SPRINGFIELD >> Soccer is a game of fluidity, movement and inventiveness, the ball almost in constant motion.

But when the ball does come to a stop and players hurry to form walls and set up runs, there is always the potential for a game-changing moment. Set pieces are a rare currency in soccer and its often the team that is able to exchange them for goals that finds itself a winner.

Saturday morning, North Penn and La Salle met in a match that lived up to expectations. Both teams went up the down the pitch, connecting passes, creating chances and generally looking like either of them could win.

But it was the Explorers, by value of a set piece goal, that won the battle 1-0.

“When you look at the results North Penn’s had, they’ve been playing really, really well, they’re stacked,” La Salle coach Tom McCaffrey said. “We knew it was going to be tough. That was a high level opponent we wanted to get in before a big week in our league. We expected them to come out and fly around and make it difficult and they did.”

The game’s only goal came in the 47th minute when La Salle (9-0-0, 5-0-0 PCL) defender James Hughes headed a tremendous set piece service from defender Joseph Bridigi. Bridigi, who had an excellent match in his main job defending, looped a gorgeous ball off the right side to Hughes stationed on the far post for the re-direct.

“We had to stick together, I made one play but it doesn’t describe the game, it was a team effort,” Bridigi said. “We knew they were coming off a big win against CB South and that it was going to be a dogfight from the beginning. We just stuck together.”

Massive block by @LaSalle_Sports Joseph Brigidi late in Explorers 1-0 win over North Penn pic.twitter.com/bZKAUCsjEy

— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) September 24, 2016

Just a minute prior, North Penn (6-2-0, 4-1-0 SOL Continental) lost its senior leader on defense in center back Noah Kwortnik when he had to leave the match after getting hit in the head. For precautionary reasons, Kwortnik did not return to the game although the Knights did step up in his absence.

Whether Kwortnik’s towering presence would have made a difference on the set piece is a question that can’t be answered. Regardless, the Explorers still had to execute and they did.

North Penn didn’t lack for chances either and the razor-thin margin between the two was just what the Knights had expected. Fittingly, both teams have also now allowed just three goals on the season.

“It’s why we play every year, we know they’re good in the Catholic League, which is a great league and we’re generally pretty good in our league,” Knights coach Paul Duddy said. “It’s a good high school boys game. It’s certainly not the result we wanted and the chances we had the last 15 minutes, it’s a shame we didn’t get one. But their keeper (Brett Werner) played great.”

Defensively, La Salle did its best to contain North Penn’s dynamic attacking core and for the most part was able to keep the Knights in check. Central midfielder Joseph Pluck spent much of the match marking North Penn’s central midfield dynamo in Mike Kohler.

Kohler has a go pic.twitter.com/4bcHdKBB4P

— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) September 24, 2016

Kohler had his moments for sure and McCaffery expected as much, but Pluck’s effort allowed the back line to focus on checking the likes of Nate Baxter, Aiden Jerome and Luke McMahon. And in the instances where Kohler worked his magic past a defender or two, La Salle was able to slow him just enough for the second wave to get in his way.

McMahon was a bit of a surprise inclusion in the North Penn lineup after going down late in Thursday’s match and limping off the field. But the sophomore looked no worse for wear on Saturday, creating a bushel of chances and nearly equalized late in the second half, denied only by a terrific one-handed sprawling save from Werner.

“He was taped up, our guys know this is always a great team and Tommy McCaffrey always does a great job with them,” Duddy said. “He wanted to be out there. It’s a good rivalry for us.”

After scoring, La Salle changed its approach a little bit, looking to attack more out of counters and making safe plays in the second and final thirds. This wasn’t a circle the wagons and bunker in strategy, but with such a quality team on the other side, there was no need to be overly aggressive chasing another goal.

“As soon as we scored you could see (North Penn’s) level went up, they knew they had to bring the game to us,” McCaffrey said. “You never want to sit in and park the bus in a game like this. It should be an up and down flow but we did go to a counter-attacking style to make sure we didn’t give anything up. When that happens and you invite pressure to a degree, things like that are going to happen because they did a very good job in the last 15 (minutes) of putting it back on us.”

Indeed, North Penn pressed hard for a tying goal right down to the finish. But the Knights’ set piece finishing was not as clinical as La Salle’s. Kohler had a free kick from 19 yards sky over the bar while Jerome had a free kick knocked down and when presented with a rebound, he too put the shot high.

Not much later, McMahon had his chance parried away by Werner and a late, late scramble in front of the net saw Bridigi sell out to stuff out Johnston’s shot from close range.

“It was a reaction,” Bridigi said. “I don’t slide often, but I felt I had to there so I went for it.”

Great chance for North Penn pic.twitter.com/OVjKmNctCk

— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) September 24, 2016

Both teams head into pivotal weeks. La Salle has Father Judge and Roman Catholic, last year’s PCL runner-up and champion while North Penn visits Pennridge on Tuesday and hosts Central Bucks East, its only other loss this season on Thursday.

Picking up a win over a high-quality nonleague opponent was just what La Salle needed heading into contests with teams considered the class of the PCL.

“This is a huge energy booster,” Bridigi said. “We’re starting to make some noise in the league and this gets us looking forward to the games to come.”

North Penn will be looking to move past the setback quickly, as Kohler and midfielder Nick Terchek left the field already thinking about a team workout on Sunday. Duddy said his players may sulk about some of their missed chances for a day, but they’ll be back Monday ready to get after a new week.

There’s certainly one thing that will be practiced quite a bit on Monday.

“We need work on our set pieces,” Duddy said. “We had how many in dangerous areas, from 30 to 25 yards in, we probably had 10 set pieces and when you have that many, you have to come out with a goal.”

La Salle 1, North Penn 0
North Penn 0 0 – 0
La Salle 0 1 – 1
Goals: L – James Hughes (Joseph Bridigi) 49’ Shots: NP – 4, L- 2. Corners: N- 1, L- 1. Saves: N – Bobby Dean 1, L – Brett Werner 4.

Grant Sareyka, Brandon Rochester and Jesse Brittain scored one goal each as Christian Academy downed Baptist Regional (N.J.), 3-1, Saturday in nonleague boys soccer.

Caleb Robinson, Tyler Skaer and Brittain contributed one assist apiece, while goalie Andre Jones had three saves for the Crusaders (5-2).

In other nonleague action:

Garnet Valley 2, Souderton 1 >> Nate Ominsky had both goals for the Jaguars and goalie Tyler Tracy made nine saves. Matt Moore assisted on Ominsky’s second goal, which gave GV a 2-0 halftime lead.

Hill School 1, Episcopal Academy 0 >> Toni Adewele scored the only goal of the game on a penalty kick in the first half for The Hill School. Matt Freese and AJ Marcucci each had four saves in net for the Churchmen (7-3-2).

Conestoga 1, Haverford School 0 >> Will Baltrus made six saves as the Fords (2-4-2) fell in double overtime. The Pioneers outshot the Fords 15-9.

Penncrest 1, Sun Valley 0 >> Christian Evans notched the game-winning goal in overtime off an assist from Max Brown for the Lions. Pat Hughes tallied five saves for Penncrest (7-3) and Brendan Skwirut had 10 stops for Sun Valley.

Haverford 1, Penn Wood 0 >> Will Gardner scored the winner in overtime for the Fords.

Marple Newtown 2, Cardinal O’Hara 0 >> Luke Ciavardelli and Jonathan Wagner scored one goal each, while goalie Joshua Starr posted the shutout.

Monday was share the wealth day for The Haverford School’s soccer team, as five players scored, three chipped in assists and a pair of goalies combined on a shutout in a 5-0 romp of Phelps School in a nonleague match.
Evan Scott, Will Micheletti, Dan Calvelli, Griffin Wada and Kyle Wagner etched their names on the score sheet while Alec Manko, Josh Ridenhour and Satch Baker were credited with assists. The Fords (3-4-2), who enjoyed a 24-4 advantage in shots on goal, saw Will Baltrus (three saves) and Bobby Stratts (one save) take turns in shutting down the Phelps attack.
In other nonleague action:
Ridley 3, Norristown 0 >> Michael Mansaray scored twice, Meese Tobey contributed a pair of assists and goalkeeper Zach Ritz notched a road shutout for the Green Raiders.
Interboro 3, Upper Darby 2 >> The Bucs’ Diego Lopez converted a penalty kick for the winning goal with five minutes remaining in regulation.

Oshane Higgins and Mohamed Camara supplied the scoring for the Royals.
In the Bicentennial League:
Holy Ghost Prep 4, Delco Christian 0 >> Brody Veleber turned in a valiant effort in net for the Knights, stopping 22 shots, but DC wasn’t able to provide any offensive support.

UPPER DARBY >> As Larry Flood neared the end of his two-and-a-half year battle with cancer, he and his wife, Laura, broached one more in a long line of distressing conversations.

In time, funeral arrangements would be made, and Larry was adamant that he didn’t want his life remembered with solemn reminiscence. Enough tears have been shed, Larry said, and if the many people he’d touched in his life came together on his account, he wished it to be in celebration, not mourning.

Former Upper Darby coach Larry Flood.

As Laura pondered how to make that happen, she suggested the one thing, beside the family that had fought by his side, that brought him the most joy: In lieu of flowers, how about asking people to make donations to the Upper Darby boys soccer team?

“He said, ‘That’s perfect. That’s what I want,” Laura recalled. “He just wanted to give back to those kids one last time.”

For Upper Darby players past and present, Flood’s spiritual presence endures long after his death on Sept. 12 at the age of 47.

It’s reflected in the Royals seniors, who played three years with Flood as their varsity coach and for legions more who knew Flood as a JV coach and omnipresent assistant. And it’s revealed by a coaching staff that did as Flood did … returning to their alma mater to tutor future generations.

Flood was diagnosed with cancer in April 2014, the spring after his first season in what everyone knew to be his dream job. A long-time assistant to Tom Farr, his high school coach in the mid-1980s, Flood took over upon Farr’s retirement.

Through the next two years, even as he underwent chemotherapy treatments, Flood rarely missed a game or practice, often wearing a fanny pack with a device that administered multi-day infusions of chemo drugs. He missed one game while hospitalized with a blood clot, despite what Laura called his best attempts to persuade doctors to discharge him.

After the diagnosis, Laura never broached the subject of Larry scaling back his coaching responsibilities, knowing the inevitable response.

“That’s where his heart was,” said Laura, who met Larry when they were classmates at Upper Darby. “That’s the only place he ever really wanted to coach.”

“He never gave up, and the glass was always half full and never half empty,” said West Chester East coach Charlie Dodds, who hired Flood as an assistant in his first stint at East in the late 1990s and preceded Flood as a player at Upper Darby by three years. “It’s a testament that he was still going through chemo and still on the sidelines.”

Flood’s players and coaches were kept apprised of his condition. But his lead-by-example dedication largely remained unspoken, even as the staff at Upper Darby to whom Laura remains immensely grateful doted over his care, ensuring he stayed hydrated and out of the sun during games.

Sometimes his players needed a reminder, current head coach Adam Edgar said, as Flood jumped into drills with a gusto perhaps ill-advised for someone whose body underwent several orthopedic surgeries before his illness. But there was no denying Flood in his element.

“His commitment was just unreal,” senior goalie Daniel Lista said. “He’d come to practice every day. He’d be here for us. He’d do anything for us.”

“He always said his kids saved his life,” Laura said. “They kept giving him the strength and the courage, along with his family, to do what he had to do and to fight.”

Flood gravitated back to the field after his playing days at Penn State-Delco. A former corrections officer and a trained chef, he volunteered for Farr’s soccer camps in his early 20s and leapt at the chance to come home when Farr offered a job.

Family and soccer have always been intertwined for the Floods. The couple’s three kids — Larry Jr., Andrew and Samantha — all played soccer at Upper Darby, Andrew with Larry Sr. as his JV coach.

Edgar, a contemporary of Andrew’s, and JV coach Rory Pitter followed Flood’s path from player to coach. Flood’s imprint is clear.

“It was a hard thing to watch because it was almost like we lost a father,” Pitter said. “He was a father to the program, so everybody was devastated. That’s part of the reason why I came back after graduating five years ago. I knew he was hurting, so I came to help him out. Him not being here, I figured I’d stay around, and hopefully he’s watching us. I’m working to be a better coach, inspired by him.”

Everyone has their favorite stories of Flood, and Laura was moved by how many tributes poured in via social media in recent weeks. He had an innate sense of what his players needed and the district’s on- and off-field challenges of bringing together such a diverse group springing from divergent soccer and family backgrounds. Whether it was rides to and from practice or postseason cookouts at his house or just a safe space where students, particularly those new to the United States, could express themselves in a familiar medium, Flood was always there.

“He would always tell me, ‘Daniel, I understand what’s going on. I’ve been here. Just listen to me, just go by what I’m saying,’” said senior forward Daniel Willie, who has played for Flood since emigrating from Liberia before high school. “He would be able to calm me down. Some of those things that he would tell me, because of his experience, when I go home and certain problems happen, I think about it. I’m like, yes, this is what he was telling me. Of course, he was telling them about a soccer perspective, but I can take it to the other side of life.”

Pitter calls Flood his most influential coach. After Pitter scored two goals in each of his first two JV games, Flood promised he would pay his college tuition if he kept up that pace, a promise Pitter didn’t quite believe until Laura told him just how serious her husband was.

The deal never came to fruition. But Flood’s intense belief inspired Pitter, not just on the field or in his studies at West Chester University, but in every aspect of his life.

“He’d do whatever it took to get me on the right path,” Pitter said. “He’s been like a father to me ever since that.”

To call Flood’s passing a rallying cry for the Royals short-sells how lasting and profound his message is. The team has struggled, going 3-3-1 and winning just one of five Central League matches.

But in the first game after Flood’s death, Upper Darby produced its most complete performance of the season, drawing an unbeaten Lower Merion side. Lista, who had a closer connection than most to the goalkeeper in Flood, made 10 saves in a man-of-the-match performance.

“I was just trying to play for him, and I played one of the best games of my life,” Lista said. “I know he’s watching over me and guiding me.”

It’s not a matter of winning one for Flood; his tutelage sought to imbue players with more wisdom than a win column could disclose.

Instead, Willie says, it’s about doing justice to Flood’s legacy.

“Before we play, that’s what we say,” Willie said. “You’re not playing for yourself anymore. You’re playing for someone that is in front of you, somebody that is looking up to you now. (Larry’s) not here, but what was he standing for when he was living? That’s what we all play for now.”

At the risk of rehashing the same sentiment as the preseason Super 7, I remain befuddled by the results streaming in, particularly in the Central League and among the top two teams in the Del Val, who have helpfully scheduled plenty of Central opposition in what I assume is an attempt to help me arrive at conclusions for these rankings.

You’ve got Penn Wood, which strode ahead in the Del Val hierarchy last week, having lost resoundingly to a Radnor team that Interboro trounced. There are what appear to be anomalies through the schedule – Strath Haven falling to Marple Newtown while giving Conestoga a run for its money; Upper Darby drawing with unbeaten Lower Merion, Penncrest needing overtime against one-win Sun Valley. And the front-runners in other leagues have so challenged themselves out of conference that the record doesn’t reflect the kind of proficiency you may expect. It’s a challenge to sort out, but let’s see if we can reset the landscape a tad as we near the halfway mark. (Records based on games reported to the Daily Times through Sept. 25.)

1. Episcopal Academy (4-3)

It’s been an up-and-down run for the Churchmen through a touch schedule. They won four straight games at one juncture, and they’ve allowed an opponent to score more than once on just one occasion (three goals to Peddie School) while keeping three clean sheets. The Inter-Ac slate opens Friday, and EA starts with Malvern Prep in a hardy test.

2. Haverford School (2-4-2)

The Fords have righted the ship after that 0-3-2 start with two straight wins over solid PIAA opposition (Lansdale Catholic, Holy Ghost Prep) and a two-overtime loss to Conestoga that is nothing to be ashamed of. Goals remain in short supply with just eight in eight matches – or as Connor Gregory called it last year, a slow week. But the young squad seems to be melding together.

3. Garnet Valley (8-1)

Yeah, the Jaguars are the top of the Delco Central League heap. (Conestoga and Lower Merion are the league frontrunners, and Harriton isn’t far behind, but the Jags did top the Rams.) The schedule gets tougher, but the Jags are a well-constructed side. They have a forward in Nate Ominsky (six goals) putting away chances, and the M&M attacking midfield trio of Matt Moore, Matt Marino and Max Marini are marvelously manufacturing match-winning moments (I’ll stop). The Jaguars could be one of Delco’s biggest hopes in Class 6A districts.

Penncrest’s Sam Brown, right, flies into a tackle on Chris Rudy Thursday. Brown scored twice in the Lions’ 4-0 win. (Digital First Media/Anne Neborak)

4. Penncrest (7-3)

The Lions are in a good way, though they have two Central League losses thanks to Garnet Valley and Lower Merion. The game against the Aces, a 6-2 thrashing, shows a backline prone to leakage, and the Lions have the attacking talent to play games more often in the 2-1 or 3-2 range than 1-0 (though they sport a 3-0 record in 1-0 games and are 4-1 in one-goal games. Like I said, it’s a confusing jumble.)

5. Radnor (5-5-1)

The loss to Haverford is regrettable, though it indicates the Fords’ improvement. Radnor’s getting plenty of goals, a persistent bugaboo in recent years that appeared to reprise itself when the Raiders scored just once in the first three games of the season (including the loss to Interboro). But in eight games since, the Raiders have scored 19 goals, shut out only by Conestoga in that stretch.

6. Strath Haven (4-4)

I’m floored by how the Panthers can lose to a rebuilding Marple team, then turn around two days later and push Lower Merion to two overtimes. This is an unusual group in that their 12 goals have been scored by eight players, Josh Mason leading the way with three markers. Plus, five other players have tallied assists. That’s 13 players on the offensive ledger, much more than most teams at this juncture.

7. Penn Wood (4-2)

The Patriots played their first game Sept. 13, 11 days after the season opened. That hasn’t proven disadvantageous, and any team that can beat Interboro in overtime down two men to red cards is clearly OK with a little adversity. The Patriots can score in bunches, and they can play tight games like the 1-0 OT loss to Haverford, which bodes well.

Honorable Mention: Haverford (4-4, the Fords under David Cassanelli have won three of four after losing three of four to start. That includes OT triumphs over Radnor and Penn Wood. Tests against Conestoga and Harriton this week will be daunting); Interboro (4-3, the loss to Penn Wood means the Bucs have to play catch-up in the Del Val, with the league title bearing fewer postseason ramifications than it used to. Interboro has courted nonleague challenges, and while the win over Radnor is important, needing overtime to get past Academy Park doesn’t assert the dominance over the league the Bucs want); Academy Park (4-5, the schedule isn’t particularly impressive. But the Knights have recovered from a 0-4 start and scored 29 goals in their last three games. If they can challenge Penn Wood Tuesday commensurate to how they pushed Interboro, then we can talk about a three-horse Del Val race.)

SPRINGFIELD >> This year’s La Salle’s soccer team has the oldest and most successful combination in sports history going for it — talent, experience and a willingness to work.

All three were on display Tuesday afternoon at La Salle College High School as the Explorers stayed unbeaten in Philadelphia Catholic League play with a 2-1 win over Father Judge.

Zach Hogan and Chris Metzler scored minutes apart early in the second half, and the Explorers were able to hold off a late Crusaders charge to stay atop the PCL standings.

La Salle’’s Mike D’Angelo leaps to head the ball away from Father Judge’’s Davis Habilat during their game on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016. (Gene Walsh/Digital First Media)

“When you have guys who have talent and who want to work hard, that makes it easy for me,” said Explorers head coach Tom McCaffery.

The Explorers held off some early energy from the perennial PCL title contenders, scored twice early in the second half, then managed to blunt the hard-charging Crusaders, who made it interesting down the stretch, scoring once and having several quality opportunities in the closing minutes.

The two sides played a largely uneventful first half, with the only quality chance resulting in Judge netminder TJ Corcoran diving to halt a close-in bid by La Salle’s Anthony Boyle about midway through the half.

But things turned quickly early in half number two as Spencer Patton crossed to James Hughes, whose shot was stymied by Corcoran.

The rebound, however, came right to Hogan, who chipped the rebound home.

“That was a quality shot by (Hughes),” Hogan said. “I was there for the tap-in.”

The dust barely settled when the Explorers were at it again, with Metzler guiding home a cross from Boyle, and the Explorers had just enough.

“(Patton) threw it down the sideline and crossed, and I was there for the finish,” Metzler said. “But even at that point I didn’t feel safe.

La Salle’’s Anthony Boyle dribbles the ball through Father Judge defenders during their game on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016. (Gene Walsh/Digital First Media)

“All they needed was one goal to shift the momentum.”

Metzler’s concerns were realized when the Crusaders roared back, with Mike Powers launching a straight-away 20-footer that caromed off the crossbar.

And when Patrick Kiley got a rebound past La Salle goaltender Brett Werner in the final eight minutes, no one in Blue and Gold was feeling confident.

But the Explorers hung on, stifling Judge several times down the stretch.

“We have a lot of three-year varsity players here and I feel we’re the hardest-working team in the league,” Hogan said. “We want to stay where we are.

“We still have a lot of work to do and we can still get better. We have the potential to go all the way. I’m not saying that we are. But we have the potential.”

“When you have speed and great technical ability, you can win a lot of games,” McCaffrey said. “And when you’re able to beat a team that year after year finishes either first or second in the league, that’s big.

“But every game has to be big for us.”

Top Photo:  La Salle’s Spencer Patton works to advance the ball past Father Judge’s Mike Powers during their game on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016. (Gene Walsh/Digital First Media)

HORSHAM >> For 40-plus minutes in Tuesday’s Suburban One League American Conference game, it looked like the contest was destined to end in a draw.

A draw was certainly not the result the home team Hatboro-Horsham wanted and with just over six minutes remaining in the game, Danny Bateman scored a goal to notch the desired result lifting the Hatters to a 1-0 win over Cheltenham.

“I thought we were the better team today, we had more opportunities we just didn’t do a good job finishing in front of goal,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Kyle McGrath said.

Bateman was on the verge of breaking through as his aggressive play in the midfield either encouraged the Hatters attack or just narrowly missed some solid opportunities.

“They threw their big guns forward and we kept Danny high like we typically do and we were able to play a long ball to him,” McGrath said. “He works hard and he’s relentless the entire match. We always know he’s going to get opportunities like that so for him to finally get on the end of a ball and really attack it is great to see.”

The weird thing about the Bateman goal was he got the ball on the run in the open field on a counter opportunity as the Cheltenham was pushing up on a throw in opportunity. The Panthers didn’t have the look of a team that was playing for a draw even though the result would have been more beneficial for the visitors.

“We know our strengths and our weaknesses and I sent our backs in to get a shot and get to the back post for a tap-in,” Cheltenham coach Chuck Gesing said. “We are going for a win.”

In a way, it was almost just that the Hatter broke through as they dominated time of possession and shots. Hatboro-Horsham finished with 18 shots to just four for the Panthers.

Although the shot totals were very skewed, Cheltenham did a good job defensively to prevent many quality looks and shots at the goal. Of the 18 Hatter shots, only six were on goal.

“We pride ourselves on stout defense,” Gesing said. “We want to keep teams outside. Today we had a freshman (Lou Ledika) in goal out of necessity and the boys really rose to the occasion and did a nice job protecting him.”

For the Hatters, they remain undefeated in league play while Cheltenham is looking to get things pointed in the right direction. The Panthers will be right back in action Wednesday night when they take on another undefeated SOL American opponent in Upper Dublin a game that’s a bit personal for Gesing.

“I work at Upper Dublin so those guys love beating me,” Gesing said. “They’re going to come at us hard and we’re going to come at them hard they know, they know I like beating them too.”

FRANCONIA >> Maybe in a prior game this season, an early goal by the opposite side would have caused things to go astray for the Souderton boys soccer team.

But when Mike Albers scored on a free kick less than three minutes into Tuesday night’s Suburban One League Continental Conference match, the Indians’ confidence did not waver.

“One of those things our coach always talks about is that some of the games when they come out fast and they hit us really hard, we kind of stammer a little bit and we have a little trouble getting back on our feet,” Souderton junior defender Ben Campman said. “When they scored that, we’re trying to make a culture here, that’s another thing our coach is always telling us, so we figured we’d get it eventually.

“We had a lot of shots on target the last game and we figured one of them was going to find the net.”

It did not take Big Red look to collect the equalizer, Dylan Molyneaux tapping a loose ball over the goal line in the ninth minute. Campman provided the go-ahead tally just before halftime while Nick Marculo’s penalty-kick conversion helped Souderton overcome another Albers free-kick strike and earn a 3-2 victory over the Panthers.

“They showed a lot of hard in the way they responded to that early goal,” Souderton coach Matt Benner said. “Giving up a goal three minutes into the game and our boys were really, really locked in ready to play this game, it could have gone a different direction. And to their credit, they just fought right back, got a goal back within 10 minutes.”

BOYS #SOCCER: @DylanMolyneaux pounces on a loose ball for a goal, pulling Souderton level with William Tennent 1-1 1st half. pic.twitter.com/Zpx3ZGr2Dk

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) September 28, 2016

Marculo PK’s gave the Indians (5-5-0, 2-4-0 conference) a 3-1 advantage with 32:56 to go in the second half before Albers scored again off a restart, his curling shot hitting the right post and going in at 23:24. Albers made a try at a third late with a long-distance high arcing effort that Souderton goalkeeper Mitchell Race knocked away as the Panthers’ two-game win streak was snapped.

“I know everybody has injuries, but we were a little thin on our bench today,” William Tennent coach Ryan Todt said. “We got a guy hurt at practice yesterday and another guy wasn’t available today so I thought we were a little short they had a little more stamina than us and they weathered, they fought right back and to their credit they crashed the boxed well and got behind us. We learned the hard way.”

Tuesday’s result has Souderton out to a strong start this week, which began for Big Red with a 1-0 non-league win over Phoenixville Monday that put an end to a three-game skid. Souderton begins the second half of SOL Continental play hosting Central Bucks South 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

“I think the biggest thing for our guys as we move forward is that they continue to keep that level of focus that they showed tonight,” Benner said. That every single game in the SOL is a really, really tough matchup and it doesn’t matter if you’re any of the Central Bucks schools, North Penn, William Tennent or Pennridge, every single game that we play against each other is going to be a tough one.

BOYS #SOCCER: Ben Campman collects a loose ball & scores, putting Souderton up 2-1 late 1H vs. William Tennent. pic.twitter.com/PkQxREbiHR

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) September 28, 2016

“And we know that. And we try and make sure our boys are as focused as they can (be) going into these games and I think they really showed that today. They had a chip on their shoulder today. They knew that today could be a big point in their season and we’re really happy to get the result.”

Tennent, a newcomer to the Continental clashes – having been in the SOL’s National Conference the last eight seasons – sits tied for Souderton in fifth with six points. The Panthers are home against Central Bucks West 7 p.m. Thursday.

“It doesn’t matter, in the Suburban One League, they’re all good conferences,” Todt said. “Everybody’s big, everybody’s physical and you just hope that the referees can protect your players in the end because some of these games are really wars and I think the referees don’t blow the whistle enough to protect both teams and it’s a shame for the kids.”

Albers’ first goal came at 37:22 when he ripped a free kick into the top right corner of the Indians’ net.

Molyneaux level the contest 1-1 at 31:02 after Souderton opted to play a corner kick short. A ball played into the 18-yard box by Tommy Sonn went to Tennent goalkeeper Brendan Hanratty, but it slipped out of Hanratty’s grasp and rolled towards the net. Molyneaux touched the ball over the line with a sliding shot.

“I was really, really excited when that goal went in because I knew that we were back ready to go again,” Benner said. “And they carried it through and they did a nice job the rest of the game.”

BOYS #SOCCER: @WTHS_Sports' Mike Albers' curls in a free kick (his 2nd FK goal) to pull WT to within 3-2 of Souderton in the 2nd half. pic.twitter.com/QRCGZvhQQr

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) September 28, 2016

Souderton took a 2-1 with just 1:56 left before halftime. A Molyneaux throw-in inside the box was cleared back to Molyneaux, who floated a cross back in front. The ball eventually found the feet of Campman, who sent a shot into the opposite left corner.

“Cross came across and one our captains, Cameron Hart, went to trap and it kind of just fell off his foot,” Campman said. “And I just took a touch and kind of put one on frame and just kind of hoped for it.”

The Indians extended the lead in the second half when they received a penalty kick after Tennent was called for a foul on David Hafler in the box. Marculo took the PK and send it into the left side of the net, out of the reach of the diving Hanratty to make it 3-1 at 32:56.

RADNOR >> The Radnor boys soccer team spent Monday’s practice session focusing on one thing in particular: Switching the field in possession, quickly shifting the point of attack.

So when Ryan Peter collected the ball on the right wing Tuesday night, he felt the clock ticking down on the first half, heard forward Cal Hanson calling for the ball. Then Peter did what coach Joe Caruolo had drilled his Raiders to do the day before, whipping a ball into a dangerous area.

Hanson did the rest in that instance.

Radnor’s 3-0 win over Strath Haven was decided by several such moments where the attention to detail by the hosts undid the Panthers.

Whether it was controlling bouncing long balls or connecting simple passes, Radnor’s degree of execution was superior.

Both of Peters’ contributions illustrated that. In the 10th minute, Phil Regan received a pass from the left wing to his right-center mid spot and quickly filtered it back across the grain to the left wing. It took a bounce in front of a Haven defense that was slow to react, then Peter latched on, cut in and unleashed a shot past goalie Dixon Damico for the opener.

“We practiced (switching fields) all day yesterday,” Peter said. “That was the biggest part of our game plan. We executed, and it all worked out tonight.”

With 69 seconds left before half, Peter became the provider, though Hanson’s finish was no less dandy, firing a rocket from the top of the 18 for his first goal of the season.

“Honestly I was facing completely the other way, and I saw Cal through the corner of my eye, and I knew time was running out, so I just turned and passed it,” Peter said. “It worked out perfectly, and Cal finished it perfectly.”

Ben Toomey collects a free kick under duress. Radnor still leads 2-0 pic.twitter.com/JurXQdZeyV

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) September 27, 2016

The edge in personnel was most acutely felt in the midfield. Phil Regan, who like Peter tallied a goal and an assist, helped the Radnor contingent boss that area of the field. Caruolo favors a fair amount of interchange, but whoever he deployed — particularly Peter, Phil Gilbert and Jack Miller — posed a constant threat for Radnor (6-5-1, 4-2 Central League).

“It’s been changing a lot through the year but we just have a great, solid group, and we put together a solid team win,” Peter said. “We all just stick together, do the best we can and we trust our coaches. We just do whatever they ask of us, and it worked out tonight.”

Part of the edge was because of Haven’s injury depletions. The Panthers (4-5, 2-4) were without Jack Borbee and Joe Shiiba, two fresh knocks to complement the long-term absence of last year’s leading scorer, Nate Perrins, with a knee injury sustained in preseason.

That created a younger, less physical team unable to keep up with a stronger Radnor side. And it meant the rudimentary tasks like connecting passes or aggressively attacking balls played long was absent.

“It’s just simple mistakes that we need to clean up for the later games because our season’s on the line now,” winger Josh Mason said. “I think how we played against Conestoga, we should’ve played today and connected more passes and be tougher mentally.”

That Conestoga game, a 3-2 loss, featured an assist from Shiiba, who also scored twice in the win over Upper Darby last week as he’s yo-yoed in and out of the lineup this season. His spark was clearly missing Tuesday.

Haven came closest to scoring in the 34th minute, when a flying Harrison Hotham header off a Justin Snyder corner kick was swiped over the bar by Radnor goalie Ben Toomey to preserve a one-goal edge. Mason carved a chance out of nothing with 10 minutes to play, volleying a long shot off-balance with Toomey straying from his line, but fullback Ben Verbofsky retreated to the line to head away.

Regan’s persistence in the engine room was rewarded in the 46th minute, when Andrew Boujoukos bombed in a free kick. His central defense mate Cal Congleton struck a forceful downward header that Damico turned aside, but Regan cleaned up the scraps on the doorstep.

That just left a half of defending, which the Raiders duly saw out with little incident to gain a vital victory in the Central’s pecking order.

Also in the Central League:

Haverford High’s Indie Zimmerman makes a sliding tackle of Conestoga’s Rodrigo Martinez in Tuesday’s Central League match, won by the Pioneers 3-1. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

Penncrest 2, Upper Darby 1 >> Shea Morgan scored the game-winning goal in the 69th minute off a feed from Sam Brown as the Lions (8-3, 4-2) picked up the win despite playing down a man for 67 minutes.

Alex Boudazin also scored for Penncrest, which got 13 saves from Pat Hughes.

Mohamed Camara scored for Upper Darby (3-5-1, 1-4-1).

Garnet Valley 2, Marple Newtown 1 >> Matt Moore tallied a full day with a goal and a red card, but Mark Kuhn notched the game-winner in OT for the Jags (9-1, 5-0). Tyler Tracy made eight saves.

Eamonn Clinton scored for Marple, and Josh Starr stopped eight shots.

Conestoga 3, Haverford 1 >> Cam Morse scored for the Fords in the first half, but they couldn’t overcome the Pioneers.

Springfield 2, Ridley 1 >> Justin Eckard and Scott Crockerall scored as the Cougars notched their first league win.

Benjamin Holder grabbed Ridley’s marker.

In the Del Val League:

Penn Wood 1, Academy Park 0 >> Andrew Nmah scored the game-winner with five minutes left to keep Penn Wood (5-2, 4-0) unbeaten in the league. Goodwill Agbaadem collected five saves for the clean sheet.

Ismael Americain made nine saves for Academy Park (4-6, 2-2) before leaving with an injury just before Nmah’s goal.

In the Catholic League:

Archbishop Wood 1, Bonner & Prendergast 0 >> Tony Harper made five saves for the Friars, but RJ Liszewski’s first-half goal made the difference.

In nonleague action:

Episcopal Academy 4, Hun School 0 >> Quinn Dudek scored twice and added an assist, and Ramon Gallegos paired a goal with an assist as the Churchmen (5-3) rolled.

Lower Merion Township rivals Harriton High School and Lower Merion High School took to the pitch Tuesday, with the boys’ match taking place at Lower Merion in the afternoon while the girls played at Harriton in the evening.

Harriton made history in the girls’ match, posting its first victory against Lower Merion since the Ram girls soccer program was formed in 1989 with a 3-0 win. Lower Merion won the boys’ matchup in overtime, 1-0.

In the girls’ matchup, Harriton junior Morgan Rees got things started in the first half taking a perfect feed from sophomore Gabriela Mazzoni before making a move past Lower Merion keeper Lindsey Palish and depositing the ball into the far corner of the empty net with 12:19 remaining for a 1-0 lead.

“Gaby and I play club ball together so when I saw she had the ball in open space I was waiting for her to play the through ball,” said Rees. “Once she played the ball, I saw the goalie coming out and I just played a touch past the keeper; struck the ball and hoped for the best.”

Harriton added an insurance tally when sophomore Sydney Kobak received a pass from fellow sophomore Filippa Edellblut and fired a shot far post.  With 1:39 left, an own goal was scored to provide the final margin.

“It feels so good to beat Lower Merion,” Rees said. “We have never beaten them and the whole team was so excited coming into the game. This is a big win and it gives us confidence as we continue with our season.”

In the boys’ contest, Lower Merion posted a 1-0 OT win with 6:59 remaining when Tim O’Hare ran down a perfect through ball from fellow senior Alex Moureaud, and scored.

O’Hare said, “I saw Alex (Moureaud) with the ball and as he hit his cross I cut right and peeled opposite side. As I ran down the pass I saw the goalie coming out and I struck the ball toward the far post hoping it would go in.”

The Aces’ win keeps Lower Merion in contention for the Central League title.

“This is a big win,” said O’Hare. “Harriton is a good team and anytime you can get a win over them is good.”

Lower Merion coach Nico Severini added, “Every win is important. The Central League is tough. We have been emphasizing team play and the kids are buying into it and I think the goal was a perfect example.”

Harriton keeper Jake Putnam did all he could finishing with 10 saves while Lower Merion keeper Sebastian Jenkins finished with three saves.

LANGHORNE – In need of a win facing visiting Council Rock South Tuesday night (Sept. 27) at Harry Franks Stadium, Neshaminy got all the help it needed from Dan Grinrod. The senior midfielder tallied a pair of goals in the second half to help push the Redskins to 4-2 triumph over the Suburban One National League (SONL) Golden Hawks.

With CR South trailing 2-0 at the half, the Hawks got a goal back in the first 30 seconds of the second half when senior Reid Czapor popped a ball into the right side corner off a feed from classmate Kevin Bowers.

Ignited by the quick strike in the second half, Czapor’s goal threatened to turn what looked like a would-be runaway for Neshaminy into a horse race.

“They came out stronger looking to get a result in the second half,” said Grinrod. “Two-nothing is the worst score in soccer.

“They came out looking to get the next goal – which they did – and after that, it was a battle, back and forth.”

Grinrod had his own ideas however, taking an attempted clearing pass about 25 yards out and drilling it over the head of second-half CR South keeper Nolan Gaudet less than five minutes into the second half.

“You give the ball away to one of the better players in the league, he’s going to take care of it,” said Hawks coach Bob Francis. “He got us three times tonight.”

Grinrod opened the scoring in the 15th minute, taking a feed from classmate Dylan McDonald and popping it into the back of the net.

“That was a big goal,” said Neshaminy junior Jack McCourt. “”It put us a leg up and kind of set the tone for the match.”

McCourt is perhaps the most dangerous player for the Redskins. A striker for Neshaminy, McCourt came through with an unassisted goal in the 31st minute when CR South keeper Kevin McNamee could not latch onto a through ball he came out of the goal in order to keep it out of harm’s way. Instead, the ball popped loose, leaving McCourt with an open net.

While Francis liked the way his team neutralized McCourt the remainder of the night, the assistant coach admitted the Hawks lost track of Grinrod in this one.

“He’s a crafty player and he was able to find spaces either behind our central midfielders or in front of them,” said Francis. “At times, that gave him enough room to distribute the ball and where he was able to score the goals, we were just a little too far off and he was able to take advantage of it.

“It’s one of those things where you can take care of one of them and if you don’t care of the other one, they can get you.

“We did a good job tonight on Jack. He still had his opportunities – he was dangerous with the ball running forward. He always is. But Grinrod really had the touch tonight.”

As a team, Neshaminy certainly had the better of the play in the first half, outshooting the Hawks 9-4before the break. To its credit, CR South rebounded with its play after the intermission. That much was shown on the stat sheet with the second half shots even at 5-5 and well as the goals at 2-2.

“We just gave it a little extra push,” said Francis. “I told the guys at the half that the game’s not over. They scored two in the first half. There’s no reason why we couldn’t go out and score two in the second half.”

Unfortunately for the Hawks, they surrendered as many goals as they scored in the second half.

One of those strikes for CR South came off the foot of junior forward Pat Wilcynski, who took a timely cross from senior Justin Weinberg and top-shelfed it in the 66th minute.

Eleven minutes later, Grinrod was at it again, scoring another unassisted goal on a corner kick from the right side that bounced in off the keeper. Both second-half goals by Grinrod restored a two-gal cushion for the Skins and gave them some much-needed breathing room.

“That was definitely something that we were trying to do,” said Grinrod. “It was really critical to get those goals back and it was something that needed to be done – without a doubt.”

For Neshaminy, the win keeps the Skins tied with Abington in the SOL National conference standings with both teams tied for third place at four wins apiece. Unbeaten Pennsbury and CR North sit atop the division with five wins each.

“This win was huge,” said McCourt. “It sets us up to contend to win the league and make a run.”

The Golden Hawks, meanwhile, look to regroup. CR South is 3-6-2 overall, 1-4-1 in the SONL after dropping this one, drawing even with Bensalem and losing 3-1 to Pennsbury.

Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter

Neshaminy 4, Council Rock South 2

(Sept. 27 at Neshaminy)

NESHAMINY 2 2 – 4

CR SOUTH 0 2 – 2

FIRST-HALF GOALS: N — Dan Grinrod, from Dylan McDonald 15th minute, Jack McCourt, unassisted 31st minute; CRS — none.

SECOND- HALF GOALS: CRS — Reid Czapor, from Kevin Bowers, 41st minute, Pat Wilcynski, from Justin Weinberg, 66th minute; N — Grinrod, unassisted, 45th minute, Grinrod, unassisted, 77th minute.

SHOTS-ON-GOAL: N — 14; CRS — 9.

SAVES: N — 9; CRS — 13.

GRATERFORD >> The role of underdog and favorite doesn’t normally change multiple times in a single game.

Perk Valley keeper Andrew Daubenspeck leaps to catch a corner kick against OJR. (Austin Hertzog- DFM)

Then again, anything seemed possible in Wednesday afternoon’s boys soccer game between Owen J. Roberts and Perkiomen Valley.

Through 35 minutes, the Wildcats and Vikings’ matchup seemed entirely run of the mill with favored OJR entirely deserving of its one-goal advantage.

But an injury to sophomore Max Chamorro became a rallying cry for Perkiomen Valley, which surprisingly hit for three goals in a six-minute span to build a 3-1 lead only to see Owen J. Roberts find its own synonymous rallying cry when goalkeeper Tyler Stonebraker went down.

The Wildcats stormed back to level the match, which is where the score remained after 100 minutes as OJR and Perkiomen Valley finished in a 3-3 draw in Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division play.

Photo Gallery: Owen J. Roberts at Perkiomen Valley

Junior Graham Pugh brought the Wildcats back with goals in the 58th and 67th minutes, cancelling out Perk Valley’s wild stretch that saw Matt McCabe score two minutes until halftime before Mike Weir converted a penalty kick in the 43rd minute, and a minute later Adam Styer put PV up 3-1.

Andrew Siana scored OJR’s opening goal in the 27th minute.

Perk Valley (2-2-2 PAC Liberty, 6-4-2 overall) went from the underdog, to favorite up 3-1, to underdog again as they absorbed OJR pressure late in the second half, only to create the best chances in overtime.

“I think it shows that we can hang with anyone,” junior midfielder Weir said. “Coming into the season people may have been thinking, ‘Oh, Perk Valley, they’re going to roll over,’ especially after last season. But you look at our record now, we’re 6-4-2 and we can hang with anyone.”

They more than hung with OJR (4-1-1 PAC Liberty, 7-2-3), last year’s PAC finalist. It may not have been the result the Wildcats were expecting, but they were able to take heart after going down two goals.

“That was the first (deficit) we came back from,” Pugh said. “We did it for our players – when our keeper (Stonebraker) went down, we wanted to do it for him.”

Stonebraker suffered a broken collarbone in a collision with teammate Brandon Ott on a high ball just inside the 18.

Turning point >> The game turned on a difficult moment when sophomore Chamorro went down with a leg injury that was later revealed to be a broken femur. His teammates honored him with a scoring barrage that began right after the injury timeout.

Weir switched fields to Brian Love on the right who sent an early cross that was hit into the net by sophomore McCabe two minutes before the break. The Vikings kept it up into the second half when Ryan Dao earned a penalty, which was handled by Weir (his second PK in as many games), and Styer hit home a pass from Dao.

“It felt crazy. We didn’t really expect to come at them with such attacking power,” McCabe said. “We’re not known for our offense. To score two goals right off the bat in the second half, especially against Owen J., one of the best teams, it was exciting.”

Perkiomen Valley goalkeeper Andrew Daubenspeck and defender Max Chamorro try to clear the ball as Owen J. Roberts’ Nolan Smith attempts the header during the first half Wednesday. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

Stranger things >> Wednesday’s performance wasn’t indicative of the usual Vikings’ game, who have gained traction through their defense. Keeper Andrew Daubenspeck and the back line of Chris Fiore, Jake Rogers, Brian Love and AJ Hansen have six shutouts.

“At the start of the season I think people wrote us off. But when we got the win over Boyertown, it made people hold on,” Weir said. “Our team has a bunch of really good individual athletes who have come together. We might not have a superstar player who is dribbling through everybody or scoring two goals a game but we hold in there on D and we’re a tough team.”

On target >> A lineup as potent as Owen J. Roberts, which returned the bulk of its starting XI from last year, has proven capable of finding the net. On Wednesday it was Pugh’s turn.

“It’s been a team effort all year. I haven’t been scoring all the goals,” Pugh said. “My teammates, Brandon (Ott), Andrew Siana, we’ve been splitting goals all over the place. It was a good game all-around.”

As a preseason favorite to reclaim the PAC championship, the Wildcats have been getting every team’s best shot, just like on Wednesday.

“For our program to be as good as it’s been over the past few years we’ve had a target on our back,” Pugh said. “Every time we go out to play teams are coming out and want to beat us. Everyone wants to beat Owen J.”

“They really expect us to come out and hit them and multiple times we’ve had,” Ott said. “But we have a tendency to let teams into the game. But we came back. We always come back. I guess we like to face adversity. It’s a good result coming back from 3-1 down. We expect to lessen those spots of lackadaisical play.”

NOTES >> Daubenspeck (11 saves) saved PV from going to 2-0 in the first half with a stunning save of a Pugh rip that he tipped off the bar and out for a corner. He was out of the game for the equalizer after going down following a collision with OJR’s Austin Koury. … Cory Wright stepped in at goalkeeper after Stonebraker went down. The two combined for six saves.

Pottsgrove 3, Upper Merion 2, OT >> Nathan Yuchimiuk scored at the 4:08 mark of the second overtime to secure the Falcons’ Pioneer Athletic Conference victory over the Vikings.

Yuchimiuk’s game-winner was his second score of the day with Germann Larmond adding an unassisted goal to round out Pottsgrove’s scorers. Josue Perez and Sam Tepe registered goals for Upper Merion while Alan Castillo posted an assist.

Boyertown 2, Methacton 1 >> Alex Kidwell scored in overtime to cap the Bears’ rebound for a PAC victory over the Warriors.

After Phoenixville scored first in the second half, Kyle Sheahan converted a setup by Connor Reiss to make it a 1-1 tie in regulation. Reiss had the assist on Kidwell’s game-winning tally, and Connor McKeown’s two-save goaltending helped secure the win in a close game that saw the Bears outshoot their guests by a mere 5-3 margin.

Pope John Paul II 8, Pottstown 0 >> The Golden Panthers jumped out to a six-goal lead by the half and rode it to a PAC win over the Trojans.

Tim Faust registered a goal and an assist before spending time in goal to help preserve the shutout. Jordan Lombardo picked up a pair of assists.

Spring-Ford 6, Norristown 0 >> Tyler Holms’ hat trick keyed the Rams’ potent offense as they rolled over the Eagles in PAC action.

Holms, who was also credited with an assist, was followed in the scoring column by Ronnie Minges (one assist), Michael Hyduke and Johnny Guimaraes. Nathan Alban (two), Chase Parr and Nick Murphy were credited with other assists for Spring-Ford, which outshot Norristown by a 12-0 margin.

Phoenixville 6, Upper Perkiomen 0 >> Phantom goals were scored by Andre Souza, Phil Meszaros, Greg Flamma, Patricio Perez, Colin Hook, and Danny Jackson. Two assists came from Andre Souza, and one assist from Arun Sankar. Mitchell Coll kept the clean sheet with three saves.

Bill Zwoduah supplied plenty of offense for Academy Park in its 5-1 nonleague victory over Devon Prep.

Zwoduah registered a hat trick for the Knights (5-6), who received a solid performance in net by Amadou Fofana (five saves). Clarence Koboi netted two goals and dished one assist.

In the Bicentennial League:

Christian Academy 3, Church Farm 2 >> Caleb Robinson powered the Crusaders (6-2, 5-2) with two goals and Jake Sitkowski also found the back of the net. Andre Jones turned aside three shots between the posts.

The Episcopal Academy boys’ soccer team (8-3-2) defeated Hun School, 4-0, Tuesday. Quinn Dudek scored two goals, with assists by Ramon Gallegos and Johnny Cunningham. Gabrielle Furey and Ramon Gallegos also scored, and Dudek had an assist. Goalies AJ Marcucci and Matt Freese ecah had two saves inrecording EA’s sixth shutout of the season.

EA lost to Hill School, 1-0, Sept. 24. EA goalies Matt Freese and AL Marcucci each had four saves.

The Churchmen defeated Archbishop Carroll, 6-1, Sept. 21. EA goals were scored by Sam Wilson, Ramon Gallegos (assist Quinn Dudek), Quinn Dudek (assist Johnny Cunningham), Ramon Gallegos and Chris Bassett. Carroll goalie Jake Langley recorded eight saves, while EA netminders AJ Marcucci and Matt Freese had two saves each.

In other Main Line high school boys’ soccer action:

Barrack Hebrew Academy defeated Phelps, 2-0, Tuesday, getting goals from Ben Jacobson and Abe Wachs, with assists from Zach Lipstein and Jon Cohen. Barrack goalie Simon Gordon recorded 12 saves.

The Cougars defeated Morrisville, 9-1, Monday, getting two goals each from Josh Goldstein, Jordan Naim and Bailey Moshal. Goldstein also had two assists.

Friends’ Central defeated host Abington Friends, 3-0, Sept. 23. Friends’ Central broke the scoreless tie in the 46th minute when senior Matt Blackman finished off a set piece assisted by senior Chris Annas. Just two minutes later, senior Matt Nguyen found the back of the net off of a cross from Blackman to make it 2-0. In the 73rd minute, FCS senior Asa Bell put the game out of reach with a solo effort. Senior Nolan McGrann was credited with his second shutout in FSL play.

Haverford School (3-4-2) defeated Phelps School, 5-0, Monday. Goals were scored by Evan Scott, Will Micheletti (Alec Manko assist), Dan Calvelli, Griffin Wada (Josh Ridenhour assist) and Kyle Wagner (Satch Baker assist). The Fords outshot Phelps, 24-4. Will Baltrus and Bobby Stratts combined for the shutout and made four saves.

Malvern Prep defeated Westtown, 2-0, Sept. 21. Goals were scored by Billy Coyle and Erik Kolar. Top players for Malvern were Billy Coyle, Nate Albergo and Michael Castaldi. Goalie Jake Hodlofski posted the shutout.

Radnor defeated Strath Haven, 3-0, Tuesday. Ryan Peter and Phil Regan each had one goal and one assist, and Cal Hanson scored the other goal. Radnor goalie Ben Toomey had two saves.

The Red Raiders defeated Harriton, 3-2, Sept. 22. Radnor got goals from Andrew Bojoukus (Ryan Peter assist), Jack Miller (penalty kick) and Phil Regan (Jack Miller assist). Red Raider goalie Ben Toomey recorded three saves.

Shipley defeated host George School, 2-1, Sept. 20 in its Friends Schools League opener. In the second half, Shipley continued to possess and found a lot of success on the wings but as the game went on it became a wide open contest played down the flanks.  After a string of fine saves by George goalie Nick Lilly, Shipley finally got on the board after Shipley’s corner was cleared and put right back into the mixer by junior defender Emlyn Thorogood, whose re-entry ball found senior captain striker Ashkon Ashrafion at the top of the six, where he dispatched the volley under the crossbar to give the Gators the lead in the 68th minute. Shipley got another quick goal as Ashkon Ashrafion played a great splitting ball through George’s back line to find senior midfielder Jack Dougherty alone on goal. Dougherty placed it in the back of the net to make it 2-0.

PHILADELPHIA – After coming out to George J. Todt. Field Wednesday night (Sept. 28) to face Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) rival Archbishop Ryan, visiting Holy Ghost Prep was forced to go home with a 1-0 loss.

A scoreless game at the half turned into a 1-0 deficit with less than five minutes to go in regulation when AR junior George Montag sent a crossing pass high across the crease of the Firebirds’ net that was inadvertently headed by a defender into the back of the HGP net for an own-goal.

While the Raiders outshot Ghost 6-3 in the first half, onlookers are still waiting for a shot on frame by Ryan after the intermission. Nevertheless, the Raiders emerged with their ninth win of the season, against three losses.

You could almost forgive the Firebirds – who fell to 7-4 overall, 6-0 in the Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) – for looking past this game. Holy Ghost travels to Macclesfield in Yardley on Saturday night to take on New Jersey soccer power Saint Benedict’s Prep, the No. 3 team in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings.

“If you can defend against them, you can make a run in districts and states,” said HGP Coach Davey Simpson. “We use that game as a measure to see how organized we can be.

“The league that we play – it’s tough. No one puts enough pressure on us.”

“The two years we went on to win states – that’s where we learned to defend – against Benedict’s.”

While the ‘birds failed to make any kind of postseason run a year ago, they captured the PIAA Class AA championship in 2014 and 2015. Not last year but the year before, St. Benedict’s boasted a player that later turned pro and at least seven that went Division 1, according to Simpson.

“No one’s got as many pieces as Benedict’s,” stated Simpson “If you can defend against them and be organized, then you can make a run at districts and states.

Holy Ghost did a nice enough job defending against Archbishop Ryan; the ‘birds just had a hard time generating any kind of offense, especially in the first half. Positioned in a 3-5-2 alignment, they did a better job of that in the second period, outshooting the Raiders 6-0 after the intermission.

“That opened up the wings more for us. We got the ball outside more,” explained HGP senior Luke McDonald. “Coach (Simpson) had us play to feet, instead of kick-and-run.”

Before the break, playing in a 4-5-1 alignment, Ghost was outshot 6-3 with Ryan getting most if not all of the most formidable scoring chances.

“I don’t think we came ready to play,” admitted McDonald. “We were doing our own thing; we weren’t playing together as a team.”

The ‘birds entered the non-league match coming off of shutout wins over Devon Prep (3-0) and DelCo Christian (4-0). Earlier in the season, Ghost came away with a hard-earned 1-0 win over New Hope and a 2-1 triumph over Christopher Dock.

“We obviously take our BAL games more seriously,” added McDonald. “I don’t think we took this game seriously but we definitely should have.

“Ryan always puts out a strong team and they showed that here tonight.”

Perhaps, the best chance the Raiders had to score in the first half came midway through the first period on a cross that senior Peter Comas got a head on. HGP goalkeeper Harry Scuron made the initial save but Montag booted the rebound well over the net.

Ryan missed another golden opportunity when Comas shot wide right of the net from six yards out with 15 minutes remaining in the half.

Eight minutes before the intermission, HGP junior Brendan Eagen and sophomore Ethan Ruppersberger combined on a rush to the Raiders’ net that saw AR goalkeeper Ryan Stock out of position to make a save. However, the Ryan defense clamped down hard enough that neither player could get off a shot.

On the opposite side of the field, HGP junior Connor Fife made a nice defensive play on Sean Palmer, heading a free kick by the AR senior out of harm’s way with two minutes left. The half ended with Nkosi making a last-ditch go to goal whereby the sophomore tried to sneak the ball into the short side. Stock made the save just as the whistle blew and Ruppersberger tumbled over the keeper.

You could say the second half was all Ghost with the Firebirds launching a half-dozen shots on frame except for the fact that the Raiders were credited with the game’s only goal with a little over 4:30 showing on the clock.

“We didn’t play exactly how we like to play – surround the box then get easy finishes,” explained McDonald. “We were just taking shots from outside on our own terms; that’s not what we want to do.”

It was Holy Ghost who was given the best chance to score all game 10 minutes into the second half when the ‘birds were awarded a penalty kick after a free kick inadvertently made contact with the left hand of Comas.

However, Stock came up huge for his team on the following play, diving to his right to keep the ball out of the elusive goal.

“I thought we had a great chance to score in the first minute of the second half, (we) don’t shoot and they took over,” said AR first-year head coach Ryan Haney. “Things started going wrong. They started getting chances, a PK, two yellow cards.

“Things were falling apart when our goalie comes up with a huge save and that really fired up our guys.”

The battle could have gone either way, added Haney.

“If you played this game 10 times it could be one-nothing us five times and one-nothing them five times.”

Non-league or not, all the games matter, said McDonald.

“Every game matters, even if we lose,” said McDonald. “We always want to build off of losses.

“But I don’t think we could build that much from this game.”

“Next time should be better,” added Scuron.

“We will be better – that’s guaranteed.”

Saturday night at Macclesfield, we shall see.

Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter

Archbishop Ryan 1, Holy Ghost Prep 0

(Sept. 28 at Archbishop Ryan)

ARCHBISHOP RYAN 0 1 – 1

HOLY GHOST PREP 0 0 – 0

SECOND-HALF GOALS: AR — own-goal; HGP — none.

SHOTS: AR — 6; HGP — 9.

SAVES: AR — 12; HGP — 7.

TOWAMENCIN >> It was a result that was long overdue for the North Penn boys soccer team.

It was evident in the way the Knights celebrated after the final whistle, a little more animated than usual. It was evident on the bench, the entire collective of coaches and reserves standing until the final seconds.

It took a special effort, but the Knights finally did it. They beat Central Bucks East.

A goal by senior Mike Kohler late in the first half sparked North Penn to a 2-0 win on a windy and wet Thursday afternoon. The victory snapped a seven-match losing streak to the Patriots and handed the Knights their first win over their SOL Continental nemesis since Sept. 16, 2013.

“It feels real good,” Kohler said. “East is a real big test on our schedule. I’m just so happy. I give them a lot of credit, they’re a really good program, they’ve had our number for a while so it just feels really good to get a win.”

North Penn’s Nick Terchek tries to reclaim the ball from Central Bucks East’s Stephanos Panas during their game on Thursday, Sept. 29. 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

CB East took the team’s first meeting 1-0 in the first full week of the season, sort of mirroring Thursday. A first half goal propelled the Patriots over the Knights, extending East’s dominance in the matchup despite bringing a vastly different looking team than in years past into the contest.

Weather was certainly a factor on Thursday, with the wind playing with balls in the air and a wet turf making any shot on goal a potential game-changer. Even with the conditions, the ball spent a lot of time in the air, playing right into North Penn’s (8-2, 6-1 SOL Continental) hands, or more accurately, heads.

A strong aerial team all season, the Knights asserted their will on any ball in the air, winning a majority of headers.

“Even after last year going 26-0 then losing all those seniors they came back and are just as strong,” North Penn senior Nick Terchek said. “That’s where the key to the win for us was. Once we were winning those 50/50 balls in the air, they weren’t getting much push forward and every time they tried to clear it out, we won the 50/50 ball and were going right back down at them.”

The first half was a lot of ping-ponging as both sides made a push, maybe got a shot or two then went on the defensive. East’s (6-2-2, 5-1-1) Tomasz Ognowski had an alluring chance midway through the first half but his effort sailed wide.

With 16:20 left in the half, North Penn left back Christian Snyder went down with a leg injury that forced him off the pitch and onto the bench for the rest of the contest. Terchek stepped up to fill the void, dropping out of the midfield and to the back line while Kevin Seipt and Brett Katz manned the middle.

Terchek was big all match, winning headers but also astutely playing the ball out of the back to just the right spots.

“We couldn’t get beat behind us,” Terchek said. “I’ve played outside back in club so I’m used to the position. Our big focus was to win the headers and not get beat behind us because breakaways are where they’re going to score. If we kept the ball in front of us and them in front of us, they weren’t scoring.”

North Penn didn’t have a ton of chances in the first half, but it had the first one that mattered. A defender’s clear didn’t get very far, with Kohler jumping on it and dribbling through three defenders, getting a little bit of a fortunate bounce off one’s leg then got a sliding toe-poke to go in with 1:58 left in the half.

Kohler credited the effort to a very simple pregame drill that focuses on technical work, a favorite of coach Paul Duddy.

BOYS SOCCER 1:58 1st half: North Penn 1, CB East
Mike Kohler, well, he did this pic.twitter.com/02x3Kixrb6

— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) September 29, 2016

“The ball came to my feet, I saw a seam and I tried to get through it as quick as I could,” Kohler said. “I was lucky, I got around a couple guys. In these conditions, any shot is a tough save so I just tried to keep it on frame and it went my way.”

The goal was massive for North Penn. Not only did the Knights take a lead into the half, they doubled it up midway through the second when Luke McMahon volleyed home a shot with 21:31 left.

Luck did seem to be on North Penn’s side Thursday. Not only did the ball deflect right to Kohler, but CB East rung the post on a second half free kick, Ross Burton, after being denied once by Bobby Dean, skied his rebound over the net and North Penn blocked another rebound late in the game.

North Penn’s Mike Kohler battles Central Bucks East’s Will Eisold for a header during their game on Thursday, Sept. 29. 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

“(East) is still a very good team, today just worked out to be our day,” Duddy said. “I thought a number of our players just stepped up. They shut us out up at their place and are great defensively, on Mike Kohler’s goal there’s probably a little bit of a break but he’s so good, he figures it out.”

“We made too many mistakes defensively,” East coach Jeremiah White said. “We had too many lapses. We had to find the right combination, the second half we had opportunities, they just didn’t go in.”

Terchek noted the opening goal also brought East out of its compacted defensive shape as the Patriots tried to chase an equalizer. That eventually led to McMahon putting one home before he too left with an ankle injury and had Mike Farrell and Andres Maldonado step in to cover for him up top.

History bears that this was likely not the last time these two teams will meet this season and Duddy said he wouldn’t be shocked at all if there’s a district playoff rematch. The win puts North Penn in the lead for the SOL Continental title, but they had some tight matches the first time through.

But, getting the win Thursday was huge and the players aren’t willing to let it be wasted by letting the result go to their heads.

“Before every game in the future, we’re going to think back to this game and the hard work we put in preparing,” Kohler said. “We finally executed, we finally got a win, with this under our belt, we’re going to come in with some fire. We can’t slip up anymore, we have a tough schedule but we’re ready to go.”

North Penn 2, Central Bucks East 0
Central Bucks East           0 0 — 0
North Penn        1 1 — 2
Goals: NP-Mike Kohler 38’, Luke McMahon 58’.
Shots: CBE-6, NP-5.
Saves: CBE-Karl Bandlow 3, NP-Bobby Dean 6.

Top Photo: North Penn’s Mike Kohler celebrates his score against Central Bucks East during their game on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

Chris Thurber flicked in a Jack Feeney corner kick with two seconds left in the second overtime as Great Valley eked out a 2-1 Ches-Mont League American Division boys soccer victory over Octorara on Thursday.
Ryan Craig scored from 20-yards out for the Patriots’ first goal nine minutes in.
Octorara earned the equalizer midway through the half.
The Patriots move to 4-3 in the American and 5-5 overall.
Octorara     1    0    0    0 – 1
Great Valley    1    0    0    1 – 2
Octorara goal not available.
Great Valley goals: Craig, Thurber.
Goalie saves: Octorara not available; Dinsmore (GV) 2.

Downingtown East 5, Oxford 3 >> The Cougars scored five times in the second half to erase a halftime deficit and post a Ches-Mont victory.
Oxford    2    1 – 3
Downingtown East    0    5 – 5
Oxford goals: Winters, Hannum, Dehaut.
Downingtown East goals: Gill, Reimold, Santangelo, Lewis, Blevins.
Goalie saves: Sumner (O) 4; Good (DE) 2,

Kennett 3, Avon Grove 2 >> Niklas Powell scored off a free kick with 15 seconds left to boot the Blue Demons to the Ches-Mont victory.
Zach Augustine and Stetson Fenster tallied for the Red Devils (3-4, 4-5-1).
Kennett    1    2 – 3
Avon Grove    1    1 – 2
Kennett goals: Carbajal, Esparza, Powell.
Avon Grove goals: Augustine, Fenster.
Goalie saves:  Almanza (K) 6; Sar (AG) 6.

West Chester Rustin 3, Unionville 1 >> Chris McMahon scored all three goals for the Golden Knights (5-2, 6-4) in the Ches-Mont American win. CJ Scoffone and Josh Speigal played well defensively.
Sam Price notched the Indians’ goal.
Unionville    0    1 – 1
W.C. Rustin    2    1 – 3
Unionville goal: Price.
W.C. Rustin goals: McMahon 3.
Goalie saves:  Nitz (U) 4, Pepper (U) 2; Bosch (WCR) 4.

Bishop Shanahan 1, Coatesville 0 >> Jake Frank scored in the first half to lift the Eagles to the Ches-Mont National win.
Bishop Shanahan    1    0 – 1
Coatesville    0    0 – 0
Bishop Shanahan goal: Frank.
Goalie saves: Shona (BS) 8; Oleykowski (C) 3.