Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ soccer teams in action Thursday. Wissahickon/PW photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. CR North/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of both games CLICK HERE to go directly to the SOS photo galleries.
SOL American Conference
Hatboro-Horsham 1, Upper Dublin 0
A slow start to the season?
Yeah, Hatboro-Horsham had one, but the Hatters have picked things up in a big way and took another step in the right direction with a win over Upper Dublin.
The Hatters, the defending conference champions, are now 5-5-1 (3-4-1 SOL) after starting the season 1-3-1.
"It was a good game against one of our biggest rivals now that we’re in a new league," Hatboro-Horsham coach Kyle McGrath said. "Both teams generated opportunities. Upper Dublin was probably a little more dangerous in terms of real good opportunities, but my goalkeeper, Zack Kim, was fantastic today.
"He made a few real big saves and also just did a really good job of controlling his box on restarts and coming out and grabbing the ball in the air to make things easier on our defenders.”
Bradan Mallon came off the bench to notch the game's only goal with just 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
“We were able to get the ball out wide and then we put it back to the top of the box and Josh Luke took a shot,” McGrath said. “The goalkeeper saved it, and the rebound fell right to Bradan, who finished the rebound."
McGrath had praise all around for his team.
“I thought Bradan came in off the bench, and he kind of changed the game for us a little bit and gave us a spark," McGrath said. “My attacking center midfielder, Ryan Cole, had a good game today as well."
And let's not forget about the defense.
"Again, my back four, Jason Czaplicki, Jake Weiss, Vince Bucafurri and Fran Moio, were very good," McGrath said. "They’ve played the last six or seven games and they’re starting to gel. We’re doing a good job of keeping the other team out of our own goal.
"Obviously, it was a rough start to the year. Maybe we thought we were a little better than we were. They realize they need to show up every single day and be ready to play.”
Hatboro-Horsham will host Wissahickon on Tuesday, and Upper Dublin (5-5-1, 3-4-1) will be on the road at Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-1 – 1
Upper Dublin 0-0 0
Abington 3, Springfield Township 0
Abington continued its impressive conference play with a victory over Springfield Township.
The Ghosts, now 6-1 in the conference and in a virtual tie for the top spot with Wissahickon, received first-half goals from Sean Touey and Jaeden Joyce and a second-half tally from Nevin Baer to secure the win.
Abington (9-1 overall) will host Neshaminy on Friday at 3:30. The Spartans (2-6-3, 0-6-2) will be on the road at Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
Abington 1-2 – 3
Springfield Township 0-0 0
Upper Moreland 1, Cheltenham 0
Upper Moreland stayed in the thick of the conference race with a win over Cheltenham.
"This was a game that we needed to win after a bad defeat at the hands of Wissahickon," Upper Moreland coach Matt Duffey said of Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to the Trojans. "It was a grind it out type of game."
The Golden Bears picked up all of the offense they would need midway through the first half when Chris O'Donnell, with an assist from Ryan Cannon, netted his 11th goal of the season.
"Tyler Holman, Joe Kane, Justin Mull, Mateo Infante and Ryan Cannon played well for us," Duffey said. "And our goalkeepers, Greg Wiley and Nic Keene also played well.
Upper Moreland (4-4-3, 3-4-1 SOL) will travel to Abington on Tuesday, and Cheltenham (4-4-1, 3-3-1) will host William Tennent Friday.
Cheltenham 0-0 – 0
Upper Moreland 1-0 - 1
Wissahickon 3, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1
Wissahickon, fresh off a convincing win over Upper Moreland on Wednesday, made it two straight victories in two days and kept itself just one point behind Abington in the conference standings.
Again, the Trojans were paced on offense by dynamic forward Eddie Fortescue, who recorded a hat trick.
Fortescue scored once in the first half, about midway through, and then added tallies in the 60th and 70th minute to conclude his outburst. David Goldstein had a pair of assists and Leo Morales also added a helper.
"We just had a solid performance against a good side," Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm said. "We put a great deal of pressure on their goal in the first half and got a breakthrough with a goal from Eddie Fortescue.
"Eddie completed his hat trick in the second half."
Wissahickon (6-1-2, 5-1-2 SOL) will be on the road at Spring-Ford Monday for a non-league game, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-4-3, 3-3-2) will host Springfield Township on Tuesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-1 – 1
Wissahickon 1-2 - 3
SOL Continental Conference
Central Bucks West 2, Central Bucks East 0
Usually a one, two or three followed by a zero.
That's what you usually hear when you ask what the Central Bucks West score was.
As in 1-0 Bucks; or 2-0 Bucks; or 3-0 Bucks. You get the idea.
And the reason for these kind of numbers? A really stingy defense and a really good goalie.
"Our back line and our goalie have been consistent and reliable," said Central Bucks West coach Stefan Szygiel, whose team is 8-2 overall with all eight wins coming by shutout.
"Bailey Moyer, James Lutz, Nick Centenera and Michael Redfield have all been good and we've relied on them in each game. Having the eight shutouts halfway through the season is definitely a testament to them.
"And (goalie) Dylan Smith just brings a wealth of experience. He's been starting since his freshman year, and we don't go to the (PIAA) state semis last year without him.
“For Dylan, getting a clean sheet is like a forward scoring a goal. He prides himself on playing well. There have been games where we've won by three or four goals, but if he conceded a goal, he gets mad. He just wants to be better."
The offense in this win was provided by Alan Zlotin (with an assist to Reed Sturza), who scored in the first half and an unassisted goal from Carson Snyder in the second half.
"Carson Snyder in the midfield had a really good game for us," Szygiel said. "And Kyle Holt, also in the midfield, had a strong game, too."
The Bucks (6-1 SOL) will host Souderton on Tuesday, and Central Bucks East (1-8-1, 1-5-0) will travel to Central Bucks South on Tuesday.
Central Bucks West 1-1 - 2
Central Bucks East 0-0 0 0
North Penn 3, Souderton 1 Central Bucks South 3, Quakertown 1 |
SOL National Conference
Pennsbury 0, Council Rock North 0 (OT)
Even 100 minutes of play couldn't determine a winner in this one between two conference heavyweights. The Falcons extended the Indians to overtime in the initial meeting between the two teams as well – the Indians eked out a 2-1 win in that won.
In a game of limited opportunities, the Falcons saw a goal late in regulation waved off for off-sides, and Rock North goalie Andrew Daries delivered a big stop on a shot by Evan Reicard in the closing minutes of regulation.
The tie kept the Indians atop the conference standings while the Falcons remain in the thick of the race for second place at the halfway point of the season.
Both Daries and Pennsbury keeper Peter Beidler delivered clean sheets.
Council Rock North (6-2-1, 5-0-1 SOL) will be on the road at Bensalem on Monday, and Pennsbury (4-4-1, 3-2-1) is scheduled to host Central Bucks South in a non-league game Saturday.
Council Rock North 0-0 – 0
Pennsbury 0-0 - 0
Council Rock South 1, Harry S. Truman 0
It took some time, plenty of time, actually, before Council Rock South was able to subdue a determined Harry S. Truman side and pick up the victory.
"We dominated much of the game, but struggled with the final touch," CR South coach Alan Nicholl said. "It was good to get a win under our belt.
"It was a good team effort and we moved the ball around well and had a ton of shots."
The shot that mattered came from Sean Armstrong with 15 minutes left which accounted for all of the scoring.
"Sean Armstrong scored an unassisted goal for us," Nicholl said. "And both center midfielders, Andrew Rosenfeld and Raphael Gelshteyn, were solid."
The Golden Hawks (4-7, 4-3 SOL) will host Neshaminy Tuesday, and Harry S Truman (1-8, 0-7) will be on the road at Council Rock North on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 0-1 – 1
Harry S. Truman 0-0 0
Non-league
Pennridge 4, Lansdale Catholic 0
Pennridge scored early and often on the way to a convincing non-league victory over Lansdale Catholic of the Philadelphia Catholic League.
The Rams scored three times in the game's first 30 minutes and added their final tally less than two minutes into the second half to knock off the Crusaders.
"This was a really good bounce-back game for us," Pennridge coach Pete Valimont said. "We had a frustrating loss the other night against a really good North Penn team.
"And Lansdale Catholic is also a very good squad that is well coached. It was just a good night for us and a bad night for them, and it was nice to see the stuff we've been working on work for us in a game."
Marco Grenda (from Aidan Link) gave the hosts all the offense they would need just eight minutes into the game before Jack Gillespie (from Nick Dunn) netted the second goal just five minutes later. Gillespie then capped the first-half run with 11 minutes remaining before the break off a long throw-in from Bobby Brashear. Grenda added his second goal of the game (again from Link) just 90 seconds into the second half.
"It was a good game for us," Valimont said. "Our goalies, Ryan Mayhew in the first half, and Matt Sheldon in the second kept the clean sheet and Matt Stevenson played all over the field for us tonight and just did a great job.
"We also received great minutes on defense off the bench from Christian Alburger."
Pennridge (7-2-1, 3-2-1 SOL) will host Southern Lehigh in a non-league game on Monday.
Lansdale Catholic 0-0 – 0
Pennridge 3-1 - 4
- Log in to post comments
