Pennsbury boys soccer pours it on in the second half at Bensalem

BENSALEM – Despite getting outshot in the first half and a scoreless tie at halftime, visiting Pennsbury pushed its way to 2-0 on the season with a 3-1 triumph over Bensalem Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 7) on the Owls’ home pitch.

The Falcons got second-half goals from freshman Josh Panaro, sophomore Javier Sosa and senior John Griffin on their way to their first win of the season over a Suburban One League (SOL) opponent.

Bensalem’s only goal came in the 73rd minute from senior Matt Corbett. The Owls, who lost their season opener on Tuesday to SOL Continental Conference rival CB South 3-0, fall to 0-2 on the season.

While Bensalem outshot the visitors 7-3 in the first half, Pennsbury responded by outshooting the home team 9-2 after the break.

Deadlocked at zero, the Falcons finally broke through on a header by Panaro, who got his noggin on a throw-in from classmate Joe Ficarotta in the 59th minute of play. Less than two minutes later, Sosa scored a direct kick from 25 yards out. In the 66th minute, Griffin was taken down in the box by Corbett and made no mistake when he blasted a ball to the left of Owls sophomore keeper Austin Shea on the penalty kick, putting Pennsbury on top with a commanding 3-0 edge.

The Falcons opened the season with a 2-1 Sept. 3 home win in overtime over Philadelphia Catholic League rival Father Judge. The Crusaders are reportedly ranked No. 5 in the state.

Pennsbury shook off a 1-0 early deficit to Judge and the loss of 15 seniors from last year’s team to win on goals by senior Zach LaBosso and freshman Nyles Kayemitte.

LaBosso’s goal came on a penalty kick and the game-winner by Kayemitte, his first ever at the high school level, came less than two minutes into the extra session.

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

(Check back here in the morning for much, much more on the Falcons’ fantastic start to the 2016 season)