FRANCONIA >> Souderton’s goal coming in was to put together a complete game.
As it turned out, Big Red was completely dominant.
Three players scored hat tricks, Matt Malanga had a solid night in net, and Souderton savored an 11-3 win over rival North Penn Friday evening.
“It feels so good right now,” said senior Justin Wawrzynek, who scored three goals in an impressive offensive showing by Big Red. “We’re trying to secure our playoff spot so this win should clinch it for us. I feel really great about how we played today.
“We were so hyped coming into this game. We really wanted it. We were hyped from the start, cheering each other on, cheering our goalie. We wanted it so bad and we came out here and got it.”
Souderton huddles after its win over North Penn on Friday, May 7, 2021. (Kev Hunter/MediaNews Group)
Right in the thick of things in a crowded Suburban One League National Conference, Souderton raised its record to 5-5, with two non-conference games left to play (next is a home game against Lansdale Catholic Monday night at 6:30). North Penn is right there as well, dropping to 4-5 (with a home game against Pennsbury slated for Tuesday night at 7).
Souderton led 2-0 after one quarter on Friday and took a 4-2 advantage into the break. The third quarter is when Big Red broke it open, widening the gap to 8-3 on a cool night on the turf at Souderton.
“That was huge. That was a great win for us,” Souderton coach Mark Cornes said. “We finally put four quarters together. We haven’t put four quarters together all season. We’ve had games where we went up and should have won, and gave up at the end.
“So having them completely keep their foot on the pedal, for the rest of the game, is what we needed. We’ve been telling them they’re capable of playing this way. We hadn’t gotten that full four quarters but today we did.”
Justin Wawrzynek scored three goals in Souderton’s win over North Penn on Friday, May 7, 2021. (Kev Hunter/MediaNews Group)
Kobi Bui led all scorers with four goals. Wawrzynek and Jamison McDivitt each had a hat trick and Ty Quintois chipped in a goal.
Malanga made nine saves in net for the Indians.
Wawrzynek, exemplifying Big Red’s inner drive, had one of his finest games of the season.
“I just felt like today I needed to push myself,” he said. “I did just that. I went in, scored a couple goals, took it upon myself, got assists from my teammates. It was just a great game all around for us. This is such a huge push for us.”
Dakari Loby, Lars Homan and Connor Toussaint each had goals for the Knights.
North Penn looks on during its game with Souderton on Friday, May 7, 2021. (Kev Hunter/MediaNews Group)
Big Red’s passing was key throughout, with McDivitt (two), Wawrzynek (one), Tyson Bui (three) and Seth Grossman (one) all contributing assists.
Said Wawrzynek: “Even after the game, we’re still stoked. We’ll probably be hanging out together – still social distancing, but hanging out together, getting each other fired up (for next week).”
