showings of a pair of players off the bench in Wednesday’s win.
“Roman Corcoran came in off the bench and played really well in the midfield for us, helped us move the ball,” Meder said. “He’s been doing that for us.
“Justin Whang came in off the bench (and) especially in the second half, he played really well.”
Springfield (12-1, 10-1 SOL) next plays at William Tennent on Friday.
Wissahickon (6-6, 5-6 SOL) plays at Hatboro-Horsham Friday.
Wissahickon 0 1 - 1
Springfield 1 2 - 3
Abington 2, William Tennent 0
Scoreless at halftime and much of the second half against a red hot William Tennent team, Abington scored twice late and remained unbeaten in SOL play with the 2-0 win on Wednesday night.
“They played an offsides trap, and if we were offsides once, we were offsides close to 10 times in the first half, which didn’t please me,” said Galloping Ghosts coach Randy Garber. “The ball was played in their half the whole entire time.
“Their goalkeeper was very active. He also played out three-quarters of the time. He erased a lot of chances by being so aggressive in the box. He won everything, so the through balls being played, he played with his feet, or he waited until the ball got into the box and then picked them up, so he erased a lot of chances, and we played right into them by playing balls down the middle instead of playing balls on the flank. Once we started playing balls on the flank in the second half, then we created a whole bunch of chances for us. We just couldn’t buy a goal.
“I applaud (Tennent) for playing the way they played and just making it frustrating to try and get behind the defense. That was a very good Tennent team.”
Braden Delgado put Abington in front with 10 minutes remaining. Oscar Hoffmann then scored five minutes later to make it 2-0.
“I told them, our next five games are going to be exactly like that because everyone knows that if they beat us, they get all those points and that could put them in the playoffs,” Garber said. “So, any of these teams hanging around near the end of the tournament bracket, if they beat us, they’re in the playoffs. Our kids have to buy into what we’re telling them to do.”
The Ghosts’ coach praised the efforts of several players in the win.
“Brady Hartman did a nice job,” Garber said. “Oscar Hoffmann came back from a shoulder injury against Upper Moreland. This was his first game back. He’s our left back, and he played up top today and scored a goal. He did a nice job.
“(Braeden) Brownholtz played well, and Bryan O’Neill came back from a knee injury, and tonight was his first start."
Abington (12-1, 11-0 SOL) next plays at Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday.
Tennent has another tough one at home Friday against Springfield.
Tennent 0 0 - 0
Abington 0 2 - 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2, Upper Moreland 1
Jeff Schneider and Luke Daddona scored first-half goals for PW, which edged the visiting Golden Bears in a tight one on Wednesday.
“Our boys (did) well keeping their composure against a well-coached Upper Moreland team,” said Colonials coach John DiCriscio. “Despite the high turf temperatures, our midfielders were relentless.”
DiCriscio credited Schneider, Miles Kaye and keeper Logan Brock with good games.
UM’s goal came when it was trailing 2-0 in the second half as Jackson Costello finished a penalty kick.
“(We) pressed but were unable to equalize,” said UM coach Justin Allegra. “Great games were played by Ty Ryan and another great game by goalie Anthony Carson.”
PW (5-8, 5-6 SOL) hosts first-place Abington on Friday.
UM (2-10, 1-10 SOL) hosts rival Lower Moreland Friday.
UM 0 1 - 1
PW 2 0 - 2
Cheltenham 5, Hatboro-Horsham 4
Cheltenham jumped up 3-0 in this one, but the victory was never well in hand until the final whistle. The Panthers emerged with the wild win over the visiting Hatters, bringing to a welcome end a three-game skid.
“Hatboro-Horsham really battled back in the second half and really made us earn this victory,” said Cheltenham coach Bill Tonkin. “I’m proud of the boys for their resilience today and how they handled the adversity we faced in the second half.
“It was nice to get back in the win column after a really tough stretch for us.”
The Panthers led 3-0 at halftime, thanks to two goals from Chamar Blanchard.
“One on a corner kick from Keegan Peet and the other one he finished when his shot went under the keeper into the net,” Tonkin said. ”Credit to Hatboro-Horsham for coming out in the second half and gaining a lot of the momentum back and brought the game back to 3-2.”
Christian Patelmo scored off a Anthony Pumilia assist, and then Isaac Kakiko scored the Hatters’ second goal.
Cheltenham came right back.
“We responded when Cameron Rhoades gave a pass to Noah Jutzi, who took a long range shot and caught the keeper off his line, and the ball went over his head into the net,” Tonkin said. “I thought we responded well to the momentum switch. We could have easily given in to it, but we battled through it.”
The Hatters cut Cheltenham’s lead to 4-3 on a Logan Gisondi goal, only to see Cheltenham answer again as Freedy Kelman scored with a header off a free kick from Jordan Rodriguez. The Hatters’ final goal came on an own goal.
With the win, Cheltenham is now 7-5 overall (5-5 SOL) heading into Friday night’s home game against New Hope-Solebury.
H-H (4-7, 4-7 SOL) hosts Wissahickon on Friday.
Cheltenham 3 2 - 5
H-H 0 4 - 4
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