Hatboro-Horsham edges Plymouth Whitemarsh, stays atop SOL American
WHITEMARSH >> Plymouth Whitemarsh threw everything it had at Hatboro-Horsham in the second half Tuesday afternoon.
The Colonials erased a one-goal deficit and had 14 scoring opportunities after intermission. They hit two posts and had shots sail just over the crossbar and just left of the net.
Hatboro-Horsham had one really good chance after PW tied the game and took advantage.
In the 63rd minute, the Hatters survived a Colonial free kick. Colin Bateman made a long outlet pass to Matty Harmon, who set up Andrew Hurrell for the game-winner in a 2-1 Suburban One League American Conference win at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
“I was just trying to stop their momentum,” Bateman said. “They came at us like bats out of hell. When I got back on (from a yellow card) I was just looking to open up. I heard my dad constantly screaming, ‘Find feet! Find feet!’ I got up, saw (Harmon) on the break wide open, not a defender near him. I just pinged one across where I thought he’d be. Thank God he got to the ball and made a really nice ball across and Andrew Hurrell went balls to the wall to get that one and put it in the back of the net. That was awesome.”
“Everybody was pressing and next thing you know they had a quick guy go up the sideline on one long ball,” PW coach Jeff Heaton said. “Defender takes his eye off once and you can pay and we paid on that breakaway.”
The win separates Hatboro-Horsham from Plymouth Whitemarsh at the top of the SOL American standings. Both teams entered the game in a four-way tie — along with Upper Dublin and Springfield — for first place with matching 3-1 records.
“We’ve been training ever since we lost to Springfield, 4-1,” Bateman said. “That was a big wake-up call for us. At practice everyone has been training, everybody wants a starting spot. That mindset and that attitude that we have has translated into all of our games … This win just means a ton. It puts us ahead and people weren’t thinking of us as a title contender. This doesn’t mean that we’re a title contender, but it shows that we’re definitely competing with these guys and we’re going to make a run for it.”
“It’s early in the season,” Heaton said. “There’s things we learned from this game that we’ll take into the next few games. I think you’re going to find four or five teams vying for the top couple positions. I’m really excited. I think the conference is pretty strong this year and there’s a lot of good games to be played the rest of the way.”
The Colonials (4-2, 3-2) had three great chances after falling behind, 2-1. Connor Smith had a free kick sail just over the crossbar in the 71st minute, Alex Lefkowitz had a sliding shot beat Hatboro’s goalkeeper but roll just past the far post and Gavin Hendrick’s free kick in the 78th minute bounced off the post.
78th minute with a chance to tie the game. pic.twitter.com/DyQAtTFVXD
— Ed Morlock (@emor09) September 19, 2017
“First half I thought we were the better team,” HH coach Kyle McGrath said, “but second half they definitely took it to us for sure. Credit to them for that. We’re a little bit fortunate to get out of here with a victory, but credit to my guys for competing and holding on and defending with all they had.”
Hendrick tied the game in the 47th minute. Lefkowitz found Hendrick in front of the net with a beautiful cross and Hendrick buried it for the score.
“Just getting back to what we do,” Heaton said of PW’s play in the second half compared to the first. “People lost focus a little bit in the first half and were trying to play some long balls. We’re not a team that plays long balls. We got back to just possessing the ball.”
The Hatters (6-1, 4-1) took a 1-0 lead in the first half on a penalty kick that Heaton had no comment about. Nick Hatzenbeller hit the ground in the box and Bateman took the penalty kick and beat the keeper.
“Don’t look at the goalkeeper,” Bateman said of his mentality. “I’ve always taken PKs since I was nine or 10 years old … I just put the ball down in the PK spot, turn around, try not to look up and just go in the same spot every time. This time, (PW goalie Patrick Corpus) actually shuffled to my side so I waited for him to make his move and went left.”
The Hatters get back to league play next week when they host Upper Dublin Tuesday. PW’s next league game is Tuesday against Cheltenham.
Hatboro-Horsham 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1
Hatboro-Horsham 1 1 — 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 1 — 1
Goals: HH: Colin Bateman, Andrew Hurrell. PW: Gavin Hendrick.
Assists: HH: Matty Harmon. PW: Alex Lefkowitz.
Saves: HH: Zack Kim 4. PW: Patrick Corpus 6.
