Nine SOL teams advanced in District One AAA Tournament action on Thursday.
GIRLS SOCCER
#8 Council Rock South 2, #9 Hatboro-Horsham 1 (OT)
Colleen Diviny may be one of the shortest players on the field, but in Thursday's District One second-round game, no one came up bigger than the Council Rock South senior.
Diviny scored both Golden Hawk goals, including the overtime game-winner, as South defeated Hatboro-Horsham, 2-1, and claimed a berth in the district quarterfinals.
Diviny's game-winner came with 3:52 left in the first overtime period when Paige McDowell sent a cross into the box. Diviny raced Hatboro-Horsham goalkeeper Lindsey Day to the bouncing ball, got a foot on it and sent it bounding into the goal.
"It feels like a dream. It's just a dream," an ecstatic Diviny said after the game. "Paige played a great ball. That was a goal any soccer player wants to score. It was a cross over, it was a bouncing ball. I got past the defense and tried to get a shot in."
"Paige switched to the weak side and to Colleen's credit, she looks for that pass," said South coach John Oberholtzer. "She timed it perfectly.
"Colleen certainly put it all together tonight. She had one heck of a night, and it was well-deserved. It's nice to see the balance in our scoring. Colleen might not always be the go-to player, but she stepped up where she needed to be."
Diviny also scored the game's first goal, less than five minutes into the contest. Streaking down the right sideline, Diviny fired a shot found its way just inside the far-side goal post.
The Golden Hawks, still playing without senior Alexa Crosier (concussion), kept the Hatters from any serious threats for most of the first half. The Hatters slowly began to turn the tide late in the half, and had two good chances in the final three minutes before halftime -- the first turned away on a breakup slide by Paula Jurewicz and the second denied when South goalkeeper Sam Lawson outraced the Hatters' Tory Adlam to the ball on a long pass into the box. Senior Chrissy Vollrath was also key in limiting the Hatboro-Horsham offensive chances.
The Hatters continued to pressure in the second half, getting an early chance that was deflected over the net, and a long shot that was just barely swatted away by a leaping Lawson less than 10 minutes into the period.
"I thought we transformed it in the first half and had some momentum at halftime and used that momentum to put some more pressure and create more opportunities in the second half," said Hatters' coach Ben Winderman.
Hatter freshman Rachel Kaplan drew the unenviable task of marking up McDowell, but did an admirable job of defending the speedy and tenacious Hawks' forward.
"I give Hatboro's defense a lot of credit," McDowell said. "They were playing really strong, it was hard for me or anyone else to get around them."
The Hatters continued to knock on the door. A breakaway with less than 23 minutes left in the game was broken up when Jurewicz raced back to break up the rush, but 30 seconds later, the Hatters finally broke through. Junior Siobhan Spanninger sent a bouncing shot toward the net, and Marykate Bateman headed it into the cage to knot the score at 1-1.
Both teams had chances to end the game in regulation. Adlam got a step on her defender down the right side and fired a long shot just wide with six minutes remaining. Three minutes later, Hatters' goalie Day made a great save on a McDowell shot to preserve the tie and force the overtime.
"They earned it," Winderman said of the Golden Hawks. "This is two overtime games in a row. They're a great team and we feel honored to compete with them.
"For us, this team has won more games than any team in Hatboro history. To me, Hatboro-Horsham is now is in the realm of elite teams, and there's no turning back from there. They've hiked partway up this mountain. We have only four seniors who are leaving us, but you can't measure the amount of pride they've created in representing their school, their families and their coaches."
While the season ends for the Hatters, the defending District One champions will take on top-seeded Pennridge in the quarterfinals. Council Rock South defeated Pennridge, 1-0, in the district title game last season. The Rams returned the favor in a 2-1 victory on Sept. 10.
The quarterfinal round begins the double-elimination portion of the tournament, with seven of the remaining eight teams gaining a slot in the state playoffs. While a state playoff appearance remains a goal for the Hawks, it's not their primary focus. They feel they've still got some noise to make in districts.
"We always say we have to play for the person next to us," McDowell said. "We know the seniors want this. We want to win, that's our goal. We won in penalty kicks, and today in overtime. That boosts our confidence. We're here to win and we're ready to play."
"Making it here means the world to us," Diviny said. "Our goal is to go to states and win and I know we will do anything to get there. We want our senior year to be great."
The Golden Hawks will need to bring their best if they hope to upset the top-seeded Rams.
"The kids are focusing on districts," Oberholtzer said. "We have a real challenge ahead. Pennridge is a pretty excellent team with some real weapons.
"We're very confident we can play with almost anyone. I'm not always so confident we can score. You can outplay a team all over the place, but you mis-time a play and they can capitalize on it.
"The kids played better today than they did against Central Bucks West (in the first round). That's a good sign for us that we're gaining momentum."
#1 Pennridge 2, #16 Central Bucks East 0
The third time was even more of a charm for Pennridge than the first two. Having defeated Continental Conference opponent Central Bucks East twice during the regular season by identical 1-0 scores, the Rams posted a 2-0 victory on Thursday to earn the team a berth in the district quarterfinals.
Natalia Pinkney put aside any fears of a slow start after the Rams' first-round bye when she found the back of the net just seven minutes into the first half on a goal set up by Shannon Chynoweth. Freshman Marissa Sheva gave the Rams an insurance goal seven minutes into the second half (Megan Shenk assist).
"We didn't want to make the mistake we made the second time we played them this year and start the game flat," said Pennridge coach Jorge Rodriguez. "We watched film of that game and I think they were really surprised at how poorly they played.
"Tonight we had a really great effort from our goalie all the way up to our forwards and every single player off the bench."
Rodriguez noted the top-notch chemistry between Pinkney and Chynoweth tonight, and heaped praise on the defensive back line of Julia Rufe, Stevi Parker, Caitlyn Sheva and Audrey Butcher for their outstanding efforts.
"Our backs put up a brick wall tonight," Rodriguez said. "Those four carried the team."
The top-seeded Rams advance to the quarterfinals, where they find a familiar opponent waiting. The Rams will square off against Council Rock South, the team that defeated Pennridge in penalty kicks in the district final last season. Pennridge defeated the Golden Hawks, 2-1, in a nonleague game Sept. 10.
"It's going to be a battle," Rodriguez said. "They have so many talented players."
#3 Council Rock North 0, #14 Boyertown 0 (North wins, 4-3, in PKs)
Playing without the services of Nicole Moonan, who was out with an injury, Council Rock North controlled the flow of play but struggled to finish. After battling through a scoreless regulation and overtime, the Indians triumphed, 4-3, in penalty kicks to down the pesky Bears and earn a berth in the district quarterfinals.
Helena Gemmell made excellent saves on two penalty kicks, and Andrea Mateer, Karina Kovalcik, Sarah Scheidell and Juliah Wexler connected on their attempts to lift the third-seeded Indians to victory.
"We had the better of the play," North coach Larry Sullivan said. "They didn't have a whole lot of chances.
"Without Nicole, it's a different ball game for us. We couldn't get started. And Boyertown really did a nice job of shutting us down."
Council Rock North returned the favor, with the back line playing an excellent defensive game and denying numerous Boyertown threats.
Sullivan praised the efforts of Gemmell, Scheidell, Mateer, Nicole Antolino, Sarah Cannon and Adrianna Rosario in the victory.
The third-seeded Indians will face sixth seed Conestoga in the quarterfinal matchup. Council Rock North dropped a 1-0 decision to the Pioneers in the Indians' regular-season finale.
#28 Lower Merion 2, #12 Neshaminy 1
The lowest seed in the District One tournament, 28th seeded Lower Merion, continued its dream run in the playoffs by upsetting 12th seed Neshaminy in Thursday's second-round game.
Megan Schafer put Neshaminy ahead 1-0 on a beautiful goal in the 27th minute, but Lower Merion scored second-half goals on a defensive breakdown and a restart to rally past the Redskins.
"It was just one of those games," said Neshminy coach Rachel Clemens. "The conditions didn't favor us. We had a ton of opportunities we didn't capitalize on. Megan Shafer had a couple balls that she crossed, but we couldn't get at the end of to finish."
Lower Merion will set its sights on fourth seed Strath Haven in the district quarterfinal, while Neshaminy looks ahead to next season.
"We're still a young team," Clemens said. "We'll graduate four seniors. The younger players have a ton of talent and passion for the game. We've got a solid core coming back. We'll have a few holes to fill, but with the girls coming back and the incoming freshman class, I think we're going to be able to come back even stronger next year."
#7 Owen J. Roberts 2, #10 Central Bucks South 1 (2OT)
Julina Provini scored the game-winning goal in the 23rd minute of overtime as seventh-seeded Owen J. Roberts rallied past 10th-seeded Central Bucks South in the second round of the district tournament on Thursday.
South opened the scoring on Ashley Volm's first-half goal. The Wildcats tied the game in the second half, then won it in the second extra frame.
Owen J. Roberts will face 18th seed Bishop Shanahan in Saturday's district quarterfinal game.
In other games:
#18 Bishop Shanahan 2, #2 Downingtown East 1 (PKs)
#4 Strath Haven 1, #13 West Chester Rustin 0 (OT)
#6 Conestoga 6, #22 Radnor 0
BOYS SOCCER
#2 Central Bucks East 1, #18 Springfield-Delco 0
Central Bucks East dominated in every category except on the scoreboard in Thursday's second-round matchup against 18th-seeded Springfield-Delco. The Patriots outshot the Panthers to the tune of 21-3 and had 18 corner kicks to Delco's one.
The scoreboard had it a lot closer, though the second-seeded Patriots were able to pull out a 1-0 victory in their first game of the playoffs following their first-round bye.
"We made difficult work of it," said Patriots' coach Mike Gorni. "Give Springfield credit, they did a real nice job. But the stats don't lie. We missed some things tonight, but we got the win in spite of not being as efficient as we could have been."
Steve Fedele and Nick McGarry anchored the East defense. Sean Jenkins scored the only goal of the game on a penalty kick in the eighth minute after Ben Marks was pulled down in the box.
"We played pretty well on two-thirds of the field," Gorni said. "We had the majority of the opportunities, we just need to take advantage of them. There's no reason to believe they can't turn things up."
The Patriots will find a familiar opponent awaiting them in the district quarterfinal. Fellow Continental Conference squad Souderton advanced with a 1-0 win over Kennett in the second round. It will be the third meeting of the season for the two league-mates. East won 2-0 on Sept. 24 and 2-1 on Oct. 18.
"Souderton is an unbelievably good team," Gorni said. "This shows the strength of our league. There will be no major secrets. Whoever is more in tune is going to win the game."
#14 Council Rock South 2, #3 Lower Merion 1 (OT)
Mike Discavage scored with 13 minutes left to tie the game at 1-1 and Chase Coleman scored the winner in overtime as Council Rock South upset third-seeded Lower Merion in Thursday's second-round district tournament matchup on Thursday. Chris Spadaro assisted on both goals for the Golden Hawks, who will face archrival Council Rock North in Saturday's district quarterfinal game.
#6 Council Rock North 2, #22 Central Bucks West 1 (OT)
Council Rock North was a minute away from claiming victory in regulation in Thursday's second-round match against Central Bucks West.
It took the Indians just three minutes of overtime to put it away for good.
Dalton Andrusko scored three minutes into the extra session off an Alec Neumann assist as the Indians downed the Bucks, 2-1.
"Derek Antonini won a tackle about 30 yards out and got it to Neumann," North coach Wendell Beres said. "Alec got it to Andrusko and he fired a rocket to the far post.
"A lot of teams would have folded when the other team ties it up so late. The guys responded well and they earned it."
Antonini put the Indians on the board seven minutes into the first half on a pass from Neumann.
"We controlled most of the first half," Beres said. "West moved Mike Bamford into the midfield in the second half and that really helped get them going.
"This was a good team win for us. This team continues to do things differently from past teams, and we're starting to believe with them. They prepare well, and they're willing to give up individual recognition for the team."
The win sets up the third meeting of the season between the two Council Rock schools in Saturday's quarterfinal round. North won both meetings this season, with identical 2-1 wins on Sept. 19 and Oct. 12.
#8 North Penn 1, #9 Downingtown West 0
Matt Robinson headed in a Mike McCollough free kick from around midfield with about five minutes left in the first half and the goal stood as the game's only tally as North Penn earned a berth in the district quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Downingtown West on Thursday.
"The conditions were tough," North Penn coach Paul Duddy said. "We played a very good first half. We put a lot of pressure on them. Downingtown West had the better of the play in the second half and had some great opportunities."
West was denied in no small part by McCollough's defensive efforts and the outstanding play of Knights' goalkeeper Dylan Eiger.
The Knights will face top-seeded Conestoga in Saturday's quarterfinal matchup.
#12 Central Bucks South 2, #5 West Chester Rustin 1
It took 60 minutes of play before West Chester Rustin broke the scoreless tie. It took 60 seconds before Central Bucks South erased Rustin's lead.
Todd Rainey scored (Pat Berneski assist) in the 61st minute to tie the game and swing the momentum right back to the Titans.
"One of the things we've been working on is dealing with adversity," said South coach Don Brady. "They showed they can deal with adversity. From (Rustin's goal), we played so well. We were all over them."
South picked up the game-winner in the 71st minute when Stephen Pieri beat a defender to get to a cross and served it over to Mike Serban, who headed it into the cage as the 12th-seeded Titans upset fifth seed Rustin in the second round.
Brady credited his midfield and the play of Jarod Meyer and Connor Stackhouse in the victory.
South moves on to a district quarterfinal matchup against 13th seed Strath Haven on Saturday.
#23 Souderton 1, #26 Kennett 0
Souderton kept its season going with a 1-0 win over 26th seed Kennett in Thursday's second-round matchup. Tyler MacDougall scored the Big Red's lone goal, assisted by Ryan Molyneaux, in the 47th minute.
The 23rd-seeded Big Red will square off against a team it knows well. Continental Conference champion and district second seed Central Bucks East awaits Souderton in the district quarterfinal.
In other games:
#1 Conestoga 3, #17 Owen J. Roberts 0
#13 Strath Haven 1, #4 Unionville 0
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