To view action photos of the CR North/Hatboro boys’ game and the Neshaminy/Unionville girls’ game, visit the Photo Gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
BOYS SOCCER
#6 Council Rock North 2, #27 Hatboro-Horsham 0
Just a day before Tuesday's District One Class AAA opening round, Council Rock North senior Billy Greer wasn't even sure he'd see playing time in the Indians' game against 27th seed Hatboro-Horsham.
It's been a struggle at times for Greer, who, by his own admission, hadn't been playing well of late.
"I talked to the coaches after practice (Monday) and I was telling them that I know I haven't been playing my best ball lately but I wanted to make sure I was going to get my minutes," Greer said. "This is my last year, my last chance to win a title, which I think we can do. I just wanted to make sure I got my minutes because I want to help my team. They said they know I've been working hard this whole season and that I will get my minutes, they believed that I could do something."
Turns out their faith in Greer was rewarded.
Midway through the second half of Tuesday's game -- with the Indians holding a narrow 1-0 lead -- Greer made a run for the far post on a North corner kick. The ball bounced around and Alec Neumann headed it toward the far corner, where Greer came in and headed the ball into the back of the net. The goal -- the first of Greer's varsity career -- gave the Indians a little breathing room and a two-goal lead that would hold up for the rest of the game.
"It was definitely a feeling I'll always remember," Greer said. "Right before I got into the game, (assistant coach Chris) Vaughan told me on our throw-ins or corners, go to the back post because a lot of times the ball ends up there. I listened to him. Ian (Fitzsimmons) got it to Neumann, Neumann headed it toward the back post. I knew it was going to be there, I just put my head on it."
"Billy came to us and said 'I wanted to make sure you guys didn't forget about me,'" said North coach Wendell Beres. "I said, 'Billy, I'm going with experience. You're going to get in there.' I said, 'I don't need you to score goals, I just need you to do your job.' He said, 'Well, I'm going to score a goal.'
"We've been working the second half of the season on getting a guy to that far post on those set pieces, and we haven't had much luck with it. Billy made the run just like we asked him to do, got his head on the ball and put it in."
It was the second of two highlight-reel goals for the Indians, who opened the scoring in the 34th minute when Chris Kulczytzky blasted an indirect kick from the 50-yard line and Alec Neumann got his foot on the ball down by the side of the cage to tap it into the net.
"Chris plays just such a nice ball," Neumann said. "Anything you get on it, it goes in."
"That free kick from midfield, that's been our Achilles heel all season and Neumann made a great touch to finish it," said Hatters' coach Kyle McGrath. "I thought we battled after that, generated some chances, we were just unlucky to finish. They've got a bunch of good players, we have good players, it comes down to someone making a play and they beat us to two balls in the box and they finished, and that was the difference in the game."
Both teams broke free for occasional scoring chances, and the Hatters came heartbreakingly close to knotting the score at 1-1 early in the second half when Alex Badulak redirected a long Sean Canepa indirect kick toward the far post, but North goalkeeper Will Terry made a diving save to deny the shot.
The Hatters also pressured late. A corner kick and a long rebound were both denied by the Indians, and a long throw-in in the final minute was headed out of danger by Kulczytzky to preserve the shutout.
"I'm so proud of the way they kept working," McGrath said of the Hatters. "After the second goal they could have stopped attacking, but they kept going. It's a testament to those guys as individuals.
"Anytime you make the playoffs, it's a successful season. We had a tough draw getting Council Rock North, but I thought we played really well. We have 10 seniors and this was their first chance to experience the playoffs. It's a good sendoff for them."
With the victory, the Indians advance to the second round and are finally able to shed any comparisons to the North teams that lost in their first district game in each of the past two years.
"For us it was about making sure they didn't put themselves in the same category as last year's team or the year before that," Beres said. "The best way I could do that for them was to tell them, last year the team didn't win the league title outright, two years ago they didn't win it at all. These guys are doing things that are different -- their attitude, mentality. It doesn't surprise me that they were able to get over the hump."
"We weren't focusing on past years, but it does get the monkey off our backs," Greer said. "We've been hearing the last few days we've lost in the first playoff game the last two years. Wendell's been telling us we're not the teams from the last two years. It's definitely nice to get through that, and now we have to focus on winning two more games this week."
If they hope to make it to Saturday's quarterfinal, the Indians will need to go through another Continental Conference team on Thursday. North will host Central Bucks West, the district's 22nd seed, in the second round.
#26 Kennett 3, #7 Neshaminy 2
Despite having the better of the play in the early stages of Tuesday's district opener, Neshaminy suffered two key defensive breakdowns and 26th seed Kennett capitalized on both to jump out to an early 2-0 lead. Tyler Katz put Neshaminy on the board to make it a 2-1 game at halftime. Kennett made it 3-1 before Austin Transue closed the game to 3-2.
"Obviously a faster start would have helped," said Redskins' coach Rich Reice. "We had a tough time to have as many defensive breakdowns in one game. And give Kennett credit. They're a lot better than what I'd heard. They've got some very good athletes."
Kennett will visit 23rd seed Souderton in the second round.
#8 North Penn 3, #25 Radnor 0
It took North Penn about 18 minutes to get on the scoreboard and take the momentum in what had been an evenly played game to that point. Once Matt Robinson put the Knights on the scoreboard, there was no looking back. Robinson then assisted on both of Curtis Washburn's goals as the Knights built a 3-0 halftime lead.
Ryan Langton came off the bench and provided some quality minutes for the Knights.
"We didn't know a whole lot about Radnor," said North Penn coach Paul Duddy. "We're experienced, our seniors all went through this last year. They're working hard and so is everyone else."
The Knights will host ninth seed Downingtown West in Thursday's second-round matchup.
#9 Downingtown West 3, #24 Pennsbury 2
The good news for Pennsbury is that the Falcons broke a 506-minute scoring drought and netted a pair of goals against a goalie coach Tom Stoddart believes is among the top goalkeepers in the state. The bad news is that the Falcons could not hold their 2-0 lead, and Downingtown West scored three times in the last 20 minutes to rally past Pennsbury in the opening round of the district playoffs.
Matt Montgomery scored in the sixth minute for Pennsbury. Stephen Tomaszewski made it 2-0 early in the second half. West battled back and started to take momentum, then finally scored on a persistent play in the box. West's second and third tallies came off of restarts.
"They could feel a goal coming, they started taking a little more control," Stoddart said. "They started wearing on us.
"We had an up-and-down season, but I'm proud of the way we closed it out. At no time did they hang their heads. They continued to work hard, play hard. Today they played like a team that belongs in the playoffs."
Downingtown West will visit North Penn at 7 p.m. Thursday in the second round.
#23 Souderton 3, #10 Wissahickon 2
Souderton earned itself a home game in the second round after defeating American Conference champion Wissahickon, 3-2, in the first round.
Wissahickon took an early lead on Joe Farrell's goal, but the Big Red tied it when freshman Nick Jachwak set up fellow frosh Tyler Strozeski for the goal.
"It was an absolutely brilliant goal," said Souderton coach Tom Quintois. "It was a great pass from Nick and Tyler buried it with his head. How big that was for those two!"
Souderton worked the score to 3-1 on a Jeff Wolf goal on a Ryan Molyneaux corner kick. The Big Red scored their final goal on a Molyneaux free kick with 19 minutes left in regulation.
Wissahickon would close the gap to 3-2 on Farrell's second of the night, but Souderton closed the door thanks to the efforts of junior goalkeeper Tyler Afflerback.
"Farrell was a beast tonight," Quintois said of the Wissahickon senior. "But Tyler was outstanding. He made some ridiculous saves. He's been doing that for us all year. We can do a lot of risk-taking because of him. We have the utmost confidence in a guy like that."
With 26th-seeded Kennett upsetting seventh seed Neshaminy, Souderton will host Kennett in Thursday's second round.
#22 Central Bucks West 4, #11 Great Valley 3
Central Bucks West will advance to the second round -- where the Bucks will face sixth seed Council Rock North on Thursday -- after upsetting 11th seed Great Valley by a 4-3 count in Tuesday's district opener.
#12 Central Bucks South 2, #21 West Chester Henderson 0
Central Bucks South scored two second-half goals to eliminate West Chester Henderson in Tuesday's district opener.
Bryan Brady scored (Matt Gilbert assist) in the 50th minute to put the Titans on the scoreboard. Connor Stackhouse made it 2-0 on a penalty kick in the 73rd minute.
South will visit fifth seed West Chester Rustin in Thursday's second-round matchup. Rustin dominated Penn Wood to the tune of 6-0 in its first-round game.
#17 Owen J. Roberts 3, #16 Abington 1
Owen J. Roberts scored twice in the first 10 minutes of Tuesday's district opener and rolled to a 3-1 victory over host Abington.
Billy Natter scored Abington's lone goal, which made the score 2-1 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
Abington made adjustments in the second half, including utilizing a 4-3-3 formation to generate more offense, but the PAC-10 champion Wildcats were equal to the test.
Chris Tracey and Kyle Rocks turned in strong efforts for the Ghosts.
"It's disappointing, but it's not like we lost to a team we should have beaten," said Abington coach Randy Garber. "The 16 (vs.) 17 matchup is supposed to be the best in the tournament, because there's really no clear favorite. Both are capable of winning. It was a decent game today, we just came out on the short end of it."
OJR will visit top-seeded Conestoga in the second round.
Other first-round games
#13 Strath Haven 3, #20 Avon Grove 0
#5 West Chester Rustin 6, #20 Penn Wood 0
#18 Springfield (Delco) 2, Boyertown 1
GIRLS SOCCER
#8 Council Rock South 1, #25 Central Bucks West 1 (South 4-3 PKs)
Kate Jackson's goal gave Council Rock South a 4-3 edge in penalty kicks as the Golden Hawks escaped from a very game Central Bucks West squad in Tuesday's first-round matchup at Council Rock North's Walt Snyder Stadium.
West capitalized on a South breakdown to score the game's first goal and took a 1-0 lead into the half. The Golden Hawks knotted the score 30 seconds into the second half when Paige McDowell scored on a dedicated solo effort.
"Paige McDowell played her heart out in this game," said South coach John Oberholtzer. "She was all heart. And that goal she scored was all guts that got her to finish that. She was all over the place."
Sam Lawson made several key saves in goal for the Hawks, including a stop on a penalty kick during the game.
Colleen Diviny, Chrissy Vollrath Amanda Nicholas and Jackson scored for the Hawks in penalty kicks.
"West played really well," Oberholtzer said. "Our team really, really played hard, and so did West. They're a very good team. But I think the team that played better won today."
The Hawks advance to play ninth-seeded Hatboro-Horsham in an all-Suburban One second-round matchup on Thursday.
#9 Hatboro-Horsham 1, #24 Great Valley 0
Hatboro-Horsham will visit eighth seed Council Rock South in the second round after a first-half goal made for all the scoring in the Hatters' victory over Great Valley in Tuesday's district opener.
#10 Central Bucks South 3, #23 Downingtown West 2 (OT)
Nikki Weiss scored the game-winner goal with 10 minutes left in the first overtime as 10th seed Central Bucks South bested an upset-minded Downingtown West in Tuesday's first round. Emily Casey beat her defender and sent a cross to Weiss, who headed it into the net and moved the Titans into the second round.
The Titans jumped out to a 2-0 lead with Maddy Vitelli scoring in the first and 14th minute. But Downingtown West cut the lead to 2-1 just two minutes later.
"After our second goal, they scored immediately and that gave them some life," said South coach Joe Bocklet. "It took us about 40 minutes to battle back into the game."
West knotted the score in the second half, but the Titans began to turn the tide back to their favor toward the end of regulation and into the extra session. South had three shots in overtime, including the game-winner.
"I think our seniors saw the season was close to coming to an end," Bocklet said. "They stepped it up and they really responded to the sudden death.
"Once we got back into it, we stayed on the gas pedal. We were able to recover once Downingtown got momentum. This was a good overtime win. They responded well to the pressure. We have a group of girls who were here when we won districts. They know how to handle pressure."
South advances to take on seventh seed Owen J. Roberts in Thursday's second round.
#12 Neshaminy 3, #21 Unionville 0
Neshaminy kicked off the district tournament in style, rolling to a 3-0 victory over 21st seed Unionville on Tuesday. The 12th-seeded Redskins led 2-0 at the half on the strength of a Jamie Mason goal (Megan Schafer assist) in the 28th minute and a Schafer goal (Fran Donato assist) in the 38th.
Katie Suchodolski netted the final goal of the afternoon in the 65th minute on a restart. Goalkeeper McKenna Mullin opened the tournament by posting a shutout.
The Redskins will host 28th seed Lower Merion in Thursday's second-round game.
#13 West Chester Rustin 1, #20 Pennsbury 0
West Chester Rustin scored on a penalty kick in the first 15 minutes and held off a feisty Pennsbury squad to pull out a 1-0 victory.
The Falcons were spurred on by a stellar effort in goal by sophomore Courtney Bennett.
"Courtney played out of her mind today," said Pennsbury coach Kaitlyn Battiste. "She was absolutely amazing. Courtney really set the tone early. We wouldn't have been in the game for as long as we were without her."
Following her lead were sophomore defenders Emily Edwards, Cassandra Berger and Emily Vogel, who kept the Rustin attack in check.
"It really went back and forth the whole game," Battiste said. "Both teams had opportunities. We kept pushing forward, but we were not able to find the back of the net."
The Falcons had several corner kicks in the final three minutes, but could not break the shutout.
Battiste credited Lindsay Jones, Steph Fisher and Kym Brewton for their strong play, as well as Bridget Congdon for her valiant effort despite injuring her ankle in the first half.
"We definitely went out with a bang," said Battiste, whose squad will graduate four seniors. "We took it to Rustin the entire game. We made them earn it.
"It's disappointing, because the girls played their hearts out. But we're very, very proud of the way they performed."
Rustin will face fourth-seeded Strath Haven in the second round.
#18 Bishop Shanahan 2, #15 Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
Bishop Shanahan took an early lead midway through the first half, then scored a backbreaking second goal with 18 seconds left until halftime as it downed American Conference co-champion Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
"We had a poor first half," said PW coach Steve Slack. "We were hoping to get to halftime at 1-0, then we could regroup and come at them. That goal just before the half was really tough. But we played a very strong second half. We just couldn't get it to fall tonight.
"The girls were very disappointed, because we played a strong second half. If we had played a full 80 minutes, who knows? They were all very, very upset. But I'm happy they pulled together the last 40 minutes and played strong until the end."
Shanahan will visit second-seeded Downingtown East in the second round on Thursday.
#16 Central Bucks East 1, #17 Upper Dublin 0
Annie Axenroth scored (Abby Emmert assist) in the 73rd minute to break the scoreless deadlock and lift Central Bucks East to a 1-0 victory over American Conference co-champion Upper Dublin in Tuesday's first-round matchup.
"It was a very good game," said East coach Paul Eisold. "Upper Dublin is a very good team. The first half was pretty evenly played, then I thought we took the game over in the second half. We wore them down and we finally managed to finish.
"We had to sort through some things early on, which is kind of atypical for us. But once we got rolling, we started to take the game over."
Jess Haug and Taylor Mysza turned in strong performances for the Patriots.
East's reward for the victory is a second-round matchup against top seed, and Continental Conference rival Pennridge. The Rams won both regular-season meetings, taking 1-0 victories on Sept. 13 and Oct. 5.
"Pennridge is obviously a very quality team," Eisold said. "They've got confidence, they've got a lot of great players. We've got our work cut out for us. But we're going to go at them. We're going to play the game and we're going to go at them with everything we have."
Other first-round games:
#28 Lower Merion 2, #5 West Chester Henderson 0
#7 Owen J. Roberts 2, #26 Avon Grove 1
#14 Boyertown 2, #19 Garnet Valley 0
#6 Conestoga 5, #27 Interboro 0
#22 Radnor 3, #11 West Chester East 1
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