Check out all of Monday’s exciting SOL soccer action.
BOYS
CONTINENTAL CONFERENCE
Central Bucks South 2, Central Bucks East 0
The Titans jumped out to an early lead over the Patriots when Brendon Rennie found the net after only 10 minutes of play. Midway through the second half Danny Busichio connected again for the Titans after a Connor Stackhouse assist, making it difficult for the Patriots to come back. Titan keeper Matt Weigner collected his fourth shutout of the season.
The Patriots (4-3) visit Hatboro on Friday and the Titans (5-1-1), who share the lead for the league with Souderton, travel to Pennridge.
Souderton 4, Quakertown 2
The Indians stayed atop the conference standings with CB South, improving their record to 5-1-1 in the league with their victory over the Panthers (2-5 SOL). The Indians led 2-1 at halftime after goals by Ryan Molyneaux and Wilson Gonzalez, while Kyle Woulfe (Connor Floyd assist) added one for the Panthers. Scoring in the second half for the Indians were Tylor Strozeski (assisted by Nick Stulb) and Tyler MacDougall (assisted by Trey Ziegler) while Woulfe struck again for the Panthers.
Hatboro-Horsham 2, Central Bucks West 1
Eduardo Romero and Dante D’Alonzo scored one apiece as the Hatters earned their first league win with their upset of the Bucks. Troy Eutermoser and Romero tallied assists. The Bucks’ solo goal came from Brian VanEekelen late in the second half, but it wasn’t enough.
“We played well,” Hatboro coach Kyle McGrath said. “It was a good effort from everyone today. It was the first time in awhile we were on the same page.”
McGrath says his young team needed a confidence boost, and this league win came at a crucial time.
“Hopefully we build on that confidence and move forward,” the Hatters’ coach said.
The Hatters improve to 1-6, 2-7 overall in the league while West falls to 3-4.
North Penn 4, Pennridge 1
Goal scorers for the Knights in Monday's win were Sean Gorman, Zach Miller, Matt Robinson and Alex Evans. Evans connected on a penalty kick. The Knights up their record to 5-2 in the SOL while the Rams are 2-4.
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1, Springfield 1 (2 OT)
The Colonials and Spartans remained deadlocked 1-1 after 20 minutes of overtime. Nick Emmett (assisted by Riley Woron) scored the Colonials’ only goal, and Joey Galleo was the only Spartan to find the net. Spartan keeper Colin Axel stopped seven shots. Plymouth Whitemarsh is now 4-2-1, and Springfield is right behind them in the league rankings at 3-3-1.
Wissahickon 3, Upper Moreland 0
The Trojans stay atop the American League, boasting a 7-0 record after Monday’s win over the Bears (3-4 SOL). Devon Memis scored two goals while Matt Knittel added one. Cole Kropnick was credited with an assist.
Cheltenham 3, Norristown 0
The Panthers exploded as soon as the whistle sounded and jumped out to a 3-0 lead by halftime. Scoring for the Panthers were Joe Galtman, Eli Tomasic and Justin McNab. The Panthers improved to 3-4 while the Eagles (0-6) remain winless in the SOL.
Upper Dublin 5, Upper Merion 0
The Flying Cardinals took flight in the second half of their game against the Vikings. At the half, it was a scoreless game until the Cardinals buried goal after goal in the second half. Mike Connelly, Zach Arnold and Den Demchick all scored within the first 15 minutes of the half, while Cole D'Andrea closed up play by adding a pair. Upper Dublin remains in second place in the league with a 6-1 record while Upper Merion falls to 0-6.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Neshaminy 1, Pennsbury 0
The Redskins (6-1 SOL) are thrilled to continue to share the top spot in the conference with Council Rock South after Monday’s win over the Falcons (4-3 SOL). The teams were deadlocked 0-0 until Nick Tucci placed his corner kick in the path of Austin Transue, who buried it in the goal 28 minutes into the second half.
“It was a pretty tough game,” Redskins’ coach Tom Foley said. “It’s always nice in our league to be tied for first - our league is tough, and many games are one-goal games. We worked really hard today.”
Foley is quite familiar with one-goal games as all of his team’s wins this season have been by a single goal. Despite the fact that Foley has a relatively young team, he noted, “We are in a good spot now.”
The Redskins’ coach largely credited his teams’ success to his defense, which consists of three sophomores, one junior and one senior. In particular, sophomore back Devlin Mettee has been Foley’s most consistent player this year.
“He’s been really solid,” the first-year coach said. “He’s getting better and better. He could’ve won (our) player of the match (award) any game.”
As the Redskins enter the second half of league play, Foley is anxious for a rematch with all of the teams in the league.
“We want to keep it up,” he said. “We are very young, and it’s very good experience for us.”
The Redskins will face Truman on Friday in a rematch to see if they can stay on top.
Council Rock South 3, Council Rock North 0
The Golden Eagles silenced their rivals with a convincing 3-0 win. Julian Antal recorded two goals while Thomas Pascarella had the third for the Eagles. Chris Spadaro was key in providing all three assists. South (6-1 SOL) shares the top spot in the league with Neshaminy while North falls to 0-7.
Abington 4, Bensalem 3 (2 OT)
It took 100 minutes to determine the winner when the Ghosts visited the Owls. Scoring for the Ghosts were Kurt Howard (two goals), Harry Horn, and Danny Shepard while Sean Treacy picked up an assist. Josh Pepprah (two goals) and Brian Kilcoyne netted goals for the Owls while Chris Jorgenson and Jimmy Mcdowell each contributed an assist.
William Tennent 6, Truman 1
The Panthers eased past the Tigers 6-1. Johnnie Cialantre led the Panthers, connecting for a hat trick. Christian Williams, Jr McCabe and Zach Schreffler each added a single goal.
GIRLS
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Upper Dublin 1, Upper Merion 0
The Lady Cardinals netted their fourth consecutive league win after beating the Vikings (4-3 SOL). Julie Cross scored the lone goal of the contest in the 48th minute off an assist from Courtney Boudwin. The Lady Cards improve to 5-2 SOL and 5-3 overall while they prepare to face top-ranked Wissahickon on Friday.
Cheltenham 3, Norristown 0
The Panthers controlled the Eagles, shutting them out 3-0. Emily Liebovitz, Sarah Keeney, Hopkins all contributed a goal in the league victory.
Wissahickon 4, Upper Moreland 0
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Neshaminy 2, Pennsbury 1
It was a long awaited match-up between two of the top teams in the National Conference, and it was a battle of two skilled squads. The Redskins capitalized first when Megan Schafer scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute. Schafer found Fran Donato in front of the net a mere five minutes later to expand the lead to 2-0.
“They caught us on our heels and had a great finish,” Pennsbury coach Kaitlyn Battiste said. “(Donato) had a great rip from the far side.”
The Falcons never backed down though, and Alexa Moors eventually found the net in the 47th minute to narrow the gap.
“They have speed and there were shared opportunities,” Battiste said. “They clearly won first half, but in the second (half), we came at them from the beginning.”
Despite the loss, Battiste recognized the exceptional play of Megan Engeland and Emily Vogel, who had the daunting task of trying to control Neshaminy’s Farrell sisters.
The Falcons fall to third in the conference standings with a 5-2 record while the ‘Skins remain alone at the top undefeated (7-0).
Council Rock North 3, Council Rock South 1
Michaela Finneyfrock scored a pair of goals and teammate Nicole Moonan added a single goal to lead the Indians to the win in Monday's battle of crosstown rivals.
An unassisted goal by Finneyfrock sent the Indians into halftime with a 1-0 lead, and that lead grew to 2-0 after Moonan connected. A goal by the Golden Hawks cut that lead in half, but with 16 minutes remaining, Finneyfrock (Molly Leadbetter assist) scored an insurance goal for the 3-1 final.
“We didn’t really capitalize in the first half,” coach Larry Sullivan said. “We had more opportunities than just the one we scored on.
“In the second half, they came out and they were up for it. They were coming hard, and then Moonan hit a 35-yard screamer into the upper corner. That took the wind out of their sails, but they rallied and came back and made it 2-1, scored a good goal. They played well.”
While the Golden Hawks fell to 4-3 in league play (4-4 overall), the Indians upped their record to 6-1 in the league (9-1 overall).
Abington 2, Bensalem 1
The Ghosts pick up another league win to improve their record to 3-4 after beating the Owls. Molly Wyman scored first for the Ghosts, and Julia Guarini (assisted by Toni Washington) increased the lead to 2-0 moments before halftime. Siani Ashford kept the Owls (1-6 SOL) in the game as she tallied one in the second half.
CONTINENTAL CONFERENCE
Central Bucks East 2, Central Bucks South 1 (2 OT)
The Patriots eked out a win in a thriller over the Titans. The Patriots led 1-0 for most of the contest after Shaun Kane assisted on Holly Moyer’s goal. But the Titans made sure they could not relax, and Kelsey Mariner finally snuck one past the keeper with one second left in regulation to knot the score 1-1. The teams fought through two overtimes until Ali Walker scored the game-winner for the Patriots.
East coach Paul Eisold was impressed with the efforts of both teams.
“We dominated possession, but they really hung in there and made it a game,” he said. “I was impressed by his (Joe Bocklet’s) girls and the fight they had.”
Eisold praised the performance of his midfielder, Aimee Chimera, who was key in the victory by winning 50/50 balls and challenging her opponents. Eisold also credited Titans’ keeper Morgan Campbell for coming up with some outstanding saves.
The Patriots improved to 5-1-1 in the league and 6-2-1 overall while the Titans fell to 2-3-2 in the league.
Hatboro Horsham 1, Central Bucks West 1 (2 OT)
The Hatters and Bucks battled back and forth with each team scoring a goal in regulation, but neither could find the net in overtime. The teams were tied 0-0 until Sydney McNutt put the Hatters in front in the 55th minute (assisted by Emily Sheehan). However, the Bucks weren’t finished fighting as Erica Moyer (Emily Grove assist) sent the teams into overtime with her thrilling goal in the final minute of regulation.
Coach Kate Lamplugh applauded the efforts of Bucks’ keeper Grace Bendon, who kept her team in the game by stopping 14 of their 15 shots.
“I think we were controlling the ball, but they have a goalkeeeper that just shut down any shot that we took,” the Hatters’ first-year coach said. “She was phenomenal.”
Despite the tie, Lamplugh noted, “We were all on the same page.”
She credited outside midfielder Lauren Brophy with a solid 100 minutes of work in the game.
West Coach Chris Fruedig also acknowledged that both teams had strong showings.
“We played really well, but they came out with more energy in the second half,” he said. “Both teams could’ve won or lost.”
A standout for the Bucks was varsity newcomer Molly Pyles, who excelled at center defender in place of starter Gwen Harvey who was out sick.
The Hatters (3-2-2 SOL) will face CB East on Thursday night under the lights at War Memorial Field. Lamplugh admits this is one of the teams the Hatters are eager to face again after losing to them early in league play.
“It was a tough loss,” she said. “The score didn’t really represent the play. I’m hoping we can put some goals in the back of the net, get our defense organized and build on the things that have been successful for us.”
The Bucks record is now 4-2-1 in the league, and they remain one of the top three teams in the Continental Conference.
Quakertown 2, Souderton 0
The Panthers cruised to their first league win over the Indians. The Panthers scored a minute into the game when Jami Soriano connected off a Shannon Gibat assist. About 7 minutes later, Gibat found the net herself (assist from Shelly Cowan) to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead. The only thing the Panthers needed to do after that was keep the Indians from scoring for the remaining 70 minutes of the game, and they did just that.
Quakertown Coach Mike Koch said, “It was a good win. We got two early and pretty much had our way the first half. The second half it was more even.”
Koch described Gibat as being very dangerous the entire match and also praised the performance of Emily Galuppi.
“She did a great job defensively, limiting their chances and organizing the defense,” the Panthers’ coach said.
He also commended Lauren Verso, Grace Miorelli and Taylor Schwartz for performing well for the Indians (1-6 SOL).
The Panthers have been working on their transition game, which was one of their weaknesses, but Koch acknowledged they are now“moving more as a unit” and hope to continue their momentum in the back half of league play.
The Panthers improved to 1-5-1 in the SOL and 3-5-1 overall.
Pennridge 3, North Penn 0
The Rams continue to control the Continental Conference. The Rams (5-0-1 SOL) took an early lead after Natalia Pinkney found the net (assisted by Jackie Stevens) five minutes into the game. Megan Shenk would prove to be too much for the Maidens to handle, scoring one in each half with assists from Ashley Butcher and Shannon Chynoweth. The Maidens are now 2-4 in the league.
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