CR North's Alex Kuzma broke the school's career goals mark. Check out all of Wednesday’s SOL field hockey results.
National Conference
NESHAMINY 1, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0
The Redskins won Wednesday’s battle between a pair of the National Conference’s unbeaten squads. The Redskins scored an early goal, connecting with 27:18 remaining in the first half. Malloree-Jo Mason scored a goal that turned out to be the game winner, using assists from teammates Erin Bedesem and Annie Kopera.
The Redskins held a 16-8 advantage in shots on goal. Rock South goalie Kelly Schlupp turned away 11 shots while Neshaminy’s Sarah Mitchell had eight saves in the shutout.
To read Karen Sangillo’s complete game story, please click on the following PhillyBurbs.com link: http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/high_school/courier/neshaminy-makes-statement-with-win/article_7ea884a1-2d66-5962-8258-4723e38e247f.html.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 9, BENSALEM 0
Alex Kuzma rewrote the record books at Council Rock North on Wednesday when she connected for her third goal of the day. The goal broke the career goals mark of 45 established by Jess Longstreth, who went on to have a standout career at Penn State.
“She scored the goal, and Gabby Tofig turned around, hugged her and said, ‘You broke the record,’” coach Heather Whalin said. “Alex didn’t even know she had done it.
“I called timeout, and we got the ball. She is all about the team and not about individual records, and that’s the best part of that kid. She works hard for her teammates and just wants them to be successful. Not even knowing she broke the record just shows what kind of player she is.”
Kuzma – who is closing in on Longstreth’s career point record as well – finished the day on Wednesday with five goals and now has 48.
“You would think she’d score less than she does,” Whalin said. “She’s our center mid now, but she just knows where to go and where to be after the goalie makes the save.
“She’s smart, she knows where the goalie is going to play the ball. She looks for the other girls, and she also has a ton of assists. She’s just a smart player.”
While the Owls fell to 0-5 in league play (0-5-1 overall), the Indians upped their league mark to 5-0 (6-2 overall). A date with Neshaminy – also undefeated in the league – awaits the Indians on Friday.
“Neshaminy and Council Rock South are both really strong teams,” Whalin said. “They have some older players. We’re playing with some youth, but I think these seniors really want to prove something since we lost 11 players to graduation.
“It’s nice to have both Alex and Gabby on the team. This team believes in each other, and that’s what is making the difference, and they’re having a really good time.”
WILLIAM TENNENT 2, ABINGTON 0
The Panthers celebrated Senior Appreciation Night with a shutout win over the Ghosts on Wednesday.
“Abington did a fantastic job,” Tennent coach Kaitlyn Rauchet said. “It was definitely a great game. The girls came well prepared and really worked well together. It was a whole team effort.”
Rachael Mueller (Colleen McCabe assist) scored a goal six minutes into the contest that turned out to be the game winner. For good measure, teammate Kendall Brasch (McCabe assist) added an insurance goal to send the Panthers into halftime with a 2-0 lead that held until the final whistle.
Rauchet lauded the efforts of her three seniors – goalie Tori Villani, Colleen McCabe and Joanna Simpson.
“They all played spectacularly well,” the Panthers’ coach said. “We also had fine play from Megan McCloskey and Megan Izak.”
Rauchet went on to praise the performances of both Brasch and Mueller as well as Ali Cochran and Hannah Chamberlin.
The Panthers, who were awarded 11 corners, held a 9-3 advantage in shots. Villani was forced to make just three saves in the shutout.
While the Ghosts fell to 1-3 in league play (2-3 overall), the Panthers improved to 2-2 in the league (3-3 overall).
PENNSBURY 5, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
CONTINENTAL CONFERENCE
NORTH PENN 3, HATBORO-HORSHAM 1
The Maidens picked up that elusive first win on Wednesday, taking a 1-0 halftime lead and never looking back.
“The girls have been working so hard, and they haven’t gotten off course, which can happen when you have that kind of start,” coach Shannon McCracken said. “The girls have seen improvement since the preseason, and they kept a positive attitude.
“We have a lot of young girls who weren’t on the team last year, so they didn’t really see what it was like last year. The seniors have been maintaining that positive attitude, and the girls have been staying on course and continuing to work hard.”
Shannon Talbot scored an unassisted goal 11 minutes into the opening half, and that 1-0 lead stood until the intermission.
“We have been having trouble scoring,” McCracken said. “The last five games we’ve lost, we’ve lost by one goal, and two of them were in overtime.
“We’re focusing in practice on just shooting. We gave ourselves a goal of 10 shots for the first half, and they met that goal.”
Katrina Marger (Jenn DeLongis assist) connected just over 10 minutes into the second half to make it a 2-0 game before the Hatters got on the scoreboard less than a minute later when Sydney Rausa (Robyn Barbell assist) scored to make it a 2-1 game.
“Sydney came up from jayvee today to help with fresh legs and give us some energy,” said Hatboro coach Laura Swezey, who was without a pair of junior starters – Rachel Rausa and Jane Henry.
Eighteen seconds later, Casey O’Donnell scored an unassisted goal for the 3-1 final.
“Shannon Talbot had an excellent game in the center midfield,” McCracken said. “Casey O’Donnell had a beautiful goal where she just took the ball down the field, dodged a few defenders and took on the goalkeeper and then dodged the goalkeeper. She made a difference on the forward line because she was really cutting back for the ball. She had a lot of great touches on the ball in the circle.”
The Maidens held an 18-11 advantage in shots on goal, but the Hatters had a slight edge (5-3) in corners.
Hatboro goalie Emily Baunewell recorded 11 saves while North Penn’s Chessa Kownurko had nine.
“North Penn moved the ball well, and we needed to finish,” Swezey said.
While the Hatters fell to 3-2 in league play (3-3 overall), the Maidens are 1-4 in the league (1-6 overall).
SOUDERTON 3, PENNRIDGE 1
The Rams dominated play on the field, collecting 19 corners to just five for the Indians. They also held a 15-8 edge in shots, but where it mattered most, the Rams came up short as the Indians found a way to win.
“We didn’t have our best showing today,” Souderton coach Lauren Whiteside said.
Abbey Gabriel (Tabatha Almost assist) put the Indians on the scoreboard just over two minutes into the game, and a pair of goals late in the half by Meghan McDermott (Bekah Hershey assist) and Almond (Alyssa Ziegler assist) sent the Indians into halftime with a commanding 3-0 lead.
The Rams scored the lone goal of the second half when Madi Reiss connected midway through the half.
“Even after scoring in the first three minutes, we let our guard down and didn’t play the hockey we know we’re capable of playing,” Whiteside said. “”We were able to capitalize on the opportunities we had, but we need to create more opportunities.
“Pennridge never gave up and continued to pound our defense.”
Souderton goalie Jen Bergey turned away eight shots.
“She played a great game and kept us in the win,” Whiteside said.
The Indians are 4-1 in league play (4-2 overall) while the Rams fell to 1-4 in the league (3-4 overall).
QUAKERTOWN 3, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2 (OT)
Becky Gerhart scored her second goal of the game at the 8:39 mark of overtime to propel the Panthers to the thrilling win. The Panthers trailed 2-1 at halftime after CB East's Marissa Glatt (Chelsea Fite assist) and Olivia McGee (Glatt assist) scored goals with McGee's come with 1:44 remaining in the half to put the Patriots on top. Quakertown's first half goal was scored by Emma McLaughlin, and it was Gerhart scorng the equalizer with 8:39 remaining in the second half, setting the stage for OT.
The Patriots held an 18-14 advantage in shots on goal while the Panthers had a 9-6 edge in corners. East goalie Samantha Grzegorczyk turned away 15 shots in a busy night in the cage.
While the Patriots saw their record drop to 1-4 in league play (1-6 overall), the Panthers improved to 2-3 in the league (4-3 overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 5, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 (Tuesday, Sept. 18)
The Titans ignored the inclement weather and won Tuesday’s battle of the neighboring rivals on a windy, rainy night.
“We played with a lot of intensity tonight and didn’t let the weather phase us,” CB South’s Megan Hamilton said. “We gave it all we had and worked together to move the ball down the field. We took advantage of our opportunities.”
The Titans took just a 1-0 lead into halftime but blew the game wide open with a four-goal second half.
“The team played very well together, looking to play attacking hockey,” co-coach Jeff Harding said. “The girls showed tremendous energy, work ethic and on-field communication. They played hard and played as a team.”
CB South goalie Sarah Zezotarski was forced to make just one save in the shutout.
The Titans remain perfect, boasting a 5-0 record in league play (7-0 overall). The Bucks saw their record drop to 3-2 in the league (6-2 overall).
“It was only 1-0 at halftime, but we just completely broke down in the second half and weren’t taking care of the ball,” West coach Casey Hughes said.
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
CHELTENHAM 4, UPPER MORELAND 0
Junior Sammi Slotkin took advantage of her first start of the season by connecting for the hat trick, leading the Lady Panthers to their first win of the season on Wednesday.
“Sammi was my second sub off the bench,” coach Emily Zegestowsky said. “I put her in the game on Friday against Wissahickon, and she did a really good job playing right forward.
“She makes really smart plays, really smart passes, and she can always touch the ball on the post. She scored a goal on Friday and played really well, and I told her she earned a starting position.”
Slotkin seized the moment, scoring an unassisted goal just over six minutes into the second half to break a 0-0 halftime tie.
“We actually didn’t play well in the first half at all,” Zegestowsky said. “I told them that was more like a practice, and I wanted them to play Cheltenham field hockey the second half.”
Four minutes later, Slotkin turned a pass from teammate Gabby Szczepanek into a goal and a 2-0 Cheltenham lead. Szczepanek scored an unassisted goal with 9:48 remaining, and Slotkin put the finishing touches on a big day by completing the hat trick with 37 seconds remaining in the game.
“She was right where she needed to be on the post and on the pads,” Zegestowsky said. “Gabby is really our strongest player on offense, but she hasn’t been able to score. She scored Friday against Wissahickon, and she scored again today.”
The Lady Panthers’ coach also lauded the consistent performances of senior Allison Hawkins at center back.
“That’s a new position for her this year, and she’s really been our strongest player back there,” Zegestowsky said. “That has helped.”
With the win, the Lady Panthers are 1-4 in the league (1-6 overall).
“They definitely needed this,” Zegestowsky said. “I felt like we competed well against Upper Dublin, but we just couldn’t pull out a win.
“When we scored against Wissahickon, it was 3-1, but they answered with four goals. It was a tough loss. They had a few days off with the holiday and the rain, so they were coming into today with four days off, and that was tough.”
Emily Hawkins had three saves in goal for the shutout while Saige Wenik (six saves) and Bridget Meade combined for nine saves.
The Golden Bears fell to 0-5 in the league (0-7 overall).
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 5, NORRISTOWN 4
In one of the day’s most exciting games, the Colonials rallied from a 3-1 deficit to earn the big win over their neighboring rival.
The Eagles took a 1-0 lead when Vanessa Fosco scored four minutes into the game, using a Natalie Mitchell assist. Rachel Konowal answered with a goal that knotted the score three minutes later. Things looked promising for the Eagles after Kerri Harner (Fosco assist) and Monica Levins (Keifonna Ferguson assist) scored back-to-back goals a minute apart late in the first half, but PW's Aurora Mills and Allison Spinelli answered with back-to-back goals of their own to make it a 3-3 game at halftime.
Konowal’s second goal 14 minutes into the second half put the Colonials on top 4-3. Levins (Fosco assist) scored for the Eagles to knot the scor, but Mills scored the game winner for PW with just over seven minutes remaining.
Norristown goalie Jessica Grose turned away 12 shots. The Colonials held a 7-2 edge in corners.
Norristown coach Stacie Staufenberg acknowledged the solid outings of several players.
“Emma Hagel had a strong game with very smart play through the back and midfield,” the Eagles’ coach said. “Monica Levins fought hard through every play and dug deep to produce a very strong game.
“PW’s Courtney Konowal had very nice moves and controlled the flow and distribution in the midfield.”
Both teams are 3-2 in league play. The Colonials are 3-4 overall, and the Eagles are 3-3.
SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 3, UPPER DUBLIN 1
Three different players scored goals for the Spartans, who took a 2-1 lead into halftime. Libby Field put the Spartans on the scoreboard with an unassisted goal just over five minutes into the game. Christine Campbell connected to put the Spartans on top 2-0 before Sydney Lange scored for the Flying Cardinals to make it a one-goal game at the intermission. Alyssa Buckley scored eight minutes into the second half for the 3-1 final.
Upper Dublin goalie Dana Russell was credited with 11 saves while Kim Machalette had six. The Spartans had a 10-4 advantage in corners.
While the Flying Cardinals fell to 2-3 in the league (2-5 overall), the Spartans remain perfect (6-0, 5-0 SOL).
WISSAHICKON 9, UPPER MERION 2
Emily Gallagher exploded for four goals and also had an assist to lead the Trojans. Jackie Hibbs added two goals and an assist while Angela Virtu, Lindsay Anderson and Alex Comonitski each added single goals. Virtu, Comonitski, Mel Fry and Marie Dickson each had one assist.
Amanda McAteer and Dom Gambone accounted for the Vikings’ goals.
Upper Merion keeper Devyn Antonucci was credited with 10 saves while Wissahickon’s Claire Tarzia (one save) and Emoni Fisher (six saves) shared time in goal.
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