By Alex Frazier
District tournament notes – Next week’s rankings will be interesting to see after all the upsets in the first and second round of districts.
Who would have expected three teams from the Continental Conference to make the quarterfinals? Of four SOL teams left, three of them are from the Continental.
“It proves how tough our conference really was,” said C.B. West coach Steve Detweiler.
William Tennent and Pennridge pulled off stunning upsets of the first and third seeded teams in round two. William Tennent started the season slow. No one would have thought that possible, except the Panthers themselves, when they tied Central Bucks West in the first game of the season.
But as center midfielder Dan Eckhardt said, “It kind of woke us up and made us realize what we had to do to be better. It was actually a good thing.”
How far can Tennent go? C.B. East will let you know Saturday when the two teams meet at War Memorial Field at 1 p.m.
“We’ve been pretty hot recently,” said Eckhardt. “There are a lot of seniors on the team, so we know this is going to be our last year so we have to go out strong every game and leave it all out on the field.
Pennridge had been inconsistent during the regular season, but appears to be peaking at the right time.
“We’re realizing that now if we lose we’re done,” said junior keeper Ryan Bailey, whose clutch performance against C.R. North gave the Rams an upset victory.
“To keep playing we have to keep winning,” said Bailey. “The seniors are digging in harder even than they were during the season. Everybody’s really excited.”
Bailey said the upset of West Chester Henderson in the first round gave the Rams confidence.
“We weren’t sure what to expect with them because we never played them. That gave us a lot of confidence,” he said.
Hawks grounded – It was game they should have won, according to Council Rock South coach Alan Nichol.
Especially given the caliber of competition the Golden Hawks faced all season.
“Five teams from the National division made it and four of them are still in it (after the first round),” said Nichol. “It goes to show the strength of that division. When you play Pennsbury twice and North twice and Tennent twice and Neshaminy twice you sort of learn to be calm and patient. And you realize how well you’re prepared to play in a game with a team that’s seeded 10th best in the district.”
Admittedly, the No. 23 Golden Hawks were an underdog facing No.10 Upper Darby (11-2-2) given they were the 23rd seed. The game was scheduled for Upper Darby on Tuesday, but was postponed until Wednesday and moved to Monsignor Bonner’s turf field.
But the bottom line is that the Royals put their chances away and South didn’t as they eliminated the Hawks 2-1 in double overtime.
“We lost in spectacular fashion,” said Nichol. “We fought and we fought. In my professional opinion, we were the better team today. The ball just didn’t end up in the back of the net for us.”
Upper Darby struck first and fast, going ahead 1-0 in the seventh minute.
The Hawks answered when Jake Littleton headed in Mike Spadaro’s free kick in the 25th minute.
Nichol thought his squad was in good shape tied up at the half.
The Golden Hawks notched up the pressure in the second half, which resulted in a penalty kick with about 15 minutes left. Unfortunately, Royal keeper Andrew Flood saved it.
After that South kept up the pressure.
“We just hammered them,” said Nichol. “We hit the crossbar; the goalkeeper picked off a couple of great saves. We just couldn’t put the ball away.”
In the overtime, Flood parried another shot off the crossbar.
“He was just a very, very good athlete,” said Nichol.
In the second overtime, the Royals caught South on a counterattack, something they had been dangerous with all afternoon.
“They were a skillful team coming forward,” said Nichol. “They had a couple of nice players, definitely players you don’t want to see on the ball especially on a counterattack. They got us on it, but in my opinion the game should have been tied up before that.”
South finished its season at 8-9-2.
The Golden Hawks began the season by winning their first four games. Then they dropped three in a row to C.R. North, Pennsbury and William Tennent.
“Even the games we’re losing, we were in them,” said Nichol. “We had five overtime games and lost all five. We’ve struggled scoring goals this year.”
Around the league – OK. With the final league games played last week, it’s time to pay the piper. You might remember back in my first notebook of the year, I predicted the final team standings in each of the conferences. Well, as usual, I was wrong again a good part of the time.
A “good part” is actually an overstatement. I picked two of eight in the National, one of eight in the Continental and American for a whopping 17 percent. I guess I should enroll in the “No Adult Left Behind Program.”
It happens so often that I don’t know why I bother making a fool out of myself, except that I’ve actually become accustomed to being wrong. Maybe I’m just one of those guys who likes ridicule heaped on them.
But it’s certainly better than losing a couple of grand at the craps table. Next year, if I choose your team out of the running or lower than you expected, don’t be offended. If the past is any indication, it’s a ticket to the top.
National Conference
Final standings | My prediction |
1. Pennsbury | 1. Pennsbury |
2. Council Rock North | 2. Council Rock North |
3. William Tennent | 3. Abington |
4. Council Rock South | 4. Neshaminy |
5. Neshaminy | 5. William Tennent |
6. Abington | 6. Council Rock South |
7. Harry S Truman | 7. Bensalem |
8. Bensalem | 8. Harry S Truman |
Continental Conference
Final standings | My prediction |
1. Souderton | 1. Pennridge |
2. Central Bucks East | 2. Central Bucks South |
3. North Penn | 3. Central Bucks East |
4. Pennridge | 4. Souderton |
5. Central Bucks West | 5. North Penn |
6. Central Bucks South | 6. Hatboro-Horsham |
7. Hatboro-Horsham | 7. Central Bucks West |
8. Quakertown | 8. Quakertown |
American Conference
Final standings | My prediction |
1. Wissahickon | 1. Wissahickon |
2. Cheltenham | 2. Upper Dublin |
3. Plymouth Whitemarsh | 3. Cheltenham |
4. Upper Moreland | 4. Plymouth Whitemarsh |
5. Upper Dublin | 5. Upper Merion |
6. Springfield | 6. Upper Moreland |
7. Norristown | 7. Springfield |
8. Upper Merion | 8. Norristown |
Top Five SOL
1. William Tennent
2. Pennridge
3. Souderton
4. Central Bucks East
5. Pennsbury
Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Rankings
(through Oct. 25)
1. Pennsbury. . . 17-1-0
2. Lower Merion. . . 16-2-0
3. Council Rock North. . . 15-1-2
4. Father Judge. . . 15-2-1
5. La Salle. . . 14-2-1
6. Unionville. . . 16-2-0
7. Strath Haven. . . 12-2-3
8. Souderton. . . 12-2-4
9. Downingtown West. . . 13-2-4
10. North Catholic. . . 12-4-1
11. Central Bucks East. . . 13-5-0
12. Wissahickon. . . 14-3-1
13. Upper Darby. . . 11-2-2
14. Christopher Dock. . . 13-3-0
15. Archbishop Wood. . . 16-1-0
16. West Chester Rustin. . . 13-5-0
17. Conestoga. . . 14-3-1
18. Germantown Academy. . . 8-5-1
19. Pottsgrove. . . 14-3-2
20 St. Joseph's Prep. . . 9-5-2
20. Octorara. . . 13-4-1
Others receiving votes (in order): Boyertown, Haverford School, West Chester Henderson, Archbishop Ryan, Shipley, Bartram, Lincoln, North Penn, Downingtown East, William Tennent, Great Valley, Malvern Prep, Pennridge.
PSCA / ANGELO'S SOCCER CORNER POLL
(Week of Oct. 25)
1. Parkland (11) previous rank 1
2. Pennsbury (1) 2
3. Manheim Township (3) 3
4. Council Rock North (1) 4
5. Upper St. Clair (7) 5
6. Lower Merion (1) HM
7. Mt. Lebanon (7) 6
8. Fox Chapel (7) 7
9. Unionville (1) 10
10. Peters Township (7) HM
Honorable Mention: Central Dauphin (3), Delaware Valley (2), Father Judge (12), Hershey (3), Strath Haven (1).
NSCAA National Region III Rankings
(Oct. 27)
1. The Pingry School (Martinsville, N.J.) 13 - 0 - 0
2. Parkland (Allentown, Pa.) 19 - 0 - 0
3. Pennsbury (Fairless Hills, Pa.) 17 - 1 - 0
4. Scotch Plains (N.J.) 14 - 1 - 1
5. Manheim Township (Lancaster, Pa.) 18 - 1 - 0
6. Rancocas Valley (Mt. Holly, N.J.) 14 - 2 - 1
7. Council Rock North (Newtown, Pa.) 15 - 1 - 2
8. Upper St. Clair (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 15 - 2 - 1
9. Mount Lebanon (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 16 - 1 - 1
10. Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.) 12 - 1 - 1
11. Fox Chapel (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 17 - 0 - 1
12. Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 16 - 0 - 1
13. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 13 - 1 - 0
14. Lower Merion (Ardmore, Pa.) 16 - 2 - 0
15. St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.) 11 - 2 - 1
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