Check out the results for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Wednesday. To view photos of the PW/Springfield and CB West/HH games, please visit the Photo Gallery by clicking here.
National Conference
NESHAMINY 2, PENNSBURY 1
Repeats are never easy but almost always sweet.
And so it was for Neshaminy on Thursday night. The Redskins put together another great effort, this time coming against rival Pennsbury to earn a 2-1 road victory and wrap up a second straight SOL National title.
“Everyone played well today,” said Redskins coach Tom Foley. “It was a dogfight.”
“It was a good all-around defensive effort for us,” he continued.
Led by Chris Watson in net, the Neshaminy defense made a second half two-goal lead stand strong. The back line, which against the Falcons featured Devlin Mettee, Jamen Rowan, Pat Raykovitz and Dan Martin, helped continue what has been a great year on that end of the field for the Redskins. In league matches, they yielded just six goals, which was a big reason for their 11-0-3 mark. Only Holy Ghost Prep in the season opener managed to reach the multi-goal plateau against Neshaminy to this point.
“I told the kids, it was a great accomplishment going through our league undefeated,” Foley said. “We have a really strong defensive back, and we get really timely goals.”
Against Pennsbury, those tallies came in the first half. Kenny Herrmann got things going when he scored on a setup by Dylan McDonald. Nick Tucci then converted the eventual game winner thanks to a shot assisted by Dan Grinrod.
Pennsbury cut the lead to 2-1 at halftime, but was unable to get the equalizer. Their best chance to do so came off a breakaway shot and rebound opportunity, but both were rejected by Watson.
The Falcons fell to 7-5-1 in the league, but can still wrap up third place by beating Truman Friday.
Neshaminy 2 0 2
Pennsbury 1 0 1
BENSALEM 3, ABINGTON 0
Finishing strong is always important heading into the playoffs, and that is precisely what Bensalem has done this year. On Wednesday night, the Owls dropped Abington by a 3-0 count at home, clinching second place in the SOL National and their tenth league win.
The win was the fourth straight for Bensalem as it prepares for the playoffs. The Owls will wrap up their league slate Friday when William Tennent visits, which could be followed by a home playoff game. It will be the first time the Owls have qualified for the postseason in over 10 years.
“It’s pretty big for us to get into the playoffs,” said coach Joe Leone. “Our team as a whole has something to prove.”
Six players helped in the offensive effort, as Alec Rosenfeld, Chris Juergenson and Mike Henry had assists. The game winner came from Jimmy McDowell, which was followed by Henry to give Bensalem a 2-0 edge at intermission. John Torres capped the scoring in the second half with a goal of his own, while Elan Fingles had another solid night from his midfield position.
Chris Kilcoyne earned the shutout in net.
“I think that the players bonded together,” Leone said. “We want to win. We want to play the best soccer we can.”
Abington fell to 4-7-2 with the loss.
Bensalem 2 1 3
Abington 0 0 0
WILLIAM TENNENT 1, TRUMAN 1
The Panthers rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit but were unable to break through with a winner in what ended as a 1-1 home stalemate Wednesday night.
Had the Panthers won, they would have overtaken Pennsbury for sole possession of third place in the SOL National. As it stands, they improved to 6-4-3 in the SOL National and could still capture third with a victory over Bensalem Friday that is coupled with a Pennsbury loss.
For the Tigers, Rashard Gayle scored the lone goal and keeper Jon Lopez stopped 10 Tennent shots to preserve the draw. They will wrap up their year against Pennsbury Friday, when they will seek their third league win.
William Tennent 0 1 0 (OT 1) 0 (OT 2) 1
Truman 1 0 0 (OT 1) 0 (OT 2) 1
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 (2 OT)
It was a game needed by both teams and fought hard enough to require two extra sessions.
CB West and Hatboro-Horsham battled to a scoreless tie after 80 minutes, a trend which continued through one full overtime period and well into a second.
But with about six minutes to go and the Hatters aggressively pursuing a game winner by moving men forward, CB West gained possession and went on a counter rush.
With a three-on-two advantage, the Bucks’ Stephen Werner found Joel Klapper for a shot on net. The initial shot was stopped by the Hatboro-Horsham keeper, but senior midfielder Jared Kelly was there for the rebound, which he put home to seal a 1-0 home triumph.
“We caught Hatboro with numbers,” said Bucks coach Stefan Szygiel.
The Bucks, who finished fifth in the SOL Continental last season, wrapped up an 8-3-3 mark in league play this year with the win. That is good for sole possession of third place and a likely first round home game in the District I playoffs next week.
“We have to be a top 12 seed, I would think, but we’ll see how it all shakes out on Sunday,” Szygiel said.
In goal, Redd Brown stopped five Hatter shots to earn the shutout. That effort also came due to a solid effort from players including Conrad Urffer and Brady Boylan.
“The past couple games, we’ve been experimenting and changing some things just to throw some different looks at teams, and my back line’s been very understanding,” said Szygiel.
Yet, there are scoring concerns going into the postseason, some of which Szygiel hopes continue to improve when the Bucks go for a 10-win season against Council Rock South Thursday night.
“We’re creating. We’re just not finishing, and that needs to turn come next week,” Szygiel said.
The Hatters, who had postseason hopes of their own before into the match, finished at 4-9-1 in league play the loss.
Central Bucks West 0 0 0 (OT 1) 1 (OT 2) 1
Hatboro-Horsham 0 0 0 (OT 1) 0 (OT 2) 0
SOUDERTON 2, QUAKERTOWN 1
Souderton earned a much needed win, thanks to a great second half start against Quakertown.
Less than two minutes into the second half, the Indians struck after drawing a penalty kick, which Nick Stulb converted to give his team a 1-0 advantage. The Indians quickly added to that, as 10 minutes later, Tyler Eckardt found Tylor Strozeski for a shot and goal that proved to be the game winner.
“They played with energy and they really carried our team,” said Souderton coach Matt Benner. “They’ve gotten the results they deserve down the stretch.”
Senior Justin Rodzewich also had a solid night as Benner allowed many of his other teammates to contribute against the Panthers. They included Stulb, Eckardt, Jordan Rawa, Felipe Silva, Roman Zajac and keeper Adam Strogis.
“They were very athletic. Very fast,” Benner praised about Quakertown. “They’re certainly a very good team and their seniors tonight, on their Senior Night, played very, very well.”
The Indians are now 5-8-1 on the year in SOL Continental play, which puts them in sole possession of fifth place and may be just enough to qualify for districts.
“I’m not quite sure what we’ve done is good enough to get into the playoffs,” Benner said. “As I said before, I’m really happy about how the boys responded in the second half of the year and continued to play hard all the way to the end.”
Quakertown dropped to 2-11 in the SOL Continental with the loss.
Souderton 0 2 2
Quakertown 0 1 1
NORTH PENN 1, PENNRIDGE 0
Zach Jarrett had six saves for the Rams, but a goal by Mike Kohler proved to be all North Penn needed to pull off a 1-0 road victory, winning its 10th SOL Continental match of the year and wrapping up second place.
Pennridge’s season wrapped up with a 3-9-2 SOL Continental mark, while the Knights are now 10-2-2 in league play and will likely host a playoff match next week. First, though, they will complete the regular season Thursday night with a visit from Christopher Dock.
North Penn 1 0 1
Pennridge 0 0 0
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1 (OT)
For the second time in as many outings, the Patriots displayed a flare for the dramatic, rallying from an early deficit to knot the score and then winning it in overtime – this time on a goal by Broock Weiss. The win was their 10th straight in Continental Conference play, and with the win, East (13-3, 11-2 SOL) clinched sole possession of the conference crown.
“CB South played very well,” East coach Mike Gorni said. “I’m just really excited about it. We clinched the league outright, and 10 straight games in this league – I’m almost stunned by it, frankly.”
This conference title, according to Gorni, was especially gratifying.
“It’s five of the last six in what I think is an unbelievably great league, and this year I think even more competitive and more parity than any other year,” the Patriots’ coach said. “The fact that we only returned four starters – everybody else was saying how young they are, but we’re also very young with sophomores and freshmen starting.
“Our captains did a ton to provide the leadership, and as cliché as it sounds, we just stayed focused – one game at a time, and after the 1-2 start, we were able to pull out every single victory. You need to be a little blessed as well.”
The Titans got on the scoreboard with less than two minutes remaining in the second half on a goal by Colin Fagan (Dan Remick assist), but the Patriots got that goal back when Evan Vare (Ryan Gleason assist) scored midway through the second half, setting the stage for overtime.
The Patriots scored the game winner with 4:15 remaining in the first overtime. The play was set up by a free kick after Evan Vare was taken down outside the box. Ryan Gleason and Kyle Clow got touches on the ball that ended on up on the foot of Weiss, who scored the ‘golden goal.’
“Broock Weiss hit a volley, a smash that the goalkeeper had not chance on,” Gorni said. “I think the kids wanted to win the league title. It was very important to them. We wanted to clinch the title and not have to worry about anything with Quakertown on Friday.”
Weiss as well as Ryan Vare, Ryan Gleason, Kyle Clow and goalie Dan Chilson are the team’s captains.
CB South closed out its league season with a 7-6-1 mark (10-7-1 overall).
Central Bucks East 0 0 0
Central Bucks South 0 0 0
American Conference.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 1, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 0
The Colonials made it official Wednesday afternoon.
Regardless of any other results, Plymouth Whitemarsh will finish with at least a share of the SOL American title. Dominic Wlodarczyk made the difference in the match as his goal was all the Colonials needed in a 1-0 triumph in front of a home crowd.
The Colonials improved to 13-1 in the league, their only setback coming by a 3-2 score at the hands of Upper Dublin Sept. 24. Plymouth Whitemarsh returned the favor, though, on Monday night in a 2-0 victory at Upper Dublin.
The Colonials will now prepare for the postseason, while Springfield-Montco wrapped up its SOL American campaign at 4-10. The Spartans did keep it close, however, thanks to goalie Kevin Sykes.
”Springfield goalkeeper Kevin Sykes had a terrific performance with 19 saves,” praised Spartans coach Dan Meder.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 0 1
Springfield (Montco) 0 0 0
CHELTENHAM 2, NORRISTOWN 0
Finishing strong is something Cheltenham continues to do. After thrashing Upper Moreland Tuesday, the Panthers turned around the next afternoon and got another solid performance in a 2-0 blanking of Norristown.
“Now, we are starting to see more seniors step up,” said Cheltenham coach Chuck Gesing. “In the last two games, we’ve gotten goals from seniors Staphin Codio, Ben Doyle and Danny Fishbein.”
“Nash Giddings has come up from JV and put in two solid performances,” Gesing added about his goalkeeper. “I’m very impressed with character of these young men in our senior class and I will miss them next year.”
Doyle earned his second varsity goal, which happened to be the game winner, in the 13th minute of action. Just 10 minutes later, the Panthers earned a free kick, and Fishbein took advantage with his first goal at the varsity level that added some insurance. Giddings did the rest in earning his first shutout this season.
The win bumped the Panthers to 5-8 in the SOL American and clinched fifth place for them. Part of the reason for their strong performances has been the seniors, which also include team captain Max Perilstein and Christos Yiantos.
Regular starting goalie Jon Winneg, as well as Justin McNab and Tim Taliaferro, have also been strong. The Panthers will wrap up their league slate against Upper Dublin Thursday before hosting Council Rock North on Friday.
Norristown, meanwhile, concluded its year at 3-11 in the league.
Cheltenham 2 0 2
Norristown 0 0 0
UPPER DUBLIN 5, UPPER MERION 1
The Cardinals remained alive for a share of the SOL American title with a 5-1 road trouncing of Upper Merion. If they can end Cheltenham’s two-game winning streak at home Thursday, they will draw even with Plymouth Whitemarsh with both league wins at 13-1 and points at 39.
Upper Merion, meanwhile, will host MaST Charter Thursday night for a chance at 10 wins on the year. The Vikings wrapped up league play at 7-7, good for sole possession of fourth place.
WISSAHICKON 2, UPPER MORELAND 0
Wissahickon dominated the match offensively, but Upper Moreland held strong before succumbing at home by a 2-0 score Wednesday.
Earning the win in goal for the Trojans was Neal Guaglianone, who stopped three of the Golden Bears six shots to pitch the shutout.
Wissahickon sent 18 shots at the Upper Moreland net but connected on only two. The game winner came just before the midway point of the first half thanks to a Cole Kropnick goal. It remained 1-0 for the next 40 minutes, when Devon Memis connected on a shot to give the Trojans needed insurance.
The Trojans finished their SOL American slate at 10-4, which is good for third place. They will next trek to Neshaminy in a non-league, playoff tune-up Friday afternoon.
Upper Moreland fell to a closing 1-13 mark in the league.
Wissahickon 1 1 2
Upper Moreland 0 0 0
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