Perfect 10: Pennridge clips Souderton to win outright SOL National title
EAST ROCKHILL >> The SOL National title came down to a fraction of an inch and a matter of seconds.
What had started as a four-goal lead for Pennridge at the outset of the fourth quarter against visiting Souderton had been whittled to one and the visitors holding the ball with two-and-a-half minutes to play. Needing a win to secure an outright and undefeated conference title, it was a nervous moment for the Rams as Souderton’s Tyson Bui unloaded a shot from about 15 yards out.
A fraction of an inch lower, the game would have been tied. Instead, the blast caught the crossbar and allowed Pennridge to flip the field in a matter of seconds, leading to a crucial finish by Frankie Fanelli.
Pennridge survived the late challenge, claiming a 14-12 win over Souderton and wrapping a much-desired unbeaten SOL title Tuesday night at Helman Field.
“Going from 6-12 to 16-1 and winning the conference is a huge momentum changer and huge for Pennridge lacrosse,” Fanelli, who scored three goals, said. “It puts us on the map again. Our coaches put in a lot of work in the offseason helping us train and get better.
“Now we’ve got to focus on the playoffs, it’s a new season at 0-0.”
Pennridge (16-1, 10-0 SOL) would have taken a share of the title regardless, thanks to their overtime win against Central Bucks West last week, but they were feeling selfish. With the Bucks taking care of business earlier in the evening against Council Rock North, the Rams had to win to hold the title on their own. Of course, an unblemished league record a year after finishing well below .500 was more than enough motivation on its own.
With an attack that returned a majority of its top producers, including Tuesday’s key contributors in Fanelli, Ryan Carickhoff and Matt Kriney, and a defensive unit pretty sore about getting beat often last spring, the Rams felt like they had a group capable of making noise. Kriney, a two-way midfielder who also led the Rams with four goals, circled around and highlighted contributions in every phase of the game on Tuesday and throughout the season.
“Great night, huge team win,” Kriney said. “I love to see all my guys connecting in transition, capitalizing in front of goal, everything. Our team this year has an insane amount of depth and no team has been able to stop that all year.”
Souderton (11-6, 6-4 SOL) jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Kriney got the Rams on the board using his speed to attack off the perimeter midway through the opening frame. Fanelli broke a 3-3 tie with a man up goal assisted by his younger brother Rocco with 36.5 left in the opening quarter, staking Pennridge to a lead it would maintain the rest of the game, though not without challenge.
The Rams seemed poised to break the game open in the second frame, using a 4-1 spurt paced by two goals from Kriney to take an 8-4 lead with five minutes to the half. Souderton, which came in on the heels of back-to-back losses to St. Joe’s Prep and Pennsbury, wanted a better showing and needed to find itself before the half arrived.
“It’s tough, but I think our team has gotten better throughout the season at facing adversity,” Souderton attacker John Martin Vince said. “We didn’t let the goals affect us, we tried to get them back one at a time and we caught up, but it just wasn’t enough.”
Souderton scored two straight before the half, Sean Landis getting a nice dunk-in off a rebound, to make it 8-6 then cut the lead to one when Bui converted a look in front of goal with 8:52 left in the third quarter.
Carickhoff, who had a hat trick in joining Kriney and Frankie Fanelli in combining for 10 goals, answered with a goal then the Rams got a big boost when long-stick midfielder Andrew Horensky scored nine seconds later following a face-off win by senior Ben Souder. Souder was a difference maker on the X, winning 16 of 25 draws and the Rams midfield was solid in clearing and moving the ball in transition.
Pennridge closed the third quarter on a 3-1 run, Kriney capping the run by blasting a top shelf laser after again starting out deep and getting some momentum rolling toward the goal.
“We work the ball extremely well,” Kriney said. “The work rate put in by our guys, compared to previous years, it’s ridiculous. Coming from freshman and sophomore year to this year, it’s just a different vibe and amazing to be part of.”
Souderton will be in the playoffs and has one game left with Lansdale Catholic to close the regular season. That wasn’t enough for the Indians players on Tuesday, as they turned up the pressure in the fourth quarter and reeled off three straight goals to put all the pressure back on Pennridge.
Vince, who bagged his fourth goal of the night to kickstart the run, was disappointed not to finish the comeback but he felt his team showed a lot of heart not giving up and reignited some confidence it didn’t have after its last two outings.
“The past two games, we went down and we weren’t able to punch back and fight back,” Vince said. “I think we used it as motivation to come back on them. This was a huge game for us and we really wanted it.
“I honestly think it shows we can hang with any team in the district if we bring our game and don’t worry about them.”
Even in a high-scoring game, the two defenses played well. Pennridge goalie Tyler Vandermark was a wall, making a late stop after Fanelli’s insurance goal and compiling close to 20 saves between the posts.
“Our ground balls weren’t the greatest but in the key moments, we got the ones we needed,” Fanelli said. “Tyler had a big game, our defense held them and that’s what we need. If we put more goals in the back of the net, that’s all we need.”
Winning a league generally parlays into good things going into the postseason and that’s where the Rams find themselves. Tuesday’s win vaulted Pennridge up to the No. 4 seed in the District 1-3A power rankings and while that may still change before the brackets lock, it’s a good place to be.
All that mattered under the lights after the win was getting the league champions banner out and cramming all the guys behind for a team photo, a perfect 10-0.
“This is the first time our school’s ever done that, it’s incredible,” Kriney said. “I’m so happy for my guys. I’m more of a team player than a personal player in every aspect, I love my guys and I’m happy we can all have this, so I’m looking forward to every game we’ll have in the postseason.”
Pennridge 14, Souderton 12
Pennridge 4 4 5 1 – 14
Souderton 3 3 3 3 – 12
Goals: P – Matt Kriney 4, Ryan Carickhoff 3, Frankie Fanelli 3, Rocco Fanelli 1, Andrew Horensky 1, Levi Souder 1; S – Seth Grossman 4, John Martin Vince 4, Tyson Bui 2, Ty Quintois 1, Sean Landis 1.
