FRANCONIA — Tyler Vandermark was expecting it.
Before the team's offense started scoring a lot of goals, the senior goalie Vandermark worked hard in the first half to keep his team close. His effort was important so that the offense could take control in the second half.
Pennridge scored a lot in the second half and beat Souderton 15-8, guaranteeing them at least a share of the SOL National Conference title on Tuesday night.
Vandermark said, "We knew the goals were coming. We loosened up in the second half, and our offense played incredibly well. We just had to relax and not worry too much."
Souderton, which honored its 17 seniors before the game, only needed to win to get its first SOL National title. Last year, Pennridge just beat Souderton to get its first-ever SOL conference title.
Tuesday didn’t make it an outright back-to-back, but a Rams win over Council Rock South on Wednesday would do that. Senior player Frankie Fanelli emphasized how important it was to win the SOL title for the second year in a row.
Fanelli said, "It’s really important. Winning two years in a row shows that our team is for real, and not just lucky."
Early in the game, and for most of the first half, Vandermark and the defense in front of him worked hard to stop the other team from scoring. Vandermark had 23 saves, including five in the first few minutes, when Souderton was controlling the game.
Vandermark gave credit to his defense, including Colin Manville, Tyler Borneman, Will Howley, Andrew Horensky, and the rotating midfielders. With a great goalie and defense, the Rams were able to control the opponent's top attackers.
Vandermark said, "When they give me shots I can handle, I can help the team when I need to. We have the best defense players in the league without a doubt. They give me the shots I want, and I can stop them."
During the game, Pennridge's senior Ryan Carickhoff scored six goals, with three in the first half. Even though Souderton was frustrated by Vandermark's saves, their defense also played well and made it hard for Pennridge to score.
Souderton's John Martin Vince scored five goals, with his second breaking a tie in the second quarter. After halftime, he scored all three of his team's goals.
The Rams attack played poorly in the first half, but their goalie and defense kept the two-goal deficit. At halftime, the attackmen and offensive midfielders talked about being more precise and encouraged each other that they could do better.
Fanelli said they started slow and their stick skills were not the best, but they knew they could improve. They got in the right mindset and kept going from there. Once they gained momentum, they felt they could keep going and make a run.
Levi Souder began the second half with an excellent shot for a goal, starting a 4-0 scoring run that included two goals by Fanelli and put Pennridge ahead 7-5. Souderton made a nice transition play, cutting the lead to one with 1:27 left in the third.
Pennridge scored three more times in the final minute, winning the third quarter 7-1 to take a 10-6 lead. The avalanche Vandermark knew was coming had arrived and it wasn’t over yet.
The Rams scored the first four goals of the final quarter, with Fanelli and his younger brother Rocco connecting on two of them.
Frankie Fanelli said they took great shots instead of good shots. Their shot selection continued to improve as they got into the game. Once their offense gets going, they can be a dangerous team and compete with the best.
Tuesday’s game was also important in the District 1-3A standings. The win moved Pennridge to the No. 6 spot, in line for a first round bye while Souderton dropped to No. 9, one spot out of the bye range although both teams do have one more game to play.
Vandermark said they played a lot of defense, but they were up to the task. He mentioned that their offense would finish it when they had it. If they had good possessions and finished on those possessions, it would be a good game for them.
Vandermark maintained his sharpness in the second half, adding to his high save total to help keep the offense under control after halftime. He also acknowledged faceoff man Cole Nitterour, who won 12-of-25 draws.
While the Rams were happy to share the title Tuesday night, they wanted to own it outright.
Vandermark said, 'This is the best group of guys I could have asked to play with. I’m really happy about it. We have great coaches and great brotherhood here, it’s good for the program, there’s a lot of talent on this team so I love seeing it for the program.'
It’s been (Central Bucks) East and West’s conference for a while, so it’s nice to see Pennridge go back-to-back.
Pennridge 15, Souderton 8
Pennridge 2 1 7 5 — 15
Souderton 2 3 1 2 — 8
Goals-Assists: P – Ryan Carickhoff 6-0, Frankie Fanelli 4-2, Levi Souder 2-1, Matthew Seiler 1-2, Rocco Fanelli 1-2, Cole Nitterour 1-0, Matt Kriney 0-2, Cooper States 0-1; S – John Martin Vince 5–0, Seth Grossman 1-1, Brody Anderson 1-1, Max Ryan 1-0, Ben Fadden 0-1.
