To view game action photos of the Upper Dublin/Central Bucks East, Hatboro/Council Rock South and Souderton/Strath Haven contests, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
Expect the unexpected.
That seems to be a recurring theme in the SOL this season, and it carried over into the opening round of the District One Class AAA Tournament on Monday. Six SOL teams were eliminated while four advanced – not the kind of average one would expect from a league that routinely dominates district play.
The biggest shocker of the day was that all four teams in action from the Continental Conference were sent packing. While the Continental Conference was reeling, the National and American Conference squads stood tall.
If Council Rock South had any critics, they were effectively silenced after the 17th seeded Golden Hawks sent highly regarded Hatboro-Horsham home for the season with a 2-0 win on the Hatters’ home field. The 16th seeded Hatters finished in a tie with Souderton for second in the Continental Conference.
The Indians, seeded 10th in the 27-team tournament, were stunned by 23rd seeded Strath Haven 2-1 in the tournament’s biggest upset.
Upper Dublin, seeded 15th, downed 18th seeded Central Bucks East 3-2 in an overtime thriller while Downingtown East defeated North Penn 3-1 to make it a clean sweep of Continental Conference squads.
National Conference co-champions Pennsbury and Council Rock North lived up to their top billings as the seventh seeded Falcons crushed Academy Park 7-0 while the ninth seeded Indians disposed of Bayard Rustin 2-0.
Neshaminy gave Central League champion Radnor all it could handle before falling 1-0. In the day’s most exciting contest, 13th seeded William Tennent and Conestoga played to a 1-1 tie after a pair of overtime periods, and it was the 20th seeded Pioneers winning 2-1 in penalty strokes (2-0).
Top-seeded Wissahickon and second-seeded Central Bucks South received first round byes.
Golden Hawks flying high – Council Rock South set a pair of school records on Monday, but more important than any record was the Golden Hawks’ huge 2-0 win over Hatboro-Horsham.
“They’re always very good, and they have some really good players,” Rock South coach Lisa Defeo said. “They’re strong up the middle, so we tried to avoid playing in the middle.
“Our passing game was on, and we drew some corners early. As a team, we were quick today, and we played well.”
Maria Karidas set a new school record when she scored her 18th goal of the season, and goalie Ashley Hart picked up her 11th shutout to tie a school record for most shutouts in a season.
While the Golden Hawks celebrated the big win, the Hatters were left to pick up the pieces of a heartbreaking ending.“We came out flat,” Hatter coach Marie Schmucker said. “At times we looked discombobulated – we got caught on our heels defensively.
“I’m in shock. I’m at a loss for words.”
The Golden Hawks got on the scoreboard eight minutes into the game when Kayla Hempel scored on the rebound of a goalie save. With 10 minutes remaining in the half, Karidas (Sam Facciolla assist) put Rock South on top 2-0. That score held up until the final whistle.
“We came out strong, and we scored those two goals in the first half, which helped a lot,” Defeo said. “They were very dangerous when they came in the circle, but our backs really stepped up today and were marking pretty tight.”
Defeo lauded the performance of sophomore sweeper Alex Agasar.
“Taylor Frey also has been stepping up,” the Hawks’ coach said. “She stepped up big in our North game. She plays left back and is always matched up with the other team’s right wing, which is usually a strong player.
“Lea Britton, our center back, and our right back Rebecca Cocco also played well. Our goalie had a shutout, which was huge for us.”
Rock South had 10 corners to five for the Hatters. The Golden Hawks also had a decided advantage in shots (18-8).
They have earned a second round date with a Wissahickon squad that has not lost this season.
“I think the biggest thing is we need to continue to play our game,” Defeo said. “We really don’t have anything to lose.
“We’re up against number one, but when you get to this point, everyone is good. You’re not going to find anyone that isn’t going to compete. Our girls get excited to play on turf. You never know – on any given day.”
Schmucker certainly can vouch for that as a post season of high expectations ended much too soon for her Hatter squad.
“It’s so disappointing,” the veteran coach said. “I believe this team really could have played for the district championship the way we played earlier this season. We were beating teams 6-1, 7-2, averaging five for six goals a game.
“Twenty-five years of coaching, and this is probably the most disappointing. My heart aches right now. Council Rock had some nice players, and they have a great coach, but we were flat as a pancake.
“They’re going to wake up tomorrow and say, ‘This really didn’t happen. This was just a bad dream.’ It was a nightmare. I sat on the bench after the game and just looked at the field and said, ‘Did this really happen?’ Today they were the better team.”
Fifth time is the charm for Flying Cardinals – Upper Dublin has made regular appearances in the district tournament. In each of the last four years, the Flying Cardinals earned a bid to the district tournament. In each of those years, they were eliminated in the first round.
“The past three years we had home field advantage, and we were still one and done,” coach Heather Boyer said.
All that changed on Monday when the 15th seeded Flying Cardinals downed Central Bucks East 3-2 in overtime.
“This is a big momentum swing for us,” Boyer said. “We talked about it last year and again this year – it’s not about getting to the playoffs. It’s about getting there and advancing.“Four years ago when this senior class came in, we knew it was a special bunch, and we knew we had some good talent and great athletic ability, so we were building on this crew and adding younger kids here and there.”
The Flying Cardinals came up short in their bid to capture the American Conference crown, finishing in a tie with Springfield for second, but they did achieve their goal of advancing beyond the first round of districts.
“We talked about how when districts comes around it’s a brand new season,” Boyer said.
The Flying Cardinals led 2-0 less than 10 minutes into Monday’s game, thanks to goals from Brooke Callahan (Jordan O’Reilly assist) and Amy Cross (Leah Jackson assist).
By halftime, the Patriots had erased that deficit. They got on the scoreboard when Erin O’Brien (Dana Thomas assist) scored with 6:47 remaining, and they knotted the score on a goal by Casey McGinley with two seconds remaining in the half.
It was gut check time for the Flying Cardinals, and they responded.
After a scoreless second half, the Flying Cardinals took the opening tap of overtime and never relinquished control. Cross scored the game winner at the 12:15 mark of OT, capping off a wild sequence in the circle that saw the Cardinals send several shots on goal.
“Their goalie was fantastic,” said Upper Dublin coach Heather Boyer of East goalie Christina Maida.
Boyer acknowledged the performance of several players.
“Jordan O’Reilly, our center mid, had an outstanding game,” the Cardinals’ coach said. “She was everywhere.“Brittany Rowley had some unbelievable saves in goal. Late in the second half, East was really starting to put the pressure on. They out-cornered us 9-5, and she just held her ground. She just kept making save after save, challenging any breakaways that might have happened. She had a save on an aerial shot by Erin O’Brien that was above her head – I don’t know how she got it. She had a great game.”
Rowley had 12 saves while Maida had 13.
The Flying Cardinals, who held a 16-15 edge in shots, will travel to Central Bucks South for a date with the second-seeded Titans in a second round game on Wednesday.
Sister act leads Indians – Siblings Elly and Hannah Plappert teamed up for both of Rock North’s goals in the Indians’ 2-0 win over Bayard Rustin. It was Elly Plappert (Hannah Plappert assist) putting the Indians on the scoreboard with a first-half goal, and the sisters reversed roles midway through the second half when Elly assisted on a goal by Hannah to give the Indians a 2-0 lead that held until the final whistle.
“Bayard Rustin were the most underrated 24 seed I have ever seen,” said coach Heather Whalin, whose team notched its 12th consecutive win. “They were phenomenal.
“They’re a turf team, but our field is really fast, so they played like a turf team. Number 19 (Megan Plank) was really good. They hit the ball really well, and their goalie had a lot of nice saves on us.”
Rustin had eight corners in the game – five in a row in the second half, but the Indians’ defense - comprised of goalie Amanda Krause (five saves), Kara Magley, Sarah Rowland, Sara Clark, Michelle Delahanty and Rebecca Houser - held. “Kara Magley was marking one of their better players, and she pretty much shut her down,” Whalin said. “It was a little nerveracking there for a while, but the defense again came up huge.”
The Indians applied plenty of pressure of their own, but Rustin goalie Erin Hatfield turned away 10 shots.
“It was a good team,” Whalin said. “They were very well coached and very athletic. We were definitely lucky to get on the board first and then scored again.
“That last 15 minutes – it was kind of scary for a couple of minutes.”
The ninth seeded Indians will travel to Radnor for a second round matchup on turf against the tournament’s eighth seeded squad.
“We have played a bunch of games on turf this year, so that will help us,” Whalin said. “It’s a totally different season now. Everyone is playing on a different level – you saw some upsets happen today.
“We’re going to try to keep our game plan and keep doing the same things we have been doing and hope we can build on this 12 in a row.”
Falcons on a roll – Pennsbury made easy business of visiting Academy Park, sprinting to a 3-0 halftime lead on its way to a 7-0 win.
Mia Reed and Jenna Allen both scored a pair of goals while Melinda Feyko, Allie Brady and Melissa Tickle each scored single goals for the National Conference champions.
Coach Brooke Bergmann was pleased with her team’s ability to finish.
“We came out from the start and took control of the game and didn’t relinquish that control,” the Falcons’ coach said. “We didn’t know much about this team, and we weren’t too familiar with this league.“After we put a couple of goals in, we felt pretty confident, but we didn’t let down, which was impressive.”
In Wednesday’s second round, the Falcons will face an upstart Strath Haven squad (10-7) that upset Souderton .
“It’s the playoffs, and you know you’re going to get the best effort from every team you play,” Bergmann said. “The very fact that they beat a very good Souderton team should be enough for us to take them very seriously.
“If we play our game, I feel very confident, but we have to be ready.”
Indians victimized by slow start – Souderton has made a habit of overachieving when the post season rolls around. Last year, the then 24th seeded Indians advanced to the district quarterfinals where eventual district champion Neshaminy needed a goal at the buzzer of the second overtime to eke out a 1-0 win.
This year’s path seemed easier for an Indian squad that was in the title hunt in the Continental Conference until the final day of the regular season, but instead, it turned into a minefield as the Indians spotted 23rd seeded Strath Haven a 2-0 first-half lead and never could make up the ground they lost, falling 2-1.
“You have a feeling before a game when you think a team is really up to win because they talk and they’re into it,” coach Mary Ann Harris said. “It was very quiet today.“Sometimes you can be quiet and strong, but you’ve got to be concerned with winning the game as a team. We started off the whole first half like it meant nothing. This should have meant a great deal if indeed they wanted to go on, but they didn’t start out that way. What happens is – when it gets to the point where you realize what’s on the line, sometimes it’s too late.”
The game started out on a shaky note when – less than five minutes in – senior forward Nicole Benscik was lost for the game after she was struck on the head by a ball on the Indians’ first corner.
Things went downhill from there.
Haven got on the scoreboard at the 12:35 mark on the follow-up shot by Emily Michael.
“I don’t know what it was,” senior captain Olivia Shoemaker said. “We tried to get everyone pumped as best we could. I just don’t think they realized how important it was and that we needed to come out strong. To wait until the second half is too late in a game like this.”
The Panthers went on top 2-0 at the 5:43 mark of the opening half after a goal by freshman Megan Duffy on the right post. Souderton showed signs of life, capitalizing on its sixth and final corner of the half when Shoemaker pushed the insert pass from Alayna Brown to Carly Hughes, whose powerful pass across goal was deflected into the cage by Alex Atiyeh on the left post.
The fired-up Indians owned the second half and outshot the Panthers 11-1. They drew three corners in the final three minutes and – in the game’s final minute - peppered goalie Kylie deGrouchy (16 saves) with three consecutive shots. The junior goalie turned away the first two, and freshman defensive back Casey Oehler stopped the third just shy of the goal line.
“Their goalkeeper played very well,” Harris said. “We had some very good offensive moves.”
The Indians closed out the year with an 11-4-3 record.
“It’s so frustrating, but from the start of the season, we didn’t expect we would be this good,” Hughes said. “The season was good, but we didn’t want it to end this way.”
“I think it was a good team this year, and they did pretty well,” Harris said. “They have to remember the importance of playing your best and hardest in every game.”
Haven, which earned a date with Pennsbury, was the sixth place team out the Central League, and the Panthers were ecstatic to earn a post-season berth.
“We wanted one more game, and District One was nice enough to give us one,” coach Amanda Lawson said. “We have battled injury and illness all season, and we finally have the full team back.
“They earned this and deserved this win today. They really battled through a really tough season.”
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